Thread: Reflections at the Halfway Point

Hey, all.

In case you're wondering what the hell the title means, I picked up PoT at Eiji's match with Kai in the OVA, and started the manga when Ryoma first got MnK. So rather than get the buildup to all the insanity we see in the series now, I jumped right into it. I always wondered what the preceding volumes were like, since I'd heard a few people say it was actually grounded in reality. So between yesterday and today, I read the first 22 volumes of the series.

Now that I've seen everything, here are a few of my thoughts:

- What disoriented me the most was the stark contrast in gameplay between the first few volumes and the current stuff. Back then, the Moon Volley and the Jackknife were actually useful moves, Kikumaru couldn't use ninjutsu, and you could play without the risk of manslaughter by the opponent. MnK wasn't even a factor in the matches; Tezuka Zone wasn't accompanied with the "Nightmare Geese ring-of-fire" effect. It was actually...reserved. Believable, even.

Personally, I thought it made for a better read.

It was nice to see people utilizing strategies actually used in the pros, since it seemed far less arbitrary and whimsical. Just being able to take the matches seriously made them a lot more readable. We've gotten in way too deep to go back to that now, but it was still refreshing while it lasted.

- I was surprised at how they de-emphasized Kawamura's "transformation" in the later chapters/OVA. I thought Kawamura was a cantankerous Engrish-shouter 24/7.

- I had no idea that Kirihara played a role in the series so early. It felt like it came out of nowhere when I saw him in, what, the second volume? Jesus. I thought he was just some punk that Konomi had thrown in once Seigaku vs. Rikkaidai began to loom over the horizon. He didn't seem to have much bearing on the story until then, anyway.

- And while we're on the topic of punks, Akutsu was one hell of a bastard. I thought that Kirihara was bad enough, but Akutsu didn't fuck around with tennis--he just beat the shit out of you, and that was the end of it. It was certainly a switch from all the tennis pseudo-punkness I've gotten used to seeing.

Your thoughts?

Even WITH the insanity being built up I still have a hard time accepting it. XD

you are right of course...the manga started of, being grounded to reality, but then again....after it starts to build up with insanity as you say it, the fan base has already been establish, so even if it sounds more and more unbelievable by the second (or by every chapter :P) you can't help to follow it...beside, that;s the fun of reading this manga....you want to root for the good guys (which in this case is seigaku, wut with the delicious tezuka in there...ahah so, go join tezuka fan club!!!) but at the same time you want to root for the 'bad' guys as well (like rikkai for example, another delectable player...sanada....so, GO join sanada fan club!!! heh, i am promoting all the fanclubs....haha)....so, yeah, the moves are definitely not believable, but that's secondary to the plot...i want to know, if seigaku would finally defeat the king, rikkai...and if, ryoma finally beats his father....if hyotei would ever get the chance to defeat seigaku (i'm still praying for a unofficial match between atobe and fuji or tezuka again!!! )....
So, no matter what insanity or how unbelievable the moves, i am sticking until it finishes!!!

Allo!

PoT has been around for a long time, hasn't it o_O. The first time I heard about this manga, I wondered how different its approach would be from Slam Dunk (although it would've never occured to me that DBZ would be a much better comparison LOL ; ). But I don't know, the moment I read the first chapter, I kind of felt to take this series lightly--like just enjoy it. Two observations, specifically, made me think this way--Tezuka and Kikumaru ^^;;

Since my basis then was real life pro tennis, I thought that it was "refreshing" to see a captain who plays kick-ass tennis and wears glasses. Maybe I sound biased but at the time, I rarely see tennis players wear glasses (ok, I did see Martina Navratilova once...). But then again, I figured the character was yummy enough so I let it pass. LOL. Then I saw Kikumaru and his acrobatic playing style and that's where I realized that this series could get whimsical in the long run.

Of course, I didn't expect DBZish/YYHish type of battles, er, I mean, tennis matches. ^o^; Despite that, I'd still follow the series since character development comes out once in a while. I appreciated the Yuuta-Fuji rivalry back then and I'm looking forward to what Yukimura is actually like. Unless Konomi-san disregards character development, I think PoT could still work and (some really patient/devoted) people will keep anticipating what will happen next. ^_^

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

In regard to following the story as a whole, I completely agree. When I first saw the series, I saw Kikumaru make copies of himself and was like "What the fuck is this bullshit? It's hilarious!" But I found myself drawn in by the great characters, and wanting to see what insane moves would pop up next. Before I'd realized it, I'd downloaded all the subbed episodes of the OVA and half the manga in a week.

If the "DBZ shlock factor" of the matches was all the series had going for it, I definitely wouldn't be following it this closely.

I know what you mean!! One time I was sooo sick of Ryoma winning all the time that I stopped reading!! But when I heard Rikkai was back, I started again (only to read the Rikkai chapters only). I could care less about Ryoma because he always wins and I am just reading it for the OTHER characters (that are not developed much).

It has gone DBZ ever since Ryoma got that SoSA

Actually, I've thought many times about quitting, but like Naruto, I read it because I went so far, and unlike Inuyasha, it's not overly repetitive.

Hmm...that's a good point. There isn't much left to the series, so it'd be dumb to stop reading it now. I haven't reached the point where it's like "Oh, fuck this shit"...not yet, anyway.

I don't see the point of not finishing the series at this point either. It's the final match dammit...at least we're going to see it end.

It's definitely hard to let go once you get hooked. I started with the anime found it interesting (read: swallowed it hook, line and sinker) then moved on to the manga. It became surreal but I never had much expectations from anime/manga mimicking real life so I guess that's why I am still reading/watching it.