Yeah, this is what I meant. Last week when the creators suddenly decided to focus on the second years; they just needed more attention. The idea of this episode was nice, but at this point I just don’t care about these second years. The four of them are exact copies of each other: there’s nothing that sets them apart. And in the end, at which it turned out that they saved the match it just became a bit too obvious that the creators were trying to build up to it.
For the rest of this episode, I have no complaints, however. One thing I loved was how this episode never tried to prove something using the match against Miki. What we saw here was just a bunch of old friends who played against each other after having been apart for a few years. The part with the second years was forced, but apart from that it was just so wonderfully natural and charming. Friendly matches like this one are very rare in sports series and even when two friends are against each other, they tend to overact and make it way too dramatic than needed. Miki and Azuma were wonderful in this episode, simply because they stayed so down to earth.
Another big theme of this episode was Aoba, and the fact that she’s not using her talents. Next to Kou, it’s indeed very easy to forget that she also is an excellent pitcher, and she was pretty much the one who taught Kou everything he needed to know about being successful. As a teacher, especially so young, she should feel proud of what her student turned into. ^^;
Rating: * (Good)
Down-to-earth, well-paced and nicely restrained (until the big moment!) is what defines this series. I wish Mitsuru Adachi (& the director whoever he is) would bite & infect a few other production teams out there – spread it around a little.
Again,just like the last episode:you’re not supposed to care about these second years and this isn’t about them.
They are again used as a mean to show that aoba is popular with the guys,that’s the main reason they’re there.
It’s interesting how you have a problem with them yet you don’t mention all the girls stalking kou who are also exact copies of eachother.
Why are the guys a problem for you while the girls don’t seem to be?
Hmm, good question. I guess because it was because they took the spotlight in this episode in a rather forced way, while the girls around kou always managed to stay in the background.
As I feared, the start of the season meant a significant drop in the enjoyment I have at watching this series.
I know that for this anime the strong points are not to be found in the baseball games, but it really bothers me that it’s obvious they are going to Koshien. The worst is that I don’t even care if they win or lose, which is weird for a sports-themed anime.
If only they could reduce the time devoted to baseball, and resume the slice of life side of the series: Akane’s absent, Aoba just sits with the public, and Kitamura boringly strikes out all his oponents U_U ..zzZZZZ
I think one of the weaknesses of this anime is that the main characters are too uniformly good at what they do. When Azuma picks his bat, I already feel sleepy, and when Kitamura pitches, I’m fast asleep. Too uniform, too BORING!
Hi psgels, I’ve been following your blogging of Cross Game for many weeks now… just want to thank you for continue to blog this series consistently and well. I think you’re about the only blogger in the entire blogosphere who’s managed to keep up episodic blogging of Cross Game. It’s always nice to hear what other people have to say about the anime.
I do agree, the second-years seemed a little generic to me. But I guess the point was to highlight how Aoba still managed to contribute to the team even though she couldn’t play. In essence, these second-years were also the fruits of her labour, not just Koh. None of them would have practiced so hard without her to inspire them and cheer them on.
And btw, the Cross Game manga is now on the second-last chapter. Without any spoilers, I’ll just say… TOTALLY WORTH IT. If the anime continues to hold true to the manga, we’re in for a treat at the end.
Despite the cheesiness with the secibd years that it turned into, overall I thought it was one of the best games I’ve seen in the series. Fpr a good portion of the episode, I had no idea what was going to happen.
About manga – i think the last game was way too stretched out. Well, at least in that way Koh will hit 160 for sure (160th chapter of course).