PoT Roundup
Dec. 20th, 2003 07:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thistlechaserSo I just finished watching the last available ep of TeniPuri, #98: Prince of Billiards. It would have been amusing, if it hadn't been exactly the same as Prince of Bowling... Also, Echizen being an utter pro at it, especially when he never played it before (if we take his word on that), was really annoying.
But strangely, it was actually the tennis match right before 98 which really held my interest. Not for the game itself, but for what it showed: Another freshman nearly as good as Echizen, but with a *totally* different attitude. It underscored something for me, and made me both worried and sad. (Yes, I'm worried and sad for a fictional character, so sue me. :) ) I think Echizen still doesn't like playing tennis. Even after Tezuka's "Rah! Rah! Become the team's pillar of strength!" talk, I think Echizen still isn't playing because he likes to play. I think he's still playing because he has serious father-issues, and that makes me really, really sad. That Aoi loves the game so much, and that love showed through so well, really displayed the difference in Echizen.
(Also, I strongly believe that the Nanjiroh characterization has changed since the beginning of the show. Not that the character has grown or changed, but I think they're just writing him differently. He was always funny, but in the beginning there was a very serious element to him as well: He was hard on Ryoma, teased him and pushed him. Now he's just around as a buffoon. What a waste of a good character!)
I feel the end of the series coming. I'm suspecting the Nationals really will be the end of it, and I won't have an issue with that so long as two things happen:
1) Echizen either starts liking tennis, or walks away from the game and doesn't return to it. Honestly, I'd be happy with either of those two; I want *him* to be happy, no matter which trail he has to take to get there.
2) Related to number one, I want him to come to some sort of understanding with his father. Alas, I think this is less likely to happen as it's a) a much bigger thing than just sticking with or leaving tennis, and b) the changes they've made in Nanjiroh's characterization have made this seem like a less necessary thing to resolve.
I really, really like watching a series this way: straight through instead of waiting week after week after week for a tiny little ep (30 minutes long, but really only about 20 of actual storyline).
Oh, I still have Survival Mountain to watch (I wasn't sure where in the series it fit, so I just saved it till the end). And from ep #97: When the old man (ancient man!) coach gave out candy to everyone, but didn't have one for Kaidoh, I howled laughter. Poor, poor Kaidoh! No wonder he has such a hard exterior, the world keeps pooping on him! :) The ep a while back, where he found a lost puppy and the female owner came running up and "saved the puppy from him murdering it" was just as funny.
But strangely, it was actually the tennis match right before 98 which really held my interest. Not for the game itself, but for what it showed: Another freshman nearly as good as Echizen, but with a *totally* different attitude. It underscored something for me, and made me both worried and sad. (Yes, I'm worried and sad for a fictional character, so sue me. :) ) I think Echizen still doesn't like playing tennis. Even after Tezuka's "Rah! Rah! Become the team's pillar of strength!" talk, I think Echizen still isn't playing because he likes to play. I think he's still playing because he has serious father-issues, and that makes me really, really sad. That Aoi loves the game so much, and that love showed through so well, really displayed the difference in Echizen.
(Also, I strongly believe that the Nanjiroh characterization has changed since the beginning of the show. Not that the character has grown or changed, but I think they're just writing him differently. He was always funny, but in the beginning there was a very serious element to him as well: He was hard on Ryoma, teased him and pushed him. Now he's just around as a buffoon. What a waste of a good character!)
I feel the end of the series coming. I'm suspecting the Nationals really will be the end of it, and I won't have an issue with that so long as two things happen:
1) Echizen either starts liking tennis, or walks away from the game and doesn't return to it. Honestly, I'd be happy with either of those two; I want *him* to be happy, no matter which trail he has to take to get there.
2) Related to number one, I want him to come to some sort of understanding with his father. Alas, I think this is less likely to happen as it's a) a much bigger thing than just sticking with or leaving tennis, and b) the changes they've made in Nanjiroh's characterization have made this seem like a less necessary thing to resolve.
I really, really like watching a series this way: straight through instead of waiting week after week after week for a tiny little ep (30 minutes long, but really only about 20 of actual storyline).
Oh, I still have Survival Mountain to watch (I wasn't sure where in the series it fit, so I just saved it till the end). And from ep #97: When the old man (ancient man!) coach gave out candy to everyone, but didn't have one for Kaidoh, I howled laughter. Poor, poor Kaidoh! No wonder he has such a hard exterior, the world keeps pooping on him! :) The ep a while back, where he found a lost puppy and the female owner came running up and "saved the puppy from him murdering it" was just as funny.
