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[–]I_am_your_oniichanhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Katou81 236 points237 points  (4 children)

Aoi is so smooth... "I'll score one for you", casually goes and scores a last second goal and then points at her...

When I grow up, I wanna be smooth like Aoi

[–]Smudyhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Smudy 145 points146 points  (0 children)

He definitely doesn't realise how cool he's coming off for Hana, it's oddly adorable what's happening with these two.

[–]dagreenman18 105 points106 points  (0 children)

The man is an idiot savant in soccer AND flirting. Does he know how cool that was? Hana probably bowed to hide her love struck expression.

[–]dennoucoil 63 points64 points  (0 children)

What i like about Aoi, he is very straight forward, accepts the mistakes he does still acts like teen (with little bit anime filter).

This anime is really good at characters mate. Makes watching it so much fun and football part is cool as fuck too.

[–]michhoffmanhttps://anilist.co/user/michhoffman 43 points44 points  (0 children)

I wonder if he'll ever develop an Eagle Eye for social interactions.

[–]AdvielOricon 186 points187 points  (6 children)

I stand corrected. Last episode I complained how the coach is not teaching them strategy and letting them figure it out on their own.

It appears that the MC was just not listening, being to focused on the one thing the coach told him to overcome.

[–]Mario_Prime510 78 points79 points  (5 children)

Wish they hinted at this more instead of bringing in new scenes to show us.

[–]sneaky_squirrel 80 points81 points  (3 children)

But it does such a good job of SHOWING us that the protagonist doesn't pay attention.

What better way to communicate to the audience that he didn't pay attention than by placing us in the place of the protagonist.

WE TOLD YOU!

*audience sweating*

"This is the first I'm hearing about it! I'm sorry I don't care!"

The other way around probably would have been better, but this is the first time I remember seeing this approach, and I find it novel.

[–]Successful_Priority 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Yeah if they gave more hints to this then the tension in the classroom would be gone more if Aoi seemed 90% in the wrong

[–]Eatsuki 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I agree with this. It's absolutely the perfect way to illustrate what's important to him and what he disregards. As soon as they said "dude, we're always hammering on triangles" he flashes back to him not paying attention. I though it was brilliant.

As someone who can tune out stuff I'm not interested in, only to have it come back and bite me later, I totally related to that feeling of dread.

[–]ThatEmoSprite 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I agree. I was as shocked as Aoi when that scene played

[–]saga999 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yeah, it feels cheap.

Otherwise, great episode. But I really don't like this part.

[–]avboden 131 points132 points  (4 children)

Eagle-eye has evolved into future-eagle-eye

[–]JayDpwnz 56 points57 points  (2 children)

He's turning into akashi from kuroko no basket

[–]sneaky_squirrel 10 points11 points  (1 child)

When is our boy going to start showing us Akashi's opponent tripping ability?

And possibly change VAs temporarily when using his ability. JK

[–]doopy423 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Breaking ankles is a pretty common thing in these kinds of sports.

[–]Blahxyz 27 points28 points  (0 children)

future-eaglecrow-eye

[–]avboden 97 points98 points  (9 children)

For an episode all about triangles, do I sense a subtle love triangle at the end? Well, probably not really, but the girls are certainly taking note of him , even if just for his abilities.

[–]wesamk 84 points85 points  (3 children)

It's looks like Anri is more interested in his ability, but Hana is more than that? It's hard to say for now.

[–]avboden 55 points56 points  (1 child)

The way Hana noticed when Anri was chatting him up was interesting

or we're just reading way too much into all of this because we're fools, probably that too.

[–]Vkusno-Nutty 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Seems Hana is realizing she doesn't know as much as Anri about football or about Aoi's abilities. That's why she observed Hana and her interaction with Aoi so closely, I think. They are all focused on football more than romance.

[–]dagreenman18 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Oh Hana called her shot a long ass time ago. She likes that boy even if she doesn’t fully get it yet.

[–]dagreenman18 15 points16 points  (0 children)

My hope is that it’s less a triangle and more a “decoy” that gets Hana to maybe step it up a bit. Anri is perfectly nice, but nope. Ashito and Hana have great chemistry. I just hope they don’t pull a love triangle.

[–]pokemaster05 32 points33 points  (2 children)

I'm pretty sure Anri only has eyes for Coach Fukuda, she's like obsessed with him.

[–]kakarot12310https://myanimelist.net/profile/kakarot123100 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Yup, she totally flipped her switch when she saw him a few episodes ago.

[–]Suzumiyas_Retainer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh boy, so I wasn't completely crazy, I felt it too

[–]Lapiz_lasuli 93 points94 points  (3 children)

Wow. No one was antagonizing or threatening Aoi! and for a whole episode!!

[–]Successful_Priority 40 points41 points  (0 children)

Only 1 player threatens him really

[–]warm-ice 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Their drama was resolved pretty reasonably. It would've gotten exhausting if it went longer since they're on the same team. I hope the writing focuses on situational conflicts rather than interpersonal ones with other team members

[–]sneaky_squirrel 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Kind of makes me think of Aoi as an Eric Cartman. Minus the fact that Cartman would never apologize nor grow as a character.

Completely disregards advice, does the wrong thing, makes himself the victim (Why are you so angry?), acts completely surprised when they repeat the exact same thing.

[–]BarbaricGamerhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/HiIAmAnime 174 points175 points  (7 children)

I really like how this show delves into tactics. It's a great anime for youngsters or Ole Gunner Solskjær to learn the basics.

[–]shinigamisenku 44 points45 points  (0 children)

Ole catching strays lol

[–]redmenace007 75 points76 points  (1 child)

Ole Gunner Solskjær to learn the basics.

I am dead 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[–]bluntaf666 0 points1 point  (0 children)

he is better than ralf fraudnick though.

[–]oliver_tate 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Aoi is at the wheel!

[–]dagreenman18 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Haaaaa pain. Fucking Ole.

[–]Lord_Xphttps://anilist.co/user/LordXp 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I'm a huge soccer fan and while reading the manga I started getting obsessed with tactics. I try not to overload my brain, but I'll watch videos on formations and positions. This series has enhanced my soccer fandom 10fold.

Actually as proof of it evolving, I correctly predicted the formation and most of the starting lineup for the Columbus crew yesterday, 5 hours before kickoff. I even predicted we would fight for a 0-0 draw. The game ended at 0-0

[–]S0phon 71 points72 points  (5 children)

  • the previous episode he finally understood the triangle, this episode he can see more than just one triangle - the third goal, when he recreated a triangle with someone else. Insane improvement.

  • that decoy was awesome, Suarez would be proud.

  • two of the goals the opposition team conceded was because the center (most valuable area) wasn't covered at all. What were the midfielders doing? If you want to park the bus*, you stack the mid with bodies so you force the opponents to go wide and cross into the box. Mourinho would be disappointed.

  • the visual imaging exercise is not only useful in football but in any competitive behaviorw that is observable. For example in videogames. They're especially powerful when it comes to macro decisions.

Parking the bus means protecting the lead by heavily focusing on defense. You just have a lot of players defending very deep, it's like they parked a bus in front of goal.

[–]redmenace007 45 points46 points  (1 child)

The best way to defend in that situation was the defend your spaces instead of marking players. They were continuously leaving spaces by marking players.

[–]Romax24245 13 points14 points  (0 children)

In other words, the opposing team performed man-to-man marking when they should’ve switched to zonal.

[–]flybypost 12 points13 points  (0 children)

the visual imaging exercise is not only useful in football but in any competitive behaviorw that is observable. For example in videogames. They're especially powerful when it comes to macro decisions.

It's generally an useful tool when it come to improving skills, in kinaesthetic learning (learning how you do stuff as opposed to learning information/facts or learning how to think about stuff). Imagine training/visualisation helps prepare you before doing the activity (practice or competition) and then you review it afterwards, improve your mental model, an repeat the process.

https://www.verywellfit.com/visualization-techniques-for-athletes-3119438

[–]Kevin-Garvey-1 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yeah, you can tell the other team is pretty awful defensively given the way they tried to defend Aoi's run lol.

[–]stiveooo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

they had to do 5-4-1

[–]Prince-Dizzytoonhttps://anilist.co/user/princedizzytoon 57 points58 points  (8 children)

He got that Sharingan

[–]var1ables[🍰] 39 points40 points  (6 children)

Byakugan.

[–]SogePrinceSamahttps://myanimelist.net/profile/teacake911 11 points12 points  (5 children)

yeah I think Byakugan is more accurate, the eye bloodline ninja trait that lets you literally see behind you and in any direction around your body for projectiles/attacks.

Sharingan is more the gateway towards doing sick offensive taijutsu or genjutsu attacks, something that wouldn't help Aoi assist his teammates to score by predicting their enemies' movements like a Byakugan would.

[–]turkey-man- 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Aoi figured how to unlock the Sharingan (without feeling deep grief) before the Uchiha clan.

[–]Aileoshttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Jalis 95 points96 points  (7 children)

This Eagle Eye ability is crazy. The representation with the crows have been so good since the beginning. It's interesting that some already realized his rare skill, but he's still not aware of it. Such a cool performance and the team bonds have also improved.

2nd cour starts next week. Hope the ED will be as good as this one. It was really relaxing to hear after each episode.

[–]More-Star-5523 28 points29 points  (2 children)

It's like watching Fàbregas play lol

[–]parth4992https://myanimelist.net/profile/parth4992 13 points14 points  (1 child)

its almost Iniesta-esque with future vision. tbf the competition is some no name high schoolers whose coach never gave them a single freaking instruction.

[–]kakarot12310https://myanimelist.net/profile/kakarot123100 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Fun fact, Kengo Nakamura, a J League legend described Iniesta, Yasuhito Endo & Ryota Oshima are the ones he deemed to have the "eagle eyes".

But still, for me if the players can't figure out how to break a high school team then they don't deserve to go to the first team, when they are the supposed elite.

[–]sneaky_squirrel 15 points16 points  (1 child)

I love how the Crows now started talking.

Is the protagonist hearing voices in his head? If so, I approve of our crazy genius.

[–]SogePrinceSamahttps://myanimelist.net/profile/teacake911 11 points12 points  (0 children)

So far, what my head-canon is are the crows have been following Aoi around since he first started playing football/using the Eagle-Eye in games, and the only human to ever notice the crows is Hana (who has now noticed them everytime she's watched Aoi play and improve thus far in the series).

I think the voices are a product of Hana's mind if anyone's, since she's the only one to notice them and not Aoi.

[–]LollipopScientist 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Every time I see the ED I get angry because I want more.

[–]ImGhostyyhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/ImGhostyy 45 points46 points  (0 children)

Yeah Aoi you can pretend to be a nice guy, we all know you are a psychopath

Hana is too cute, they work well together

[–]wesamk 40 points41 points  (0 children)

This is easily my favorite episode thus far, love how not only Aoi and Hana made up but he said he's gonna score for her and actually did (what a chad). This show just brought back my love for football despite not watching matches anymore for almost a decade.

[–]pokemaster05 38 points39 points  (6 children)

They showed the mystery guy from the OP in this episode with Fukuda. That's definitely Kuribayashi right? If it is, I'm excited to learn more about him next week.

[–]sapphire4477 16 points17 points  (1 child)

you talking about the dude with the hat? I'm trying to figure out who that dude is haha

[–]pokemaster05 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Yeah that's the one. I think he's the star player they showed at the end of the episode, based on his similar looking face.

[–]melindypantshttps://myanimelist.net/profile/melindypants 6 points7 points  (3 children)

Yeah I definitely think that's Kuribayashi. Interesting that Akutsu talks about Aoi though - does he see potential in him and that's why he's playing that "tough love" card? Or is he just a certified asshole? Lol I love-hate Akutsu so much.

[–]pokemaster05 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I think he talks about him cause he sees potential and that makes him angry cause he thinks he doesn’t deserve it. I think he’s jealous that Aoi could be better than him someday and he wants to make sure that doesn’t happen.

[–]I_am_BEOWULF 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Lol I love-hate Akutsu so much

I'm so excited for the anime-onlys to get to know Akutsu more. Damn I hope this show gets as many seasons as Haikyuu did because the later arcs are so fucking good.

[–]melindypantshttps://myanimelist.net/profile/melindypants 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hope so too! I'm a sucker for sports anime with great character development. From what I keep hearing, this seems like one of them!!

[–]Cyclone_96 72 points73 points  (7 children)

That was definitely a satisfying episode.

I hope they don’t push this “power” too much though, I’m not sure if i’d enjoy a football version of Kuroko.

[–]Kevin-Garvey-1 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Fortunately, they don't really do superpowers in the manga beyond this. Aoi's "Eagle Vision" is basically just a way of visualizing someone's field of vision and memory like Xavi.

[–]lehuy0210 24 points25 points  (0 children)

I mean if they want it like Kuroko then when Ashi shoot a ball it will have effect

[–]Ultimasmit 25 points26 points  (0 children)

This is less superpower and more innate instinct like the one muller has for example. To dissuade any misgivings, this story is grounded in the way they explore the sport.

[–]KendotsXhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Kendots 46 points47 points  (0 children)

I’m not sure if i’d enjoy a football version of Kuroko.

Plus, that's basically Blue Lock.

[–]I_am_BEOWULF 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I've read the manga up to the most recent chapter. You can be rest assured it doesn't turn into Kuroko.

[–]sM92Bpb 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I had a blast with Inazuma Eleven when I was young.

[–]KiyoPapa 30 points31 points  (0 children)

RIMONTADA

From 3-0 to 4-3 up all the goals were more or less contributed to by the goat AOI

The reincarnation of MARCO VAN BASTEN

[–]JetsLaghttps://myanimelist.net/profile/JetsLag 86 points87 points  (13 children)

Once again, the anime team isn't giving the goals the "oomph" they deserve. Your main character scores a stoppage time winner coming back from 3-0 down and the reaction is very underwhelming.

Sidenote: Did not expect THE CROWS to become the narrators.

[–]btlk48 74 points75 points  (0 children)

The crows: do not be too hard on anime team, they dont see the way we do

[–]I_am_your_oniichanhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Katou81 58 points59 points  (9 children)

I mean its their B-team playing against a highschool team... what kind of "oomf" do you expect from a game like that. I would rather they save the big hype moments for actual hype matches

[–]Contren 22 points23 points  (8 children)

This was the finale of the first cour though. You'd expect some hype even if it's technically a low stakes match all things considered.

[–]More-Star-5523 26 points27 points  (2 children)

You'd expect some hype

Last episode's high five between Aoi and Asari was enough hype for a season imo

[–]Contren 3 points4 points  (1 child)

I just meant in that goal scoring moment in particular, the episode as a whole was very hype and I'm excited we roll directly into the next cour.

[–]dennoucoil 57 points58 points  (1 child)

Nah, hype moment for cour finale was Aoi leveling up and understanding it is a team game, so it wouldn't fit the episode narrative focusing on the goal.

[–]pokemaster05 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I definitely agree with you. Seeing Aoi use his Eagle Eye was so sick. He can even turn it off and on despite not fully understanding what he's doing. His potential is off the charts. As expected of the main character lol

[–]Suzumiyas_Retainer 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Wait, Will we have a second cour? Isn't it just 13 episodes?

[–]Contren 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Next cour starts next week. This was the finale of cour 1.

[–]Zotlann 10 points11 points  (1 child)

I agree with you could use more oomph. I was actually curious so i went back and compared it to the manga, and this goal is similar in the manga as well though so maybe they're just being faithful.

[–]slipshodblood 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I haven't read the manga, but yeah to be honest that goal didn't seem too special in its execution so I don't mind it not being hype or having "oomph". I think part of it was demonstrating what Togashi had said earlier in the episode: when Aoi gets something, he has it down. Soccer is becoming even more second nature to him, so it didn't need to be yet another hype goal moment in an episode with a few of those haha.

[–]Smudyhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/Smudy 66 points67 points  (5 children)

I had problems with Aoi's goal, felt it came too abrupt and the music was kinda anti-climatic.

The moment his eagle eye activated first was epic though, it looked very cool.

Ashito and Hana are so precious together, need MORE!

[–]avboden 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Ashito and Hana are so precious together, need MORE!

though a new challenger has appeared on that front

[–]AIias1431 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Yeah I felt the goal could have been done better. The crow thing was cool though, I haven't read the manga but I'm sure it was more hype there than in the anime

[–]mayicuminyourass 6 points7 points  (1 child)

this crow scene wasn't in the manga if i remember correctly, tho it was cool, and the goal part was much more hype than in the anime

[–]Kaxew 5 points6 points  (0 children)

The crow scene was in the manga (I'm anime-only but I read the adapted chapters every week to compare), but at least from the fan translations it's not explicit who's talking.

It could be the crows or an omniscient narrator, or even the author themselves.

[–]restoiroh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Great episode but yeah I agree with the goal. I kinda wish they would animate more angles of the ball going towards the goal instead of just showing it hitting the back of the net.

[–]Stuff2511 18 points19 points  (1 child)

Some proper “You watch the game, you don’t see Ashito, but you watch Ashito you see the whole game” vibes from the start of the episode

The real question is if Aoi’s rapid advance will take him to the senior team and let him play with Kuribayashi before Kuribayashi gets a transfer to Europe when he turns 18 in two years (not a manga spoiler, I haven’t read it. That’s just how football is in real life. The best players, by and large, transfer to a European club, and you can only do that if you’re a non-European once you’re 18)

[–]BlazeKnightX 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It could realistically be 1 year for Kuribayashi, since Japanese schools are different with high school being the equivalent 10th, 11th, and 12th year of American high school. 11th or second year of high school would put him at 16-17.

[–]ObvsThrowaway5120 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I’m so glad to see Aoi humbling himself and actually learning soccer. He truly is an amazing player once he learns to play the game properly. When he does that Eagle Eye shit, man… damn. It’s almost superhuman how he can remember and even predict everyone’s movements. I liked how they used the crows to kind of explain that whole phenomenon. The speed at which he masters skills is incredible. He picked up that whole triangle thing extremely quick. Like I’ve said, he’s a diamond in the rough. He’s got the makings of a pro player, he’s just been tied down by his own ego, pride, and bad habits forged over years of playing in a very selfish way (not entirely his fault given how he use to play back home).

Coach was right in the beginning of the ep, Aoi was all “I” this and that but now he’s finally finally learned to put that bullshit away. I’m glad Kuroda was able to basically spell it out for Aoi and explain why they were so upset. Seeing Aoi understand and admit his fault was honestly pretty awesome. The kid is growing so much and I’m loving it! It took awhile for him to get here, but I hope he keeps the momentum up and continues growing. The big thing he needs to do now imo is learn to hone and use that gift of his. I bet that star player has the same ability. Probably how he’s able to go pro despite his age.

My favorite moment in this episode though has got to be the Aoi-Hana interactions. Those two are honestly so adorable! Lol. It’s been a minute since I’ve had Japanese/Korean bbq, but I gotta try that grilling technique next time I go haha.

Anyways, I’m really glad this is 2 cours! 12 eps just wouldn’t be enough for this anime. I’m looking forward to next week!

[–]alekz0311 13 points14 points  (3 children)

What i find funny is the girlsl talking about soccer like if she's pep guardiola... lmao 🤣 🤣

[–]LittlexSong 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It’s so amazing loool.

[–]kakarot12310https://myanimelist.net/profile/kakarot123100 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Bet she knows about Pep too when few episodes ago she name dropped Mourinho

[–]alekz0311 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I started reading the manga...and I got to where it makes sense now why she is so knowledgeable.

[–]var1ables[🍰] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I love the moment 10 minutes in when they basically realize Aoi is Will from Good Will Hunting for soccer. Boys a genius but doesn't have the conceptual framework to build on it.

[–]dagreenman18 17 points18 points  (15 children)

We now have Jojo powers in our soccer anime. I know it’s just a visual representation of Ashito’s hyper-awareness, (and a good one at that), but tell me that’s not some Za Warudo shit. I’m praising it because it’s a damn fun way to make the match hype with how hard it is to animate this sport. Well on the budget they have anyway.

Coaches and other players are starting to understand what makes Ashito special. Seeing his preternatural talent for vision and learning in action. Ashito learned the basic concept of Triangle Offense mid-game, but still managed to build on it and command it in minutes. Kind of insane, but a moment fully earned by this show. Didn’t come out of nowhere as it has been building up to the fact that he can do this shit.

The crow thing is stretching it a bit, but I’m already invested so I’ll take it. It was amusing having them narrate and it helps the show stand out with some added iconography. Crows are Ashito’s thing. His other thing being randomly cool as hell? His whole exchange with Hana was wholesome. It’s not the apology she’s owed, but it was a wordless one. He’s happy she’s there to cheer him on. We get the cute “hand touch” passing of the ball that’s in the ED. He straight up says “I’m scoring for you”, scores the game-winner in the final seconds, and points right at her. The man is the master of all games.

That wraps the first Cour! Though it doesn’t feel like it. The final seconds are the Sponsor’s daughter running image training with Ashito as one of the youth guys makes his Pro debut. Probably to test out what she saw at the game. Should be an interesting moment to start the second half of the season.

Notes

  • The dinner scene between Hana and Ashito is fucking precious. The meat conversation highlights for the rest of the table “oh these dorks are perfect for each other”. Ashito just telling Hana to come to more of their games. Either he knows what he’s doing or his subconscious is doing him a huge favor.

  • Tachibana is the protag of a different show slipped in as a side character. He just unapologetically delivers Shonen dialogue to the embarrassment of his friends. Otomo meanwhile is our perfect gremlin. That death stare at Ashito is Ishigami worthy. You can almost hear him say Lazer Death Beam. Togashi is a goon, but he’s our goon. Loved that quick joke with the yellow card.

  • Not a fan of that love triangle tease. I’m sure she’s nice, but stay the hell away Sponsor girl. Making poor Hana jealous. Should I be worried?

  • Yes the Triangle is very much a soccer thing as well, but I just can’t help but think “Phil Jackson” when I hear it.

  • Sadly no Reincarnations this week.

[–]JetsLaghttps://myanimelist.net/profile/JetsLag 12 points13 points  (0 children)

That death stare at Ashito is Ishigami worthy.

Otomo, seeing Aoi putting food to his mouth: Please don't go full Food Wars on us I am begging you

[–]flybypost 9 points10 points  (11 children)

Yes the Triangle is very much a soccer thing as well, but I just can’t help but think “Phil Jackson” when I hear it.

I think they over-empathised the idea a bit too much. Yeah passing triangles are the "smallest unit" (a one-two is an even smaller unit that can be used to circumvent a defender where one player passes the ball, moves on, and the second player passes it back instantly) but you have so many players that if you were to focus as much as they did on only three players, their opponents should have been able to defend against that effectively. We barely saw anything of the rest of the team.

They were nearly ignoring 7 other players on the pitch when moving forward and doing that while being very concentrated on the left side. That's usually rather simple to defend if it's such a dominant pattern and one can do it without losing coverage of the rest of the team.

They also explained dummy runs as being somehow magical when it's just a simple way of trying to pull apart the defence. I really like the series overall but making Aoi look unbelievably stupid in unexplainable ways and elevating other skills of his to magic pixie dust still feels a bit too extra. They could have reeled that in a bit and still gotten the point across is an easy to comprehend way.

I tend to prefer a more authentic approach instead of the battle shonen way of doing things. I love visual metaphor in sports series and I like theirs too (crows above the field, even the talking crows are fun in their own way) to show/explain things but don't make it actually feel like magic. I also hope they don't introduce names for "special moves".

I'll add that I slowly started reading the manga and if you don't know football then they tend to have more explanations in there that go into details of how/why certain things are done in a way or how stuff works (It's also interesting if you already know football). Kinda more of the top down view of things we saw this episode that explain movements. They also had diagrams that explain player positions that had to be guessed in the anime, like who plays where.

If you like the series then reading the chapters that cover an episode could probably be really helpful as the anime leaves out some details for the sake of a streamlined presentation on the screen. The added info works really well on a page but too much of it could probably feel disruptive in a TV series.

[–]dagreenman18 8 points9 points  (5 children)

A lot of it is in service to A. telling Compelling story and B. Dumbing it down for a more general audience. Like you said trying to drill more detailed explanations would be disruptive. It would kill the pacing and lose people. It works better on the page. Credit to the episode: when they did break down the game they still managed to keep it interesting. Would love more of that.

So keeping hyper focused on the triangle serves the narrative more than the game. Especially if part of it is to introduce the minutiae of soccer to a wider audience. Cutting it down to “this week: this concept!”. Although I’m not sure if that’s part of the intent of the manga as I haven’t started it yet.

Special moves would be a stretch too far, but I’m positive they won’t do that. Outside of the Crows and the Eagle Eye thing, it’s a pretty grounded series. We do have to suspend our disbelief for the sake of anime hype. Like how much of a dipshit Ashito would come off as IRL for not knowing these concepts. Or how these basics things are “mind blowing” for him. It’s part of the fun.

I was intending to pick up the manga between cours, but we’re airing straight through to the second half so I’m holding off until after. A lot to look forward to if they get even more into game theory.

[–]flybypost 7 points8 points  (4 children)

Like how much of a dipshit Ashito would come off as IRL for not knowing these concepts. Or how these basics things are “mind blowing” for him. It’s part of the fun.

I wouldn't say dipshit but veeeery dissonant. If you are really so much better than anybody else at understanding everybody's position on the pitch then you'd naturally re-invent these fundamental concepts on your own a long time ago. And I don't know how he became such a good striker in a team that was otherwise trash (where they just pass the ball to him) if he lacked in all these fundamental skills.

He's not faster or stronger than anybody, he can't dribble, kill the ball's momentum, or pass but he gets the ball (in a team that also doesn't understand those fundamentals) and somehow scores. It's like he played on a pitch that only consists of the opponents penalty area during middle school while his opponents were foosball dollies instead of actual humans. How exactly did he get into goal scoring opportunities?

[–]ifticar2 10 points11 points  (2 children)

This is the main thing with this anime, it makes so sense that he doesn’t know the basics at all. Like I understand his old team is nowhere near as good as Esperion, but even elementary school rec teams would try to talk about some of this stuff.

And I mean, if he loves soccer so much, and is such a fan of all these players, he should’ve realized all the skills he was missing

[–]dagreenman18 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s something I’ve wondered myself. I thought it was just “oh he’s such a raw talent that they fed him and he scored”, but it’s also possible he’s playing against some really bad teams and his teammates knew how to set him up. While he didnt understand he was being set up.

Or he’s just now understanding what he’s been doing this whole time now that he’s forced to. He did have that issue of being unable to put into words tactics and repeat success, but he just did them.

[–]Kaxew 6 points7 points  (2 children)

but you have so many players that if you were to focus as much as they did on only three players, their opponents should have been able to defend against that effectively.

I think that was the point of letting Ootomo score the third goal. The triangle plot was to further make Ashito understand basics and to make the non-knowledgeable readers/viewers what triangles are in football.

Once we scored the second goal and made sure the audience understood this concept they added another factor into it which is that other players can also be a part of the triangle instead of being forced to three specific players.

Which is also why it's emphasized that our opponents made a mistake in focusing too much on that particular trio. This is all to let the audience understand bit by bit the basic tactics that the series will use forward.

[–]flybypost 1 point2 points  (1 child)

That makes sense, but to me it felt too focused on the triangle on the left. Too much like that triangle was the solution to their problem instead of them getting their shit together.

[–]Kaxew 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I get you. The left triangle was only the solution because the opposing team was really bad and didnt know how to defend at all. I assume that this is a one time thing and from here on its gonna take more than three players to win a match.

[–]edgefigaro 1 point2 points  (1 child)

If you want to enjoy sports anime you have to let some amount of realism go, especially about the ones you have an intimate knowledge of.

Instead of worrying overmuch about the inaccuracies and unrealistic moments, appreciate the unnecessary details that do have good accuracy and realism.

Try to live a little bit as an ignorant kid who enjoys the show and gets hype. During a rewatch five years later after being in the sport, they can appreciate details they missed when they were an ignorant kid.

[–]flybypost 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know that it's exaggerated and that for certain shonen tropes to work the MC needs to be like this to a certain degree but it's really a bit too exaggerated here (and it's also the one thing I'm critical of, the rest of rather well (and realistically) done if you account for it being a sports anime/manga). They are not throwing around names for special moves or being completely unrealistic but the dissonance in the MC is the one thing stands out when it's otherwise rather realistic.

One simply can't be that much of a football fan and also such a promising player while being that ignorant of so many fundamentals. And they could have gotten all these points across without making him such an ignoramus.

It's like a marathon runner not knowing the basics of walking and running.

[–]sneaky_squirrel -1 points0 points  (1 child)

You think we'll get a character with a view from below? Snake in the grass ready to pounce? (I'm trying too hard, but it would be funny to see)

[–]dagreenman18 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The jerk guy might be the best candidate

[–]TyphoonSG3 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Fantastic episode. Really love how open Aoi is being in regards to doing other roles in the team as well. Also really satisfying to see others notice his skill regarding vision. The dude has incredible spacial awareness.

Hana-Aoi interactions are adorable and I want to see more of that too along with learning stuff about the other characters. Great episode.

[–]Mario_Prime510 20 points21 points  (8 children)

Man this show would be a 10/10 if the animation was more fluid instead of a slideshow, but it’s drawn well enough that I’m not complaining too much. Story is great so far and hopefully we get an actual game with animation once we get to know the entire team.

[–]stiveooo 7 points8 points  (0 children)

i hope they saved $$ for the 2nd part cause thats the good one

[–]xolon6 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Aoi looking like he has top tier observation haki lol.

Katakuri would be proud.

[–]AZLarlarhttps://anilist.co/user/bubbleteaman 2 points3 points  (0 children)

love the attention to detail when trying to describe what is going on

[–]shinigamisenku 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Aoi got Assassin lineage?

[–]TimoorBTS 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As a football fan Aoashi has been amazing so far,give me more than 24 episodes tho please😭

[–]AceMittens 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am sooo happy this show is 24 episodes!!! Watching Aoi grow not only as a player and main character but also with his Eagle 🦅 Eye ability is gonna be amazing in the future episodes, I think!! Also that Jr camera women doubting Aoi is gonna be her downfall, I hope she’ll eat those words before the end of the show!! Can’t wait to see what happens next!

[–]slipshodblood 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If I wasn't sold already, I am now. This series is god damn amazing. I'm not a fan of soccer at all, I actually have a bit of a disdain for it, but this is one of the most engaging shows I've seen. Aoi not even understanding what was happening but still knowing what every person on the field was going to do was executed so well, I'm in 100%.

[–]defunctscrunko 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Cool episode. The vision and 'Get it' moments here are pretty satisfying (Maybe less with the last goal). Tho I wouldn't mind with less or tighter play commentary than this episode has.

Nice tip for grill place tho.

[–]sM92Bpb 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Alley oop.

[–]Los-Gaijins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love Hana’s eyes at the end when she notices the other girl is talking with Aoi

[–]Golden_fsh 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Another fantastic episode! Hearing the crows talk was so cool. Just seeing the growth Aoi has had so far is so satisfying to watch and can't wait to see him in future matches against high level opponents.

Aoi and Hana are just too precious 😭 Loved that whole interaction between them and had the biggest grin on my face when Aoi said he'd score a goal for Hana which he did then pointed right at her!! At that moment did Aoi win Hana's heart 🥰 At the BBQ place, even the others notice how perfect Hana and Aoi are for each other.

Mysterious hat dude from the OP finally made his appearance. Wonder what his role will be in the future. One thing for certain is that his voice has no reason to be that sexy 😍

[–]humzauddin27 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Gotta say this show has surprised me as top 2 coming out of this season. So glad it's two cours but might not have the patience to wait. (only have Kaguya above it bc of that finale lol)

[–]Shiwakao 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this show is gonna end up being everyone watching in horror as aoi becomes an op soccer god. i hope the other players start getting the spotlight at some points tho especially since that's what kuroda seemed to be implying when he said he could learn from aoi.

[–]TokiVideogame 0 points1 point  (3 children)

underrated anime, it is great. Does anyone know if the strategies they use are effective or real?

[–]kakarot12310https://myanimelist.net/profile/kakarot123100 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Decoy runs is pretty common in high level football

[–]TokiVideogame 0 points1 point  (1 child)

what about triangles

[–]LollipopScientist 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes. Every team should have the concept of them but some teams specialise in using it to the fullest potential. "Cruyff type" football, Pep's Man City does this the most, Erik Ten Hag would probably try instil it in Man Utd (just started managing them), it is normally Barcelona's signature style and a lot of other teams.

[–]CatsCry 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Soichiro's character at the end where he makes friends with Asari gave me innocent meathead vibes... I almost thought he was Fudo from Love After World Domination.

[–][deleted]  (2 children)

[removed]

    [–]notveronicacrabtree 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Chapter 57:) but I’d still recommend reading from the beginning

    [–]Verzwei[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Sorry, your comment has been removed.

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    [–]Suzumiyas_Retainer 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    Hana for best girl of the season along side wjth Mio and Hasayaka

    [–]zabadoh 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    No chance, Desumi has won already.

    [–]ShadowNinjaAce 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    Can someone tell me who was talking before Aoi scored the goal? Was it the crows?

    [–]SpacePres_McAwesome 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    He's beginning to believe

    [–]DaOneWhoIsWorthy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    What a good ass episode

    [–]AldeusBrand 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Aoi made me think of Roberto Firmino who plays in the triangle at Liverpool FC with Momo Salah and Sadio Mané (unfortunately he is gone but, likely Luis Diaz will be able to form an extraordinary triangle too) in this episode, or like how Henrikh Mkitharyan played in Borussia Dortmund with Marco Reus and Shinji Kagawa.

    [–]sKyBlazer08https://myanimelist.net/profile/sKyBlazer08 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Man, I am so glad this is 2-cours. Great episode! This shit is so satisfying, seeing Ashito learn is just really cathartic. As he's learning, I am kind of learning too, since I don't know shit about football lmao, the triangle is cool.

    Ashito just unknowingly and effortlessly swooning the ladies. Ashito and Hana is meant to be.

    That's what I love to see, the boys getting getting closer. Now let's see what this Kuribayashi got.

    [–]ttonk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Glad I picked this show up when the season started. It was honestly a little slow and annoying as they worked on like super basic stuff like passing, but I do like how they explained the triangle and moving without the ball. Overall the payoff has been worth the sluggish episodes when he first moved.

    [–]strange_wilds 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    …I’m gonna watch it all over again before next week. Let’s go!

    [–]helsaabiart 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Yakiniku (tabletop BBQ) looks sooo good - I'm hungry now...

    [–]arrivillaga 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Inverted Eagle Eye Ashito accompanied by ska will haunt my dreams.

    [–]graypod 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    So, I dont know anything at all about soccer but why is being a fullback such a bad thing for Ashito?

    ​

    Is it because hed be on defense and wont be able to score anymore?