I... don't even know what to say. When you first mentioned Eyeshield 21, I looked at the pictures, but passed it by. Cause, you know, I *don't* read sports manga. Especially not about football. And then you posted this, and Hiruma caught my attention, and I though well, why not? and downloaded it. But I couldn't bring myself to read it, because, well, football! It sat on my desktop, mocking me, for days. And then two days ago I was really bored, and I thought I should give it a try. So I started a couple chapters, and got into it a little bit, but I didn't like the characters all that much, except for Hiruma. Then I read a bit more, and started to like it a bit more. Sena started to grow on me, especially when he realized that he liked to play. And Hiruma, well, he just stole my heart. And so I kept reading. And before I knew it, I was rapidly going through the chapters, cheering when they succeeded, pumping my fist in the air. I was totally caught. And as the chapters I had got smaller and smaller, I realized that this couldn't end soon, so there had to be more. Downloading at the same time that I read, this morning I finally got to the end of chapter 204. And I want more! I want to read the next game, the big showdown between Shin and Sena!
There's so much to love in this, I can't believe you could keep it to just 21. I loved *every* game, holding my breath as the tension grew tighter with each page. The problem was, I liked the other teams so much that I didn't want anyone to lose! Except for Shinryuugi. Agon needed to lose, badly. But the others... the White Knights, the Sphinx, the NASA Aliens, the Gunmen, the Chameleons, the Poseidons (who are so gorgeous, and Kakei & Mizumachi are *so* a couple), am I missing any? They're just so determined, and they force the Devilbats to become the best they can be.
And Hiruma... there's so much to say about him that I can't say anything at all. He's got to be the most brilliant character I've ever seen in any manga. He's so gorgeous, and dead sexy, and so violent, and just the best strategist ever. He's soft in his own way, but so hard on everyone when they need it, and he's just so *good* at getting them to do what needs to be done. He's just *amazing*. (And sexy!)
So thank you for suggesting this, I've really enjoyed it! I think one of the things that really attracts me to it is the fact that they're playing for the love of the game. It isn't about the money, or the fame, not for most of them. It's about their love of football, and for the elite like Sena and Shin and Panther and Riku, it's about being the best. Bleach is a current obsession, and I realized that Eyeshield 21 was hitting the same vibe with me. It took me awhile to realize why, but then it came to me that most of the characters have the same qualities that make me love Ichigo so much: because they're determined to better themselves, to get more powerful, and to keep pressing towards that goal with willpower even when the physical body wants to fail. Such awesomeness.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
winterfish
no subject
Date: 2006-10-11 02:03 am (UTC)There's so much to love in this, I can't believe you could keep it to just 21. I loved *every* game, holding my breath as the tension grew tighter with each page. The problem was, I liked the other teams so much that I didn't want anyone to lose! Except for Shinryuugi. Agon needed to lose, badly. But the others... the White Knights, the Sphinx, the NASA Aliens, the Gunmen, the Chameleons, the Poseidons (who are so gorgeous, and Kakei & Mizumachi are *so* a couple), am I missing any? They're just so determined, and they force the Devilbats to become the best they can be.
And Hiruma... there's so much to say about him that I can't say anything at all. He's got to be the most brilliant character I've ever seen in any manga. He's so gorgeous, and dead sexy, and so violent, and just the best strategist ever. He's soft in his own way, but so hard on everyone when they need it, and he's just so *good* at getting them to do what needs to be done. He's just *amazing*. (And sexy!)
So thank you for suggesting this, I've really enjoyed it! I think one of the things that really attracts me to it is the fact that they're playing for the love of the game. It isn't about the money, or the fame, not for most of them. It's about their love of football, and for the elite like Sena and Shin and Panther and Riku, it's about being the best. Bleach is a current obsession, and I realized that Eyeshield 21 was hitting the same vibe with me. It took me awhile to realize why, but then it came to me that most of the characters have the same qualities that make me love Ichigo so much: because they're determined to better themselves, to get more powerful, and to keep pressing towards that goal with willpower even when the physical body wants to fail. Such awesomeness.
I love this manga!