PoT2 ep 02

I'm fighting the urge to review this episode by screencap. PoT2 crack is already like PoT crack on steroids. So much for character development or any semblance of realism in the gameplay. By my dictionary, PoT2 is not a sports anime; it is fantasy.

Of course, this does not mean it is not entertaining.

I wanted to start the post with a screencap of Fuji to fulfill my role as a squealing fangirl, but this just can not be overlooked. Momoshiro is the first middle schooler up and his opponent is the 5th court's Oni. I would just like to point out that Oni actually has a mouth full of canines. I bet you he special ordered sets of dentures made with only canines and that he eats little misbehaving little children as they sleep. If you think his teeth are eccentric, check out his racquet. This boy (Yes, boy; Despite his demonic man-ish looks, Oni is but a high schooler.) is made of so much arrogance that he is a power player with a two-stringed racquet. His arrogance is probably so viscous and tenacious that it makes up for the massive holes in his poorly stung racquet. Either that, or the two strings are made of some very dull, very tough material to be able to sustain his power playing style but keep from slicing the ball as he power smashes it around powerfully.

To be clear, one metric ton is 1000 kg or 2,205 lbs. Not impossible but not all that commonplace either. In addition, Oni is also very fast and agile. He seems to be the ideal athlete - strong, fast, agile. If he had a better manager, he'd probably not be in this U-17 world. One thing that doesn't make sense to me is his title. He is the Gatekeeper of Hell, explained as the person who uses his inhuman power to stop anyone from rising past him. By this definition, hell is implicitly defined as courts 1 - 4. But later, Oni himself tells Momoshiro to know his place and go back to hell. This implies that hell is court 16, or in that neighbourhood. I prefer the first definition, partially because I find it amusing to imagine Oni chewing up these little middle schoolers (and he does literally dwarf them) with his many canines and spitting them back towards the lowbie courts. It's true, I'm a sadist.

Momo struggles and Echizen is surprised. The first hints of bromance/BL/whatever your flavour is. Of course, it's difficult to fight back against a power player that is twice your size and returns your ace move easily with a demonized version of your ace move. Yes, that's right... one of Oni's moves is a Black Jack Knife. The rhymes make me smile. The fact that Oni can make the tennis ball glow a black-red by smashing it with a two-stringed racquet makes me smile more.

Despite injuring his wrists trying to return the Black Jack Knife, Momo perseveres. All of Seigaku, minus Tezuka of course, call for Momo to stop his obstinate foolhardyness. Unfortunately, Momo is a bad boy who does not really listen to his mentors. (I think he should be punished like the bad, bad boy he is.)

In the end, although Momo loses, he impresses Oni by breaking his racquet. I do insist that breaking Oni's racquet is not a magnificent feat since the few strings he has must receive more wear-and-tear than the many strings on normal racquets. But apparently, this is abnormal for Oni. He grumbles some words of macho recognition and encouragement and walks off. The machismo of this series is off the charts.

The latter part of the episode is spent building "suspense" for the double cliffhanger that punctuates it. The middle schoolers are told to pair up for a mental training exercise and Kaidoh asks Tezuka out on a date while Fuji rekindles his flame with Yuuta. Inui draws the short straw that is Mizuki nfu. In the meanwhile Echizen and Kansai Echizen begin a doubles match against a pair of high schoolers in their quest for Tokugawa. We shall soon get a glimpse of the oppressive aura of court 1. But before that, I can't wait to see which way the crack balls bounce in the next episode.

/envy

PoT2 ep 01- Re-enter the Kingdom of Pot

If you are expecting an objective review, I guess it is only fair to caution you early rather than waste you time. The following words (and screencaps) will probably be the happy marriage of the squealings of a long lost fangirl and the mocking of a weathered cynic. I quite liked the first half of the first season of the Print of Tennis (herein PoT) and then it just exponentially degenerated in quality because most of the important characters were introduced and well developed, and the tennis just became ridiculous. My hope for PoT2 is that they pace the development (if it can be called that) of the characters better so that they're not relying on ridiculous tennis in even more ridiculous matches in a desperation to maintain reader interest. There is such a thing as too much crack and PoT definitely went deep into that territory. Hopefully, PoT2 shall learn moderation.

Obviously, the first and foremost will be Fuji~!

So far, I can't tell how shallow or deep PoT2 will be. (Well, I know from reading a few chapters of the manga many a year ago, but it seems unfair to judge the anime series on the manga's traits.) This episode was basically a recap of the Seigaku characters and the return of Echizen, without whom the series would not be about the Prince of Tennis. The Minions of Tennis doesn't have the same allure to it, now does it?

Of course not. After all, his wif-- uh comrade is challenging him to prove himself. He needs to save face.

I felt slight shock (read: jaw-dropping surprise) when Fuji's first solo screen presence had him with his eyes open. Although there has been enough time since PoT to erode my dull memory, I seem to recall that Fuji opening his eyes insinuated the wrath of God himself plummeting towards his opponent(s) in form of violent lightning. I was slightly annoyed that PoT2 has taken liberties with these character quirks. In fact, it's not just Fuji, most of the Seigaku characters (And had the other characters gotten any screen time, I surmise the same fate would have awaited them.) wildly exaggerate their PoT quirks in PoT2. Echizen is probably the worst offender, followed by Eiji.

Our little Ryoma is all grown-up and manly and biker-like nao~

Take the opening scene for example: Echizen needs to catch a train and he's running late. Instead of running down the stairs, realizing that it is inevitable that he miss this train and then patiently wait for the next one (like a normal human, might I point out), he serves a tennis ball towards the station master (Considering this is set in NYC metro, I'm certain they are past the concept of station masters in this generation.) so that he can't blow the whistle on time. Then he leaps from the stairs and hurls his tennis racket at the closing doors. The racket reaches the doors perfectly in time to hold them open and Echizen performs (And yes, I mean performs.) a running slide to make his way into the compartment, grabbing his racket as he slides by it. It is, by every definition of the word, excess and the New Yorkers on the metro love him and shower him with applause for it. What an snide jab at America for being a country in love with unnecessary excess. I was momentarily amused. Nonetheless, Echizen's suave coolness is much too exaggerated for my liking. I like the child appropriate personality he had in PoT.

He didn't even put his rackets down before climbing that tiny pole!!! o.o;

Likewise, Eiji takes his circus act to the next level by climbing security camera poles and unnecessarily flipping around for needless showmanship. To be an apt half of the Golden Pair, Oishi's is promoted from a worrying, doting mother hen to a slightly more obnoxious and loud helicopter parent. As I've said many times, the character eccentricities from PoT are amplified. I don't know why it annoys me when I half expected it, but I think I've deluded myself into believing that the more I whine the easier it will be to deal with while watching subsequent episodes.

Tokugawa Kanata - He who strikes fear in the heart of Echizens everywhere. Yeah, that's right - fear.

Of importance are three new characters: Oni Jujiro, Irie Kanata and Tokugawa Kazuya. Based on the court system used to rank them, they are listed in reverse order of skill. Irie seems to be the Fuji/Jiroh-like character of this series while Tokugawa seems to fill the purpose of the Tezuka/Yukimura-like character. So far, there has been nothing much to fangirl over, except perhaps the fleeting glimpse you may get of your favorite(s) from PoT. PoT2 is shaping up to be a show of aggravating frustration and OMGWTFBBQ, which you will occasionally find yourself laughing with or more than likely laughing at. T - 6 for ep 2.

Lastly: what could you possibly be doing in a tennis match that you get flung against the court wall?

/envy