Am I reverting back to my obsessive anime ways?
Let me rave about Prince of Tennis. I will be brief though. I need only emphasize four main points.
Mada Mada Dane
TEZUKA! The insanely cautious captain of Seigaku is the tennis god of this series. Everybody and I mean, everybody looks up to him. Seigaku regulars, sports journalists, onlookers, even his opponents. Despite a broken elbow that unfailingly hinders him from displaying his true potential, he was able to amass such a reputation. He had to go to Germany to fix his ailment and so everyone had to endure a tremendous wait for his return. Seriously, it was like the Jews waiting for their Messiah to appear. He did go back, at one point, to act as coach for the Invitational Camp when Ryuzaki fell sick. Naturally, some of the members doubted his skill as coach since he is only a junior high school student. In order to prove otherwise, he was forced to have a match with all the doubting Peters in his team. Oishi tried to insist on stopping the match because his elbow has not yet fully healed at that time. However, Tezuka told him that the doctor allowed him to have matches if he only returned balls with light swings. You could imagine how indignant his opponent was. He was invited as a player for the camp. How could Tezuka possibly win against him if he kept using light swings? Of course, Tezuka proved everybody wrong in the end. All the non-believers gave up on their match the moment Tezuka scored a point.
Tezuka is the only one who could motivate the aces of Rikkaidai and Hyotei to battle it out just to prove who is his rightful rival. Can you imagine inventing new techniques, developing your stamina, swinging your racket a hundred times, running ten or more laps, and having practice matches daily just so you could reserve the right to fight with someone else?
And who else but a deity could induce Sanada to sing Wonderful Days, a boyband song, in front of an audience in a welcome back party, and Atobe to oblige a request that required him to lower his overbearing ego to train a regular which defeated his team? Nobody else but our bespectacled straight-faced green-haired Seigaku captain. The real pillar of support, in my opinion.
Somebody build a monument for this guy.
FUJI-baby! The most adorable tennis prodigy ever to be created in the two dimensional realm. The man of smiles and calm exterior. The man who rarely shows weightiness and true potential yet manages to win. The man able to withstand the toxicity of Inui juice. The man angered by threats to his friends and family, most especially to his younger brother, Yuuta. The man who looks stunning in a red dress and hat. My description for Fuji might comparatively short but thats because Fuji-baby is just too cute for words.
If you are a close friend of mine, you should have seen this coming... TEZUKA/FUJI! It's incredibly blatant! From the very first time I watched Prince of Tennis, I knew this pairing existed and would blossom into one of those which I would include to my to-die-for-pairings list. They are so suited for each other, the tennis prodigy and the tennis god. I loved their showdown! I had to call Niki up so I could obsess with her. Lots of pretty flashbacks showcasing their alone moments in the locker room, on their way home, and in the tennis court.
Fuji actually got mad at Tezuka in their first year when he agreed on having a match with him when he knew his wrist was injured. Tezuka even apologized to Fuji for his behavior. Allow me to repeat that. Tezuka apologized to Fuji. That was the only instance you will see Tezuka saying sorry to anyone. In turn, it was only Tezuka who was able to bring out the Fuji's full potential in a tennis game. That is true love. Oh, and hello? Fuji was the first person Tezuka told his decision to go to Germany to. See, they exemplified the rule that couples should tell everything to their better half.
The chibi episodes were so precious to me. The cowboy one was a gift from heaven. Fuji in a fluffy red dress, and Tezuka with his Matrix maneuvers. They were like Bonnie and Clyde. Fuji, the Gunman's accomplice, came to be rescued by Tezuka, the sought for Gunman. The Tenpuri one was also adorable. Tezuka as grandfather and Fuji as grandmother. Fuji actually called Tezuka "sweetheart" there! So endearing.
Did you notice the airplane flying around during Fuji and Kirihara's fight? It was like a hint in a bright blinking yellow lights screaming "Tezuka is my source of inspiration and strength! He is what keeps me going on despite my knee injury!" Tachibana, you flirt! You are nothing more than a fling! Know your place! You can never surpass the god and lover that is Tezuka!
Finally, the ENDING SUCKS. I was so frustrated after watching the final episode. It even dampened my good mood after watching the Fuji vs. Tezuka fight. See how evil it is? It was completely obvious that Ryoma only beat Tezuka because he was the lead character. They didn't even show the details of the game! I mean, usually, a match would span two or three episodes because they would show how shots would defeat techniques which would cause a player to grasp triumph in a game. But in that fight, Ryoma just kept on delivering the ball. They barely showed Tezuka receiving them. This leads to a very sound conclusion. It is NOT possible for Tezuka to lose. Animators could not find a logical way for Ryoma to defeat Tezuka but they had to let him win because producers say that's how the ending is supposed to be. So they came up with a crappy episode which showed Ryoma's victory without any explanation on how it occurred.
Did I say I was going to be brief?
Things I Heart About Bleach List
I heart Ichimaru Gin and Rangiku Matsumoto! Grabe, kapag wala silang love scene, magwawala ako. Tell me those boobs aren't there for nothing. I miss seeing Gin after whole filler arc with those Bounto. I missed his foxy smile and the way he lets Rangiku have her way. For instance...
Gin: Are you sure you wanna dodge that?
Hitsugaya: Hinamori!
Rangiku intercepts Gin's Zanpakutou
Rangiku: If you continue to fight, then I will be your opponent from here on
Gin leaves
Gin sees Aizen get cornered by Soi Fon and Yoruichi
Gin: What should I do?
Rangiku grabs hold of Gin's wrist
Gin: I've been caught
A dialogue ensues about Aizen's seeming helplessness
A beam of light (forgot what it was called) transports Aizen and his subordinates to Hueco Mundo
Gin: If only you had held on to me a bit longer... I'm sorry
I love them. That is my major pairing for Bleach. My minor ones include Ichigo/Rukia/Renji, Ishida/Nemu, Byakuya/Ukitake, Kyouraku/Ukitake, etc. I love to mix and match.
I heart Kuchiki Byakuya because he is:
1) an aristocrat
2) rich (a corollary of reason #1)
3) insanely powerful (I love his lethal sakura blossoms)
4) a big brother (made me go aw to the nth degree when he got pierced by Gin's Zanpakutou after saving Rukia and when he went after Kariya after on of his subordinates tried to kill Rukia)
5) damn hot
I heart Hitsugaya Toushirou. The kid prodigy who snatched one of the craved for captain titles without having any formal Shinigami training. He is such a hot guy when in casual clothes. I love his devotion to Hinamori but I do not want Hinamori to end up with him. That weak spirited brat should have nothing to do with him.
I heart Urahara Kisuke. The former 12th squad captain and founder of the Bureau of Technology who achieved Bankai in three days and claims to be a "handsome innocent store keeper". Very cute when he dons his striped green hat. Very hot when shown with his white captain coat. A genius.
I heart Shohouin Yoruichi. The former Commander of the Secret Mobile Corps and 2nd squad captain who is able to shift from a cat to naked woman form. The reigning and unbeatable Goddess of Flash despite eluding combat for a century.
Generally, I just heart all the Shinigamis because each of them have their own unique skills and personality. Their wacky antics never fail to amuse me.
I even heart Quincy dude, Ishida, but I heart Daddy Ishida even more. Especially so when he told his son the reason why he gave up his Quincy powers... They don't make money. There is capitalism in the spiritual realm!
I even heart the minor characters such as Jinta, Ururu, Yuzu, Karin, Kon, Nova (whose gigai is unusually hot) etc. Filler episodes about them don't become boring because they have their own humor. Makes it still very fun to watch.
Maybe this list would have been shorter if I just enumerated the things I don't like. Let me be precise. The person I don't like. Yes, note the singularity.
I despise Orihime Inoue. I have mentioned this before and I will do so again. Die, die, die. The biggest mistake Bleach animators could ever commit is to make her end up with Ichigo. That would be outrageous! As outrageous as the kind of reasoning the 21,000 had when they voted for Victor Wood. As outrageous as pickled fish and asparagus served with parfait. As outrageous as the thought of me becoming a vegetarian. As outrageous as Niki Razon's "flattening bra". Okay, now I've proved my point.
And there is also Death Note
I love the intellectual battle between Yagami Light and L. It's like they have each other by the neck so they are forced to really think of a plan to outsmart each other. The clever schemes... Not to mention the yaoi. Never fails to light up my bulb. It gets dreary after L dies, though. It was him who pushed Light to really think. In my opinion, Near and Mellow, L's successors, are not much of a challenge for Light. Aside from that, L provides all the dry humor.
L: Thanks for showing me this place.
Light: And nobody's going to be staring at you for sitting like that.
L: I just can not sit any other way than this. If I sit the way other people do, my reasoning ability drops by forty percent.
Light (to his father): I swore that if anything happened to you, I'd make sure Kira got the death penalty
L: (thinking) It's hard to believe this is just an act. I mean, if it is an act, it's just way too corny.
Misa: Why do you like eating sweets? They make you fat.
L: If you use your head, then you won't get fat even if you eat sweets.
Matsuda: Ryuuzaki, is there anything else I can do to help? Besides the manager job?
L: You want to be useful?
Matsuda: Yes!
L: Then go get me some coffee.
And of course, his killer line: I am L. Woooooh!
Also, evil Light is hot.
The return to my manga downloading habits. I should stop myself before I blow up my laptop to tiny pieces. The poor thing is so overused. Remaining Memory: 10 GB. *sigh* I must really buy myself an external memory. Problem is, it's way too expensive and my money keeps going doooown the drain.
Currently listening to: Kaskade - It's You, It's Me
Currently reading: Bleach
Currently feeling: accomplished
