The mismatched couple in this cast might be actually be the most observant facet of BAMBOO BLADE’s tapestry - - especially now that we’re seeing how possessive the girl is.
Man… as cute and heartwarming as it is to see a relationship like this in a certain context, I’ve got to say that few things in this world are as deeply aggravating as being on the periphery of one of these in real life. That is, wanting to get with some girl and finding out that her boyfriend is a total loser. The coach’s whole 3:7 or 8:2 inverse scale rant in the first episode might honestly be the key to unlock this particular skirmish in the battle of the sexes, but I’m not going to push the topic any further lest this turn into one bitter diatribe about dating. Haha…
So, I’ll focus on another topic instead! One that’s maybe just as personably relatable, but not as acidic. I think part of the reason I have such a soft spot for sports stories is that the feel of any one title will change considerably depending on what stage of life you’re at whilst watching it. At one point, you’ll identify with the players, at another point you’ll identify with the coach, at another point you might identify with the parents of the players… and so on.
Having gotten a little more managerial experience lately, I’m presently focused on the coach and finding a lot of truth in how he’s really just making this up as he goes along and basically trying to recall what his old teachers would’ve done. Your mentors can seem like these confident and collected superhumans when you’re a kid. Then a few years go on and you get some perspective on how they were often just as unsure of themselves as you were. In college, it always made me laugh whenever I saw friends in the School of Education using Spark Notes and other cheat sheets when they were studying for exams. I’d tell them, “I’m not judging, but I just want to make sure you at least appreciate the irony of the situation.”
See, a simple sports show about a high school kendo team can actually be quite thought provoking.
Watch this episode, "Black and Blue” below and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.
Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk
That's some great irony right there.
The worse kind of coaches to me are the ones that don't seem like they can do anything they are coaching others to do. I am not sure how many football coaches are former football players, but seeing the obese football coaches often makes me wonder how much the coach actually contributes.
@Lurkero: Well, you'll be surprised as to how this show covers that one scenario rather well.
: It seems as though you're enjoying the show so far. However, I remembered you didn't like chibi so much in the past. If that's still an issue for you, then get ready for loads of the stuff from here on out. It appears in about 50% of the scenes in each episode.
As for me, I've been enjoying the English dub a ton. The jokes just seem to play off better in English for me. This was especially the case with Ouran High School Host Club, Desert Punk, and my favorite anime, Welcome to the NHK. I honestly haven't laughed so hard at an anime since Ouran, either.
@Rxanadu said:
And the dub vs. sub debate endures!
@Rxanadu said:
I didn't like chibi popping to kill the mood of so many somber moments in FMA:B, yeah.... but it can work in full-out comedy shows. It's just so out of place as a comic relief.