Review – Giant Killing

Prior to the premiere of Giant Killing, I had never watched a sports anime in my life.  I couldn’t even remember the last time I had seriously sat down and watched a sport.  I used to watch basketball a lot.  I remember rooting for the Bulls, who were my home team mind you, and then after them the Lakers.  At some point, I simply lost interest in sports altogether.  I have certainly never watched a game of football.  So, not only does this series serve as a gateway to an entire genre of anime for me, but also an introduction to soccer and a reintroduction to sports in general.  I am far out of my element and easily the outsider in the viewer pool.

This is me at the start of this series.

Giant Killing 25 – Determination

I didn’t expect the game to wrap up in this episode, but it certainly made for some exciting action.  I enjoyed how they set up this game as the end result for all the framing they set up throughout the series.  Every character got spotlighted for a while in individual games.  The game against Osaka serves to tie all these individual threads together.  No one player shined too brightly; instead, everyone had their moments with all the focus on themselves.  They’ve advanced from a motley crew of novice and experienced players to a real team determined to seize victory.

Yeah, this is my new wallpaper.

Giant Killing 24 – Frustration

Well my predictions for the rest of this series have officially gone out the window.  Of course, I don’t see this as a terrible thing, because it means Giant Killing has still kept me guessing about how exactly ETU will tackle the Osaka problem.  Last week, they had managed to shake the focus of Dulfer’s players.  Now the team continues to devolve into frustration toward their current situation.  Tatsumi and his team have managed to play a large quantity of the players for fools, and as expected, they are none too happy about it.

Good job Akasaki, you finally went the distance!

Giant Killing 23 – Stay Focused

ETU has managed to get their defensive line into the game, locking down the Osaka offense as best they possibly can.  The midfield has stepped up the game as well.  However, you must have all three links in the chain to pull off a good play.  Tatumi’s right, a striker is just another player, and any player can score a goal.  Even the goalie could potentially run the length of the field in a desperate attempt to win the game.  It’s their position near the goal which makes a difference.  Right now, ETU can’t make a play because Natsuki has broken the chain.  Of course, Osaka can just as easily break their own chain.

Inconceivable!

Giant Killing 22 – Reverse Momentum

Alright, so the game still isn’t over yet.  ETU didn’t keep a tight ship for the first half, but neither did they suffer a tremendous shutout as happened to Osaka’s previous opponent.  Now they have a little time to get in each other’s faces and mentally work out their problems before advancing to the second half.  They can definitely play the game with the setup they have now, they just need to fix the mistakes in their playing styles.  Some players manage to make good progress in this episode, but one still sticks out like a sore thumb.

Yes, Natsuki, we're all looking at you.

Giant Killing 21 – It’s Not Over Yet!

Last week, some guy named Hauer on the Osaka side of the game scored a point.  Honestly, Osaka scoring is something we should expect.  They’ve spent the last few episodes emphasizing the strength of their offensive play.  If they didn’t manage to score, and in short order, I know we’d all criticize this arc for its ridiculous game play.  Thus, Hauer scoring a goal is nothing out of the ordinary.  Instead, what I find odd is how everyone suddenly starts condemning ETU and claiming the game has already ended.

Hey, could you turn down the smug a little? Thanks.

Giant Killing 20 – Sunken Rice Paddy

I could foolishly attempt to analyze the play of this game, but as I’m not well versed in football, it’d ultimately be futile.  I instead direct you over to Emperor J’s coverage of the episode for a more thorough look at the tactics.  Instead, I’m going to focus on a single character aspect of the episode.  I imagine you’re wondering what on earth a sunken rice paddy has to do with a sports anime.  It turns out it’s time for another etymology lesson, this time revolving around Kubota.

Yeah, that's right. This vapid dude.

Giant Killing 19 – Pre-Game Matchups

I intended to write this post yesterday but I didn’t even managed to download the episode until last night.  Some friends of mine were hosting a Final Fantasy marathon and their FFV player backed out.  So, I learned the speedrun in a single night and then spent all day yesterday attempting it.  Anyway, I also intended to see a game actually start in this episode, but I didn’t get that either.  Instead, I got another episode of buildup to what I imagine will close out the rest of the series.  They simply don’t have enough time to work in another conflict in five episodes.  With all my personal commentary out of the way, let’s talk about the actual episode.

I also didn't expect this ridiculous perspective.

Giant Killing 18 – Unity

I’ve never watched an actual game of soccer in my life.  I’ve spent most of this series looking at character interactions and development, rather than the tactics and strategy of the game.  There’s still a lot of characterization in episode 18, but I’m also going to give you my armchair predictions for next week’s match.  I have a feeling the match against Osaka will play in the same extended format as Nagoya.  It’d be good to get my thoughts down in writing before we go into another big game.

Alright, you've got our attention.

Giant Killing 17 – Power Struggle

I sprained my ankle one time.  If you’ve never done it before, I’ll tell you right now moving around is no fun at all.  You want to sit so you don’t have to deal with it, but then you want to get up because you don’t want to sit all day.  I can’t even imagine how restless Sera’s minor injury makes him.  Actually, I can, because we get a front row seat to his head for most of the episode.  By the end, it looks like he and everyone else is looking at the positive side of things for ETU.  Everyone except Tatsumi.

Dude, you're interrupting my mid-game brood.