Having felt inferior to his brother, Aizawa Kakeru decides to be his school soccer team’s manager which his brother is on. He constantly tries to reassure himself that he wants to be his brother’s helper by being his trainer/manager. However Suguru is not pleased and only grows frustrated that Kakeru is sacrificing his passion for soccer because he’s too afraid to play on the same field as his brother and is running away. Suguru decides to force Kakeru into a practice match in attempt to reveal his true colours.
First Impression:
I’m lacking imagination for today’s title okay?!
Okay, I’m pretty damn sure i’ve read the manga some time ago. The whole scenario of this game going to be his brother’s last is starting to click some forgotten memories and facing deja vu moments. I’ll have to check it out- but I’m almost afraid to because that would be spoiling myself because I don’t remember it clearly, but for the sake of comparison I probably should so that I make sure I’m not comparing it with the wrong manga.
If it turns out that I have read the manga before, then I should definitely be able to cover this series. I love soccer, the way Kakeru summarizes his passion about the sport is very much how I would put it into words myself. The animation is really nice and crisp for the movements. I haven’t watched Giant Killing yet, so this will be my first soccer anime I’ve watched Wild Hungry Heart Striker (like I think two, three years ago).
It’s pretty common for sports animes/mangas with a plot involving the elder brother being famous and the conflict the younger brother faces, such as feeling inferior and worries about the comparison between the two of them. Kakeru ran away and became a manager because lets face it, he was too much of a chicken to play in front of anyone alongside his brother. As result, Suguru is super pissed off because he wants to be able to play with little brother and don’t want him to hold back.
Another thing that caught my attention was the brief flashback, or whatver it was while Kakeru was playing against Alien. I think there’s something more to it about Kakeru not being able to use his left foot. It’s not just a weakness, he just can’t use it perhaps because of an accident.
As for Alien, at first I thought maybe it was Nana/Seven, but it appears that it might not her after all since she was confused about what Suguru was referring to when he told Kakeru that he is hiding his true self (and I think it is referring to his passion towards soccer and his true abilities).
Overall, I liked how the episode felt long enough that I actually checked thinking to myself it was 45mins for some odd reason. They covered a lot of ground and really pressing the plot forward. I like that they are cutting to the chase and bringing in the drama and conflicts right off the bat. I mean, not every show starts that way, so for me this is a good thing.
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