GK 23 IS HERE~!
So TECHNICALLY it has been here for a couple of days, but I am just now (yes at gone 4am shut up) posting about it. It arrived after a long day at work and was just what I needed BUT OH GOD I NEED THE NEXT VOLUME WHY DID IT HAVE TO STOP THERE. I stopped looking for raws after my copy arrived but I don't think any have turned up yet. I'm not going to scan it because I can't bear to ruin the book, but I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of it JUST BECAUSE. There are a few of the cover/inside flap/sticker but anything featuring manga content is going to be spoiler cut so choose to click or not click at your discretion.
I loved this volume. I could say that about any GK volume, but this one seemed to stand out to me (and I say that despite being someone who can't read Japanese; but the flow of the game and the art and the composition is so well put together, perhaps as a consequence of being a volume entirely concerned with a single game BUT WHATEVER THIS VOLUME IS AMAZING). I adore ETU because they have so much heart to them, and it really shows here. This volume is also great for anyone who likes Tsubaki even half as much as I do, and also Kang is cute and Hachiya is HACHIYA and I shouldn't laugh but I think Hoshino is in need of some anger management and needs to stop looking like he's capable of murder when it doesn't all go his way (as always so many interesting characters to notice on the other team).
OKAY NOW FOR THE PICTURES~
These are the non-spoilery ones (unless you count revealing the free sticker and the comment Pakka makes on the inside flap as spoilers).
AHHH HERE IT IS.
Being able to come home from work and have this in my hands was THE BEST.
Okay I KNOW I'm not the only one to find Pakka vaguely creepy. There is enough fanart on Pixiv of him molesting the ETU players for me to be sure that it's not just me. Sometimes I forget that it must be a man in a mascot suit... I mean, Pakka is just PAKKA.
THE STICKER.
I tried to run the Twitter hint about what it was through an online translator before the book actually arrived, and got some garbled sentence about a man standing in the doorway or something? Needless to say, I didn't have a clue what it would be. But it's marginally better than the last one, if only because I have a soft spot for goalkeepers (...ETU goalkeepers).
OKAY and now for some spoilers.
I didn't take many pictures but I can do more if anyone's curious or wants to see a certain character.
OKAY PICTURES CONTAINING SPOILERS ARE UNDER HERE [+]
TSUBAKI WHAT A GOAL
I FELT SO DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY WHEN I SAW HIM MANAGE TO SEND THAT INTO THE NET
(OKAY SO I SPENT MOST OF THIS VOLUME JUST FLAILING OVER TSUBAKI, SO WHAT?)
Tsubaki has been amazing to watch in this game. I love seeing him matched up against teams/opponents he has faced before because it really shows how far he has come. I look back at how he was at the start of the series and it's impossible not to feel proud (proud of a fictional character whose successes and failures I hold no influence over but the sentiment is there nonetheless). He is so adorable I can barely cope!
OKAY SO SERA
YOU NOT ONLY JUMPED ONTO GINO'S BACK IN THIS VOLUME/GAME BUT ALSO GOT TSUBAKI AS WELL?
Sera and Tsubaki as a ship holds no real appeal for me, but I always love celebration scenes (and Sera behaving like a human limpet made me LOL) AND ALSO HAIR RUFFLING (OR IS IT A SUPER-ENTHUSIASTIC HEAD PAT?) I MIGHT DIE. KEEP AT IT ETU.
ALSO IT'S RAINING AND I LIKE SEEING THEM GET RAINED ON.
(I was going to say that this volume could have done with twice as much half-time shirtlessness as it had, but to be honest it would feel really weird to me if GK were to include that kind of content just for the sake of it.)
YEAH DEFINITELY ANGER MANAGEMENT IS NEEDED
I actually like how a character like this who seems breezy and easygoing at first is hiding such a nasty streak but you just can't see it because he's SO GOOD AT WHAT HE DOES. It surprised me when it was first revealed but I think it's an interesting facet to his character.
HNNGH TATSUMI
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING BUT I WOULD
(OKAY so this was less of a coherent review and more like just excitement but never mind!)
(I actually watched some real football today, BE PROUD OF ME)
ANYWAY I NEED VOLUME 24 IN MY LIFE AND I CAN'T WAIT 2 MONTHS OR HOWEVER LONG IT IS.
BRING ON THE SAKAI VS HOSHINO SHOWDOWN.
(I didn't mean to have a lack of updates for 2 weeks.
I'll try to post more regularly again!)
I loved this volume. I could say that about any GK volume, but this one seemed to stand out to me (and I say that despite being someone who can't read Japanese; but the flow of the game and the art and the composition is so well put together, perhaps as a consequence of being a volume entirely concerned with a single game BUT WHATEVER THIS VOLUME IS AMAZING). I adore ETU because they have so much heart to them, and it really shows here. This volume is also great for anyone who likes Tsubaki even half as much as I do, and also Kang is cute and Hachiya is HACHIYA and I shouldn't laugh but I think Hoshino is in need of some anger management and needs to stop looking like he's capable of murder when it doesn't all go his way (as always so many interesting characters to notice on the other team).
OKAY NOW FOR THE PICTURES~
These are the non-spoilery ones (unless you count revealing the free sticker and the comment Pakka makes on the inside flap as spoilers).
AHHH HERE IT IS.
Being able to come home from work and have this in my hands was THE BEST.
Okay I KNOW I'm not the only one to find Pakka vaguely creepy. There is enough fanart on Pixiv of him molesting the ETU players for me to be sure that it's not just me. Sometimes I forget that it must be a man in a mascot suit... I mean, Pakka is just PAKKA.
THE STICKER.
I tried to run the Twitter hint about what it was through an online translator before the book actually arrived, and got some garbled sentence about a man standing in the doorway or something? Needless to say, I didn't have a clue what it would be. But it's marginally better than the last one, if only because I have a soft spot for goalkeepers (...ETU goalkeepers).
OKAY and now for some spoilers.
I didn't take many pictures but I can do more if anyone's curious or wants to see a certain character.
OKAY PICTURES CONTAINING SPOILERS ARE UNDER HERE [+]
TSUBAKI WHAT A GOAL
I FELT SO DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY WHEN I SAW HIM MANAGE TO SEND THAT INTO THE NET
(OKAY SO I SPENT MOST OF THIS VOLUME JUST FLAILING OVER TSUBAKI, SO WHAT?)
Tsubaki has been amazing to watch in this game. I love seeing him matched up against teams/opponents he has faced before because it really shows how far he has come. I look back at how he was at the start of the series and it's impossible not to feel proud (proud of a fictional character whose successes and failures I hold no influence over but the sentiment is there nonetheless). He is so adorable I can barely cope!
OKAY SO SERA
YOU NOT ONLY JUMPED ONTO GINO'S BACK IN THIS VOLUME/GAME BUT ALSO GOT TSUBAKI AS WELL?
Sera and Tsubaki as a ship holds no real appeal for me, but I always love celebration scenes (and Sera behaving like a human limpet made me LOL) AND ALSO HAIR RUFFLING (OR IS IT A SUPER-ENTHUSIASTIC HEAD PAT?) I MIGHT DIE. KEEP AT IT ETU.
ALSO IT'S RAINING AND I LIKE SEEING THEM GET RAINED ON.
(I was going to say that this volume could have done with twice as much half-time shirtlessness as it had, but to be honest it would feel really weird to me if GK were to include that kind of content just for the sake of it.)
YEAH DEFINITELY ANGER MANAGEMENT IS NEEDED
I actually like how a character like this who seems breezy and easygoing at first is hiding such a nasty streak but you just can't see it because he's SO GOOD AT WHAT HE DOES. It surprised me when it was first revealed but I think it's an interesting facet to his character.
HNNGH TATSUMI
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING BUT I WOULD
(OKAY so this was less of a coherent review and more like just excitement but never mind!)
(I actually watched some real football today, BE PROUD OF ME)
ANYWAY I NEED VOLUME 24 IN MY LIFE AND I CAN'T WAIT 2 MONTHS OR HOWEVER LONG IT IS.
BRING ON THE SAKAI VS HOSHINO SHOWDOWN.
(I didn't mean to have a lack of updates for 2 weeks.
I'll try to post more regularly again!)