[Review] TeniPuri manga

[oriaon]

Well, it took me two weeks to get through the entire manga, but I've done it \o/ And I'm so glad I did, you know, not only to refresh myself on characterization and plot, but to relive the entire experience again. And what an experience it was :'D Refueling old loves, not only the series as a whole, but characters I had forgotten how much I used to

Comments

[link621]

I just have to say that the reason why I love Atobe as much as I do now is because I re-read the manga and re-watched the original anime (side note: deliberately skipping Jyousei and the last fifteen or so episodes). He really is introduced as a jerkass, as you said, and I would argue he is one of the few characters who actually goes through real, meaningful character growth by the end of the series. He, like Sengoku or Inui, is a hard-working person who earns his success by putting out the effort needed to accomplish his goals. The trouble is, he's put into this position where he is at the top of a rich, pretentious school where he will probably be eaten alive if he is not a glorious queen king. Thus, narcissism, show-boating, etc.

But, like every other character Tezuka interacts with, Atobe undergoes a massive change after their match.

So, with that said, I think Tezuka was (originally) intended to be a catalyst of growth for other characters, primarily Ryoma. While he is often portrayed as being, "omgsostrong!" I think his real strength lies in forcing others to step up their game. It's like throwing a pro on the court with a bunch of beginning players - they have to choose to sink or swim.

And your point about Inui and doubles, etc can really apply to the majority of the doubles players (with the possible exception of Eiji who got some singles spotlight). No one talks about how impressive Oishi's defensive play is, just how great the Golden Pair is. But, this is also true in real-world tennis. When's the last time you heard someone talking about all the great doubles matches in a big Open or the Olympics? Pretty much never. But you can't go five feet on any sports news cast or website without tripping over (usually) men's singles information.

But, it's like how when the '96 Chicago Bulls were hot, all everyone could talk about was Michael Jordan. Jordan was an amazing baller, but it takes five men to run an effective offensive or defensive play.

Sadly, that is how the world works.

[/off topic]

Also: pkmnpuri and pkmnpuriradio. It's not even close to being ready to go live, but you can see what I've worked on so far.

[oriaon]

If I hadn't reviewed the series and just read through it that one time, my top 5 character lineup would have been: Kirihara, Niou, Sanada, Marui, Jirou. A.k.a. Rikkai dominated because they're the "main focus" towards the latter half of the series. Hiyoshi comes up in a subsequent round, but Atobe's the one that made the largest leap for me, from the very very bottom to the very top, and all at once too.
The fact that part of him was due to the position he is put in is something I appreciate very much. It's not like he lives a life without struggles, in actuality, he might have even more than most characters D:

I have to agree with that about Tezuka. What used to get to me was that he is described as one of the best (a.k.a. "Tezuka level player" becomes like a tier xD;) but then he steps up against Atobe and loses, Sanada and loses. But because of that, he really brought out the best in those characters. One of the characters I really look up to, and I guess it's the same for the other tennis players too xD;

Yeah, I hardly ever see doubles in media, unless it's a famous singles player participating in a match :x And I admit, I can name the current five most prominent singles players, but ask me about doubles, and I've not nothing (/A\) Whelp, here's me being slightly ashamed.

*__________________*
Fffffffffff. Even though I've already seen parts of it, I can't help but read through everything again and have that excitement surge up. Maybe I'll just go whip up an app to quell that feeling, haha. But seriously though. Sparkly eyes.

[link621]

Atobe did the same thing to me. He is sneaky like that. :|

I think he didn't actually "lose" to Atobe, and that's the whole point of that match. Atobe ultimately wins according to the scoreboard, but he lost the battle of the wills which was what was more important to him. But, really, don't let me start on that match because I will ramble for thousands of words. He does lose to Sanada, but that was a developmentally important match for Sanada as well. And then we see him turn around and defeat Yamato who says that Tezuka's potential is limitless, which is what I think REALLY makes him the "Tezuka-tier" player. But, yeah, it makes me really look up to Tezuka as well. :3

Dooooo eeeeet. Then let me read it. :3

[oriaon]

Sanada wasn't very happy with his 'win' either; he had to give up his head to head challenge. I was very happy that Tezuka was finally freed from the responsibility of leading a team in Shin Tenipuri and that he was able to play for himself instead. But then he leaves and it's going to be like the original series all over again where he's never there ):
----
Oh, I see you've added more info since this afternoon. I had some questions but most seem to be covered now \o/

I'm planning on Hiyoshi being a new trainer originally from Ecruteak but starting his journey in Kanto because his older brother is aiming for Johto conquest and he wanted to be separate from that. His companion Pokemon would be a Gengar, OT being his brother, that's too high a level for him to use in battle-- my question for this would be whether companion Pokemon are set, or can be switched around with the main battling team? E.g. Sometime along the way, Hiyoshi may earn enough badges that Gengar will start listening to him, or say a companion Pokemon is an egg and it hatches.

There's that, and even though he won't have any other Pokemon so far to report on the app besides Gengar and his starter, I was looking through a list of Pokemon I think might be good for his main team later down the road. Some of these Pokemon require stones to evolve; will these and other evolutionary items be freely available, distributed through events, bought from department stores, extremely rare and hard to obtain like they're supposed to be, etc?

In terms of an actual app, so far all I've got written down is: Boy. xD;

[link621]

I know, I can't read ShinTen anymore. :(

I'm gonna keep updating everything. Getting there slowly but surely, it's taken a while.

That sounds awesome! And, no, companion pokemon aren't set by any means. Nothing in your team is, so long as you are able to either deposit a pokemon, release a pokemon, or have an open spot on your team. Basically, the "companion" pokemon is a seventh spot that prevents you from having to leave an awesome pokemon out of your team just because they couldn't be a battle pokemon. (For example, my Tezuka carries around a Cleffa.) I love the idea of a Gengar who follows him around but won't listen to him in battle, haha. ♥

Yes - and I will remember to cover that in the community, thank you. All evolutions will be possible, but will be similarly difficult. Really, I don't want people going, "WEEEEEEEEEee, ALL THE DRAGONITES!!!!" because that's really hard to accomplish. But, on the flipside, I want everyone to have an honest chance at creating the team they want. :3

Well, glad we figured that out.

[oriaon]

Oh, good, because I had another idea for a companion Pokemon Hiyoshi'd have later on too. Gengar's pretty much his brother's way of making sure Hiyo won't pass out in the middle of nowhere without help xD Since his entire family'd be in Johto instead of Kanto. Will Hiyoshi be able to get a Kanto starter even though he's born in Johto, and Gengar is technically his first Pokemon? Or I can rework it so that his brother comes with him to Kanto to receive a starter and then give him Gengar after that.

All right, that's great! Haha, I have to admit I've never gotten a Dragonite in any of my games. Wasted too many balls trying to catch the things, and then never had the patience to raise it that many levels xD;;;;;;;

[link621]

Yep! Another example of how that might work for someone else is that they might have a loyal family pet (think James in the anime) who they bring with them on their journey. Technically, you could go out on your own without a starter at all, but you wouldn't receive your pokegear as a result. :) The other upshot, as you mentioned, is that your starter is loyal to you from the get-go whereas that might not be the case of other pokemon with a newbie trainer. So, really, why your starter always ends up as your first entry in your 'Dex is because it is the first thing you get from the professor.

XD; I did in Red and Pearl because I finished the Dex, but holy hell did it ever require patience. XD