Musashino and Kasukabe Alumni Association [2050+ AD].
For those of you who haven't caught up with Oofuri after the Bijoudai Sayama arc--HARDCORE SPOILERS AHOY!
Aaaaaand now that's out of the way...
I've finally, finally finished "reading" the Kasukabe and ARC arcs! Oh my goodness, Higuchi is just plain amazing! I liked every single bit of it! Every single page! Ah~ I wish I could gush about all of them, but I guess I can only cover Musashino today. I'll leave Kasukabe and ARC for later.
MUSASHINO!
OKAY, AFTER SEEING THE KASUKABE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, I JUST COULDN'T RESIST WRITING THE FOLLOWING DIALOGUE!
Behold Shiba, Takahashi, Aoi, Ryo and Yuusho in all their grey-haired, bald-headed glory! Of course, there's no mention of grey-haired, bald-headedness [I wanted to SHOW it rather than SAY it. I wonder how that worked out.], but they are in their late 60s perhaps, cheering for their Alma Mater. There's no conflict, no poignant diction or syntax. Just plain crack Oofuri. :D
--
SHIBA: "Aw man, I can never get used to this." /fans himself with a 'Koshien' folding fan/ "It's like global warming times fifty."
TAKAHASHI: /takes a gulp of his drink and smirks/ "Don't tell me you can't handle a little heat, old man." /smirk widens/ "Are you sure you're going to be okay? Should I call an ambulance?"
SHIBA: "Look who's talking. I wasn't the one who was taken to the hospital in a stretcher--"
TAKAHASHI: "Shaddup~ This body is made of steel; it would take more than a puny little heat wave to bring it down."
SHIBA: "Haha, steel? All those wrinkles on your forehead tell a different story though." /grins/ "Look, I can even count them."
TAKAHASHI: "I can count yours too."
*heavy drumbeats; loud wind instrument music*
SHIBA: "Ah, the cheer squad is all pumped up." /looks back/ "Where's Aoi and Yuusho? They were here just a moment ago..."
RYO: /stops leafing through the program and looks up/ "Yuusho went to the restroom, and Aoi's...over there." /points down towards the fence separating the field from the stands/
YUUSHO: "I'm back." /takes a seat next to Ryo/ Phew.
TAKAHASHI: "About time." /turns back around and looks in Aoi's direction/ "What is he doing, talking to my grandkid?"
SHIBA: "...looks to me like he's talking AT Shou."
YUUSHO: "Haruna's grandkid is pitching today, right? And Shou's batting clean-up so Aoi's probably getting him all riled up to hit a big one, I guess."
SHIBA: "..."
TAKAHASHI: "..."
RYO: /sighs/ "That guy and his one-sided rivalry with Haruna."
SHIBA + TAKAHASHI: "WAIT JUST A MINUTE!!!"
SHIBA: "How come I didn't know about this?!"
TAKAHASHI: "I thought Haruna Jr. Jr. isn't pitching today!"
YUUSHO: "He is. It seems like they made some last minute changes. Haven't you read the program?" /points at the program Ryo was reading earlier/
TAKAHASHI: /stands up on the bench and bellows/ "SHOU-CHAN!! YOU BETTER HIT A HOMERUN, YA HEAR?!! /coughcoughcough/ "Uphold...GRANPA'S LEGACY!"
SHIBA: /stands up and bellows too/ "YEAH, SLUG IT OUT THE PARK, CHAMPION!"
RYO: /sighs deeply/ "I guess Aoi's not the only one with a misplaced sense of rivalry."
YUUSHO: "Some things never change." That poor kid looks embarrassed.
Aaaaaand now that's out of the way...
I've finally, finally finished "reading" the Kasukabe and ARC arcs! Oh my goodness, Higuchi is just plain amazing! I liked every single bit of it! Every single page! Ah~ I wish I could gush about all of them, but I guess I can only cover Musashino today. I'll leave Kasukabe and ARC for later.
MUSASHINO!
- Do I have to say it? Okay, I'll say it. Haruna, Haruna, Haruna. The solar system revolves around him and his fastballs, lol. But he really did get some good character development, and I like him more than I did before. He may not be on first-name basis with his teammates but it's obvious that he's bonded very well with them, and will do anything it takes to make them happy. Yay! =D
- Akimaru, that poor kid! After that dramatic, "I became catcher coz you're the pitcher, you toon," scene in the back room, I was like "whooaaa @&*!&@". The talk just...ended without actually ending...but I guess, it's just a matter of time, and once they get tired of avoiding the subject, they'll talk it out again. They're childhood pals after all. And by the time they enter the final year of their high school baseball careers, Haruna will have surely beaten some motivation into Akimaru. XD
- Kaguyan makes me go "aww" all the time. His situation really is something I wouldn't want to be in. He loves baseball with every cell in his body, puts his heart into every pitch he throws, works soooooo hard...BUT IT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH!! Haruna is the brightest star in the constellation; he's something Kaguyama can only look up at in awe, but can never reach~ T_T Not fair, right? But that's how reality is, I guess. In the farewell scene, Kaguyama really did look like he was satisfied he got so far [of course with Haruna's help]. But is that all there is to it? He really doesn't feel bitter that he didn't get to play at all in that game against ARC? I wonder.
- MACHIDA-SAN AND OOKAWA AND FUKU-CHAAANN!! Lovely, lovely, lovely!! These three plus Kaguyan are obviously chummy with each other and I love their interactions!
- I especially like Machida's interactions with Haruna and how he's all like "Your immodesty pisses me off, but I still love you." Machida is funny, honest, nice and well-rounded. He's fully aware of his own strengths and weaknesses, and does his best to make Haruna pitch comfortably. I've come to love him a lot!! Oh, and he's the only character in Oofuri who's drawn with both closed (^_^) and open eyes (o_o) depending on the situation! Congrats, Machida-san!
- Ookawa has become such a dynamic, Incredible Hulk of a captain, hasn't he? No more bad blood with Haruna, lol? I love that little scene where Haruna was like "Ookawa-san, that was so cool!!", Ookawa was like, "HUH?!!" That was hysterical. XD In his mind, he was probably thinking, "Craaaaap, d-did he just c-compliment me?!!"
- I like Fuku-chan's character design. He's cute and funny and plays short stop incredibly well!! Short stops are hot, awesometastic creatures in general! I love him all in all.
- OMG, KAWA-CHI. KAWA-CHIIIIII!! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO NICE??!! I think I might have cried when you so willingly, so good-spiritedly, switched out for Akimaru. T_T'
- The Coach. Again, what's with all the nameless Coaches? This is beginning to look more and more like Wolverine started some kind of conspiracy [now that I think about it, even Mihoshi's Coach didn't have a name].... Annnnyway, this Coach is all laid back and easy going and "Oops, sorry I wasn't all that motivated before. But right now, I feel terribly motivated. So let's do our best from now on and everything will be A-OK", and I have no choice but to like him. I seriously have a thing for older men.
- That scene in the bus with Miyashita and Ookawa! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH THAT HEARTWARMING SCENE WARMED UP MY HEART SO BAD, IT REFUSED TO PUMP BLOOD FOR A FEW SECONDS.
- I may not have mentioned the rest of the Musashino babies, but I still love them all in all! ♥
OKAY, AFTER SEEING THE KASUKABE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION, I JUST COULDN'T RESIST WRITING THE FOLLOWING DIALOGUE!
Behold Shiba, Takahashi, Aoi, Ryo and Yuusho in all their grey-haired, bald-headed glory! Of course, there's no mention of grey-haired, bald-headedness [I wanted to SHOW it rather than SAY it. I wonder how that worked out.], but they are in their late 60s perhaps, cheering for their Alma Mater. There's no conflict, no poignant diction or syntax. Just plain crack Oofuri. :D
--
SHIBA: "Aw man, I can never get used to this." /fans himself with a 'Koshien' folding fan/ "It's like global warming times fifty."
TAKAHASHI: /takes a gulp of his drink and smirks/ "Don't tell me you can't handle a little heat, old man." /smirk widens/ "Are you sure you're going to be okay? Should I call an ambulance?"
SHIBA: "Look who's talking. I wasn't the one who was taken to the hospital in a stretcher--"
TAKAHASHI: "Shaddup~ This body is made of steel; it would take more than a puny little heat wave to bring it down."
SHIBA: "Haha, steel? All those wrinkles on your forehead tell a different story though." /grins/ "Look, I can even count them."
TAKAHASHI: "I can count yours too."
*heavy drumbeats; loud wind instrument music*
SHIBA: "Ah, the cheer squad is all pumped up." /looks back/ "Where's Aoi and Yuusho? They were here just a moment ago..."
RYO: /stops leafing through the program and looks up/ "Yuusho went to the restroom, and Aoi's...over there." /points down towards the fence separating the field from the stands/
YUUSHO: "I'm back." /takes a seat next to Ryo/ Phew.
TAKAHASHI: "About time." /turns back around and looks in Aoi's direction/ "What is he doing, talking to my grandkid?"
SHIBA: "...looks to me like he's talking AT Shou."
YUUSHO: "Haruna's grandkid is pitching today, right? And Shou's batting clean-up so Aoi's probably getting him all riled up to hit a big one, I guess."
SHIBA: "..."
TAKAHASHI: "..."
RYO: /sighs/ "That guy and his one-sided rivalry with Haruna."
SHIBA + TAKAHASHI: "WAIT JUST A MINUTE!!!"
SHIBA: "How come I didn't know about this?!"
TAKAHASHI: "I thought Haruna Jr. Jr. isn't pitching today!"
YUUSHO: "He is. It seems like they made some last minute changes. Haven't you read the program?" /points at the program Ryo was reading earlier/
TAKAHASHI: /stands up on the bench and bellows/ "SHOU-CHAN!! YOU BETTER HIT A HOMERUN, YA HEAR?!! /coughcoughcough/ "Uphold...GRANPA'S LEGACY!"
SHIBA: /stands up and bellows too/ "YEAH, SLUG IT OUT THE PARK, CHAMPION!"
RYO: /sighs deeply/ "I guess Aoi's not the only one with a misplaced sense of rivalry."
YUUSHO: "Some things never change." That poor kid looks embarrassed.