 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | VIZ MEDIA | | | ▪ | AUTHOR / ART: | | TAKESHI KONOMI | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | JAPANESE / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 184 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | A | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 03/04/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 04/23/2009 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | MARGARET VEIRA |
Ryoma Echizen is against a very strong opponent, Kei Tanishi from Higa Junior High, who has a habit of serving with the strength of an explosion, hence the name, Big Bang. It seems that Echizen can’t get a break with this guy! He can’t return Kei’s serve without it going into the net! Or so it seems. The match does have an explosive ending with an unexpected twist in strategy. The next match is a doubles, Seishun vs. Higa, with Shusuke Fuji and Takeshi Momoshiro for seishun, and Rin Hirakoba and Hiroshi Chinen for Higa. The game begins with a few stray balls being hit towards the Seishun coach. However, Takeshi manages to defect them. Their retaliation is very cleverly done, and the point is driven home by their coach. Throughout the game that follows the above episode, the pairs start to show their strengths and weaknesses, but not all is what it seems. After a while, they start to show some of their moves. Rin has a drop shot called the Bear Drop, while Takeshi has a very powerful return. What will come up next in the set of the game? The art, as usual, is very energetic and full of action. The motion of the characters is very well drawn, along with the expressions on the characters’ faces. The Storyline is progressing nicely through the preliminaries, showing how the characters have grown in strength as well as skill. It shows in how quickly they can gage an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses, and use that information against them. One of the best examples of this is how Ryoma wore down his opponent in order to win, even at the expense of his own health. Another is how Takeshi figured out a way around the strange serve Rin could dish out.
IN SUMMARY:
As the Nationals continue, so does the suspense! Who will win this match? |
