Musical Tennis no Oujisama - Second Season: Seigaku vs. Fudomine
Dedication: The crew over at Intensive Tennis. I’m not sure I would have made it through the anime without their commentary keeping me company. I doubt my reviews will be even a fraction as funny as theirs, but I enjoy analyzing the musicals as much as I enjoy watching and singing along to them.
Cast
Echizen Ryoma - Ogoe Yuki
Tezuka Kunimitsu - Wada Takuma
Oishi Syuichiroh - Hiramaki Jin
Fuji Syusuke - Mitsuya Ryo
Kikumaru Eiji - Koseki Yuta
Inui Sadaharu - Teruma
Kawamura Takashi - Tsurumi Tomohiro
Momoshiro Takeshi - Kamitsuru Toru
Kaidoh Kaoru - Ikeoka Ryosuke
Horio Satoshi - Masui Kento
Katoh Kachiroh - Ohhira Shunya
Mizuno Katsuo - Ohno Mizuki
Tachibana Kippei - Ueda Yusuke
Ibu Shinji - Okazaki Kazuhiro
Kamio Akira - Hirano Kinari
Ishida Tetsu - Takagi Kyoshiro
Sakurai Masaya - Takahashi Fumiya
Uchimura Kyosuke - Kato Mao
Mori Tatsunori - Ohmi Youichiro
Echizen Nanjiroh - Motoyama Shinnosyke
My expectations coming into Second Season were fairly low, although I did acknowledge that revisiting some of the earlier shows had a lot of promise. The talent (and budget) was a lot lower when Tenimyu started compared to what it has grown into today. Even so, the word on the street was that there was going to be a lot of new songs and changes to the pacing in order to allow Second Season to make its own mark on the franchise.
ACT ONE
Our new Seigaku Regulars are introduced right away. Speaking voices and appearances are mostly good. Kaidoh’s voice is a little on the deep side and Inui’s hair looks little too spiky, but those are minor quibbles.
THIS IS THE PRINCE OF TENNIS
And we really kick off the show with the song that explains what the whole series is all about. The choreography and staging is very nostalgic. The risers remind me a lot of what you’d see in the first productions. The music direction on some on the notes is little odd - Fuji and Taka don’t have trouble holding their notes later, so I’m not sure why they’re singing with such harsh staccato at the beginning.
Ryoma! Adorable. Looks age-appropriate, good voice, pretty good dance movement so far. There’s a little bit of an awkwardness to it, but I think it's intentional. If he can deliver lines, he’ll have reached a level of competency that few other Echizens achieved.
The rest of the cast really shines during their solos. Momo looks nice and relaxed. Oishi looks young and optomistic. Tezuka’s appearance in particular is very good. He manages to look mature without looking like an old man - a balance that the manga and anime often struggled to find. He looks a tad too cheerful, though. He’s not actually smiling, but it’s closer to a smile than I’m used to seeing any Tezuka get.
Aw, this is the version that doesn’t have the Ichinen come out to sing the praises of the team. I don’t think they’ve used that version since Dream Live First.
KORE GA SEIGAKU NO TENNIS BU NANODA!
Speak of the devils! There are the Ichinen, and they are adorable! They look really young, but good. I’m impressed so far. Surprisingly, Ryoma looks a lot older in the school uniform. Aw, they’re introducing themselves to each other.
Geez, that was a fast change for Ryoma. 23 seconds!
Okay, Ryoma meets my line delivery standards. Yay for a triple threat Ryoma!
Disappointed that they changed the sempai picking on the Ichinen to Horio challenging Ryoma’s skills. I guess that’s the first plot casualty to combining what used to be two separate shows.
ORE HA MOMO CHAN-SEIGAKU NO ABARENBOU
Momo-chan! Complete with Doowahs! Very cheesy choreography, but I can’t criticize it.
KORE GA SEIGAKU REGULAR JIN NANODA!
The first new song! Nice how they have it set up that the character who was introduced performs the next solo, with the group introducing Tezuka. Fuji’s voice sounds much stronger in this song. Oishi has a nice smile - and our first Golden Pair fanservice moments.
“Taka-san, nice voice!” Oh, Oishi.
Hey - it’s Nanjiroh! But not Ueshima-sensei. Motoyama-sensei fits the role, but lacks the comic edge that softened Nanjiroh’s creepiness.
I`M ALWAYS WINNER-THE REGULAR
This sounds lots better than, well, all of the first season versions! Odd that they shortened it so much.
That instrumental lead-in...I recognize that! SQUEE!
Ah, they let Fuji have at least some of the old Kimeru lines. Kind of funny to see Ryoma smiling while he’s dancing. I don’t think he’s supposed to be.
ORE HA MAMUSHI
Hey, another old song! This wasn’t one of my favorite songs to begin with, and he’s doing a decent job with it, but it’s just not impressing me.
Oooh! We're back to playing tennis on platforms! How nostalgic. All the talk about sweating is ironic. Inui might be sweating the most...and he’s just watching the game.
...is Kaidoh literally beating himself up after the match?!
Wow...I can’t help but feel like Fuji went out of his way to wish Inui good luck because he expected him to lose.
I wish I understood this joke between Ryoma and Nanjiroh - I hear numbers, but everything together escapes my comprehension.
First Kaidoh training montage of the Second Season! Oh, training montage for everyone. “Exciting”? I think that’s a new English word for Taka.
First complaint about the new cast - Eiji has proven he can hop, but where are the acrobatics? I haven’t seen him flip once. You can’t be a true Eiji if you can’t flip.
Kaidoh running across the stage while everyone is frozen never stops being funny.
Momo does a great Inui impression. However, the height difference between Ryoma and Inui isn’t enough to make Oishi’s “adult-child” comparison work.
Tenipuri checklist - First time Ryoma says how much he dislikes Inui’s style, first time Ryoma is called an impertinent rookie, and Inui’s first “illogical!”
I forgot the score was so high between Inui and Ryoma. 7-5 might be the best that anyone from Seigaku ever does against Ryoma. (Besides Tezuka, of course.)
THE REGULAR
That sure sounds familiar. Nice to hear it transition to an instrumental to underscore the announcement of the new Regulars. Poor Inui, having to change into those ugly green warm-ups.
Well, that’s a novel way to avoid using the string-controlled cones.
MAKEZU GIRAI
Woah, Inui gets to sing right off the bat! I don’t remember Inui having any solos in this song before. He sounds pretty good, too. And Eiji finally does a cartwheel! It’s a start.
Sumire as a swimsuit idol? Yeah, I’d be scared of that too.
Kamio! We have our first sign of Fudomine.
Tenipuri Checklist - first bike scene with Ryoma and Momo! But they cheated and skipped the street tennis doubles match.
CHIKU YOSEN
Wow, they really cheated by only showing the part of the Ryoma/Momo doubles match so they could do a clip from the old song.
Ah! Burning! - this is turning into a medley of first stage songs.
Haha...Fuji doesn’t even pretend to play - just a nod so the Ichinen can announce his 6-0 score.
More Fudomine. Y’know Ibu attacking someone is so out of character for how he’s developed later.
So...Tezuka and Tachibana have to know of each other, right? They’re both nationals level players after all.
Haha..the old bouncing ball trick rackets. Odd how Ibu’s eyebrows are painted so sharply.
VICTORY
Another old song! BUI! I understand they needed to put their own stamp on the routine, but I missed the spelling lesson choreography.
Poor Momo. He does a great job of conveying how disappointed he is for being the alternate.
Full Fudomine team! Pretty cool. Ah, looks like the Ichinen might be doing the old choreography at the back of the stage. Nice.
Tenipuri checklist - first team face-off and first team face-off to close an act. I’m glad they upheld that tradition.
Act II
CHALLENGE-SUBETE HA SHOURI NO TAME NI
I can name that tune in one note. Challenge! But I’m really getting annoyed that so many of these notes are cut short instead of being held out.
Ah, the ol’ “why do you play tennis” speech with Tezuka and Tachibana. And the old choreography! I think. It’s very similar if it’s not exactly the same.
Fudomine sounds good together.
And the net and bleachers are out! Must be time to play some “tennis”.
Eiji flapping his hands like wings for Tsubame Gaeshi is funny. And we have technique explanations! I kind of missed those. But this is another match that is suffering from pacing issues because of the way the shows were condensed. Fuji doesn’t use Tsbuame Gaeshi to turn the flow of the game to Seigaku’s advantage right off the bat, yet it’s the first thing we see in this match.
It’s a pity I’m having a tough time warming up to Ishida and Sakurai. I adored the originals.
Did Taka-san just call the Ichinen monkeys? The moment between Taka-san and Fuji is really understated compared to the original show, but I think that’s for the better. It’s much more realistic now.
Oh, Eiji. I really want to like you, but your acrobatics are weak and now you’re just twirling your racket. Can you not even flip it?
Uchimura and Mori - hey, the Golden Pair actually have people to play against! I was excited to hear that they cast everyone from Fudomine, but they really could have opted to not cast them. They still don’t do much.
Okay, the Ichinen just said it’s raining, but the rain SFX is missing. That’s disappointing. However, I know that means we must be close to...
GOLDEN PAIR
Much more of a techno feel than the original, but still a great song. Looks like they even incorporated a lot of the original choreography into their routine.
Unfortunately, Eiji continues to disappoint me. He looks like he’s staring at the ground to figure out where he needs to step, and his singing is a little rough. That’s probably a side effect of all the moving he’s doing. I’m still disappointed that the only acrobatics he seems to be able to do is that cartwheel.
SHINKEN SHOUBU TO HA SOUIU KOTO
Fudomine...you are not nearly as worshipful of Tachibana as you should be. And where’s the “To Nationals!” part of their chant?
Ah...there’s the spotlight on Fudomine’s star of hope. And that “Hai” was better. A little sad they changed the chorus choreography. The crawling part was similar, but it definitely seems to have been tweaked. They should have left that alone.
Oh, there’s the “To Nationals!” line
...happy senshuuraku? Eh...cute, but I’d like to see what other adlibs they stick in there.
Geez, Kaidoh seems super grumpy, especially since Ryoma seems unusually genuine in wishing him “good luck”.
RHYTHM NI NORU ZE
I wasn’t impressed with Kamio when I listened to the soundtrack, but he is MOVING on the stage and really sweating. I’m impressed he’s got enough breath left in him to belt the song out as much as he is.
Nice use of the instrumental version of Kaidoh’s song underscoring the drawn-out portion of his match with Kamio.
Not too fond of this Shinji. He’s not terrible, but his predecessors were so good that he just doesn’t measure up. The character is monotone, but his line delivery shouldn’t be stiff making him sound like a robot.
SPOT WO NERAE
Oh...ick. Shinji sounds terribly off-key.
Wow. Ryoma lost his hat. I’m not sure if that was intentional or not.
And we’re up to Ryoma’s racket breaking and slicing open the skin above his eye. Some cute moments on the sideline, including Taka fainting and Inui putting Ryoma’s hat back on his head.
It’s easy to notice how much improved the singing and dancing is compared to the first productions, but the acting has also come a long way. It’s the little details - like making sure that Ryoma’s eye is always covered so you can’t see that the actor isn’t bleeding - that really make the scenes that much more believable.
Rofl...the expressions on Oishi’s face when Tezuka contradicts him about Ryoma not being allowed to finish the match. That’s exactly how I would expect a mother to react when a father gives their child something they asked
for after the mother already said no.
ORE NO TOUZEN
Wow, a new song for Ryoma. I got so used to hearing familiar songs that it caught me by surprise. Haven’t seen a full translation of the lyrics, but it sounds good.
VICTORY
BUI reprise!
Poor Tachibana sounds hoarse during his solo. Watching his players must have been nerve-wracking.
Yay, Taka shouting at Ishida never gets old.
Nice little moment with the Fudomine team. Now THAT’s the worship of Tachibana I missed earlier!
So, no sushi scene, but Taka-san making the offer to treat everyone is still cute. Very sportsmanlike for Taka-san and Fuji to comment on what a good team Fudomine is.
Tezuka voiceover asking Ryuzaki permission to play a match must mean...TRAIN SCENE!
Ooh, they kept the old instrumental. Double ooh as the lights come up...they made a new set - a really big fence - for this!
OMAE HA SEIGAKU NO HASHIRA NI NARE
Okay, this has stolen the spot as my favorite rendition of this scene/song. They’ve got to be exhausted by this point in the show, but the singing, staging and dancing is all excellent. It put a grin on my face that never dimmed.
CHALLENGE-SUBETE HA SHOURI NO TAME NI
For a condensed show, it’s kind of weird that they had two reprises. They were two classic songs that have probably been performed by every cast, but it’s still a little surprising given the time constraints.
I adore that Inui is dancing with his notebook as if it’s a racket, particularly since first cast’s Inui made it a point to talk during Dream Live 7th about how he was stuck doing the same thing in Side Fudomine.
CURTAIN CALL
I seem to remember the original Ishida and Sakurai doing tumbling during their bows as well. Wonder if that was supposed to be a tribute or just something they wanted to do to stand out.
Sure, NOW Eiji flips. *grumble* I’ll be expecting more of that IN the show next time.
Aw, Momo is so affectionate to the Ichinen.
Yup, Fudomine is crying. The Tenimyu tears tradition continues. Seigaku is remarkably composed.
Spoke too soon. Wow, Motoyama-sensei really freaked out Fuji. I guess it’s his birthday. And there come the tears!
I was wondering if Tachibana was going to get to talk. Of course both captains get a chance to talk. I really do love this Tezuka. He feels like he’s older than the rest of his fellow cast members, just like Tezuka looks and acts like he’s older than the rest of Seigaku. And he’s very composed. He might have to be, since the rest of Seigaku seems very giggly.
JUMPING UP! HIGH TOUCH!
I’m very “meh” about the new curtain call song. It was much better to see it performed than just listening to it, but it still doesn’t come close to getting me pumped up like FGKS, On My Way, or even You Got Game.
A huge “did I really just see that” in response to Momo and Ishida making kissy faces at each other in the middle of the aisle.
Oh, there’s Kaidoh bawling. We have multiple Seigaku members crying. Must be time to pack it in!
Overall, I was pretty impressed with the new Seigaku and the way the ranking matches and the Fuodmine matches were condensed into a single musical. There were more familiar songs than I was expecting, and with the exception of Jumping Up I enjoyed the new songs. Fudomine could have been stronger, but they were satisfactory enough.
OMAKE - BACKSTAGE
These behind-the-scenes video clips are always fun for getting a chance to see the rehearsal process, run-through performances, footage from the wings during the performances, adlibs, and the cast generally acting like the entertaining young goofs that they are.
-Woah...who is playing the piano for them? Is that Tezuka? I’m not familiar enough with this cast yet to tell them apart without their character hairstyles.
-Kamio getting in the “rhythm” of OMAE HA SEIGAKU NO HASHIRA NI NARE
-Taka-san is adorable when not in costume
-I think I like Fudomine better off-stage
-Mori and Uchimura getting original artwork from Konomi-sensei is hilarious, because everyone else seemed jealous...and they’re so proud!
-The Ichinen look SUPER young..how old are they?!
-Why did everyone have their rackets for that curtain call?
-Ha...Tezuka knowing where the Golden Pair are without turning around is awesome
-Fudomine imitating Kaidoh...funny.
-Everyone freezing so that Momo can switch stage sides at a sprint...that’s awesome. I remember doing the same thing when I was in theatrical productions when I was younger.
-Ryoma being so lost in singing that he walked past the door he needed to get to was pretty funny.
-It seems like it’s very popular to imitate Kaidoh...it’s Horio’s turn now
-Does Tezuka have European blood in him? There’s something about his features that reminds me of Shirota Yuu.
-Tachibana on the water bottle...cute!
-Ryoma singing Ten'imuhou no Kiwami is AWESOME! He sounds very good. I really like the thought of one Seigaku cast going all the way through to Nationals.
-Kaidoh seems to be getting some revenge on his impersonators. Along with Inui and Eiji, he’s giving Momo and the Ichinen a try .
-Horio and Kaidoh are strangely affectionate.
-Very cuteshowing that Kamio’s headphones aren’t connected to anything.
-Ryoma...did you really just say that this is the first time you’ve been to Osaka and you’re happy because they have tasty things?!
-These guys nod a lot
-Cool...Kamio and Ryoma are doing the pre-show announcement. Adorable! I’m proud that I understood most of that.
-This time is Uchimura and Mori doing the preshow announcement. Also cute, although I didn’t understand as much.
-Evidently scaring Fuji is a cast past time.
-Aw...I think he said he turned 17. That was one of the Ichinen, right?
-Make-up pranks - looks like Tachibana and Ryoma have a good relationship.
-Fudomine hiding underneath the Seigaku platforms during the performance was pretty neat to find out.
-All of Fudomine did the last pre-show announcement? Hey! That’s the spirit they needed in the show for that “To Nationals” cheer!
-Cool shot of all the camera angles
-Sakurai is already crying before the show even starts. I love how they call each other by their character names as often if not more often that their real names.
-Now Seigaku is sniffling
-Wow, a post-show announcement? With Tachibana expressing how much he wanted to play against Tezuka. Aw, Tezuka even bowed.
-Kaidoh and Sakurai sobbing...and Ishida sobs with a grinning Oishi.
-I didn’t realize how tall Shinji was. I think he’s the second or third tallest member of Fudomine.
-...I don’t understand why Kamio is touching everyone’s face. Oh, he’s doing it so he can smack Tachibana’s cheeks without being suspicious.
-Last performance crossed out! See you in Seigaku vs. St. Rudolph and Yamabuki!
Cast
Echizen Ryoma - Ogoe Yuki
Tezuka Kunimitsu - Wada Takuma
Oishi Syuichiroh - Hiramaki Jin
Fuji Syusuke - Mitsuya Ryo
Kikumaru Eiji - Koseki Yuta
Inui Sadaharu - Teruma
Kawamura Takashi - Tsurumi Tomohiro
Momoshiro Takeshi - Kamitsuru Toru
Kaidoh Kaoru - Ikeoka Ryosuke
Horio Satoshi - Masui Kento
Katoh Kachiroh - Ohhira Shunya
Mizuno Katsuo - Ohno Mizuki
Tachibana Kippei - Ueda Yusuke
Ibu Shinji - Okazaki Kazuhiro
Kamio Akira - Hirano Kinari
Ishida Tetsu - Takagi Kyoshiro
Sakurai Masaya - Takahashi Fumiya
Uchimura Kyosuke - Kato Mao
Mori Tatsunori - Ohmi Youichiro
Echizen Nanjiroh - Motoyama Shinnosyke
My expectations coming into Second Season were fairly low, although I did acknowledge that revisiting some of the earlier shows had a lot of promise. The talent (and budget) was a lot lower when Tenimyu started compared to what it has grown into today. Even so, the word on the street was that there was going to be a lot of new songs and changes to the pacing in order to allow Second Season to make its own mark on the franchise.
ACT ONE
Our new Seigaku Regulars are introduced right away. Speaking voices and appearances are mostly good. Kaidoh’s voice is a little on the deep side and Inui’s hair looks little too spiky, but those are minor quibbles.
THIS IS THE PRINCE OF TENNIS
And we really kick off the show with the song that explains what the whole series is all about. The choreography and staging is very nostalgic. The risers remind me a lot of what you’d see in the first productions. The music direction on some on the notes is little odd - Fuji and Taka don’t have trouble holding their notes later, so I’m not sure why they’re singing with such harsh staccato at the beginning.
Ryoma! Adorable. Looks age-appropriate, good voice, pretty good dance movement so far. There’s a little bit of an awkwardness to it, but I think it's intentional. If he can deliver lines, he’ll have reached a level of competency that few other Echizens achieved.
The rest of the cast really shines during their solos. Momo looks nice and relaxed. Oishi looks young and optomistic. Tezuka’s appearance in particular is very good. He manages to look mature without looking like an old man - a balance that the manga and anime often struggled to find. He looks a tad too cheerful, though. He’s not actually smiling, but it’s closer to a smile than I’m used to seeing any Tezuka get.
Aw, this is the version that doesn’t have the Ichinen come out to sing the praises of the team. I don’t think they’ve used that version since Dream Live First.
KORE GA SEIGAKU NO TENNIS BU NANODA!
Speak of the devils! There are the Ichinen, and they are adorable! They look really young, but good. I’m impressed so far. Surprisingly, Ryoma looks a lot older in the school uniform. Aw, they’re introducing themselves to each other.
Geez, that was a fast change for Ryoma. 23 seconds!
Okay, Ryoma meets my line delivery standards. Yay for a triple threat Ryoma!
Disappointed that they changed the sempai picking on the Ichinen to Horio challenging Ryoma’s skills. I guess that’s the first plot casualty to combining what used to be two separate shows.
ORE HA MOMO CHAN-SEIGAKU NO ABARENBOU
Momo-chan! Complete with Doowahs! Very cheesy choreography, but I can’t criticize it.
KORE GA SEIGAKU REGULAR JIN NANODA!
The first new song! Nice how they have it set up that the character who was introduced performs the next solo, with the group introducing Tezuka. Fuji’s voice sounds much stronger in this song. Oishi has a nice smile - and our first Golden Pair fanservice moments.
“Taka-san, nice voice!” Oh, Oishi.
Hey - it’s Nanjiroh! But not Ueshima-sensei. Motoyama-sensei fits the role, but lacks the comic edge that softened Nanjiroh’s creepiness.
I`M ALWAYS WINNER-THE REGULAR
This sounds lots better than, well, all of the first season versions! Odd that they shortened it so much.
That instrumental lead-in...I recognize that! SQUEE!
Ah, they let Fuji have at least some of the old Kimeru lines. Kind of funny to see Ryoma smiling while he’s dancing. I don’t think he’s supposed to be.
ORE HA MAMUSHI
Hey, another old song! This wasn’t one of my favorite songs to begin with, and he’s doing a decent job with it, but it’s just not impressing me.
Oooh! We're back to playing tennis on platforms! How nostalgic. All the talk about sweating is ironic. Inui might be sweating the most...and he’s just watching the game.
...is Kaidoh literally beating himself up after the match?!
Wow...I can’t help but feel like Fuji went out of his way to wish Inui good luck because he expected him to lose.
I wish I understood this joke between Ryoma and Nanjiroh - I hear numbers, but everything together escapes my comprehension.
First Kaidoh training montage of the Second Season! Oh, training montage for everyone. “Exciting”? I think that’s a new English word for Taka.
First complaint about the new cast - Eiji has proven he can hop, but where are the acrobatics? I haven’t seen him flip once. You can’t be a true Eiji if you can’t flip.
Kaidoh running across the stage while everyone is frozen never stops being funny.
Momo does a great Inui impression. However, the height difference between Ryoma and Inui isn’t enough to make Oishi’s “adult-child” comparison work.
Tenipuri checklist - First time Ryoma says how much he dislikes Inui’s style, first time Ryoma is called an impertinent rookie, and Inui’s first “illogical!”
I forgot the score was so high between Inui and Ryoma. 7-5 might be the best that anyone from Seigaku ever does against Ryoma. (Besides Tezuka, of course.)
THE REGULAR
That sure sounds familiar. Nice to hear it transition to an instrumental to underscore the announcement of the new Regulars. Poor Inui, having to change into those ugly green warm-ups.
Well, that’s a novel way to avoid using the string-controlled cones.
MAKEZU GIRAI
Woah, Inui gets to sing right off the bat! I don’t remember Inui having any solos in this song before. He sounds pretty good, too. And Eiji finally does a cartwheel! It’s a start.
Sumire as a swimsuit idol? Yeah, I’d be scared of that too.
Kamio! We have our first sign of Fudomine.
Tenipuri Checklist - first bike scene with Ryoma and Momo! But they cheated and skipped the street tennis doubles match.
CHIKU YOSEN
Wow, they really cheated by only showing the part of the Ryoma/Momo doubles match so they could do a clip from the old song.
Ah! Burning! - this is turning into a medley of first stage songs.
Haha...Fuji doesn’t even pretend to play - just a nod so the Ichinen can announce his 6-0 score.
More Fudomine. Y’know Ibu attacking someone is so out of character for how he’s developed later.
So...Tezuka and Tachibana have to know of each other, right? They’re both nationals level players after all.
Haha..the old bouncing ball trick rackets. Odd how Ibu’s eyebrows are painted so sharply.
VICTORY
Another old song! BUI! I understand they needed to put their own stamp on the routine, but I missed the spelling lesson choreography.
Poor Momo. He does a great job of conveying how disappointed he is for being the alternate.
Full Fudomine team! Pretty cool. Ah, looks like the Ichinen might be doing the old choreography at the back of the stage. Nice.
Tenipuri checklist - first team face-off and first team face-off to close an act. I’m glad they upheld that tradition.
Act II
CHALLENGE-SUBETE HA SHOURI NO TAME NI
I can name that tune in one note. Challenge! But I’m really getting annoyed that so many of these notes are cut short instead of being held out.
Ah, the ol’ “why do you play tennis” speech with Tezuka and Tachibana. And the old choreography! I think. It’s very similar if it’s not exactly the same.
Fudomine sounds good together.
And the net and bleachers are out! Must be time to play some “tennis”.
Eiji flapping his hands like wings for Tsubame Gaeshi is funny. And we have technique explanations! I kind of missed those. But this is another match that is suffering from pacing issues because of the way the shows were condensed. Fuji doesn’t use Tsbuame Gaeshi to turn the flow of the game to Seigaku’s advantage right off the bat, yet it’s the first thing we see in this match.
It’s a pity I’m having a tough time warming up to Ishida and Sakurai. I adored the originals.
Did Taka-san just call the Ichinen monkeys? The moment between Taka-san and Fuji is really understated compared to the original show, but I think that’s for the better. It’s much more realistic now.
Oh, Eiji. I really want to like you, but your acrobatics are weak and now you’re just twirling your racket. Can you not even flip it?
Uchimura and Mori - hey, the Golden Pair actually have people to play against! I was excited to hear that they cast everyone from Fudomine, but they really could have opted to not cast them. They still don’t do much.
Okay, the Ichinen just said it’s raining, but the rain SFX is missing. That’s disappointing. However, I know that means we must be close to...
GOLDEN PAIR
Much more of a techno feel than the original, but still a great song. Looks like they even incorporated a lot of the original choreography into their routine.
Unfortunately, Eiji continues to disappoint me. He looks like he’s staring at the ground to figure out where he needs to step, and his singing is a little rough. That’s probably a side effect of all the moving he’s doing. I’m still disappointed that the only acrobatics he seems to be able to do is that cartwheel.
SHINKEN SHOUBU TO HA SOUIU KOTO
Fudomine...you are not nearly as worshipful of Tachibana as you should be. And where’s the “To Nationals!” part of their chant?
Ah...there’s the spotlight on Fudomine’s star of hope. And that “Hai” was better. A little sad they changed the chorus choreography. The crawling part was similar, but it definitely seems to have been tweaked. They should have left that alone.
Oh, there’s the “To Nationals!” line
...happy senshuuraku? Eh...cute, but I’d like to see what other adlibs they stick in there.
Geez, Kaidoh seems super grumpy, especially since Ryoma seems unusually genuine in wishing him “good luck”.
RHYTHM NI NORU ZE
I wasn’t impressed with Kamio when I listened to the soundtrack, but he is MOVING on the stage and really sweating. I’m impressed he’s got enough breath left in him to belt the song out as much as he is.
Nice use of the instrumental version of Kaidoh’s song underscoring the drawn-out portion of his match with Kamio.
Not too fond of this Shinji. He’s not terrible, but his predecessors were so good that he just doesn’t measure up. The character is monotone, but his line delivery shouldn’t be stiff making him sound like a robot.
SPOT WO NERAE
Oh...ick. Shinji sounds terribly off-key.
Wow. Ryoma lost his hat. I’m not sure if that was intentional or not.
And we’re up to Ryoma’s racket breaking and slicing open the skin above his eye. Some cute moments on the sideline, including Taka fainting and Inui putting Ryoma’s hat back on his head.
It’s easy to notice how much improved the singing and dancing is compared to the first productions, but the acting has also come a long way. It’s the little details - like making sure that Ryoma’s eye is always covered so you can’t see that the actor isn’t bleeding - that really make the scenes that much more believable.
Rofl...the expressions on Oishi’s face when Tezuka contradicts him about Ryoma not being allowed to finish the match. That’s exactly how I would expect a mother to react when a father gives their child something they asked
for after the mother already said no.
ORE NO TOUZEN
Wow, a new song for Ryoma. I got so used to hearing familiar songs that it caught me by surprise. Haven’t seen a full translation of the lyrics, but it sounds good.
VICTORY
BUI reprise!
Poor Tachibana sounds hoarse during his solo. Watching his players must have been nerve-wracking.
Yay, Taka shouting at Ishida never gets old.
Nice little moment with the Fudomine team. Now THAT’s the worship of Tachibana I missed earlier!
So, no sushi scene, but Taka-san making the offer to treat everyone is still cute. Very sportsmanlike for Taka-san and Fuji to comment on what a good team Fudomine is.
Tezuka voiceover asking Ryuzaki permission to play a match must mean...TRAIN SCENE!
Ooh, they kept the old instrumental. Double ooh as the lights come up...they made a new set - a really big fence - for this!
OMAE HA SEIGAKU NO HASHIRA NI NARE
Okay, this has stolen the spot as my favorite rendition of this scene/song. They’ve got to be exhausted by this point in the show, but the singing, staging and dancing is all excellent. It put a grin on my face that never dimmed.
CHALLENGE-SUBETE HA SHOURI NO TAME NI
For a condensed show, it’s kind of weird that they had two reprises. They were two classic songs that have probably been performed by every cast, but it’s still a little surprising given the time constraints.
I adore that Inui is dancing with his notebook as if it’s a racket, particularly since first cast’s Inui made it a point to talk during Dream Live 7th about how he was stuck doing the same thing in Side Fudomine.
CURTAIN CALL
I seem to remember the original Ishida and Sakurai doing tumbling during their bows as well. Wonder if that was supposed to be a tribute or just something they wanted to do to stand out.
Sure, NOW Eiji flips. *grumble* I’ll be expecting more of that IN the show next time.
Aw, Momo is so affectionate to the Ichinen.
Yup, Fudomine is crying. The Tenimyu tears tradition continues. Seigaku is remarkably composed.
Spoke too soon. Wow, Motoyama-sensei really freaked out Fuji. I guess it’s his birthday. And there come the tears!
I was wondering if Tachibana was going to get to talk. Of course both captains get a chance to talk. I really do love this Tezuka. He feels like he’s older than the rest of his fellow cast members, just like Tezuka looks and acts like he’s older than the rest of Seigaku. And he’s very composed. He might have to be, since the rest of Seigaku seems very giggly.
JUMPING UP! HIGH TOUCH!
I’m very “meh” about the new curtain call song. It was much better to see it performed than just listening to it, but it still doesn’t come close to getting me pumped up like FGKS, On My Way, or even You Got Game.
A huge “did I really just see that” in response to Momo and Ishida making kissy faces at each other in the middle of the aisle.
Oh, there’s Kaidoh bawling. We have multiple Seigaku members crying. Must be time to pack it in!
Overall, I was pretty impressed with the new Seigaku and the way the ranking matches and the Fuodmine matches were condensed into a single musical. There were more familiar songs than I was expecting, and with the exception of Jumping Up I enjoyed the new songs. Fudomine could have been stronger, but they were satisfactory enough.
OMAKE - BACKSTAGE
These behind-the-scenes video clips are always fun for getting a chance to see the rehearsal process, run-through performances, footage from the wings during the performances, adlibs, and the cast generally acting like the entertaining young goofs that they are.
-Woah...who is playing the piano for them? Is that Tezuka? I’m not familiar enough with this cast yet to tell them apart without their character hairstyles.
-Kamio getting in the “rhythm” of OMAE HA SEIGAKU NO HASHIRA NI NARE
-Taka-san is adorable when not in costume
-I think I like Fudomine better off-stage
-Mori and Uchimura getting original artwork from Konomi-sensei is hilarious, because everyone else seemed jealous...and they’re so proud!
-The Ichinen look SUPER young..how old are they?!
-Why did everyone have their rackets for that curtain call?
-Ha...Tezuka knowing where the Golden Pair are without turning around is awesome
-Fudomine imitating Kaidoh...funny.
-Everyone freezing so that Momo can switch stage sides at a sprint...that’s awesome. I remember doing the same thing when I was in theatrical productions when I was younger.
-Ryoma being so lost in singing that he walked past the door he needed to get to was pretty funny.
-It seems like it’s very popular to imitate Kaidoh...it’s Horio’s turn now
-Does Tezuka have European blood in him? There’s something about his features that reminds me of Shirota Yuu.
-Tachibana on the water bottle...cute!
-Ryoma singing Ten'imuhou no Kiwami is AWESOME! He sounds very good. I really like the thought of one Seigaku cast going all the way through to Nationals.
-Kaidoh seems to be getting some revenge on his impersonators. Along with Inui and Eiji, he’s giving Momo and the Ichinen a try .
-Horio and Kaidoh are strangely affectionate.
-Very cuteshowing that Kamio’s headphones aren’t connected to anything.
-Ryoma...did you really just say that this is the first time you’ve been to Osaka and you’re happy because they have tasty things?!
-These guys nod a lot
-Cool...Kamio and Ryoma are doing the pre-show announcement. Adorable! I’m proud that I understood most of that.
-This time is Uchimura and Mori doing the preshow announcement. Also cute, although I didn’t understand as much.
-Evidently scaring Fuji is a cast past time.
-Aw...I think he said he turned 17. That was one of the Ichinen, right?
-Make-up pranks - looks like Tachibana and Ryoma have a good relationship.
-Fudomine hiding underneath the Seigaku platforms during the performance was pretty neat to find out.
-All of Fudomine did the last pre-show announcement? Hey! That’s the spirit they needed in the show for that “To Nationals” cheer!
-Cool shot of all the camera angles
-Sakurai is already crying before the show even starts. I love how they call each other by their character names as often if not more often that their real names.
-Now Seigaku is sniffling
-Wow, a post-show announcement? With Tachibana expressing how much he wanted to play against Tezuka. Aw, Tezuka even bowed.
-Kaidoh and Sakurai sobbing...and Ishida sobs with a grinning Oishi.
-I didn’t realize how tall Shinji was. I think he’s the second or third tallest member of Fudomine.
-...I don’t understand why Kamio is touching everyone’s face. Oh, he’s doing it so he can smack Tachibana’s cheeks without being suspicious.
-Last performance crossed out! See you in Seigaku vs. St. Rudolph and Yamabuki!