Character
Name Koutarou Sasaki
Canon Eyeshield 21
Timeline Some time after chapter 166
Background Koutarou is Bando High School football team's ace kicker. Once upon a time the team was actually decent in areas other than kicking but thanks to a convenient plot device, they were scouted to a better school. This is actually pretty nice since those players were a douche to him and didn't want to let him practice and stuff. Thus, when Bando was left with only Koutarou and the weaker players, he decided that Bando would become a team that won thanks to the power of the kicking team.
So then there's this guy Akaba who is, like, the majorest major tool in the world. Anyhow, he only cares about his guitar and Koutarou doesn't really like him (not admittedly anyway) and Koutarou was totally pissed when Akaba also transferred away. Thanks to Koutarou busting in and kicking pretty player profiles in Akaba's face, it inspired Akaba to transfer back to Bando and realize Koutarou's dream of making the kicking team Bando's pride and glory. Although Koutarou still doesn't like the guy, they've worked together to develop a codename for kicking plays based on guitar chords. But really. He doesn't understand a whiff of music at all.
Between Koutarou's kicking and Akaba's...stuff...the Bando Spiders became a formidable team. Always striving to be a better kicker, Koutarou first appeared on Deimon ground to challenge "60-Yard Magnum" Musashi. Be careful what you wish for, they say, and Koutarou of course doesn't think before he wishes. By the time Koutarou found him, Seventeen-year-old Musashi looked like an old geezer and abandoned American football in order to upkeep his father's carpentry business. Or something. Hell if Koutarou knows or cares, it's not football. Ultimately he leaves unsatisfied, confronted with the reality of his presupposed rival. And not taking it well.
Koutarou didn't give up on Musashi, then, oh no. Just like he has an inexplicably hatred for Akaba, he has a just as passionate rivalry goin' on with Musashi. In his head. As in, Musashi doesn't recognize him at all. Well anyway, Koutarou even stalks the Deimon games and snatches microphones to yell at Musashi to play, all in the name of a kicking ace. It doesn't end there, in case you were wondering. Once Musashi is back on the team, Koutarou "bumps" into them in training and lays his challenge. This happens all too frequently.
Finally the Bando game against Deimon for the final qualification from the Kantou tournament! Koutarou showcases his not-so-finest moments and although a single football game lasts two volumes or something like that, the fact is that it's just one football game. Koutarou as ace kicker! Akaba as ace tight end! Finally given the opportunity to face his rival mano e mano, the Bando Spiders loose by one point, a single field goal. Koutarou is crushed that he can't teach those Teikoku fools a thing or two about the greatness of a kicking team but vows to come on top next year.
He's asked out the team manager something like five times but she keeps turning him down. She never says, "no," proving that the answer is always, "yes," with girls.
Personality Koutarou is that prissy pretty boy of the team, the one who constantly yells about whatever idiotic thing is on his mind and is completely easy to read. He's confrontational and loud, and humbleness ain't one of his better traits. He's used to putting his name on the line because he can't afford to loose. Ha! He never loses when it comes to kicking, like he needs to hide it. The word to best describe him is "passionate". To a degree, even idiotic. He'll do the most pointless things if they're in the moment and demonstrative of his zeal.
Koutarou is, to a degree, all about appearances. He constantly flicks a comb and does his hair. All. The. Time. Another not-so-endearing character trait he abuses is the word "smart". Kicking is smart! Koutarou is smart! Akaba is not smart! You catch his drift. He has a bad habit of saying exactly what he feels, one of the things that's most important to him. He's passionate about a lot of things (kicking, kicking, kicking) and he talks about them a lot in a way suitable of a bro.
He's a die hard fan of kicking when it comes to football. He can appreciate a good kick even when it's not his own, and he jumps into self proclaimed kicking contests when he finds somebody worth his time. Koutarou is quick to get into such petty rivalries and it's hard for him to let go once it's on. He is very precise with his kicking, able to aim and successfully kick to an exact location every time.
Kotarou has lotsa pride. Lots. He's a cocky lil' turdknocker and he flaunts his stuff. He has a bad habit with holding grudges and he'll work hard toward fulfilling his grudge-promises. He has a tough time saying "thanks" or "sorry" or moving on from said grudges, and as a result, tends to eavesdrop. His other bad habit is spitting on people he dislikes or personal belongings of the same people he dislikes.
He relies heavily on the people he actually trusts, namely his teammates. Honor, you could call it. He would never betray them and he trusts that they won't betray him, either. It's one of the reasons he was completely devastated when all of Bando's good players transferred to Teikoku. Koutarou vowed to show them who's boss, show them the old one-two. Biiig grudge. Anyway, he'll also put people in their place when they put down their teammates or close ones as well, even if he doesn't know any of the parties in question.
Facts There are four in his family: his father, mother, an older sister, and himself. Meat is his favorite food. He likes honest and pure things which is why the monkey is his favorite animal. He deeply respects Elvis Presley. The most important thing in life to him? Passion! And that goes for football, too, although kicking is even more important than that.
His name is a pun on "Koujirou Sasaki" who was Musashi Miyamoto's rival in Japanese history. He does, after all, form a one-sided rivalry with the Devil Bats' Musashi.