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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- Cute, more Natsu and Maruo moments this episode. (That ponytail!) Some nice buildup this episode I guess. I think the season is ready for one more big match before its end with Nabae. Nice to see some of his past imo.  |
Stark700Aug 30, 2015 3:15 AM
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| Closer to the Zone! That is something to look forward to. Nabai looked like the calmest person on earth, I was surprised to know he was easily tempered. |
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They're so cute when they're all lovey-dovey. And Araya seemed amazed that Maruo's dating Natsu.  ''I'm getting close to the zone.'' I hope Nabai goes in the zone too so we can see a zone match. Would be nice to see lightning eyes too kek. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)  |
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| I know the results of this game but I can't help getting hype for it and it will be a really great match. Maruo keeps on growing more each game he plays... And nice to see they didn't omit Natsu scene at the beginning which was really nice :) |
kaitonic said: I know the results of this game but I can't help getting hype for it and it will be a really great match. Same, just something about it being animated has me all pumped up and antsy. Gonna be good. |
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| Great episode as always. 3 more episodes is just enough to cover this match, not looking like very good odds that this will be more than 2 cour. |
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| Ei-chan and Nat-chan being lovey-dovey makes everyone jealous. So if Marou wins against Nabae then that means he'll face Araya in the finals. I think he has a higher chance on winning this time. |
"I have been wielding a blade since before your were swimming around your father's scrotum." - Kurou |
| The scenes with Maruo and Natsu together, really enjoying seeing the differences going from friendship to romance. Really looking forward for the rest of the match, being close to the zone and all, can't wait to see even a part of its power! |
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| Dang! Ei-chan getting near his optimal mental state. This will be so good |
| A nice Natsu-heavy episode as a break between the intense on-court action. We get to see Ei-chan's mom begin to understand that tennis might be more than just a pass-time and Ei-chan get his first glimpse of the benefits associated with sponsorship. One thing I noticed particularly in this episode, perhaps since they had Maruo standing next to Araya and Coach Aoi, is how much he has physically matured over the course of the series. He also is noticeably in better shape, which is logical considering the amount of time he spends in physical conditioning, but it's nice to see it reflected in subtle changes in the character design. |
Please don't feed the trolls! In my next life I want to collide at the corner with the cute transfer student carrying a piece of toast in her mouth...rodac |
| Power of love! NacchanxEichan Best ship ever <3 And Nacchan is just too kawaii Isn't that actually considered a weakpoint for Nabae not being able to play with anything other than his racket ^^; Lol'd at Araya's reaction to Ei-chan and Nacchan ending up together XD That conversation with his mom sure gave Eichan a hell lots of motivation since he can get them to approve by just winning this match instead of the whole All Japan Junior In the Zone already. Fun to see Nabae surprised :P |
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| Nabae's past and Natsu is doing good on her matches |
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| No wonder Maruo's about to enter the zone. He's about to hit up a love hotel with Nat-chan after the match. |
| Maruo going into the Zone EPIC!!!!!! |
| Ain't read the manga so can only guess, but I assume this season will be 25 episodes, leaving 3 left for this match, while half an episode will be the aftermath/epilogue, so 2.5 episodes for Nabae to win. Mauro can't beat him yet, it'd be too unrealistic imo. Plus it wouldn't make sense for them to end a season while a tournament is on and Mauro winning against Nabae. |
| lovely when you are in love you are in the zone!!! :D  |
| Maruo coming out guns blazing! Hope Ei-chan can pull the upset here. After all, my fav player was just upset from the US Open in the first round. :[ Beating Nabae is possible in the state he's in. Nice Nat-chan moments this episode too. ^^ |
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| haha i was just joking about him entering the zone and he straight up said hes getting closer to it,looking forward to this match |
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| Fantastic episode once more. Cute romance, Maruo entering the zone(No Kuroko, your one sucks lel) was great, glad to see him overpowering Nabae. I still think Maruo'll love tho. |
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| Great episode, Maruo getting close to the zone! Just know that the match against Nabae will be amazing! |
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| Sweet romance, I like the way how coach Aoi explained things about pressure and anger |
| ZONE ZONE ZONE ZONE ZONE ZONE ZONE ZONE Getting hyped for this match! |
| C'mon just say that's the power of love ! <3 "Tournament's top 4 ?! Isn't that amazing ?!!" Hahahaha.. this line was great. Ei-chan's mummy just reminded us his parents never watched a single match in 2.5yrs since he started playing. If Nat-chan's there, I bet he can drill his way to the olympics LOL. |
| NacchanxEichan made a lot of progress. Maruo is ready to win this match ! |
| Goddamn Natsu and Maruo are so cute together! |
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| I had briefly criticized the fact that we were getting much less down time and practice even though it's understandable because the first season was about learning, and the second is about having a chance competing. This episode made me realize I've overlooked something. Due to this match by match format season 2 has been doing since this tournament started, we've gotten something new and special. We've gotten romantic development! Maruo and Natsu don't get to see each other enough and having them practically live in the same house is giving us this much needed alone time and it's great. Moreover, we have gotten the Natsu practice match, and the group practice match, and the America arc so that complaint itself isn't very valid. I probably felt that way mostly because the amount of learning has been less which makes total sense, if that didn't happen it'd be weird. Season 2 has probably had a slower pace than season 1 as well since his improvements haven't needed time skips. I would say having his moms support for grand finals would be a flag for Maruo winning, but a kid going into surgery wasn't one for Ide winning so I can't say that so hastily. There's definitely been too many times the opposite of what I'd expect happening happened. That said, Maruo beating the number one in Japan would be quite shocking however not unprecedented. I'm sure if Maruo is as good as Ike was in his come up then a big upset could occur. I'd put favor on Nabae winning and he's certainly more likely to but I won't say that Maruo has no chance. I love the analogy of Nabae's tennis racket being an extension of his hand. I read a book once that made that exact reference and I think it's purely factual. You must be able to play off feeling, if you don't know where your racket is and every detail about it in the moment without double checking you'll held back. One should aim to feel for their racket like they feel and know their own hand. Araya had a beautiful moment with Maruo where he told him he'll see him in grands. That's a big compliment and in another way it's saying he believes in him. When he whispered to ask if he was really dating Natsu it was adorable. I wonder if we'll see Nabae crack and break his mental composure at some point in this series however briefly that is. I suppose we already have in a way, it must be there in a small form when he throws away a point to get his head back into the game. Aoi's advice about going bold or going home has already started working. Maruo entered the court nearly in the zone already, now with a double reward in his head for winning this match- his mothers approval and a date with Natsu! And he immediately zones in, watches until Nabae serves and goes into instinct mode and hits at 1/81 on return. I'm assuming this final match will last to the end of the series which means it's more likely Maruo will lose going the meta-data that these matches have been an episode per set and there is 3 episodes left, and off the assumption they wouldn't end it before the revenge grand finals. However, it's not impossible that they would! All I know is I'm going to read the manga when I'm done this and pray for another season one day. |
| The final match of the season, and anime is here between Maruo and Nabae. Still sucks that it hasn't gotten another season and given the amount of episodes left for this match, it's a giveaway what the result will be. But it doesn't really affect the quality of the show for me nonetheless. It's weird that I feel this way but I do think that Natsu and Maruo might be in that top tier for anime couples for me. I definitely wouldn't say they are #1 for me or in my top 5, but the dynamic between them is so great, lovable and really organic too. Nice to see Natsu give that little boost of motivation to Maruo by encouraging him to win along with her, and go for a date after the Kanto qualifiers as a whole. It's also interesting seeing more of how Nabae was in the past and how even he struggled as a kid to compete in matches, and used analyzing himself and other players massively to get to where he is now. While Maruo and Nabae started their tennis journeys in opposite fashions, both grew massively to be truly special players that have the gift of adaptability in games itself to match their honed in skills to make up for earlier struggles. Should be a very competitive semi-final match between him and Maruo. P.S: Maruo's mom really is a classic mom. Supportive, caring and worried when the career path is off to a unique, uncertain direction from the norm that she was expecting. |
| ooo this match is excitinggg |
If you don't like me, acquire some taste |
| *Natsu telling Eiichirou they will have a fun date as reward if he wins against Nabae* Eiichirou: "I'M GETTING CLOSE TO THE ZONE." |
| The match is getting real interesting in this one and the love development was cute |
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