#2.43 translation

[ebw-translations]

If you take away volleyball, I’m just a boring person… Do you… enjoy spending time with me? Eh? What’s with that question? Am I his girlfriend or something, oi. Ah… Shin, you’re acting strange. Am I? You are.

[enbyboiwonder]

I wonder if it’s worse to when translating leave out a line that could potentially be seen as gay when it’s obvious if your brain isn’t clouded by homophobia that it very much isn’t (“What am I, Aoki’s girlfriend or something, oi.” → Who would have the right to be clingy like this and ask such a question? His girlfriend. Are you his girlfriend? No, and in fact you’re not much of anything outside of volleyball. So what the hell are you doing, idiot?!) or to translate a part in reference to another part it parallels, even if it means adding something (that could potentially be seen as gay but isn’t actually) that isn’t there.

Currently I have

うわー。おれ女々しい？

translated as

Uwah.  Since when was I so clingy?  You’d think I was a girl with a crush or something.

(Though the “clingy” is just a placeholder word; I’d like to replace it as soon as I’ve found something better. I don’t like it here.)

[transcendersmedia]

Making sports into drama (and games?)

An anime analysis from a game design perspective

I admit: I am a great sports anime nerd (and I’ve previously written about the volleyball anime Haikyuu and its fandom) – something that also affects my thinking around game design. What makes sports anime so good – better than watching the sports themselves – is that they usually combine the thrill and achievements of those sports with portrayal of the characters performing them. For me, that adds an invaluable component, since I’m also a character and fictional relationships nerd.

Ookiku Furikabutte - manga by Higuchi Asa

I’ve categorized the series based on how much of the dramatic content focuses on the game or sport itself and how much it relies on other factors, such as relationships between characters outside of sports. I’ll put my main focus on the series that primarily revolve around the sport. Many are based on manga, but not all. (Whether the series originates as manga or not might actually also affect the content, but it’s not something that I’ll go into in this post.)

Categorizing the shows

Series where the drama is primarily built around the content of the sport:

Ookiku Furikabutte/Big Windup (baseball)

Diamond no Ace/Ace of the Diamond (baseball)

Haikyuu!! (volleyball)

Kuroko no Basket/Kuroko’s Basketball (basketball)

Series where the drama is built around a combination of the sport’s content and other factors:

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteru/Run with the Wind (running)

Tsurune: Kazemai Koukou Kyuudoubu (archery)

Yuri!!! on Ice (figure skating)

2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu/2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team (volleyball)

Days (soccer)

Re-main (water polo)

Ping Pong the Animation (ping pong)

Series where the drama is primarily built around content outside of the sport:

Free! (swimming)

Hoshiai no Sora/When Stars Align (soft tennis)

Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun/Clean Freak Aoyama-kun (soccer)

Cheer Danshi!!/Cheer Boys!! (cheerleading)

Bakuten!!/Backflip!! (rhythmic gymnastics)

Taisou Zamurai / The Gymnastics Samurai (gymnastics)

It’s interesting to see that the focus on sports content could in part be related to which target group the series is aimed towards. It seems like shounen anime (“for boys”) has a larger focus on sports content, whereas shoujo (“for girls”) and seinen (“for grown-ups”) revolve more around relationships.

Could set-based sports with clear positions be easier to dramatize?

Haikyuu!! - manga by Haruichi Furudate

Both volleyball and baseball translate well into anime format. Volleyball’s set-based play makes it easy to create exciting match portrayals. The game involves turn-taking and players’ positions on the court, including who serves and rotates, creating clear recurring moments of suspense. Since the objective is to win the most sets out of a predetermined number, the outcome of a match isn’t known until the decisive set is played.

The psychological play and complexity

Ookiku Furikabutte - manga by Higuchi Asa

The complexity of baseball could be seen as a disadvantage due to its difficulty to comprehend, but it’s a double-edged sword, since the complexity also adds excitement. Baseball matches as a whole can become slow, especially if the teams are adept at defense and don’t allow scoring hits. However, in anime, unlike in reality, there’s the possibility to cut or quickly summarize dull parts of the match.

Baseball and volleyball gameplay loops

A Gameplay Loop is a game design term that is used to describe the repetitive activities that a player will take while playing a game. It, essentially, defines what the player DOES while playing. – Engaged Family Gaming

Diamond no Ace - manga by Terajima Yuuji

In volleyball, a loop begins with one team serving, the ball is then moved between teams by players with various roles (such as setter, wing spiker, blocker, libero) until it hits the floor on one side of the net, determining which team scores a point. This loop is integrated into the larger system by having the first team to reach a certain number of points win the set, while the overall match aims to win the most sets out of (usually) five.

Do shorter loops and turned-based sports make for better drama?

The smallest loops in baseball and volleyball are clear and quite short, allowing for detailed focus on the characters executing decisive actions. The moments before a serve/pitch provide space for inner monologues and character communication. Side changes and innings/sets frame the matches, making it easier for viewers to follow, compared to more fluid sports like basketball or soccer. In turn-based sports, breaks are incorporated into the game’s design. Therefore, I believe that turn-based sports, where players also have very specific roles, are more favorable to portray, than sports where players have more similar roles and the game is more fluid. (Perhaps this is why Kuroko no Basket assigned supernatural abilities to the players, adding an extra dimension to the game that makes it a little more video game-like? Well, it could also be because the creator wanted to make a series about basketball players with supernatural abilities. Personally, I find that supernatural abilities detract from the intrigue of sports, but that’s a matter of taste.) 

Haikyuu!! - manga by Haruichi Furudate

Teams are great for drama

I believe team sports are better suited for storytelling than individual sports. This might be because team sports allow for more complexity in the narrative, as players within a team can be rivals, while also depending on each other to develop and win. Opposing teams are obvious antagonists, but the most interesting events often happen within the teams, between the characters that viewers have come to know, and whose development they are following. Team sports also have recurring tournaments where teams can face the same opponents multiple times, enabling long series that maintain suspense. This exists in individual sports too, but individual competition feels more one-dimensional than team-based competition. So, aside from game (sports) design itself, the setup around teams, tournaments, and matches also influences the narrative. Series centered on individual sports tend to focus more on character relationships outside of competitions, possibly because the sport itself doesn’t provide enough material to build drama solely around it.

Translating sports into drama - and games!

When translating sports into drama, there are factors that can both facilitate and complicate the dramatic buildup. If the focus is on the game itself, it’s advantageous if the game has a high level of complexity, clear/short loops, and specific roles, preferably with inherent conflicts. Among the sports I’ve seen depicted, I would say that baseball has the greatest potential to create compelling drama. However, with that said, the storyteller’s skill will likely have a bigger impact on the story than the design of the sport itself.

I’ve based this analysis on anime series, and they have their aesthetics, structures and way of portraying things. I’m very curious as to whether the components of a great sports anime – sports/game content together with character development and relationships – could also be made into great games. The content of digital games and anime series are very different, but I think there are still learnings to be made from analysing and also comparing those media forms.

Please let me know through our social channels which games you have played that include sports mechanics and relationships. I have played Pyre, which I think combine those things well. I also have Roller Drama on my to play-list, but I would like to know of more games that focus on sports and relationships (sports relation games!).

A last side note: When there was finally an anime about Water Polo – Re-main – the creators missed the opportunity of telling the amazing story on how this sport might have come into fruition – as a water based version of horse polo, called Polo Aquatic, where players rode on barrels hitting a ball with sticks… I mean, that’s something you can’t exclude!

[aboutanancientenquiry]

"What were Herodotus’ thoughts on religion? Is there any sort of worship of him as a prominent spiritual figure?

Answer by Anthony Ellis

Herodotus was clearly fascinated by the discrepancies in how different people imagined and worshipped the gods. But he didn’t think of the world as divided into a series of separate and distinct ‘religions’. Instead, he took it for granted that, by and large, most societies worship the same gods but simply imagine them differently: each group of people has its own names for the gods, worships them using its own rites, depicts them differently in its icons and sculptures, and tells different stories about their birth, powers, and functions. So, in Herodotus’ view, it’s not the case that you have your gods and we have ours. Rather the god whom we (Greeks) know as ‘Aphrodite’ is also worshipped by the Arabians, who call her ‘Alilat’, and by the Assyrians, who call her ‘Mylitta’, and by the Persians, who call her ‘Mitra’ (see his comments at 1.131.3). This practice of theological ‘translation’, which equated the pantheons of different peoples, was not Herodotus’ own invention – it was part of a long tradition in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East.

If this tolerant attitude to what we would think of as ‘foreign religions’ seems unfamiliar, that’s in large part because the ‘Abrahamic faiths’ and the cultures which evolved out of them have historically understood religious difference in other ways. In the early Christian centuries, for instance, another model prevailed: that of ‘heresy’. Christian heresiologists contended that a primal ‘orthodoxy’ had always been known to God’s chosen people, but that it had been continuously assailed by ‘heresies’ which led the faithful into idolatry, producing a vast and sinister diversity of religious practice. Only over the last few centuries has it become common to think of humanity as being divided into a series of ‘world religions’ which exist on a level footing with one another and worship different and historically unrelated deities. Both of these approaches would have left Herodotus and his contemporaries scratching their heads.

For anyone wondering how so many different peoples came to worship the same gods, Herodotus has an explanation: knowledge of individual gods spread gradually from one people to another through mutual contact, typically flowing from older societies (like the Egyptians) to younger ones (like the Greeks; for an example, see 2.145-6). The first inhabitants of Greece, he says, thought of the gods as an undifferentiated group (known simply as ‘the gods’); but later they learned the Egyptian names for the gods and, once an oracle gave them permission, they began to use them. Remarkably, Herodotus claims that most of what makes Greek religion distinctive – including the gods’ cultic epithets, powers, and the stories of their births, marriages, and conflicts – was first formulated long after this by the great poets Hesiod and Homer, whom Herodotus dates at 400 years before his own day (2.50-3). Although Herodotus never makes explicit global criticisms of how the ‘Greeks’ imagine the gods, he clearly thought that some of what these poets said was untrue – for instance, that gods took mortal lovers and had semi-divine children (for his discussion of confused or foolish Greek ideas about the gods see, for instance, 2.43-5). Like many other Ionian and Athenian intellectuals, he probably doubted that the gods resemble humans in the way that traditional Greek epics and cult-depictions implied.

All this might suggest that Herodotus had a critical – perhaps even sceptical – view of religion. But most of this is based on what Herodotus writes in his more ‘anthropological’ moments. Herodotus’ Enquiries are extremely diverse and, when he embarks on more literary narratives, he writes about the gods in ways which would have been more familiar to Greek readers. Much as in Greek tragedy, his stories give prominence to gods, oracles, fate, prodigies, and other forms of divine intervention. He makes it clear that human life is wholly dependent on the good will of deities who are strict in their punishment of injustice – but who do not rule the world in a manner conducive to human flourishing. In fact, some of the work’s most prominent descriptions of the gods present them as hostile to humans, so jealous that they constantly disrupt mortal life and ensure that no human enjoys unlimited success, happiness, reputation, youth, or health (for example, see chapters 1.32-3, 3.40, 7.10ε, and 7.46). These passages have, quite rightly, led many to think that Herodotus had deep religious convictions.

The second part of this question took me by surprise, since I’d never thought of Herodotus being viewed as a religious or spiritual figure. In antiquity he had a very chequered reputation: although he was respected by many – dubbed the ‘father of history’ by Cicero and others – he was also criticized as a liar who intentionally spread mistruths and slander about the most glorious episodes of Greek history. On the rare occasions that his religious views came under scrutiny in antiquity and the Middle Ages, his descriptions of the gods as jealous and hostile towards humanity tended to be dismissed as blasphemy, by pagan philosophers and Christians alike (I discussed some examples here). Herodotus certainly achieved cult status among some historians, but few have claimed him as a source of spiritual guidance and none, to my knowledge, have actually worshipped him in a religious sense.

Ironically, the closest example might be Protestant humanism. As I’ve discussed elsewhere, the Lutheran reformer Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) claimed that Herodotus’ writing was part of God’s plan to provide humans with a continual record of world history. Melanchthon and his students argued that God inspired Herodotus to start his history at the point where the Old Testament finished, and declared that his writings provided a perfect illustration of the Ten Commandments. This isn’t actually so far from viewing Herodotus – or his writing – as a religious authority of some sort. But that has to be put in context. Melanchthon and others looked for overtly Christian interpretations of almost all of the ancient Greek ‘classics’, and their interest in what Herodotus thought about the gods extended only to cherry-picking ideas which supported their own opinions and ignoring the rest. Of course, they treated ancient Hebrew literature of the Bible in precisely the same way. So perhaps we could say that here Herodotus did come close to becoming some kind of ‘religious’ or ‘spiritual’ authority – though even these Protestant humanists would certainly have insisted that he was in a completely different class to Christian Scripture.

Further Reading:

Assmann, A. 1996. ‘Translating gods: Religion as a Factor of Cultural (Un)Translatability’, in S. Budick and W. Iser (eds), The Translatability of Cultures. Figurations of the Space Between. Stanford, 25-36.

Burkert, W. 1990. ‘Herodot als Historiker fremder Religionen’, in G. Nenci(ed.), Hérodote et les peuples non-grecs (Entretiens Hardt 35., Geneva, 1-32 (repr. in his Kleine Schriften VII: Tragica et Historica (ed. W. Rösler). Göttingen,140–16.

Ellis, B. A. 2015. ‘Herodotus magister vitae: or Herodotus and God in the Protestant Reformation’, in id. (ed.) God in History: Reading and Rewriting Herodotean Theology from Plutarch to the Renaissance, Histos Supplement 4. Newcastle upon Tyne, 171–245.

Ellis, B. A. 2021. ‘Religion, Herodotus’ views on’, in C. Baron (ed.) The Herodotus Encyclopedia (Malden, MA), 1228–1233.

von Lieven, A. 2013. ‘Translating Gods, Interpreting Gods. On the Mechanisms behind the Interpretatio Graeca of Egyptian Gods’, in I. Rutherford (ed.) Greco-Egyptian Interactions. Literature, Translation and Culture, 500 BCE – 300 CE. Oxford, 61-82.

Harrison, T. 2000. Divinity and History. The Religion of Herodotus. Oxford.

Scullion, S. 2006. ‘Herodotus and Greek Religion’, in C. Dewald and J. Marincola (eds), The Cambridge Companion to Herodotus. Cambridge, 192-208.

Schwab, A. 2020. Fremde Religionen in Herodots “Historien”. Religiöse Mehrdimensionalität bei Persern und Ägyptern. Stuttgart."

From the site of Herodotus Helpline.

Anthony Ellis, Institut für Klassische Philologie, University of Bern

[seiin-translations]

2.43 S2 Chapter 1.5 - The Laughing King and Crybaby Jack (Part 5)

5. SCOUTING

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It was now Wednesday of the following week. After school, as the team members gathered in the gym after changing into their practice clothes without waiting for cleaning time to end, a first-year told Ochi that Tokura was feeling ill and wanted to take the day off.

“He got diarrhea? Did he eat something weird?”

“I-I guess so.”

They couldn’t afford for him to lose his strength at this critical time. As he was thinking about texting him later, Saruwatari passed by and said, “Kohei? I saw him eating a lot of bread when he was cleaning. I thought he was just eating before practice.”

“What did you say?”

Saruwatari flinched when Ochi unconsciously widened his eyes in anger.

“You want me to go look for him?”

“No…I’ll go. Can you tell Sensei for me? I’ll leave the rest of the preparations to you.”

“Oh, Ochi-senpai. What should we say to Subaru-senpai?”

Just as he was about to run out after putting on his outdoor shoes, the first-year called after him. He thought it would be easier to have Mimura go look for him than to go himself, but he couldn’t use their ace for such an errand.

“Don’t tell Mimura any more than you have to. Kohei is sick. I have to go out to run an errand.”

It wasn’t so much as having an idea, but something he intuitively knew.

Athletic club members in tracksuits and uniforms shuffled along the path between the back of the school and the sports ground. Beyond it, he could see the bike parking area under a sheet iron roof.

Tokura was pulling out his beloved bike from a cluttered group of bikes parked in what looked like an oversized garbage dump. “Geh,” he reacted in an obvious way when he spotted Ochi.

“You look good for a guy who’s got diarrhea.”

Ochi went around to the front of his bike and grabbed the basket.

“If you can’t manage your physical condition before the tournament, then I can’t entrust the position of Subaru’s diagonal to you. Sensei also said that it was about time we start using the first-years in the starting lineup.”

He leaned over the basket and let his voice lower an octave. Tokura’s brows furrowed in a pitiful expression.

“I-I thought I’d go see Seiin’s practice…”

He hung his head and confessed the truth.

“The tournament is next week. If you want to see Seiin in person, you can see them then.”

In the qualifiers, which would be held next weekend on September 27 and 28, the twenty-two competing schools would be divided into two groups of eleven schools and play in a tournament to sift down to the last two schools. These two schools would then compete in the representative play-offs in November to determine the representative school that would be sent to Tokyo.

Fukuho, who was the number one seed, would not participate in the tournament draw. The matchup would be up to Seiin’s luck in the lottery, but as luck would have it, Seiin drew the group where Fukuho was not. In other words, the two schools would not meet in the qualifiers. Only if the two schools reached the top of their respective groups without losing a single game, they would finally face off in November.

“Rather than caring about other teams that we don’t even know if we’re going to play, we have other things to do right now. If we get caught in the qualifiers, we’ll be too miserable to look at.”

“Y-yes, but…”

Tokura mumbled, his shoulders slumping. Ochi sighed.

“I’ll go with him.”

“What?” Tokura raised his eyes when Ochi said that without much hesitation.

“I don’t want you to worry about the court next to you at the qualifiers. If you go see them now and be satisfied, you can focus on what is in front of you, right?”

---

The train service wasn’t very frequent, so they had to wait a long time for the train bound for Nanafu, and it was a twenty-minute walk from Nanafu Station to Seiin High School. They came there as quickly as they could, but they probably arrived at the latter half of the volleyball team’s practice time.

Seiin High School was located on a mountain slope that was exposed to the western sun. Ochi and Tokura rode their bikes up the slope, passing Seiin students who were riding down the slope nimbly on their bikes. Although the sun’s rays were less intense than in midsummer, the heat from the ground rushed up to meet their faces when they leaned forward.

However, more than the sunlight and temperature, there was something that both of them felt painfully in their skins.

“Kuh…Seiin has a lot of girls…so chatty, they should put their studies first since they’re students.”

Tokura said hatefully as they passed by mixed-gender groups and groups made up of girls on their way to the school building. He was whispering, though.

“They have a much higher university acceptance rate than our school.”

Ochi, who was plunging in with his eyes half-closed, was also whispering.

Well, there were only two things to envy: the male-to-female ratio and the standard test scores (though that alone was a decisive factor), but in any case, they were both public schools. The school building was not as impressive as Fukuho’s, and the uniforms for both boys and girls were simple black blazers, not particularly stylish. Fukuho had gakurans, but they were currently wearing their summer uniforms, so the only difference at a glance was the presence or absence of a tie.

Tokura was in his uniform, and Ochi was in a T-shirt and sweatpants. The Seiin students looked curiously at the mismatched pair from another school.

“Excuse me, do you know where the boys’ volleyball team practices?”

Instead of the big-boned but shy-out-in-public Tokura, Ochi was the one who grabbed the nearest Seiin students and asked them. Ochi too used to be quite shy, but his position, which required him to negotiate within the school and to interact with the volleyball teams from other schools, forced him to improve a great deal. This surprisingly might be his most universally useful development after becoming a manager.

“We have a boy’s volleyball team?”

“I think we probably do, don’t we?”

The two Seiin students looked at each other and had an incredibly uncertain exchange.

“They’ll probably be in the gym or outside court…Go around to the left of that entrance there, then go through the woods and you’ll see the clubroom building, go to the right and you’ll see the gym, go left and keep going up the slope next to the first and second sports grounds if you want to go to the outside court.”

They indicated the directions with their fingers.

“Well, it isn’t like this is a middle school gym class, so they must be on the outside court, right?”

Tokura whispered into his ear.

“Well, let’s go there and see. I’ll go check out the gym, and you go to the outside court.”

He split up with Tokura from there, deciding to text each other when one of them found the practice location.

---

In the gym, two clubs were practicing on either side of a partition net hung up in the middle. The girls’ volleyball team was in the front half of the gym, and the badminton team could be seen in the back half where the stage was located. Since they were practicing with the badminton team, the windows were all closed. It seemed to be the case for all schools that the gym became a sauna when that happened. The air seemed to be distorted by the steam rising from the bodies of the team members. He could feel sweat beading on his forehead just from standing on the doorway.

In the middle of all this, he asked a team member in a long-sleeved and long-pants tracksuit who was near the doorway where the boys’ volleyball team practiced.

“The boys’ team is outside today. Oh, but I think they’ll be coming back in a little. After the badminton team ends practice at six, they’ll let them use the other side.”

The member answered, looking at the clock on the wall. Behind the metal barrier, the clock hands indicated 5:40.

“Six? That’s early… You can’t use the gym every day?”

It wasn’t like he was doing reconnaissance or anything, but he couldn’t help but probe deeper. The Fukuho volleyball team had access to the gym every day after class ended from 3:30 until 7:30 (although some days of the week had longer classes), and in some cases, it was extended.

“Tournaments are coming up for both the boys’ and girls’ volleyball teams, so we’re allowed to use the gym until 7:30 after other clubs leave. Normally, we have to be out by six.”

“The Spring High preliminaries, huh. It’s on the twenty-seventh.”

Ochi immediately said, and the boy tilted his head with an expression that said, Who are you? Ochi was also wondering who this boy was just now. He was a boy who looked just over 180 with long limbs and a lanky body that were the clear marks of a volleyball player, but it was the girls’ volleyball team who was practicing in front of him.

“Um, are you the manager for the girls’ volleyball team?”

He continued with the rude questions, but this male member didn’t seem offended, and he answered with a smile that seemed gentle in character, but showed the strength at his core.

“No, I’m a member of the boys’ volleyball team. I can’t show you around right now, but if you want to go to the outside court, I can show you.”

——That was Kanno, a second-year.

It was only after Ochi thanked him and left the gym that he matched the face to the name (he’s a year below me, isn’t he? I didn’t have to use polite speech with him).

The fact that club activities ended at six here was insane to him. Was that the case for schools that weren’t particularly focused on club activities? Practicing until six, and not being able to use the gym…it might be rude to think this, but what were they doing, worrying about a school that was doing club activities as their leisure time? He couldn’t help but feel like they were being made fun of, and it made him gloomy.

A dirt slope stretched between the bike parking lot and the sports grounds. There were two sports grounds and an outdoor court above them.

What a hilly school…I had to climb a lot from the station just to get to the school, and now I have to go up another hill…

Fukuho was located on a piece of flat land in the city, so it was quite a surprise for Ochi to see such a difference in elevation within the school.

What’s Tokura doing anyways? He should have sent me a text when he finds them practicing on the outside court.

He was about to check his phone to see if he received any messages when a voice saying “Excuse me” came down from the top of the hill.

“Excuse me! Please stop!”

He looked up from his phone to see a ball cage approaching him before his eyes.

“Whoa!”

The ball cage rumbled down the slope, nearly crushing Ochi’s toes as he dodged it. A boy in sportswear running after it jumped at the edge of the cage and, dragged a few steps by the weight, slammed on the brakes. A cloud of sand flew up.

“Cough…w-what was that…?”

It was a steel mesh ball cage like those used in gym class, with sand-covered volleyballs piled up high. The boy gripping the cage had the same volleyball-team height as Kanno from earlier, but his features, which were a little more mature than that of a middle schooler, indicated that he was probably a first-year.

Seiin only had eight members. Of those, only two were first-years. Was this the setter Haijima, or the left ace Kuroba…?

Without giving him a chance to talk to him, the first-year hurriedly push the ball cage up the slope with a “thank you!” and ran as fast as he could.

“What an energetic guy…” He had only dodged it, so he didn’t think he would get thanked.

This was no time to stand idly by. From the top of the slope, he heard Tokura yelling. “That idiot, what is he…!” Ochi started to run after the first-year.

Tokura was arguing with a big guy and it seemed like they might grab each other at any moment. The first-year, holding the ball cage, was panicking and saying, “Okuma-senpai, you can’t!” Okuma was the second-year middle blocker who everyone exclaimed “Who’s that!?” when they saw him. Even in the video, it could be seen that he was unusually stout for a high school volleyball player.

“Kohei! What are you doing!”

He was out of breath before he knew it, but even so he still ran as fast as he could and shouted at him. That was when Tokura swung his fist at Okuma.

With a dull gah, Okuma plunged butt-first into the bushes by the side of the road.

“Wha…”

He couldn’t believe what had happened in front of his eyes.

“Senpai!” The first year rushed to help Okuma up after shoving the ball cage into the bushes. Ochi returned to himself and intervened by holding back Tokura, who was standing there with a reddened face.

“Kohei!!” Half-screaming, his voice cracked. “You!!”

“O-Ochi-senpai…t-this guy said Fukuho must not be such a big deal since we were sneaking around and scouting them…”

Tokura himself was dumbfounded, but he pointed at Okuma and exposed his anger once again.

Okuma, who had been pulled out of the bush, stood and said “Owww…” as he pressed his cheek. “Fukuho sure has no manners, sneaking into someone else’s territory. I didn’t say you weren’t a big deal. I just said that Fukuho must have fallen to the bottom of the heap if they’re sneaking in here to spy on us.” Matching the impression of his outward appearance, he spoke rudely and arrogantly. “Stop, what are you doing by stirring them up!” the first-year frantically pulled on Okuma’s back.

He wanted to grind his teeth at Tokura’s rashness. However, one didn’t have to be Tokura to feel offended by that way of speaking. It wasn’t something those who carried Fukuho’s pride on their backs could overlook.

While holding back Tokura, he turned to Okuma.

“You’re the one with no manners here.”

“Aah? Who the hell are you?”

“Ochi, third-year. I’m Fukuho’s manager.”

“Manager? For boys’ volleyball? Is it fun for a guy to be the manager of the boys’ volleyball team?”

He could clearly feel his own eyebrows twitch. “You’re going too far!” His hand that was holding back the enraged Tokura from behind was trembling. Right when he unconsciously clenched his fist on Tokura’s shirt…

“Okay, let’s just leave it at that.”

A calm voice cut in.

A new figure had appeared further up the hill. A tall and lanky shadow stood there as though a tree had suddenly sprouted in the middle of the road, backlit by the orange setting sun shining through the gaps between the bushes.

“…Aoki?”

Recognizing Seiin’s vice-captain, Ochi called his name.

He was a member of the Seiin volleyball team who he had known somewhat because they were in the same grade. He was the tallest on the Seiin team at 193cm. Since he was on top of a hill, he looked so excessively tall that he could poke the sky.

“Well look who it is. So it was you, Ochi.”

Aoki also recognized Ochi. He was tall, but unlike Okuma, he didn’t have an overbearing air about him. Ochi had the impression of him as a rational and gentle person.

Aoki was pointing his cell phone camera at them. He checked the screen and was fiddling with something.

“This rude guy from your school is laying his hands on our guy, so I was just able to get it on camera.”

“What…you recorded it!? Why would you…!?”

“It’ll make a great piece of evidence that a member of Fukuho came to another school and started a fight there.”

Just when he thought he had finally met a member of the team with whom he could talk calmly, the person who appeared wasn’t a mediator to settle the matter. Behind him, Tokura gasped and began to shake.

Rational and gentle impression? Who was!?

“Ah…that’s low! It was your member who stirred things up!”

“The number one school in the prefecture doesn’t need to be offended by a little bit of foul language from a weak school like us.” Okuma jumped on the opportunity Aoki gave him and got fired up. Ochi ground his teeth and glared at him.

“You guys don’t seem to know your manners. Where would this kind of talk…”

He lost the rest of his words when someone entered the edge of his vision.

He turned his head so quickly that he swore he could hear a creak, and saw a bike parked a little lower down the hill. Not only had he seen it before, it was an extremely familiar bike that he had ridden to and from school countless times over the past three years. In the front basket was an enamel bag with “Fukuho Tech” printed on it in hard typeface.

“Suba…ru…why…”

Mimura, who had taken one foot off the pedals to support the bike, was breathing hard. He must have left practice, as he was wearing a sweaty T-shirt. He paused in his shallow, repetitive breathing to take a deep breath in, then exhaled with his whole upper body and plopped down over the handlebars with his arms resting on his bag.

“Ow…I died on that slope back there.”

It was unthinkable that he could have ridden his bike all the way here from Fukuho before he went up the hill and so on. He couldn’t have possibly caught up if he had to wait for the next train, but it should have taken an hour if he rode as hard as he could.

“…What’s going on, with you here…”

Muttering that, Mimura’s fingers twitched on the bag. He raised his head slightly from his arms and looked farther upwards, past Ochi and Tokura who were rooted to the spot.

He could see the rest of the team, three or four members in all, coming down from the top of the hill. The short boy at the front of the group stopped in his tracks when he noticed Ochi, the other four people, and Mimura on his bike.

The first-year, who had simply been flustered and unable to interject, suddenly shouted, “You’ve got it all wrong! It isn’t me this time!”

---

It seemed that the Seiin team members were about to clean up the outdoor court and intermittently withdraw into the gym. They all moved together for the time being to a flat area at the bottom of the hill. The circumstances were explained to the two captains, with arguments from both schools.

Seiin’s captain, Oda, was a wing spiker of only 163cm. The height difference between Oda and Mimura, who played the same position but was taller at 189cm, was so great that it was almost comical when they faced each other. 

At that point, Ochi didn’t think that something fatal was happening to Fukuho. There was no question that Seiin’s rudeness was the spark that lit the fuse. What’s more, taking a video and threatening us…is that something a high schooler would come up with? Even if Seiin submitted the video to a suitable place such as their school or Koutairen, Seiin’s unscrupulous technique would be more problematic.

However, Mimura said…

“Sorry.”

He then bent his tall body and bowed his head to Oda, which was both surprising and hard to accept.

“Can’t you keep this between us? I can’t let anything scandalous happen to us. I deeply apologize for any careless actions done by our members. Can’t you do that for me, for the sake of my honor?”

“Subaru, stop…”

Ochi whispered and pulled on Mimura’s arm.

Fukuho was the king of the prefecture. He wasn’t saying that out of arrogance, but objectively speaking, they had contributed more to high school volleyball in the prefecture than any other school, and even the credibility of the people involved were different. It was Seiin who insulted them at the beginning of the encounter without the least bit respect.

There was no way the captain of Fukuho was going to bow down to a bunch of guys who just happened to stand out this year and didn’t know manners. It felt pathetic. It was like an unconditional surrender.

“The people involved in this are me and Kohei. If anyone’s going to apologize, it should be us.”

“Be quiet. It doesn’t matter if you bow your heads or not. It’s something I have to do.”

Without wavering in his posture, Mimura spoke crisply and clearly. His heavy and powerful voice, which was usually light, pierced through his body and reverberated down his spine.

“Please, Oda. It would be a shame for us if we were suspended for such a trivial matter. If Fukuho’s history is cut short like this with us, we won’t be able to face our senpais.”

He didn’t even put his head on the ground, but for Ochi it was as good as getting down on his knees. He was horrified as he finally realized the gravity of what they had done. They were in a situation where they had no choice but to depend on the mercy of Seiin’s captain.

The only one standing on the precipice was Fukuho. Even if Seiin’s modus operandi was called into question, they could just say it was a one-time thing.

The magnitude of what they would lose was as different as heaven and earth.

“Um…I’m really sorry for everything!” Tokura jumped out from next to him and collapsed onto his knees in front of Oda. “I’m the only one to blame! If this will be solved by me quitting the team, then…”

“H-Hold on a minute. I didn’t mean to talk so big. Please stand up. This is making me look bad.”

Oda stepped back disconcertedly from Tokura, who looked like he was about to start rubbing his forehead against his shoes. He took Tokura’s arm and stood him up as he turned towards Mimura.

“Mimura, I don’t care about it either. It’ll only be a loss for us if it becomes a problem. We said some stupid stuff too, so we’re sorry. ——Okuma!”

With a stern voice, Oda called out to Okuma.

“It’s not worth it if I’m the only one who’s punched.”

Okuma complained.

“Both of you are bad! First Kuroba, now you, I’m sick of this!”

A threatening angry voice exploded from his small frame. Okuma flinched from Oda’s scolding, who was twice as big as he looked if you crossed him.

“I’m so sorry, Fukuho-san—.”

Okuma apologized sulkily.

“Aoki,” Oda then turned to the vice-captain of the same year as him, and Aoki shrugged his shoulders casually. “Enough with the bad jokes. Delete it right now.”

Joke? Is he talking about that threat? Even if that’s the case…it’s in too bad taste.

Aoki sighed and turned his phone screen towards them. At the end of several thumbnails in a row was a video showing Tokura and Okuma. The fact that evidence really had been obtained sent a chill down his back. Aoki deleted the video so that those present could see it clearly.

In the end, no one except Oda seemed apologetic. Ochi’s indignation didn’t abate, but when he thought of Mimura’s position, he stifled any further protests.

Mimura finally raised his head. The fact that his gaze had once again settled in a spot higher than Oda proved that Fukuho was out of the dilemma.

Oda, too, had subsided in his anger towards his own team members, and a smile appeared on his masculine face.

“I heard you came all the way out here to watch us practice. It’s an honor to be marked by Fukuho.”

It was as if they had returned to their original goal after going through all that unnecessary trouble. Still, although he and Okuma were saying the same things, it didn’t sound sarcastic coming from Oda’s mouth.

“It’ll only be for an hour from now, but you can watch if you want.”

“No, we don’t need to watch you practice.”

Oda closed his mouth in surprise at Mimura’s flat response. Ochi and Tokura looked at Mimura, both wanting to say something. It was natural to feel that they might as well watch since they came all this way.

It was hard to believe that Mimura had prostrated himself with such a serious face just a few minutes ago, but now he was back to his usual Mimura self.

“I’m gonna throw some cold water on everything today, grab these guys by the scruff of their necks and go back. In exchange, how about a practice match?”

He said. In a sense, he was in a good mood when he made the offer right after this situation.

That determination was who Mimura was. Finally able to see the true Mimura, Ochi felt quite relieved.

The lack of information about Seiin made them seem needlessly creepy. On the other hand, Fukuho, who had always won regular matches, might as well as be stark naked. Fukuho’s videos were lying around the prefecture like rocks along the side of the road.

He thought that there was no reason for Oda, who seemed to be a chivalrous and manly man as well as respected by his teammates, not to make a quick decision. However, surprisingly, Oda avoided making a snap judgement and turned around, asking, “What do you guys think? They’re the one who asked us, and I want to practice with a higher-skilled team, but…” He was asking the opinion of a certain member of the team who hadn’t spoken a word until then.

That was——Haijima.

For some reason, he knew it was him right away, even though he could only recognize it from a distance in the video.

Unlike Mimura, he didn’t have a sharp and distinct face. He had a slender face with narrow eyes, a face that didn’t stand out at all. He was tall and skinny as fitting a volleyball player and wore thin-framed glasses, which he didn’t have in the video. At first glance, he didn’t seem like a sports person, and if he hadn’t been here in a practice uniform, one might not have thought he was part of a sports team.

And yet, his appearance suddenly drew his attention. It was as though there was only a thin air of tension where he was, and although it was completely different from Mimura, there was something that changed the air around him into an atmosphere of his own color.

Aah, so this guy is also “special”——

“There’s another genius right now in Fukui.”

One of the Best Six of Tokyo middle schools, as Hata put it, turned his narrow eyes on Mimura as though he was appraising Fukui’s absolute ace. The first words he uttered were in standard Japanese without a local accent.

“It’s fine, isn’t it? You don’t have to be so reluctant. It looks like they’re awfully interested in us.”

Previous || Index || Next

[msyuksanh]

CHRIST HE’S SO ATTRACTIVE I’M GONNA CRY 😭😭😭

---------

アニメイトタイムズ公式@animatetimes·(2021.01.27) TVアニメ『2.43 清陰高校男子バレー部』青木操役 #梅原裕一郎 さんインタビュー どこか達観している青木操に年相応なものを感じるとき https://animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1611627293&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social #243anime

An interview with Aoki Misao’s voice actor, Umehara Yuichiro, from the TV anime “2.43 Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu/2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team” The times when you feel what is age appropriate for the philosophical Aoki Misao https://animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1611627293&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social #243anime

[kalmeria]

2.43 OP:  麻痺 [Mahi] by yama

[shysheeperz]

[undertale-data]

[Image Description: an Undertale textbox with “FANCONTENT PREFERENCES” in all caps in its middle. To its left and right are a radar screen and a line graph from the Dating Hub. End I.D.]

This section is focused on the different mediums in which fans consume and create fancontent. We used a Likert 1-5 scale to ask people about the frequency in which they consume or encounter different kinds of content, in which 1 translates to “Never” and 5 to “Always/high frequency”. The number shown in the graph represents the average of people's responses, which could range between 1 and 5.

[Image Description: a barplot titled “Types of Fancontent Consumed”. From left (greatest) to right (least): Average Frequency of Consumption (on a scale of 1-5) for fanart is 4.33; average for comics is 3.58; average for fanfiction is 3.37; for remixes, 3.3; for original UT music, 3.25; for meta/theories, 3.17; for animations, 3.12; for Let’s Plays, 2.43; for Comic Dubs, 2.39; for Cosplays, 2.19; and for AMVs, 2.13. End I.D.]

The most consumed type of content is Fanart, by far, with a score of 4.33. Whether it is digital or traditional drawings, elaborate pieces or sketches, they are the most viewed. Comics, another visual medium, are in second place with a score of 3.58, almost a full point behind fanart. On the other hand, AMVs and Cosplays had the lowest scores. This could be due to the tools needed both in crafting or editing, leading to less creators for these kinds of contents. We currently do not have enough information to draw further conclusions.

[More analysis, including fancontent created, genre preferences, and NSFW interaction statistics are under the cut.  No material presented is NSFW in nature.]

[Image Description: a barplot titled “Types of Fancontent Created”. From left (greatest) to right (least): 1586 responders make fanart; 997 write fanfiction; 501 create comics; 285 write meta/theories; 238 do cosplay; 178 create animations; 81 do dubs/voice acting; 69 do AMVs; 61 do remixes; 53 make original UT music; 79 do other things; and 715 do none of these. End I.D.]

1699 people stated that they create UT fancontent, representing 64% of the sample. When asked about the types of content they made in terms of medium, allowing people to pick multiple options. The most common was fanart with 1586 votes (93.3% of all creators). It is notable that visual and written mediums (such as Fanart, fanfiction, Comics and Meta/Analyses were the most common among fans. We believe it is related to the accessibility of these mediums, since they do not always require specialized programs or tools. On the other hand, the least common types of creators seem to be for auditory mediums, such as original music, remixes, AMVs and voice acting. This could be due to the tools needed in order to record, edit and compose these kinds of content. However, further research is needed to understand the reasons behind this distribution, so these hypotheses stay unanswered.

About 3% of fans said they create a different type of fancontent than those listed here.  Common “other”  responses included personal AUs, roleplays, askblogs, and memes.

[Image Description: a barplot titled “Genre Preferences in Fancontent”. From left (greatest) to right (least): 2204 responders CONSUME Fluff content and 1354 responders CREATE Fluff content; 2014 consume and 1184 create friendship/family; 1950 consume and 972 create humor; 1779 consume and 966 create hurt/comfort; 1619 consume and 993 create angst; 1619 consume and 790 create romance; 1355 consume and 602 create adventure; 1061 consume and 456 create drama content; 1033 consume and 477 create crack/parody; 933 consume and 372 create horror; and 50 consume and 800 create no content. End I.D.]

Genres of fan content were mostly taken from Fanfiction.net’s genre options, as they seemed to encapsulate the most common broad categories.  “Fluff” was added and defined as “content centered around positive feelings,” not necessarily romantic content.  “Angst” was defined as “content centered around negative feelings.”  Romance was omitted as a genre by accident.  Participants were allowed to select as many genres as they liked.

Trends in genre tended to be the same across content both created and consumed. Fluff was the highest ranked genre, followed by Friendship/Family and Humor.  The game itself focuses on the themes of friendship and holding onto hope, and the characters are well known for their humor.  Considering this, the genre rankings make sense.

Horror was the lowest ranked genre in both categories, with 35.2% consuming and 14.0% creating it.  (This should not be confused with Horrortale the AU, which as we will see in a later post, is consumed by 43.7% of all responders.)

1.9% of fans (50 responders) selected the option “I do not consume fancontent.”  While it may seem odd that they took this survey in that case, it may be that they consumed content in the past and still consider themselves part of the fandom, even if they no longer interact with fancontent.

[Image Description: a barplot titled “NSFW Fancontent”. From left to write, most interaction with NSFW fancontent to least: 74 primarily consume NSFW content and 35 primarily create it; 472 often consume it and 86 often create it; 594 rarely consume it and 262 rarely create it; 37 do not consume it but may in the future and 314 do not create it but may in the future; 494 do not intend to consume NSFW content and 988 do not plan to create it.  52 preferred not to answer about consuming it and 38 prefered not to answer about creating it. End ID.]

1723 people (65%) who took the survey are over the age of 18, and they were shown an exclusive section asking about Not Safe For Work content. NSFW was not defined in the survey, but is commonly used to denote content that is overly sexual, violent, or otherwise dark in nature and would not be suitable for children or the workplace.  

Contrasting creating and consuming, it is clear that those who do not create content like this are the majority. When subdivided, most of them (57.3% of adult responders) stated they do not intend to create it in the future. Among the people who create NSFW content, the majority (15.2%) do it rarely, and is not their main type of content. In terms of consumption, the biggest group consumes NSFW content, but rarely (34.4%). They may read or look at fanworks that contain mature themes but are either skippable or not the main focus of a story, which may appeal to people who otherwise would not consume NSFW content.  

[ebw-translations]

Watched the first half of 2.43 on my Blu-Rays today, and without Funimation’s un-toggleable subs in the way, I can actually read the full text on the eyecatch cards! I may translate them, though I wish I could get screencaps too… Ah, if only the external disc drive I bought for my laptop years ago specifically to play BDs would actually still play them. It plays CDs just fine, and DVDs too even if it can be a little bit laggy at times and occasionally crash… maybe it’s about time to look into getting a new one.

[enbyboiwonder]

I had a dream with some of the 2.43 characters working in an office setting, but it didn’t get very far bc I woke up when Yuni asked Kanno, “Why reject Suemori-san and then—” bc I was excited over Ibara having been the one to confess the second time

[randomidiocyncrazies]

2.43 ep 5 thoughts: Oda and Aoki edition

sooo as you all know i’m an Oda (and Oda/Aoki) stan, so I just wanna take some time to talk about Oda and Aoki’s dynamics in episode 5 and compare it to the book a little

as a note, I’ll be commenting using my translated copy of the novel, which I’m pretty sure is based on the tankobon edition of the first arc (‘S1′); there may be some revisions in the bunkobon edition that i don’t have access to

[2.43 BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD]

while i think the tension during the club activity suspension had been downgraded from “this is a huge blow to team morale :O” to “hm, i guess people are kind of annoyed?” and we didn’t get to witness Aoki and Oda flying off the handle, I do appreciate that the seniors are presented as a unit in handling the younger team members, especially that Oda was able to stop Aoki with a glance in the anime (as shown above).

this strong partnership also leads us to the scene where they are hanging out together on break at one of their houses and communicating with each other about the incident, even though they have different opinions about it: Oda believes in Yuni’s innocence, while Aoki is holding a grudge (based on his words and expression). (also, what a gorgeous house!) 

there is no similar scene, or even a reference to something like this, in the book—this is because, as alluded earlier, the team suspension is presented as way more devastating to team morale than it was presented in the anime

in the book Aoki’s displeasure towards Yuni had a sharper edge; not only was Aoki the ‘lead interrogator’ during the team’s questioning of Yuni, but he also hauled Yuni up by his shirt collar when he thought Yuni’s refusal to explain what happened was him not taking this seriously. 

Oda actually had to physically intervene in the book, and although Aoki reluctantly let Yuni go, he specifically says that Yuni had “betrayed [Oda’s] trust.” When Yuni insisted that he didn’t do anything that’d cause trouble to the team and “it’s you [seniors] who refuse to take my word for it”, Aoki basically threatens to kill him if he keeps looking down on them/refusing to take this seriously. 

(Chika is also much more aggressive in the book; he tried to lunge at Yuni, but was held back by Kanno, who advised him to at least hear Yuni out, but also made it clear that they need an actual explanation out of Yuni instead of the wishy-washy stuff he’d been saying)

in the book, they make a note that Oda calming Aoki down is a rare sight that the underclassmen normally never see, which was kind of interesting in terms of how the 3rd year duo presents themselves to the team—Aoki is the cool cucumber while Oda is the excitable ‘heart’ of the team, so that line reinforces how unusual Aoki’s actions during the interrogation were. there’s also the implication that, since Aoki was so aggressive, Oda has to hold back and be the one who diffuses the situation this time.

as the argument over Yuni’s refusal to explain what exactly happened spirals out of control, Oda also reached his limit and snaps at all of them, including Aoki, to just resign if they’re just going to get in his way of playing at the Spring Tournament. this shocks everyone into silence, and Oda is so ashamed at his (”selfish”) conduct that he dismisses everyone, and it was heavily implied that he didn’t really speak to any of the team members during the month that club activities were suspended (horrified at his outburst during the last meeting).

in the epilogue (which timing-wise roughly corresponds to the after-credit scene in ep 5), it’s implied that Aoki was the one who reached out to Itoko’s friends in an attempt to figure out what went down during the incident, and Oda and Aoki have a rather touching reconciliation conversation.

essentially, Aoki walks in to the club’s supply office to see Oda taking care of the equipment. When Aoki pointed out that Oda doesn’t have to do all this as he’s the captain, Oda felt that it’s penance for “being the first one who gave up”:

“Nobody thought you’ve given up, you know.” Aoki sat down at the end of the bench, the worn wood creaking under his weight. Just as he was about to pick up one of the balls by his feet, he noticed—the “Seiin High School” written in marker on all of the balls are facing up in the same direction. 

Oda isn’t the kind of person who’d deliberately make sure the equipment was laid out uniformly, so it was easy to imagine that he got in early to maintain the equipment, as well as the way he stared at the name written across each ball he cleaned with deep emotion before putting it down naturally, with the school name facing in the same direction.

“If you weren’t the captain, the team would probably be finished and unable to make a comeback. It’s because of you that everyone is willing to push through these circumstances. You should be proud of that.”

“That’s because you went around to help me make nice with the underclassmen in the background, right?”

“No, I didn’t do anything to soothe them at all. Besides, I was only doing it for your sake before.”

Honestly, Aoki wanted to smack the hell out of Kuroba [...] While the others were more or less sympathetic after the whole incident was cleared up by Kuroba Itoko, Aoki still couldn’t quite forgive him. If it wasn’t for that brat, things would never have gotten to such a state.

“On this topic... Aoki, are you sure? If you retire now, you’d have plenty of time to get ready for your entrance exams.”

“Shin, stop bringing such an ancient topic up.” Aoki rested his elbows on the back of the bench. “There’s no time for you to feel guilty. Isn’t this the practice you’ve been looking forward to for so long? You have to show them you want this more than anything. Come now, before the others show up, hold your head high.”

Dipping his head down to look at Oda, Aoki thought Ah, so we’ve become old geezers too. Every time he looked at Kuroba and Haijima, he couldn’t help but think that Oda’s skin had a healthier glow back then; is it because he had gotten skinnier... no, no, he had built up some proper muscles since then, so maybe it’s just his face that looks tired?

It had been two and a half years since then. The first time he saw this shorty was when he’d been poked in the back, Oda’s eyes glittering as he chattered away about the “super ace.” He had been unwavering in the pure, naïve belief that he’d grow and become a super ace back then.

“I’m... really blessed.” Oda said quietly with a sniffle. He wiped the corner of his eyes, and when he lifted his head he expression on his face was one of happiness, though it was mixed with faint embarrassment. 

No, I think you’re pretty unfortunate. Aoki’s sure that, if he had been in Oda’s situation, he’d have given up on himself a long time ago. [...] Oda’s the type of person that, even when he’s forced to give up on his dream to become a super ace due to the unsurmountable challenge of his height, he’s still able to say he’s blessed with a straight face.

“Also, there’s one other thing I wanted to apologize for.” Oda hunched his back, clearing his throat sheepishly.

“What is it? Like I said, it’s fine.”

“I heard that you got a girlfriend, and went around on dates. I thought, ‘the team’s in a pinch and that guy had the time to play around with girls?!’ Honestly, I was really mad.”

“Pfft—” Aoki couldn’t help but laugh. When Oda looked at him in confusion, he covered his mouth with a hand and shifted his gaze away. “Don’t worry about it, there’s nothing going on.”

“You contacted the girls from the other school because you’re looking up leads for what happened with Kuroba, right? Still, even if you didn’t get a girlfriend, I think it’s only natural that you’d be popular; you’re really tall and smart after all.”

“Shin... can we just drop this?” Aoki interrupted, feeling his temples throb. He was a little angry, but... oh well, it’s fine if Oda doesn’t understand.

(2.43 S1 Epilogue part 3)

(Aoki is pining SO HARD he can be a frickin’ tree 🌲 he already has the height covered :V) 

in a previous post examining the Oda/Aoki dynamic, I’ve talked about how they seem to be at cross purpose when it comes to understanding the other’s motivation—we’ve seen Oda being confused by why Aoki would devote himself to him back in Chapter 3 (it’s because he is in love with you thinks your pure drive is admirable); and now the “I’m really blessed”/‘no I think you’re unfortunate’ exchange from Aoki’s point of view shows Aoki’s blind spot. it’s not explicitly stated, but to me it’s pretty clear that Oda was talking about having the team, and more specifically about having Aoki’s support, which is what makes him blessed. Aoki, though he’s not wrong about Oda being an optimist, seems to have missed (or dismissed) what Oda was really trying to say here

all in all, both the anime and the book have shipping material for Oda/Aoki, but in slightly different ways; in the anime it’s more of a stable and straightforward dynamic (which makes it easier for the anime staff and the viewers to handle, since there’s no opportunity to devote precious run-time to an in depth exploration of their characters and dynamic), while in the book it’s a bit more complicated, where it feels like they’re on the verge of something but it’s never addressed explicitly

or, in the terms of fanfic tropes, in the anime they give off strong established couple vibes, while in the book they’re more about the pining and miscommunication

EDIT: lmao the staff sure knows their marketing huh. they really said "Dinner at the Aoki Household" huh. (I guess the implication is that Oda slept over that night? or at the very least had dinner at Aoki’s place)

honestly it's rly interesting to sketch out the dynamic i want to explore in Oda/Aoki fics, because i see them as an established couple in the anime (sir they DATIN’), while i maintain that they have not gotten together yet in the books (and won’t until after Aoki had gone off to college)

(also, just to be clear, i don't think Oda/Aoki would ever be 'canon' in the sense that it'll be officially/explicitly confirmed. i just like their dynamic and i’m having fun with it)

[icy-blue-rose]

You know, I think what gets me the most about 2.43 seiin koukou danshi volley-bu, is that like, I've seen and read multiple sports anime/manga, or even just regular anime/manga, that start out with, well, a conflict or falling out between two major characters in the story (or sometimes even a random side character to add some backstory depth)

But my problem with so many of these conflicts, probably stems from 2 things.

1. The conflict is usually presented in past tense, like we dont even learn about the falling out until later and its through flashbacks.

And like dont get me wrong, this is done well and a great way to do these arcs dont get me wrong.

But they are like, always like this.

2.the falling out is usually always seen from the perspective of the "pure" protagonist or the one who was "hurt the most" by this conflict.

Essentially these falling outside and conflicts are almost always seen through the eyes of the one who isnt at fault or "has the least amount of blame" for said falling out.

And I hate it sometimes.

Keyword sometimes lol.

But really, and the odd time you get the story from the one who is "at fault" you know the dark edgy brooding one.

The conflict is almost always caused by their own internal/external problems, which often leads to-

A misunderstanding with pure character.

(Which can either cause pure chara to do/say something that WORSENS the other characters internal or other sort of conflict causing the falling out/fight.)

Or the pure character just misunderstood everyone and failed to communicate with the other character properly.

(There are plenty of other examples but I'm to lazy to write them)

And while it definetly adds depth to the characters, often times it's just eh.

Not because this way of writing these arcs is bad per-say, but because the lack of connection you have with it.

Due to the fact that these arcs are usually shown in past tense, and through only 1 characters eyes, you feel bad about the incident but you dont really, emotionally react to it you know?.

But then, suddenly, a sports anime with too much power came into being.

2.43 seiin koukou danshi volley-bu

Now this show had 2 (3 as of tomorrow) episodes, and an awesome novel being kindly translated by *seiin-translations* so if you want to consume another form of the story while waiting for new episodes highly recommend reading the novel.

Anyways-

The series quite literally starts you off with the conflict arc.

Which I actually wasnt expecting.

You are there during this conflict, you see it up close, you are experiencing the whole (or at least some of the whole) of the conflict first hand.

It's being set up right before your eyes, its painful and feels so angsty.

And the best part? There is no "pure" character filter being put on it.

Its two complex characters who suck at communication who are both genuinly at fault for what happened, while one may be more at fault than the other, it lies with them both.

It's a genuine painful, hurtful breakup, and you FEEL IT.

It wont be all better the next day, you can sense it.

This is the big turning part for their dynamic and relationship and how everything will develop.

It feels so fresh but really, it just WORKS with hooking you.

You, the reader/watcher experienced the conflict and breakup first hand.

You feel connected and invested and genuinly want to see then resolve things. You want to see the new dynamic this incident will create and that's so huge for me tbh.

Because alot of series fail to hook me with their flashback conflict arcs.

There are many I love, that are well written or even just genuinly enjoyable to read.

However, I very rarely see an arc like this, written how it's written and I absolutely adore it.

This is like a super pointless ramble at 1am, however I stand by my opinions on this and really think people should give the series a chance, even if it's just for how they handle the "conflict" arc.

[mestizashinrin]

ok

i love 2.43's fandom

i love y'all

your insights after every episode, the way you read some scenes, the way you're hyped with the characters' arcs and ships, how you share information about the anime and characters, how you have translated to us parts of the books, side-videos and other interesting bits, the fanfics, the fanarts, the gifs, your emotions, feelings, past experiences, you.

Thank you so so so much for sharing yourselves with us/me.

I hope we get to interact more even if this season in over. I, as you, hope we have a season two and some ovas and extra materials. In the meantime, let's create together and support each other and love the characters and their stories even more.

Thank you again 💜 I am so happy to be here.

[sorry for the grammatical and orthography mistakes]

[seiin-translations]

2.43 S2 Chapter 1.6 - The Laughing King and Crybaby Jack (Part 6)

6. CHARGE THE ENERGY

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On the afternoon of Saturday, September 20, one week before the Spring High qualifiers, a practice game was arranged with Seiin invited to Fukuho. Seiin had almost no chance of making it to the representative selection round based on their record. It could be said that Fukuho was being “immature” for worrying about such a team.

On the day of the game, however, the Fukuho volleyball team unabashedly demonstrated their immaturity and greeted the weak team of only eight members from the very beginning with the desire to intimidate them with everything they had.

“Looking forward to working with you guys!”

As soon as Seiin appeared at the entrance of the gym, the three times as many tall members of the team, dressed in red jerseys, lined up in a row and raised their voices in unison. They somewhat startled Seiin, who were unevenly bobbing their heads into the gym.

The lingering heat of the day was still intense. Oda, the captain of the team, had his team members, who were sweating from the heavy bags they were carrying from Nanafu City, line up.

“Thank you for this opportunity today. We look forward to working with you.”

“Thank you!”

Oda’s order was followed by their voices. It was short and crisp.

Hata ran up to the old man who suddenly showed up at the very end and said, “Thank you very much for coming all the way here, Sensei.”

“Ah, thank you. You all indeed seem strong. Train them hard today.”

“We are the ones who are fortunate to have your guidance today. Oi, get a chair!”

“Ah, yes!”

Ochi ran over with a folding chair and set it up under the basketball hoop.

Seiin’s advisor was a skinny old man who looked as if he might snap in half. The reason Hata paid so much respect to him was because, as Ochi had just heard, he was once considered a great leader in the student volleyball world.

“Heave-ho. Ah, outings are tough when you’re at my age. Oda, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

As soon as he sat down in the chair, the old man gave Oda a little hand gesture and began to drift off with half-open eyes. …It must be remembered that he was “once” considered a great leader.

In this case, it would have made sense for Fukuho, who had requested the practice match, to go to Seiin, but Seiin had apparently never invited another school to a practice match since Oda took over. However, it was decided that it would be quicker to have a practice match at Fukuho, where the court, know-how, and manpower were available.

“Go outside and the changing room is across the hallway. You can put your bags there. Whenever you’re ready, you can start warming up. We’re already done.”

Ochi explained everything to Aoki, the vice-captain, since there seemed to be no manager. He thought he treated him with the same attitude he would have greeted any other school, but,

“Hello. You sure aren’t hiding your hostility.”

Aoki said in a teasing tone.

Ochi glared up at Aoki’s face, which was about twenty-five centimeters above his own.

“Even if it was a joke, it’s natural to disdain it as someone who plays sports. Taking a video and threatening us…”

“You’re just gonna ignore that it was your second-year that laid a hand on him? A little injury is nothing to write home about for Okuma, but if he had injured the spindly first-year, we wouldn’t have backed down without a fight.”

Receiving a retort that contained a hint of a threat, Ochi swallowed his voice and gritted his teeth. The indignation from Tuesday rekindled in his chest, but Aoki was the one who avoided a glaring contest by looking away like he was playing the fool.

“As for me, I didn’t mean it as a joke. We’re really trying to go to Spring High this year, and we would be lucky if we could eliminate the biggest obstacle…Mimura’s a smart guy. I guess the prefecture’s MVP would be more than just charismatic. Well, I’m not going to try anything, I’ll just sit back and watch how our freshman setter is going to make you guys surrender fair and square. Sorry about Tuesday.”

If he apologized, there would be no reason to flare up at him. Ochi had never been good at wars of words. Wait, he said he didn’t mean it as a joke…I think he just straight up said he wasn’t joking.

“You can use the changing room, and we’ll start warming up as soon as you put your bags away.”

Aoki shouted over Ochi’s head. Ochi reflexively braced himself as Haijima, the bespectacled freshman setter, was the first to come running forward, the enamel bag and ball case rattling on his shoulders.

“Is there a tap around here? I didn’t change my contacts.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, use the one in front of the changing room.”

“Thanks.”

After straightforwardly bowing his head, Haijima ran past Ochi, who was let down by this anticlimax. “Haijima! Don’t run ahead on your own, wait for the others to come! You won’t miss the game even if you don’t rush!” The other first year, Kuroba, ran after him. “Don’t be so noisy in another school,” Aoki called out a warning to the back of their heads.

Their noisy and restless appearance was somehow no different from the juniors on his own team. As he was watching them go with a wry smile on his face, he overheard Mimura and Oda talking.

Both captains were in front of the net.

“We have it up at forty-three, but should we bring it down to forty?”

“No, we don’t mind. We always have it at forty-three too.”

Oda responded, as though competing with Mimura. “Oh?” Mimura grinned. Oda looked a bit embarrassed.

“Well, we’ve never been in an official game with the net at forty-three. You guys must have plenty of experience…”

In Fukui Prefecture, the net height for high school boys was set at two meters and forty-three centimeters. The same rule applied to the prefectural qualifying rounds and the representative qualifiers for Spring High. The height of the net was the same as the height for the general men’s net—the height used in the V-League and international tournaments, as well as national high school tournaments, including Spring High.

Only three centimeters. But it was three centimeters that clearly divided the inside of the prefecture and outside.

The fact that a team that had never competed in a forty-three tournament was practicing at the level of a forty-three could be called overly optimistic—but it meant that the team was serious about going to Nationals.

At Oda’s height, he couldn’t even reach the top of the 2.43 meter tall net just by standing on tiptoe. A person of ordinary athletic ability would probably be able to reach it by jumping. It was about the same height as the ceiling of a slightly tall house.

The boys’ volleyball team hit the ball towards each other without regard to the height of the net. At the top level, spikes exceeded 350 meters. The intensity of this game gave you goosebumps when you see it up close.

Oda’s face lit up and he murmured, “Thank you...” as he lifted his chin and looked up at the white band on the net indicating 2.43.

---

Although the practice games held at the home gym added a mountain of work for him as a manager, Ochi quite liked them.

The base of Fukuho’s uniforms were a deep red. The black collar and black side lines running from the sides to the shorts tightened the red. The practice scene looked disjointed because everyone usually wore their own practice clothes, but when they were all in their uniforms like this, their movements looked coordinated and made a fine show. The usual gym became like a venue for a championship match.

The shouts were more energetic and louder than usual. It was also fun to hear the other team’s voices get so loud that they sound a little ridiculous.

The sound of the ball bouncing here and there overlapped with the shouts from the two teams, multiplying the energy and increasing the excitement in the venue.

A loud smack sound burst out from the court where Seiin was practicing. A second thud sound reverberated as the ball pierced into the front zone, and the ball bounced up almost vertically.

“Yeah, I’m on a roll!”

The player who spiked, Number 7 Kuroba, landed with his knees bent and pumped his fist in the air. He ran under the net, pitching forward as though the momentum was crushing him, and then, spinning one of his arms in a circle, ran around the outside of the pole to the end of the line again.

Why is that first-year using unnecessary energy before the game…As Ochi watched Seiin’s practice with a mixture of amusement and amazement, he heard a voice from directly above him.

“Looking from here, Number 7 is pretty eye-catching.”

Mimura, who had been there since who-knows-when, was also watching the court over Ochi’s head.

Fukuho was off the court practicing their receives in a line, but the two third-year middle blockers, Takasugi and Asamatsu, also stopped in turn when they jogged past behind them.��Don’t surround me with only guys who are around 190. The other members of the team, while paying attention to them, were seriously going to the back of the line.

“It’s like watching me from two years ago.”

He was basically calling himself “eye-catching,” but no one quipped about it because it was the truth.

“I feel like he’s more like you when you’re in bad form and being sloppy. He’s just being maneuvered by Number 8, isn’t he?”

Ochi commented, indicating the Number 8 Haijima, who had his back turned to them, with his eyes. Seiin’s uniform, was shirt to shorts, was all black with blue lines. The number “8,” printed in white on his black back, stood out clearly.

Standing alone by the net, Number 8 Haijima was signaling each of the spikers to hit the ball. Kuroba jumped to the exact spot Haijima told him to jump and shot down the ball that was set there. In high school, there were many teams that had one strong ace and are centered around the ace, but he had never seen a team in which the setter was so in control.

He began to understand somewhat what Hata meant when he said that he wouldn’t know how to fit this player into the team when Mimura became a third-year.

“The moment Number 8 breaks down, there’s a possibility that the team wouldn’t be able to compete at all. How can you leave so much to a first-year? It’s a weakness of the team that they finally have a full lineup with the addition of the first-year players. Their team has no depth.”

“Our manager’s pretty harsh,” Takasugi teased. Asamatsu asked Mimura, “What do you think, Subaru?”

Ochi glanced up at Mimura. He was standing with his hands in his pockets, wearing a red-and-black jersey over his uniform that was of the same color. Mimura was always like this before a match, walking around the court in a relaxed and nonchalant manner, taking in the opposing team and the entire venue, including the stands.

“Well, I agree with what Ochi said. But when a group of guys with strong quirks like that are united in an unexplainable way around a first-year setter and aiming to overtake an invulnerable school with a winning record, it seems like Seiin is much more dramatic than us.”

“Are we that invulnerable school with a winning record?”

“It’s true that the protagonists in sports stories are usually the weak team, isn’t it? I guess that makes us the bad guys.”

Takasugi and Asamatsu laughed, but Ochi didn’t have the will to laugh with them.

…The hero and protagonist should be Mimura. I don’t want him to be satisfied with the lame role of the boss of the villain team that bows their head to the protagonist team.

“Subaru…you’re not seriously saying that nonsense, are you?”

It wasn’t just a matter of not putting in extra effort. His way of talking, as if he had even lost the bare minimum of energy he required, told them that his biorhythm hadn’t improved at all yet. He thought that he might have been motivated by their visit to Seiin, since he was the one who asked for a practice match, but there was no change at all.

“I am serious. If Seiin goes to Nationals, local TV will happily make documentaries about them, national media will be all over them, and Fukui will become famous. People will finally stop asking, ‘Where’s Fukui?’”

“You’re really holding a grudge about that.”

“Trying being asked that at Nationals every year. You’ll hold a grudge too.”

“Talk to people from other prefectures. You should stop being a people pleaser.”

“I’m not a people pleaser. I’m networking because I have to. If you get friendly with them, they’ll bring local snacks when you meet them at the next tournament.”

“Use that network for something more effective…”

The trio of around 190cm exchanged light banter over Ochi’s head. Ochi, who was silent with a heavy heart, looked over at Mimura, who sighed like he was fed up.

“Do you want to go to Spring High’s center court, Ochi?”

A sudden question.

“Why are you talking about that now…”

“Say it. Say you want me to make you the manager at Spring High’s center court.”

He always said the same argument. The first time he was told this two years ago, he was so enthralled by those words that he nodded with tears in his eyes. However, after being told the same thing dozens or hundreds of times since then, it had become more and more difficult for him to nod. He couldn’t understand why Mimura kept making him answer over and over again.

“…I can’t say it.”

He shook his head.

Mimura’s eyes widened in astonishment. And then they sharpened.

“Say it.”

He repeated, coercing him.

“I said no. I won’t say it again. I don’t really want to go to center court that badly. I stopped caring about that a long time ago. I wanted to go with everyone, but…but we don’t have to go there anymore.”

“Is that…how you really feel?”

The red uniform standing in front of him was surrounded by an anger that seemed to burn the atmosphere. Even Seiin could feel that they were arguing over something, and they stopped moving around as though they were wondering what was going on.

“Third years! Assemble!”

Hata’s angry voice came flying out. The four third-year core members chatting idly would be setting a bad example for the others. “Sorry!” Takasugi and Asamatsu immediately ran over. They looked back and urged them with his eyes, so Ochi ran after them, as if to get away from Mimura.

He looked back over his shoulder at Mimura and saw him walking towards him with his hands in his pockets, looking displeased at their interrupted talk. He turned forward and joined the team circle around Hata.

“We’ll start with the starting lineup for now, but since this is a practice match, I’ll make some substitutions…”

“Sensei, how about we take Subaru out for today?”

He interrupted Hata and boldly put forth his opinion.

Everyone, not just Hata, was shocked. That included Mimura, who was the last to join them.

“If we’re going to lose in a practice match without Subaru, then maybe it would be better for Seiin to go to Spring High.”

The air was filled with waves of disquiet. “O-Oi, Ochi,” Takasugi called out in a chiding tone. He could see Tokura’s face twisting as though he was particularly hurt. However, he had no intention of retracting his words. The words spilled out of him like a dam had broken.

“It’ll mean that the team isn’t worth letting Subaru put his body on the line to take us to center court. If it’s just a burden for Subaru to lead the current Fukuho, then I want him to retire and enjoy his time at uni—”

He was slapped on the back of his head and couldn’t finish his sentence. It was a slap from the strongest spiker in the prefecture, who slammed in spikes at top speeds of over a hundred kilometers per hour. He thought his eyeballs were going to pop out of his skull. “…Aah…” Holding his head, he couldn’t even breathe for a while.

“Don’t get the wrong idea, idiot. This isn’t in a manager’s job description.”

Mimura’s voice, tinged with real anger, was hurled at Ochi’s tingling brain. With tears in his eyes, Ochi looked up over his head in protest.

“Coach, I’ll be in the match. How can I not be in the game that I arranged?”

“Subaru!”

“Please give me three minutes. We’ll start after that. I’m going to have a talk with this idiot. Come here, Mitsuomi.”

Mimura grabbed Ochi by the back of his collar and left the circle. He was forced to stand on his toes and crab walk, and tried to shake him off while shouting, “Let go, Subaru!” But since even Seiin was watching them, he had no choice but to keep up appearances. He was dragged away, plodding along and his head hanging down.

When Ochi became obedient, Mimura no longer treated him so roughly either. He opened the sliding metal door and pushed Ochi outside.

He stumbled forward a few steps and knelt down on the floorboards of the hallway. Mimura closed the metal door, blocked it with his back, and sat down on the step in front of the doorway. The scene composition was that of a criminal kneeling on the ground and a town magistrate who stepped out to the porch and was intimidating him.

“Good grief…I know I said I didn’t want high-pitched cheers from you, but what’s with a manager who lowers the morale of his players instead of cheering them on?”

He let out a fed-up sigh. Ochi kept silent and sat cross-legged on the floor again, facing Mimura. The magistrate was sitting higher than Ochi, so his eyes were just at Mimura’s knee level. Mimura lightly interlaced his fingers between his knees, which were wrapped in black supporters.

“It’s not like I’m saying you’re an outsider. Don’t misunderstand that. Sorry for hitting you.”

“…You don’t have to apologize.” He muttered, but his head was still throbbing and he felt resentful. “I know you had to do that.”

If Mimura hadn’t gotten angry at that point, the command of the team would have become muddled. As Mimura said, it wasn’t the manager’s job to give his opinion on the coach’s selection of team members. Even if he was given a position on the team under Mimura’s patronage, he wasn’t one of those who stood on the court. How could he say that their team wasn’t worthy of going to Spring High towards the players who were running around on the court trying to snatch victory? …He understood. He understood, but…

“I’m not happy about it. Why should you be put in the same ring as those happy-go-lucky Seiin guys? People are fascinated with Seiin, saying that a team that’s threatening our dominance has appeared. If they win, they’ll be praised all over the place, and if they lose, people will just say it’s a fair result and that would be the end of it. They have nothing to lose. The weight of what you have to protect is completely different… It’s not fair. I’ve been thinking for a long time now…if all it does it make you feel that way, then it doesn’t matter anymore …you should just throw it away…”

“I can’t.”

He was interrupted.

“I can’t do that. Don’t ever say it doesn’t matter again. Keep telling me to make you the center court manager at Spring High.”

“Why are you…so obsessed with that…” The tears of pain that welled up in his eyes receded briefly, but then the back of his eyes burned again, and he sniffled a little. “I don’t know what you’re playing volleyball for…it seems to me like you’re only playing it to make other people’s dreams come true…”

“You’ll never get over being a crybaby.”

Mimura was fed up. “I-I’m not,” he said back, since it wasn’t like he planned on showing his tears so many times as to be called a crybaby, but once his tear glands let loose, they would not easily close back up.

“Mitsuomi. Listen up, keep saying it. Until I really make you the manager at Spring High’s center court.”

“I’m already…”

“It’s been three minutes. You know, this isn’t really the time for lecturing you, but for me to recharge my energy. Don’t think about it…think of it as my lucky charm and say it. Now. I don’t care if it’s a lie.”

“Lucky charm…”

Ochi raised his tearful eyes. His nose and eyes were probably bright red, and his face was probably a mess, but Mimura wasn’t looking at his face anyways. He was hanging his head, pressing his forehead against his hands folded between his knees.

It wasn’t the sight of a town magistrate judging the guilty with a flurry of falling cherry blossoms on his shoulders. He was so exhausted that he couldn’t raise his head, and it was obvious at a glance that he was being crushed by the heavy load on his shoulders.

“Say it.”

He repeated, like he was supplicating him.

Even though it pained him, like he was pushing out a hard lump that wouldn’t go through his throat, why did he say it every time he was asked?

“…I’m not going to lie to you. Of course I want to go. You’ll definitely make me the manager at Spring High’s center court. It’s my dream to be on the center court bench and cheer you guys on.”

Mimura gave him more than what he wanted a long time ago. That was no lie either.

And yet—two summers ago, Ochi’s hero and king, who was clad in shining armor of light, flew down from the top of the stairs and held out a ticket for a special seat to watch Mimura Subaru in the spotlight on the court of glory, closest to the courtside. If I didn’t use that ticket and ripped it up, I would be an unforgivable fool.

Mimura’s hands were tightly clenched under his forehead.

“…Alright.”

He raised his head and smiled, his eyes narrowed and his face scrunched up.

His expression tightened, like he was pulling the laces of his shoes tight.

“Now then, I’m gonna go smash in the nail that sticks out.”

As he sat up, saying something fearless with a dangerous tone, the fighting spirit rose from his shoulders. Immediately, his shoulders, which still could be called dainty, became a size tougher, and the “Demon Bazooka” released his vicious presence.

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[msyuksanh]

「2.43　清陰高校男子バレー部」TVアニメ公式@243anime·(2021.01.16) 🏐月バレ座談会スピンオフ 🤫 現在発売中の 📖「月刊バレーボール 2021年2月号」に収まりきらなかった座談会の様子を「月バレ.com」にて公開中！ぜひチェックしてみてくださいね 🙌✨

🏐 “Monthly Volleyball”: a spin off round-table discussion 🤫 Here is the round-table discussion that didn’t quite reach an ending in “Monthly Volleyball 2021 - February”, which is currently on sale on “getsuvolley.com”! Certainly go and check it out 🙌✨ https://www.getsuvolley.com/210116-243anime

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Anime: 2.43 Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team Cast: Kuroba Yuni (CV: Enoki Junya), Haijima Kimichika (CV: Ono Kensho), Aoki Misao (CV: Umehara Yuichiro), Oda Shinichiro (CV: Ito Kento), Kanno Akito (CV: Aoi Shouta), Okuma Yusuke (CV: Kimura Subaru)