Anime about soccer!

[feuervogel]

How could I *not* love Giant Killing? I mean, really.

Unlike a lot of sports series, GK doesn't start out with a total n00b who learns to play the game (and the audience learns along with him, of course.) It's about tactics, politics, team-building strategies (aka free-market capitalism at its purest, which kind of spoils the game IMO), and the guys on the team: how they interact, how they grow, and how the team becomes a team.

Gino, the primadonna half-Italian, half-Japanese guy, is slowly becoming my favorite character, because he's just so ... ridiculous. And awesome. But Dori, the goal keeper, is probably really my favorite. (I have a thing for defense players, ok? Strikers and midfielders are great, and they bring the spectacular plays that lead to goals, but a good, solid defense is really awesome. I'm not biased because Arne's a center back. I don't know why you'd think that.)

We just finished watching the first season last night. This is the type of story that you have certain expectations for: new manager, who used to play on the team, comes in to turn a team on the verge of relegation into league champions. The arc I expect it to follow for the second season results in ETU becoming league champions, though they may lose a few more matches on the way.

I don't think you have to be a football fan to enjoy Giant Killing, though it certainly doesn't hurt. The more esoteric rules, like offsides, don't come up too much, and when they do, they aren't explained. In one episode, the line ref blows his whistle and drops his flag, and you get some reaction shots of people saying, "he was offside!" but that's it. I don't think it affects enjoyment or understanding, but I could be wrong.

I understand there's also manga for this. I want to read it. I'm not holding my breath for a North American release of either, though Ookiku Furikabutte got a NA DVD release. But that's about baseball, that fine American sport, not that crazy unAmerican game.

Comments

[pamacii]

I love that show so much! I am forcing myself to follow along with coup, but Gino is my definitely favorite so far. I want a NA release so bad~

[feuervogel]

Since I'm quitting COUP, I'm sort of bingeing. *grin*

I wonder which company would be most likely to pick it up. Didn't Funi do OF? Maybe a letter-writing campaign is in order. If we can find the other like 10 people who love GK...

[kirin]

Unfortunately, from what I hear Funi put out the first season of OF and it sold like crap, thus probably scaring licensing companies off sports shows for another several years... I mean, if you can't sell something that won the Tezuka Prize and the Kodansha Award, what can you sell?

[feuervogel]

Boo. Stupid American fans.

[tiurin.livejournal.com]

team-building strategies (aka free-market capitalism at its purest, which kind of spoils the game IMO),

To be fair, while it's possible to buy a lot of good players, the best method is still to bring your own players up via your club's academy. It's both far more cost-efficient and makes it easier to integrate players into a system. Barcelona, for example...

[kirin]

Yeah, the home-grown hero team was just playing a team with three imported Brazilians. (Japan, uh, still has a hard time portraying foreigners without resorting to stereotypes and racism, but they're trying.) That aside, I thought it did a pretty good job of showcasing the give and take - they're really good with the ball, but not totally integrated into the team, and some of the other players rely on them too much.

[feuervogel]

It's true, but then you take a look at Barça or Real Madrid or ManUtd, who just buy all these expensive players without a strategy, and you get ... broke teams who can't make payroll. (citation)

As I understand it, the Bundesliga has a strong regulation on who can own a club, which keeps it from turning into the EPL

[tiurin.livejournal.com]

Actually, I wouldn't say any of those three clubs buy expensive players without a strategy, though one might make an argument about Real the past year(in that "selling shirts" is not a viable gaming strategy- but this will change with Mourinho in charge). Manchester City would be more an example of buying players without a strategy.

Barcelona's success is mostly due to their academy- the biggest stars(Messi, Iniesta, Xavi) and the team captain/vice-captain(Puyol, Valdes) are all homegrown. While they're not in great financial shape, they could easily balance their books and clear off their loans by selling off a few players. Ibrahimovic, Hleb, Keita, and Abidal would bring in 75-85 million Euros, and Barça have already cut payroll by letting Henry and Marquez leave for the New York Red Bulls. It actually makes perfect sense for them err on the side of spending right now, as they have a 4-5 year window to try to win the Champions League 2-3 more times before Xavi, Iniesta, and Dani Alves start going downhill. I think most of their fans would be willing to sit through a 2-3 year reloading period and a selling off of Alves, Bojan, and Pedro in '15 to pay off loans if they could be kings of Europe thrice more(and thereby establish themselves as one of the great football dynasties of all time).

ManU's financial woes are more because of their idiotic owners' use of leverage to acquire the club. Again, their greatest success has come from their academy's "golden generation" supported by players who they bought as teenagers.

The bigger EPL issue is not with the teams at the top, nor those with rich patrons who view the team as a personal plaything(Chelsea, ManCity- or in the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim). It's the midlevel clubs like Newcastle and Portsmouth who spent too much money(and badly) who are ending up in financial trouble and relegation. Unfortunately, we seem to get one or two of those midlevel clubs trying to do too much too fast every year.

[feuervogel]

Interesting. I haven't really followed club football until now, and I haven't even decided which team I'm going to follow (though it's going to be in the Bundesliga and not Bayern, even if I love Thomas Müller and Miro and Basti. It's Bayern. Maybe Werder Bremen? If Hertha hadn't been relegated, that would have been my easy choice, because they're in Berlin.)

There's just so. damn. much. to learn, you know?

ETA: Huh, so UEFA has a new rule that clubs must run in the black in order to play in European league football.

[warpig1979.livejournal.com]

FC Kaiserslautern? They hate Bayern Munich. (I wonder if there's an artful way to say "WE HATE BAYERN AND WE HATE BAYERN AND WE HATE BAYERN AND WE HATE BAYERN WE ARE THE BAYERN HATE-RS" in German.)

Giant Killing was interesting to watch, because as you say, it's a different approach to a sports series. I have to imagine this kind of thing has been done before, with the manager as the main character, like with baseball manga and whatnot, but I can't think of any examples I personally know off the top of my head.

Actually what it kind of reminds me of is those football team management video games that everyone not in America goes batshit for.

[feuervogel]

Pretty much all the clubs have a rivalry with Bayern, because Bayern's the biggest club and wins all the time, kinda like the Yankees. But K'lautern might be extra special on that end. I lean slightly toward Werder because that's where Özil plays, and I like watching him play. (Not that I can really watch matches, of course...)

(Wir hassen Bayern, wir sind die Bayern Hassende? Not particularly elegant...)

I honestly don't know how interesting a typical sports manga arc (focusing on a player or two) about soccer would be. It's true that it's not a thrill a minute, but if people can watch basketball, they can watch soccer, you know?

Like fantasy football leagues, except you get to buy your players, etc? That sounds like something I'd be horrible at.

[tiurin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the UEFA rule came out and people were generally ho-hum about it since it's pretty easy to cook the books enough to show a "profit" one way or another. Or, before regulations come into effect, spend like crazy right before the deadlines.

The key issue for club football is that there's really the top teams and then there's everyone else- however, what people consider "top" may differ. The main tiers that I think are relevant are the real giants(Man U, Real, Barca, Bayern, Inter, Juve), the European Cup regulars(i.e. Arsenal, Porto, Celtic, Fenerbahce, etc.), the typical midtable EPL/La Liga/Serie A/Bundesliga team, the relegation-fight teams in those leagues, and finally the Championship/Segunda/Serie B/2nd Bundesliga teams looking to move up. Of those, the big financial problems usually arise when a team in the bottom tier spends big to try to move up into the top league(the difference in revenue between the EPL and the Championship is at least 50 million pounds), or when a solid midtable club spends big to try to compete for Europe too soon. Overextension is the quick way to ruin...unless one has a sheik or a Russian oil magnate behind the team.

Barca really has the model that all top teams want to emulate. Establish extensive scouting assets to sign talent as kids or at the latest the mid-teens. This provides a sufficient pipeline to produce most of their own stars(though they did get lucky in getting Messi as a preteen) and enough solid supporting players to fill out 50-65% of the squad. Then make a few massive expenditures like Dani Alves, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and David Villa to get world-class players in their prime to fill holes in the First XI. After that, spend lightly(comparatively speaking) on players who could start elsewhere but are willing to play less to be part of a European Cup contender.