Giant Killing

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/3406/40018.jpg

Genre: Sports

Synopsis: East Tokyo United, ETU, is struggling in Japan's top football league. The team is going through an abysmal spell right now where they are nearing the bottom of the league and have lost 5 matches in a row. The losses haven't done much to team moral because it was already low. Fan support, on the other hand, is looking bleak.

In the world of football, once the fans turn on a team the end is near. Teams don't recover. Coaches are fired, players are sold, and teams drop to lower divisions where profits often prevent them from ever being successful against even mediocre top division programs.

In an effort to avoid relegation, ETU has hired a new couch, the slightly eccentric Tatsumi Takeshi. Tatsumi, who was considered a great football player when he was younger, abandoned the team years before but has proven himself as the manager of one of England's lower division amateur teams. The task won't be easy, the teams East Tokyo United is pitted against have bigger budgets and better players. However, Tatsumi is an expert at Giant Killing. -MyAnimeList

Links: Official, ANN, AniDB, MyAnimeList
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Soccer anime? I must at least check it out.

[ANBU-Umai] - Episode 01












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1st episode was pretty decent. I'm certainly interested in what's to come. At first I was a bit wary from the CG-aided animation in the OP, but I didn't notice anything I didn't like in the episode itself. Hopefully that fact won't change much when we start getting some action.

Artwork is a little hard to get used to.

Could be interresting, eventhough the first mystery in his regular team choice seems fairly basic/easy to understand.

I'm just waiting to be suprised I guess.

A new sports anime to follow would be nice, I hope it is good.

There's something about this series that makes me think of Remember the Titans or something, but nevertheless, it was pretty interesting once I got used to the direction.

[FFFpeeps] Giant Killing 02 [720p] [9A93A3F5].​mkv

^ that group could have done a bit more editing, but I still enjoyed the episode plenty.

I'm honestly surprised at times that the new coach doesn't get his ass landed in hospital from the way he's forcefully doing things. Not that change doesn't need to happen..

Tatsumi's "I saw it all coming" face just draws me into wanting to see what how his final vision will realise.

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edit: ANBU-Umai - ep 02

ANBU - Umai - Episode 03



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Hah, I certainly didn't expect there to be a flamboyant player in this team, since they've made it out to be such a weak, or at least inelegant one.

Good thing there is though, as it makes character interactions even more dynamic.

I'm loving this series.

The coach knows just what to say to shift everything into a pandemonium, to push the players to subconsciously push themselves.

There's something about it, I love watching the emergence of previously discredited players into the spotlight and how it's forcing the other players to either cope with being left behind or attempt to regain their position on the team. The new guy is pretty awesome, with his perfect aim and ability to utilize people on the team to make an interesting plan. I'm sad for the old team captain, but I'm interested in seeing how he will push his way into a starting position again.

I never knew characters could be so interesting and dynamic in a sports show. I need more!

I like it too.

For some reason I think they'll lose their pre-season match, but it will be a close call in a breathtaking match where their supporters will see their passion renewed.

The italian guy?
Just an averagely talented european player getting high cash to play ball. It's like the japanese are so low level to him it's too easy, hence his demo. I hope he gets his ass kicked by some talent that pushes him to his own limits.

For the moment though, this show has been very basic in ideas and scenario. Nothing really surprising happened. But I still like it because it's well presented and a nice time watching it.

ANBU-Umai - Episode 04












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Yay for Tsubaki! Gino's an ass, but for some reason I can't hate him for it. Poor Mikku, I even warned him.. BAM!! = super arrogant (and also pretty cool :D).

The quick retaliation by Tokyo Victory really tells you that ETU isn't miraculously top shape again. Holistically the other side is still way ahead of them. As shown by their first goal, they can win... but they'll have to put their backs into it.

Psychological warfare is great. All the more reason for Tatsumi to describe this as a battlefield.

Nice ep, maybe the Tsubaki part was a bit too long, but since it's necessary for the plot, I do not mind that much.

ANBU-Umai - Episode 05





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RAAAAWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like this, nearly as much as One Outs.

ANBU-Umai - Episode 06



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Tatsumi had some good eyes. Not nearly as scary as Yuri's though.

I like Murakoshi's haircut. Bit less old-school, bit more badass.

Fujisawa might be a love interest candidate for Tatsumi, the way things are being set up. She's interested in him already.

ANBU-Umai - Episode 07

It's not ordinary to have a full ep about losing, without a definite proof that could change.
We do know it will, of course, still it was imposed on us greatly.

I guess the scenario will use this ep for a contrast or something, to show how the team needed change and have an idea of how much they progressed when they do.

You somehow feels you should "trust" the guy behind the story (unlike Kubo). I hope they wont let us down.

That episode 7 torrent link didn't work...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The1LittleMchale

That episode 7 torrent link didn't work...

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Because there's a v2.

[ANBU-umai] Giant Killing - 07v2 [F2EFADC5].mkv

Thanks good-lookin!

I just watched all of these 7 episodes in a row. I definitely love this show.

ANBU-Umai - Episode 08



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While Gino may find Tsubaki's simple-mindedness cute, his insecurity actually annoys me a little - explainable since he's noob, but still. Kuro's mindset, on the other hand, fits the "cute" description. He's stubborn as hell, but his character is rather infective (largely due to how LOUD he is). Tatsumi made a good choice bring him around first (besides Koshi) before moving onto the rest of the less mood-influencing players (besides the "defence comes first" reason).

With that, Crunchyroll sweeps yet another show under their banner.

ANBU-Umai - Episode 09

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

ANBU-Umai - Episode 08



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While Gino may find Tsubaki's simple-mindedness cute, his insecurity actually annoys me a little - explainable since he's noob, but still. Kuro's mindset, on the other hand, fits the "cute" description. He's stubborn as hell, but his character is rather infective (largely due to how LOUD he is). Tatsumi made a good choice bring him around first (besides Koshi) before moving onto the rest of the less mood-influencing players (besides the "defence comes first" reason).

With that, Crunchyroll sweeps yet another show under their banner.

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you are absolutely right about Tsubaki, you would figure that he'd have his character development turn around by this point, or at least he'd be punished for not doing so well.

HorribleSubs - Episode 10

Decided to give them a try this week because I was itching to see it :p

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Pacing was great. Dori made some good saves, but Sugie and Kuroda played well. Kuro's pass-reading scene made him shine plenty. His precise timing is almost at odds with his fiery personality.

Pepe's arrogance is a tad annoying, but he was surprisingly funny to watch. He's pretty much just a kid who doesn't talk, and lets all his emotions show on his face. The offside was great.

Trolled Eps - see posts below for proper link

CrunchySubs: Episode 11 HD | SD

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

CrunchySubs: Episode 11 HD | SD

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You've been trolled, both links are for ep 01 ;)

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Originally Posted by David75

You've been trolled, both links are for ep 01 ;)

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Yes.. I've found out the hard way. :(

Guess I'll try my lick with these then:

HorribleSubs - Episode 11 HD | SD (and yes, they work)


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Seems like they might be portraying Tsubaki as having a developing sense of field positioning. Combined with his fast and tireless legs, he'd make one awesome wing.

"Guess they noticed"? If there was a weakness in Tatsumi's play, it would be as he said before that they're purposely creating that opening where Itagaki is, and relying on Kuroda/Tsubaki to save them when it happens - so putting a different man on instead of Itagaki should upset that balance a bit.

They've got Tsubaki running around free-reign at the moment, so I wonder who's supposed to be onto him.

HorribleSubs - Episode 12 HD | SD






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Prince looked so happy be in the spotlight. Let's see if they can keep this hard-earned lead.

HorribleSubs - Episode 13 SD|HD

HorribleSubs - Episode 14 SD | HD



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I swear Yuri and the other guy in the infirmary were already a pair.

HorribleSubs - Episode 15 SD | HD

HorribleSubs - Episode 16 SD | HD

Poor Buffa all alone in this thread. Anyway i keeping up with the series and i really like how it keeps you guessing if ETU will win or not and how it manages it's characters giving them development on the field.

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Originally Posted by Death13a

Poor Buffa all alone in this thread. Anyway i keeping up with the series and i really like how it keeps you guessing if ETU will win or not and how it manages it's characters giving them development on the field.

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:)

Sera's last run today was pretty tense. I'm not that attracted to his character, but I suppose they'll need stuff like this to give each player some exposure since ETU isn't a star-studded team to begin with.

My favourite parts in this series were always about Tatsumi's deep analysis and having his plans revealed though, so these last couple of eps have been a little dull by comparison.

HorribleSubs did worse than usual today. There was a know/now mix-up, and on at least 2 occasions they translated something "positively" when it was meant to be "negative"

eg: during the corner kick, Sera was meant to say "he knows he CAN'T win with his height, so will charge in with speed" or something or rather.

HorribleSubs - Episode 17 SD | HD



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Oh, what on earth is going through that head of yours Tatsumi? Everybody's excited that ETU is going strong, and here you are moping around with that gloomy face of yours. What's wrong with you?

^ That might be what everybody else in the show thinks, but I'm with Tatsumi on this one. Natsu is their best forward, one who's probably a class above the rest. The idea that having him around would boost performance is a no-brainer. But exactly what he did there was put his team into a sense of false security. What if he injures himself again? What if their midfield is totally locked down and can't get the ball to him?

Natsu is one valuable asset, but having him around before the team matures will be like that previous match where Carlos was too central to the team and caused it to fall apart.

It would be great to have him play, and he's a fun to watch to watch, but having the team drop their guard at the same time is a very bad spill-over effect.

They need to make these forwards a bit more special. It's a tad boring to watch when they go on about improving, but we're left in the dark about exactly what they're good at or what they need to work on.

HorribleSubs - Episode 18 SD | HD
HorribleSubs - Episode 19 SD | HD

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I'm LOVING this atmosphere!

It's tense as hell, but seemed to drag on forever. Just like the start of a match should be.

I'm still here watching with you too Buffa... I'm just lurking to get my soccer fix though.

Im really excited about how this match is going to end. Hope, ETU wins, but this show seems to avoid typical scenes, so a defeat is possible, too.

HorribleSubs - Episode 20 SD | HD

Great episode. I wonder what they´ll do about their defense. Offense seems okay, but they just cant get a chance to attack.

And boy, this ep flew by, almost as bad as a HotD-episode :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MFauli

Great episode. I wonder what they´ll do about their defense. Offense seems okay, but they just cant get a chance to attack.

And boy, this ep flew by, almost as bad as a HotD-episode :D

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That Kubota guy's pretty crazy. He's like Osaka's version of Tsubaki. I can't say if he's got much speed, but whatever he lacks in that, if any, he makes up for it with his seemingly perfect awareness and decision-making ability. Plus, he's got the skills to pull it off.

lol @ Kuro stuffing up right after he called Kiyokawa an idiot.

HorribleSubs - Episode 21 SD | HD

I'm always wishing for the next ep to be awesome and everytime I do not get it. I'm really not synching well with the show in terms of enjoyment.
I like it and all, but somehow, it doesn't do the trick for me.

I really didn't care about Kubota at all, even though it's obvious he's there to enable a deep change in Tsubaki.

Regarding the goals, well I can't say 0-2 is impossible to win. But I do not see how a weak team could pull it off against a strong one.
I'm not talking stamina, skills, tactics. It's more about the morale, the spirit. ETU clearly is weak there. And I do not remember a team with weak spirit ever scoring 3 goals and win in second half after loosing 0-2 in first.

But maybe the story is a draw. Well, we'll see 2 eps from there I guess.

whoah, I also cant see ETU winning here...but they have to. Kubota seems un-overcome-able. He´s a guy that doesnt care about his surroundings, other than finding the perfect spots for passes or even goal shots. Don´t see how they´ll get rid of this dangerous player.

Also agree with David, the pace of the show is strange. You keep waiting for ETU to do something awesome, something good, and then they´re just getting even deeper into shit. That´s why I think they will win this match...the show has to show us some real development.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MFauli

whoah, I also cant see ETU winning here...but they have to. Kubota seems un-overcome-able. He´s a guy that doesnt care about his surroundings, other than finding the perfect spots for passes or even goal shots. Don´t see how they´ll get rid of this dangerous player.

Also agree with David, the pace of the show is strange. You keep waiting for ETU to do something awesome, something good, and then they´re just getting even deeper into shit. That´s why I think they will win this match...the show has to show us some real development.

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The episodes after their match against the three Brazilians haven't been as good as I'd like them to be. Personally, I think they didn't go into character development enough. They did it with Tsubaki and Murakoshi, as well as Kuro, but didn't follow through with Sera or Natsu. There just wasn't enough about them to get us engaged. One of the problems with trying to focus on everything is that you don't focus enough on anything.

Tatsumi's giant killing hasn't been all that great neither since that match.

I'm waiting to see what's the deal with Gino. I don't think he's in bad form like the opposing captain suggests. He's trying to figure out something.

Tsubaki needs to be more like Kubota. He's fast, but he's just chasing down the balls. That guy's already waiting for them.

Regarding Tsubaki, it's obvious the 2 passes were milimeter and split second perfect.
It's just that Tsubaki isn't synchronised yet, he's 1 meter behind.
And that meter is enough to not be able to get the ball, or for defense to take care of the trouble. That's all there is to it.

Also, Gino perfectly knows the defender isn't fast enough, with low stamina. Gino is a talented player, able to pull the strings and even fake a troubled state where he would not be fit enough to play at 100%.
He just has to be sad Tsubaki can't do it.
And the defender to fall for the trick, getting tired and letting Tsubaki pass him at some point...

Gino is expecting a lot from Tsubaki. That was obvious from the very beginning of the show. The probable reason he looks dissatisfied is not because he thinks Tsubaki is failing, but rather, he knows that Tsubaki has to somehow exceed his current limits and get that ball for them to score. He probably knows that it will be very very difficult even with Bakki's legs.

HorribleSubs - Episode 22 SD | HD

Fun to watch as always, though Im a bit disappointed that all of ETU´s turn-around is based on "go enjoy the match!". No trick on Gino´s part, no special tactic againt Kubota. They´re just starting to play better, just because...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MFauli

Fun to watch as always, though Im a bit disappointed that all of ETU´s turn-around is based on "go enjoy the match!". No trick on Gino´s part, no special tactic againt Kubota. They´re just starting to play better, just because...

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I'm with you.

While "change of heart" powerups are good once every so often, using it all the time as the trump card really doesn't cut it.

It's like saying that as long as you've got the heart, you can trump a top-class team with no skill (almost).

I really want to see them win via strategic exploits.

I kind of understand Sugi's wins over Kubota though. It seems that in order for him to pull of those unconventional, 100% awareness stunts, he takes a moment initially to assess the situation (like how he goes "Umm" before he actually talks). Sugi's just taking the ball as soon as he can now, rather than observing and reacting (then losing).

Also, that ep was without anything strong, some kind of filler regarding the story of that particular game.

It's just that now they need to score 3 times in about 35-40 minutes...

The problem is that Tatsumi´s ultimate strategy seems to be having fun. BUT: The Osaka Gunners are having fun AND are skillful players. So what? If this show was about giving an example of moral, then what would that moral be? I dont know.

Well, he was also hinting that Osaka might have stamina problems... or at least I interpreted it like that.

But to me, the same goes for ETU, or it should even be worse, since Osaka seems to be a strong team, they would not be too weak in the stamina department.

But I guess that they plan on showing ETU's enjoyment going up, scoring and Osaka going the other way... taking a goal at their peak of enjoyment might be hard to swallow... even more coming from what they consider a very weak team.

And by then, we'll be at ep 24.

HorribleSubs - Episode 23 SD | HD

Ugh, this feels so slooow.

I hoped they´d resolve Natsuki´s problems this episode so they could focus on Tsubaki in the next one, but now...Tsubaki´s not scoring by himself and Natsuki still sucks.
IF they win this game it now seems to depend fully on Natsuki.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MFauli

Ugh, this feels so slooow.

I hoped they´d resolve Natsuki´s problems this episode so they could focus on Tsubaki in the next one, but now...Tsubaki´s not scoring by himself and Natsuki still sucks.
IF they win this game it now seems to depend fully on Natsuki.

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The preview suggests otherwise.

It seems like Kubota's lack of stamina will crush Osaka's relentless assaults since he can't round up the ball anymore, while Tsubaki's still running like crazy.

It'll turn out like the match between the skilled, older ETU players against the younger fitter ones.

Was Gino referring to all his over reaching passes when he mentioned sacrifice? Does it mean that he passed that long so that everyone in the Osaka team will try to sprint and chase Tsubaki and eventually self-destruct because they can't keep up with his stamina?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shinta|hikari

Was Gino referring to all his over reaching passes when he mentioned sacrifice? Does it mean that he passed that long so that everyone in the Osaka team will try to sprint and chase Tsubaki and eventually self-destruct because they can't keep up with his stamina?

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That's as much sense as I can make of it.

Gino doesn't have much else to sacrifice other than his ego.

[CrunchySubs] Giant Killing - 24 [720p].mkv

Well, the pace of the show is extremely slow now, the idea I got weeks ago only proved true in today's ep.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by David75

[CrunchySubs] Giant Killing - 24 [720p].mkv

Well, the pace of the show is extremely slow now, the idea I got weeks ago only proved true in today's ep.

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Which one was that? Tatsumi set quite a few traps here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Buffalobiian

Which one was that? Tatsumi set quite a few traps here.

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The one against Hiraga, with Gino sending lots of passes that almost reach Tsubaki where Hiraga has to run a lot and get tired. The guy thought it was Gino who was in a bad day and with a bad mood to support the idea, when in fact he was toyed with, those passes being done on purpose.

The way they speak dutch in this series is so funny. It reminds me of Samurai Champloo episode 6 or something. Dulfer's assistent is hard to understand though, sometimes I even doubt if it's dutch :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Atheist

The way they speak dutch in this series is so funny. It reminds me of Samurai Champloo episode 6 or something. Dulfer's assistent is hard to understand though, sometimes I even doubt if it's dutch :P

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You can understand what they say and it's not that bad: be happy, they had to work hard to obtain that result.

Monsieur Blanc also has a strange french. Technically speaking, it's not faulty. However, the rythm, intonations, pauses and way of speaking are a bit off and give a strange feeling. But I like that they did it that well, even though their japanese audience probably doesn't care, or if they do, they can't really tell if it's good or not.
His assistant is very difficult to understand too, in french. The female assistant is easier to understand, but does not speak that much. Somehow, they've gone as far as creating different levels, which is a sign of how dedicated they were.

Then there's the fansub that add another layer. You then have french/dutch, japanese subs and fansubs and they all say things differently.
But as I said, I like it like it. It's part of the fun. If the language isn't butchered and subs are of an average level, it's more than enough.

Meh, I felt they could have finished the game in this episode. I like this series´ more realistic approach, but in this game it´s a bit too realistic for my liking. You know, I prefer when there are clear traps with clear results. More obvious. Here, we get to see small influences here and there the more "traps" are revealed, but it doesn´t directly lead to a goal. Guess that´s old-fashioned of me, but, yeah :D

Well, I hope next episode will conclude the game. Have Natsu score the 3-2 and all´s good. (or have him shoot the ball into the wrong goal for having an outrage :D)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MFauli

Meh, I felt they could have finished the game in this episode. I like this series´ more realistic approach, but in this game it´s a bit too realistic for my liking.

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Haha, this match will get pretty close to 90 minutes if you take OP/EDs into account :p

HorribleSubs - Episode 25 SD|HD








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It felt like they left Natsu's development hanging. He overcame it, but it didn't feel like it had a "big" enough effect. Similarly Sera's role didn't have as big an impact from an emotional perspective than it should have (I'm sure score-wise, it impacted plenty). I suppose it was just the vagueness of it all.

Good game I guess.

Great conclusion. I didnt expect the focus on Sera, but he´s such a nice guy, Im happy for him :P And I really like the cheery, happy music of this series.
I agree, Buffa, Natsuki was kinda left out. He should have scored the 2nd goal instead of Sugie.

We´ll get one more episode, eh?

HorribleSubs - Episode 26 SD | HD



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Quite the easy-going conclusion. It doesn't make any sense to start anything new, and I'm quite happy they brought back some of the original English scenes from the first episode.

In retrospect, I can't say that this series quite reached my expectations (and I can't determine whether that's its fault or mine), but it was certainly something different.Tatsumi's giant killing just had us waiting a bit too long.

Feels like the cut leaves room for another season.

Other than that, I feel like they could have done something even better, but can't really start with something to explain.

It wasn't bad at all, I liked it eventhough the pace always seemed odd.

I agree with you.

I liked the show, but real highlights were missing/took too long to happen.

Speaking of a second season, is there enough manga-source material for that to happen?

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Originally Posted by MFauli

I agree with you.

I liked the show, but real highlights were missing/took too long to happen.

Speaking of a second season, is there enough manga-source material for that to happen?

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I might be wrong, but it seems that the manga was only slightly ahead of the anime. It's like if both project have been done at the same time more or less. So I guess it does not affect a potential second season.

I do not know how good the audience number were. I guess in the end it all comes down to the profit they get with the show/manga/merchandise/broadcast/blu-ray/dvd and so on.