fencer_x | Rant rant rant, or "Why I Hate Konomi Takeshi"

Ugh. OK people, now, I love Ryoma, he's a snarky brat and that does something for me. It really does, I love seeing snarky underdogs stick it to the baddies who underestimate them.

But.

But, come on...do we really need to see him kicking Atobe's ass? I want his ass nicely preserved, without Ryoma stepping all over it. I don't want to see him be forced by this stupid bet to SHAVE HIS HEAD BALD. I like Atobe's hair.

It must be said here, then. Now. There are people in this series whom I never want/wanted to see Ryoma beat: Atobe. Tezuka. Nanjiroh. I could go on. Ryoma's the main character, I get it, but he shouldn't be invincible. He's a human, despite how DBZ-esque all these boys' tennis moves may seem at times, let's keep it as believeable as possible, ne? Let. The boy. Lose some.

Me? I hope he gets too cocky, personally. I hope he underestimates Atobe just once, just so he'll get pulled back down to earth, because when was the last time he lost? I mean, really lost, in an official game, in front of his peers and people he cares about? When was the last time he was shown that there are still people--and always will be people--who are better than him, even if it's only because he's the one doing the underestimating this time?

I'll admit, Atobe vs. Ryoma has the makings of a GREAT match. Atobe beat Tezuka, kinda sorta, and Tezuka hung Ryoma out to dry, but Ryoma's since become much better, so who knows how it's going to end up. BUT. Just because it has the makings of a great match doesn't mean I want to see it. See, I'm the type to dread matches like this, because I don't want either character to lose, really. Or in this case, don't want Atobe to lose and don't believe Ryoma will, but same ends.

I just...my respect for Konomi is waning. Quickly. He's selling himself out for easy matches or what he thinks the fans want--Atobe vs Ryoma, a match you won't want to miss, right? WRONG. I dread the outcome. I really do. Because it's Konomi and his main character, in all likelihood, will not lose this match.

Granted, he SHOULD give the majority of fans what that majority wants, and I'm sure a majority of fans are probably wetting their pants right now in anticipation, but...just...like I said in a previous post, this series has become really, really special to me, and I hate to see it just...SUCK SO MUCH now. I mean, what the HELL was that last chapter? After working all that time, coming so far, going into that WTFOMGWEARESOINSYNCH mode, the flashbacks, the laughter and tearful memories, all that...ONLY TO HAVE THE GOLDEN PAIR LOSE?

Konomi-sensei, sit down. Sit down, take a deep breath, and go back and read your series. Because obviously you've forgotten what some of these characters' roles are. You've forgotten that Golden Pair is THE GOLDEN PAIR, the doubles combo you've pimped since day 1 (book 1?)--the greeeaaat and poooowweeeerful doubles pair, the National level team that can outsynch, out-think, amd outplay most any other team.

Oishi hurt his wrist. But he just sprained it, that's it. And it happened many, many matches ago. He's played spectacularly since then (or at least, it hasn't bothered him enough to result in GP losing a set for that reason), so what's with this sudden flaring up of the injury again? Did I miss something? Oishi's wrist hasn't been a problem since, like, FOREVER. So what's with it suddenly popping up at the forefront? Eiji's never stopped Oishi from pushing himself to win a game (AT MATCH-FRICKING-POINT) before because of his wrist--WHY NOW?

Oh, that's right. Back to the problem at hand: ATOBE VS. RYOMA. Golden Pair had to lose for NO GOOD REASON (come on, Silver Pair's good...but they were so having their asses handed to them by the Golden Pair) other than to make this match possible. That ought to be their slogan or something. "This match brought to you by: THE BEST CONBI EVER LOSING FOR NO SDIFUHSOFUSDIF REASON." I did not want to see this match that badly. Certainly not so bad that I'd put GP who DESERVED and had EARNED this win in the position where they pretty much have to start over.

This post will now segue into a discussion on ~~Bridget~~Why The Golden Pair Should Have Cleaned ToriShishi's Clock.

When was the last time they won? Do you know how sad it is that I can't even remember? As I type this, I'm asking every PoT addict on my buddy list I can find this question, because I honestly don't remember. They lost to Rikkaidai, lost to St. Rudolph, won against Fudoumine...ok, I just had to go back and watch episodes to recall that they won against the Jimmies of Yamabuki (screw me, I didn't watch BukiMyu) and the Jyousei Shounan team (but that was animeverse, anyone know about their manga wins/losses?). Of these, JS and Rikkaidai were the only post-wrist-injury matches that the Golden Pair played. Oishi's wrist injury flared up near the end of the JS game, but they managed to pull through. All is good. Eiji lost his cool during the Rikkaidai match, and the resulting fight caused them to lose barely to Rikkaidai. A loss, but not wrist related, and there was nothing to indicate that hsi wrist was even bothering Oishi. At this point, I think it's safe to assume that Oishi's coping well with it.

SO WHY, KONOMI, WHY?! Yes. SPECTACULAR plot device, man. Injuries heal, you know. Momo's ankle was sprained in the beginning of the series, and have you used it to make him lose a match yet? NO. You've used it as a drive to make the boy WIN yes, so GOOD ON YOU. *sigh* Suffice to say, Tezuka's shoulder is an exception. Momo's ankle healed, so why shouldn't Oishi's wrist? They both played with it injured, but didn't really push themselves too much. I should think after this amount of time (what, a few months at least right? It was two months between Tezuka wiping the floor with Ryoma and the Hyoutei match) he'd be ready to go. In as good condition as he was ever going to be after that sprain.

And yet, Konomi, you chose to sink down, to shy away from giving this pair, this pair you've shown so beautifully as having worked so hard to get this far--Eiji overcoming his stamina problem, Oishi's wrist injury, match after match after match, their promises to one another that they'd get this far and win, that they wouldn't go home losing, that they were done losing, that this was their last year to play doubles at Seigaku, and damned if they weren't going to leave together, winners.

You showed us that they'd worked that hard, what this meant to them, and then you shot us down, let us down, when they were at the top of their game, when they'd completely overwhelmed Shishido and Ohtori, when they were so in tune with one another that everyone on the sidelines thought them possessed.

I'd like to remind everyone at this point that they lost--not because Silver Pair overpowered them, but because Eiji intentionally stopped Oishi from hitting that ball, whether unconsciously or not. Shishido was down on the ground for crying out loud, Ohtori was standing along, there was no way that if they'd hit that ball that Ohtori could have handled it alone, not in his position, not with Golden Pair playing in such a synchronized manner as they were. They OWNED that game, and yet, Konomi, you backed away, you gave us a pissy reason, and you deprived this pair of what was likely their last chance to take a win at Nationals.

They'd better play again. They'd better play again, and they'd better win. It's blatantly obvious from these early 290s chapters that they're THE doubles team now. Silver Pair was, I'm convinced, at this point, the only team that could hold a candle to them, and they were so obviously outclassed it's almost sad. They just don't have the connection, the bond, that Golden Pair does. Anyone could see that, whether you ship them or not. And it's this point that makes it hurt all the more that Konomi felt, for whatever reason, that the Golden Pair should lose, just to satisfy some fans.

I wonder when this series became more about marketing to the majority for Konomi than about being true to the characters. All right, I know, it's fiction, they're just characters, they don't have real feelings beyond what's written on that page ~~and in fanfics~~. It's Konomi's creation, he's entitled to do with it as he wishes, I suppose.

But when you bring us this far, get us this attached to these boys, show us how hard they've worked, how much they've struggled together to get to this point, and then fail them for some stupid reason like Atobe vs. Ryoma...do you honestly expect us to sit by and take this lying down?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: This. Sucks.