Things are not looking good for the Football Club in the representation match. But can the tide be turned with the return of their best player?
What They Say:
“Return of the King”
The King of FC Soccer has returned and is forcing SC players to break from their script. Araki’s trick style of play rejuvenates the tired FC players and Kakeru’s heart beats with a new determination.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Apparently, Ryuichi Araki can magically drop a large amount of weight in only 10 days. Too bad his diet plan probably doesn’t work in the real world.
But his presence in the game is immediate and powerful. After an amazing run through the SC’s defense after intercepting a pass, Araki drives straight for the goal. The keeper is forced to come off his line, but instead of overpowering him, Araki simply chips the ball over him as the goalkeeper dives for the ball. Now, he probably won’t be able to do that trick again, but he won’t need or want to, as it is his unpredictability that makes him such a problem for the stolid SC side.
Now with Araki directing the flow of play, the SC gets taken out of their comfort zone, especially when Kakeru and Araki begin hitting long shots from the edge of the penalty area. For someone who knows the game well, it’s fairly obvious what Araki is planning, drawing out the defense to create a chance for Kakeru to slip through for an easy one-on-one with the keeper. Thanks to the strategy, the game is tied up on a goal by Kakeru.
In response, however, the SC does not fall apart. Instead, the pressure of losing control of the match forces Oda to think for himself, not just follow orders from the bench anymore. The SC players agree to Oda’s call for them to think for themselves, and it’s game on again. The game goes into overtime. Both sides are playing to their fullest. And we come to…a cliffhanging ending.
Following on from the previous episode, we get a breathless dash through the last twenty minutes of the game, practically in real time (as the running time of an average episode is around 22 minutes of action show, once you remove the opening and ending theme animations). The change in momentum comes fast and furiously, with Araki’s energetic and unpredictable style giving a necessary boost of energy to an audience that might otherwise have begun to tire slightly, as happens when watching a real match enter the 70th minute. Again, the writers show a good command of pacing and keeping the energy level just right to keep the audience hooked to the screen. About the only criticism I have is that this show is a little too true to form with most sports shows, in that I had a suspicion we would not see the end of the game at the end of this episode, and we don’t. Instead, we are left with a hint as to how it ends. I would rather we had a solid end now, but this is how you’re allegedly supposed to keep the audience wanting more. Still, Knight in the Area is doing a good job of executing the expected and customary cliches of sports drama. It may not be the most original of scripts, but it is doing the formula justice and keeping me entertained.
In Summary:
With the return of Araki, the Football Club looks like it has a fighting chance of winning the game, since Araki’s unpredictable and freewheeling style of play is exactly what ruins the meticulous and heavily scripted performance of the Soccer Club. But when the match is leveled, the SC’s leader, Oda, decides that he is not going to lose by following a losing script, so it’s game on as the SC shows the ability to play in a more creative manner. Neither side shows any side of letting down. Will Araki and Kakeru find some way to win? We will have to wait until next week. In the meantime, this show, while nothing original, has found its sport drama groove, providing a well-executed example of the standard formula.
Grade: B+
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Streamed by: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 4GB RAM, Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard
