It has now come down to the final game… The Christmas Bowl pitting the best high school from the East (Deimon High School) vs. the best high school team in the East and consecutive champions, Teikoku High School. And with Teikoku High known for their offense and defense, will the underdogs of Deimon High show they have what it takes to beat them? Find out in an exciting volume 33 of “Eyeshield 21”!
© 2002 by Riichiro Inagaki, Yusuke Murata. All Rights Reserved.
MANGA TITLE: Eyeshield 21 vol. 33
STORY BY: Riichiro Inagaki
ART BY: Yusuke Murata
FIRST PUBLISHED IN JAPAN: Shueisha, Inc.
PUBLISHED IN USA BY: VIZ Media, LLC
RATED: T for Older Teen
RELEASE DATE: October 5, 2010
After starting the much-anticipated Christmas Bowl with a touchdown, Teikoku High School wastes little time in scoring against the Devil Bats again. Takeru Yamato – the real Eyeshield 21 – shakes Sena off, but not without having to use his full strength, even after saying he would hold back in deference to the slightly injured Hiruma. Sena refuses to back down against Takeru’s seemingly insurmountable skill, but nothing seems to be working. Will a new and risky tag-team maneuver with Monta help Deimon put some points on the scoreboard?
It’s what the Deimon High School Devil Bats have been working so hard for. They dreamed about this moment and that is to compete at the final Christmas Bowl.
And now the underdogs, Deimon High School Devil Bats will take on the unbeatable Teikoku High School which have dominated the Christmas Bowl for years.
And for Sena Kobayakawa, the “Eyeshield 21” of the East, he finally gets to compete against Takeru Yamato, the real “Eyeshield 21” of the West. But Taro Raimon also finds his greatest competition yet, Taka Honjo.
Will the underdogs have any chance of beating the overwhelming favorite, Teikoku High School?
Find out in volume 33 of Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata’s “Eyeshield 21”.
What is “Eyeshield 21”?
In Japan, American football may not be too popular compared to the international futbol (soccer), but there are a few high schools that have football teams and the NFL does have a game played in Japan, helping to spread the game’s popularity.
But in 2002, writer Riichiro Inagaki and illustrator Yusuke Murata introduced American football to a broader audience through their manga “Eyeshield 21″ which has been featured on the very popular Weekly Shonen Jump, has led to several videogames and also a 145-episode anime series which lasted from 2o05-2008. And now for 35 volumes, “Eyeshield 21” continues to entertain masses through its manga series currently available from Viz Media as part of their Shone Jump Advanced line.
“Eyeshield 21″ revolves around a young teenager named Sena Kobayakawa who has passed his entrance exams at his local high school, Deimon Private Senior High School. The school where his childhood friend Mamori Anezaki attends. Both Sena and Mamori are close because all throughout his life, Sena has been bullied and Mamori has been there to protect him.
Living his life as a gopher for other friends, Sena hasn’t had any true friends until he meets the devil-looking Yoichi Hiruma and the very huge Ryokan Kurita who try to get Sena to join their football team.
Of course, Sena doesn’t know how to play football but being the new kid at school, once again, he gets bullied but this time, the huge Kurita ends up taking care of them. Out for revenge, the bullies start to pick on Sena once again but Sena is sick and tired of getting beaten up and when they go after him, he demonstrates a skill which he has had for a long time, speed. Because Sena has lived his life running away, he is very quick and immediately, Hiruma wants to utilize him on the Deimon High School Devil Bats football team.
Sena just wants to become a team manager but Hiruma wants Sena to be the team’s running back. And because Hiruma wants to make sure that no one can steal him for their high school, he plans on a disguise that no one but he, Sena and Kurita will know and that is putting an eyeshield on a football helmet and giving Sena a #21 jersey and the nickname “Eyeshield 21″.
Earlier in the series, we have watched as the Deimon Devil Bats grow as a team and do all they can to make it to the Christmas Bowl.
And now they have finally made it!
But this time, they take on the great Teikoku High School and in volume 33 of “Eyeshield 21”, the team has shown how great they are. So, great that they put up an easy 35 points to lead 35-0. No matter what Sena and Monta try to do, their strategy is always countered by the Eyeshield 21 of the West, Takeru Yamato and the awesome Taka Honjo.
With Deimon far behind, can the team find a way to at least score one touchdown or even get back into the game?
I have been a big fan of sports-based manga and in Japan a lot of their sports manga and anime are big hits. From the soccer-driven series “Captain Tsubasaâ€, the basketball series “Slam Dunkâ€, the baseball series “Touchâ€, the tennis series “Tennis no Oujisama†(Prince of Tennis) and many of them have this underdog vs. the better team type of mentality.
Yes, there is a banality when it comes to sports manga series but there is often this side of supernatural element that an athlete has. A super kick, a special tennis serving or hitting ability and with “Eyeshield 21″, what makes the series so exciting is that every team has its special individuals with unique talents. But when it comes to the Deimon Devil Bats (the protagonist team), these guys are like a group of misfits put together in hopes to accomplishing their goal of making it to the Christmas Bowl. But they are surely talented. Sena (Eyeshield 21) has this special ability of his running and in this latest volume, he hones that talent and makes himself even better. We also see new characters pop up and joins the team and definitely see how everyone works together, faces adversity together as a team.
For so long, we have read of them taking on all these awesome football teams, each with their own special players. And it was a long hard battle for these guys but they made it to the final match and what is most exciting about this volume is that its an opponent unlike they have ever faced before.
But that can also work in reverse for Teikoku High School, a proud high school known for having the best facilities, grooming their football teams to become the best.
But for Deimon High School, these bunch of misfits have pride and also have what it takes to surprise everyone they have come up against.
Similar to other sports anime in which there is an underdog getting involved with sports and displays a tremendous skill, “Eyeshield 21″ definitely showcases that into the storyline but with the characters, in this case the team is more like the “Bad News Bears†and with the “The Devil Batsâ€, the team consists of characters that are just wild and crazy. Actually, all teams have characters that are wild and crazy and I suppose that is what makes “Eyeshield 21″ so interesting and enjoyable.
But volume 33 is all about the Christmas Bowl, the strategies employed by each team and some history of players of the Teikoku High School football team. And how everything is now down to the final quarter with Deimon High School behind by 35 – 0. Is it possible for them to mount a comeback?
If you are looking for a sports manga series, “Eyeshield 21″ volume 33 is definitely a series worth checking out! Recommended!