Chinese Tenipuri~!!

[lucathia]

I finally got around to watching the rest of the Chinese Tenipuri drama, season 1. :3 I'm impressed by how some things were handled (makes so much sense!) and really grew to like some of the characters. It's too bad rivals aren't nearly given as much attention as the Seigaku cast.

I jumped back in the series at episode 12. I don't remember much of the episodes before that, just that Long Ma (Ryoma) was really arrogant and not making much of an effort to join the team, but everyone else was pretty much ostracizing him too. It was a much bigger affair than the original series, which made it all the more touching when Long Ma finally earned his place.

some disjointed thoughts:
-LOL. The return of those people from the train who will never figure out the western/eastern grip!!

-Chun Long's (Kawamura's) dad wants him to quit tennis because Chun Long's injury and to take over the restaurant (and ultimately because of Chun Long's skill not being on par). Makes so much sense. Nice twist to the Kawamura-quitting-tennis plot line, though I wanted to throttle both of them for being stubborn.

-Ahahaha, I couldn't help but notice that Chun Long usually stands with Zhou Zhu (Fuji), Hai Tang (Kaidou) with Zhen Zhi (Inui), Ju Wan (Kikumaru) with Da Shi (Oishi), and Cheng Wu (Momoshiro) with Long Ma. Poor Guo Guang (Tezuka) usually just stands by himself.

-Hai Tang looks up to Zhen Zhi a LOT. and even kicked Long Ma out for even wanting to sleep in the same room during their training camp

-Dang, Hai Tang and Cheng Wu really hate each other. Their attempt at reconciliation (giving each other food) was so funny~

-Lin Ying (Sakuno) is cute and strives hard with painting! She really gave Long Ma the push he needed when he started doubting himself.

-Hm, St. Rudolph is still mostly intact. Mizuki (don't remember the Chinese name for all the rivals!!) has some purple highlights, but otherwise he seems pretty normal. Hai Tang and Cheng Wu, instead of knocking out Yanagizawa with a Dunk Smash, the poor guy fell and twisted his ankle from the Boomerang Snake. Zhou Yu (Yuuta) got the most focus from that team and provided lots of angst opportunity for Zhou Zhu, haha. It wasn't even about Long Ma versus Zhou Yu. Long Ma didn't figure out anything on his own.

-Heh, the Fudoumine-gets-hurt storyline is in this version too.

-Ehhhh, Akutsu is the captain? Oh hey, Dan's there, but Minami is totally in the background. Even Sengoku too! :O Interesting that they chose to have the "3 person doubles" in the Yamabuki match. I guess they wanted to have Oishi play in the final match against Hyoutei?

-I really like Da Shi's hair. XDD

-Atobe's hair is pretty nice too. XDD

-Eeeee, Long Ma's quite considerate for putting on that art show for Lin Ying.

-LONG MA, I KNOW YOU'RE COMING BACK TO BE THE SUBSTITUTE. HOW CAN YOU NOT? YOU LOVE YOUR TEAMMATES TOO MUCH.

-Man, that Jiroh is even more hyper than the original.

-Huh, Atobe's pretty considerate too with his mini speech about Guo Guang and both of them being winners. :3

-Erk, seems like Long Ma's final opponent is kind of like Kirihara with all the violent tennis he plays. ): Noooo, what does this mean for Kirihara in the second season?? Is he going to show up...(no Hiyoshi. ;___; )

-Somehow, when Long Ma copies everyone's moves in his final match here, it feels like a nod to all his teammates that he's taken in everyone's efforts, that he's grown strong because of them. Ending with Atobe's Rondo was a bit weird though. XD;

-...Long Ma didn't develop a single move of his own. :O

Time for the second season~

Comments

[yoshikochan.livejournal.com]

:D Is season 1 subtitled? (I saw you'd put up links on the tenipuri comm but said no subtitles for s2 ... ;.;)

[lucathia]

DoReMii has up to episode 14 of the first season subtitled. Here's their site.

S2 just came out, so there aren't any subtitles for it yet. ):

[himilika.livejournal.com]

Ha, ha... I see that you like the first season ;). I've fallen in love with this drama, mostly because all characters are more realistic and the interaction between them is shown more credible ^^.

Who is your favourite character? :3 Long Ma's fan here.

I don't think that Hai Tang and Cheng Wu really hate each other. It's rather a strong dislike on both sides. But it's changing in the future.

I like Da Shi's hair, too. And he looks cute, when he wears a cap.

^-^ I rewinded the scene in the car so many times~! Even though, I knew that he's going back it was so, so... sweet. This moment shows the best that they become a true team and that Long Ma prefers to be with his teammates :3.

Long Ma's final opponent reminds me the one from the live action movie. The whole scene was almost the same... Dramatic moments, injured knee and so on xD.

And Long Ma using all his teammates' movies is similar to the one from the last episode of the anime. But I agree that it was a beautiful nod and his way of saying "thank you".

OK, I'm ending now, because my comment is a bit long ^^;. Sorry for it, but I can talk and talk, and talk about this drama xD.

[lucathia]

Their interaction is so much more intense! :3 This drama really focuses on problems off the courts. I think of this as a more emotional Tenipuri. XDD

Hehe, I really like Long Ma too with how he changed over the course of the drama. Unexpectedly, I also like Da Shi with his quiet attitude~

Hai Tang and Cheng Wu were quite irrational in how they deal with each other, but they managed to overcome that. I just thought it bizarre how they always started yelling at each other so quickly, refusing to cooperate at all (like Cheng Wu refusing to even move in the pool). But when they got over that and reluctantly worked together...that was sweet. :3

Every time the camera went back to Long Ma in the car, I was waiting for him to head back!! Everyone's expression when he came into the stadium was so cute~

Huh, that's true. I don't remember what the guy in the live action was named. Was this guy named the same? I guess they needed a more threatening opponent for Long Ma's last match. I looved that they incorporated the line about Long Ma's best tension. :D

Hehe, this drama seems to pull on lots of different versions of Tenipuri.

This drama is just that awesome~ ♥ Have you started watching the second season?

[gem2niki.livejournal.com]

There's a Chinese Tenipuri drama??? what...?

[lucathia]

Haha, yup, there is. Crazy, isn't it? 22 episodes for the first season, 20 episodes for the second season. It's filmed in Shanghai. All the characters are in college.

Here's the opening song which gives you a good idea what the series is like. :3

[disutansu.livejournal.com]

Isn't it great how they explored the possibilities? ^_^ I like the tension and the angst, and also how they were really able to resolve them. It was really touching, especially for Taka-san's dad to support Chun Long during his last match. T__________T

Rivals don't get much screen time (is why it's difficult to get some decent caps). But I'm glad that some did~

Lin Ying was wonderful here. Xiao Peng was a bit much. @___@;;;

Somehow I really like Jiroh in the drama. XDDD;;

And Long Ma's opponent for Hyoutei really does remind me of the live action movie with 2nd cast. More than he reminds me of Hiyoshi anyway.

We still have 20 episodes to look forward to! *flaaaaaail*

[lucathia]

How they resolved their problems was very realistic and touching. ♥ I'm really glad things worked out for Chun Long, though he must not have been in his best condition...suddenly jumping in to play without practice!! Taka-san's dad with the flag!! :DD

Seems like the main people from each team have decent screen time (Mizuki, Atobe, Akutsu). But other people barely even get mentioned. So...I'm not attached to them at all. ^^;;

I liked Lin Ying. Her actress was more the cute type. :3 I'll miss her! Too bad a different actress plays her in the second season...she gives me a more devious feel so far. I guess I'll see how she is the more I watch~. I like her more than the new Ryuuzaki-sensei though. She's so young!! :O

Jiroh was sooo hyper. XD; I was hoping he'd be able to imitate Zhou Zhu's disappearing serve and shock everyone. XDD

They most likely modeled that guy after the movie guy, or else they just had very similar thoughts about how to make the last match more exciting.

Yup! *flails with you*

OOooooh, and uh, I don't think I told you yet, but I received your check at the beginning of the week! Thanks~

[disutansu.livejournal.com]

While I was capping the part where Chun Long's dad had prepared his tennis bag for him, did Chun Long tell his dad that he won't disappoint him (to which his dad told him that he shouldn't disappoint himself)? I THOUGHT THAT WAS THE MOST AWESOME-EST THING. T______________T

I really do like the first season's Sakuno and Ryuuzaki-sensei. First season Sakuno's actress has a more... patient and slightly vulnerable, but at the same time strong personality. And second season's Ryuuzaki-sensei is more aggressive, direct. XD;; Like "Do you understand? LOUDER!" OO;;;;

Yeah... Hiyoshi and Echizen's match was super short if I remembered right. T-T So I suppose they need to make it a bit more epic-y.

I'm glad it got there! ^_^ *hugs* Thank you~