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REVIEW: Cross Game Episodes 26-38 Streaming




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Otaking09



Joined: 24 Feb 2009
Posts: 637
PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:04 am Reply with quote
Quote:
...a reminder that the best stories are the ones closest to us.


Best way to sum up Cross Game.

I know I'm a fool for wanting Viz to give this the Kekkaishi treatment; a dub(and, who knows? A release?)

Nice to see another review of this new classic. I do wonder what you'll guys think of the ending.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18394
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:28 am Reply with quote
Otaking09 wrote:
Nice to see another review of this new classic. I do wonder what you'll guys think of the ending.


Both Carl and I are huge fans of the series, so one of us will get around to commenting about the ending once Viz officially has the remaining few episodes posted.

(For the record, though, I rate the final episode among the Top 5 all-time for series finales.)
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
Posts: 14084
Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 3:50 am Reply with quote
Key wrote:
(For the record, though, I rate the final episode among the Top 5 all-time for series finales.)


That's quite the boast. To me it just ended, wrapping up too little to feel satisfying. Cross Game was a show about realising Wakaba's dream, but it was also a show about the characters that were left behind, and unfortunately said characters just do not get sufficient closure.

The end of the first episode was emotional and extremely well done (mostly because of the music). But the final episode rating in the all-time Top 5? Eh, I can think of plenty of shows that had better finales; RahXephon, Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, Seirei no Moribito, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0. There, that's five off the top of my head which I found were far an away superior to Cross Game's finale.

I'm not picking a fight here. It's just that when someone makes such a strong claim, especially one I can't remotely agree with, well its only natural to comment.
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taster of pork



Joined: 11 Nov 2008
Posts: 595
Location: My House
PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 5:56 am Reply with quote
Definitely gonna check out this series. Is the manga exactly the same as the anime?
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Kit-Tsukasa



Joined: 16 Mar 2006
Posts: 930
PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 10:36 am Reply with quote
taster of pork wrote:
Definitely gonna check out this series. Is the manga exactly the same as the anime?

I believe it followed it pretty close. The show was basically planned so that the manga and it would end around the same time. The manga ended in February 2010 while the anime ended in March 2010.
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Thallium



Joined: 06 Aug 2007
Posts: 40
Location: Netherlands
PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 11:19 am Reply with quote
It's funny how upon reading that Carl finds the plot moving slowly, and there isn't really all that much happening in each episode, i initially thought: Well surely that isn't true...
But then i started to think back a bit, and i actually have to agree with that observation. It's just that the show had me hooked so badly, that i devoured every minute of it. And the greatest strength (and alot of the entertainment for me personally) lies in the dialogues indeed. Add to that the fun games that are being played and you have a seriously entertaining show, despite the misleading slow pace and 'uneventful' episodes.

In fact, this is one of the few shows where i couldn't quite wait for the next episode to be aired so i started following the manga. Shocked
And i agree with Kit-Tsukasa that it followed the manga pretty closely.

I agree with this review, and would definitely advise people who are thinking of checking this out, to go for it.
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albanian



Joined: 18 Nov 2005
Posts: 133
Location: UK
PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 12:49 pm Reply with quote
For all the kudos granted to Touch, to be honest, Cross Game knocks it into a cocked hat. Where Touch was slow, it was (relatively) laboured and wearisome; where Cross Game is slow, it is gentle and captivating. The characters are such that you genuinely want to invest time in them and to know them as friends - and valued friends at that.

Touch gives the impression of being a work in progress, while Cross Game, for all its minor faults, seems much more like the finished article. There haven't been many anime which have entranced me as much as this one has over a long period of time: Aria perhaps, or Kemono no Souja Erin. I really am longing (though without any meaningful hope) for a western release - which in my case would mean the UK.

PS: Key, I totally agree about the ending - but why limit it to the Top 5?
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:21 pm Reply with quote
albanian wrote:
PS: Key, I totally agree about the ending - but why limit it to the Top 5?


Because there are some awfully strong competitors out there. I'm not sure that I could honestly put this one's final episode ahead of the final episode for Princess Tutu, for instance, and I wouldn't want to have to choose between them.
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SgtMustang



Joined: 05 Feb 2010
Posts: 158
PostPosted: Fri Feb 18, 2011 4:49 am Reply with quote
Def one of the greatest endings in anime, and one that took some balls too. Not to spoil anything, but I think the author chose the perfect moment to end it, but I think most would have chosen to continue the story. It ends it on a note of you know whats going to happen next so theres no need to show it, you the viewer can have the pleasure of imagining it yourself.

And while the pacing for Cross Game is so great and satisfying (I liked the comparison to a placid lake teaming w/ emotion underneath) this stretch of ep is the (neccesary) slow point in the story, kind of the calm before the storm.

Def was my favorite anime of this past year, and is getting closer and closer to being my all time favorite (Its already def top 5) w/ every repeat viewing.

And even though I Love the Japanese voice cast, I wouldn't mind a dub just because of my habit of throwing a series on before I go to sleep since I need something in the background.
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