Curse these 10 minute episodes…

Damn Ao Ashi is good.  It’s just a really, really strong sports series no matter how you slice it.  Credit to the production of course – it may have a first-time (though very experienced in other roles) director in Saitou Akira, but Production I.G. is remarkably consistent in delivering a solid product.  The bulk of it is down to the material, though.  Being a great manga isn’t enough to make a great anime (see Samidare, Hoshi no) but it is the single most important factor.  I love Be Blues lots, but Ao Ashi has few other peers as a comprehensive exploration of youth soccer.

Poor Ashito.  This is brutal on him, no question about it.  I certainly don’t blame him for going AWOL, but he has good friends.  Even if they did have to make excuses to do so, starting with Keiji (they are boys after all), they all went off looking for him.  And Yuuma called Hana, which the best thing anyone could have done in the moment.  She put herself in Ashito’s shoes and figured out where he’d be – the bus station, though I doubt there’s be many night buses to Ehime of all places.

I’ll go to the mat defending the idea that Fukuda was a total A-hole in the way he handled this.  Date-san was the secondary victim here, made to play the bad guy in executing a deceit he wanted no part of.  Right from the beginning in fact, when Fukuda forced him to say how useless Ashito was as a forward to send a message.  The dynamic between these two, who’ve known each other since their own youth days, is becoming pretty clear.  Fukuda is the star, the golden child, with Date the grinder being carried along in his wake.  Fukuda clearly has a keen eye and a sharp mind, and he’s no doubt right about Ashito.  But as so many with those traits are, he’s clearly become arrogant and keen to use others as he sees fit to fulfil his own ends.

The most heartbreaking part of all this was when Hana asked Ashi if he was going to quit, and he answered “I can’t afford to quit”.  She puts it exactly right – he is a kid with the weight of the world on his shoulders.  Ashito is not by nature a quitter, clearly.  But at his low ebb it’s the pressure of letting down his mother and guilt over the sunk cost of his enrollment at Esperion that’s driving him to stay.  He feels trapped and, though he clearly isn’t, also alone.  Hana’s instinct to call Noriko was spot-on (get the kid a cell phone for cripes sake, Mom).  As usual they don’t say a lot to each other, but what she does say is enough to stop the bleeding –  whatever you do is fine, you can always come home.

If you’ve never played or at least been a serious fan, it’s hard to grasp just what a seismic shift going from striker to fullback is.  It’s the same sport, but basically in name only.  It’s not Ashi’s fault he knows nothing about the position – he’s been a forward his whole life.  He does have those willing to help, like Keiji and even Asari, and those who’re unwilling but eventually will (Akutsu, who’s ironically move to forward temporarily himself).  And Date-san, while not exactly the warm and comforting type, is going to do  everything in his power to make up for his own role in what he sees as an injustice done to the boy.  But ultimately Ashito has to sink or swim on his ability to make the transition.

One of the things I like about Ashito and Ao Ashi is how they both defy sports shounen cliche in subtle but important ways.  Ashi’s response to Akutsu’s rubbing salt in his wound is humility – he’s hot-blooded in shounen fashion, yes, but self-aware and no fool.  He understands exactly how helpless he is here, and what he needs to do to survive.  Date – who has no choice – wastes no time in throwing Ashito out there in the next scrimmage.  And – as speculated in the comments section last week – it is indeed at left back.

That’s one of a couple of factors working in Ashi’s favor as he tries to make this move.  As a left back he can cut into the center of the field on his dominant right foot, which will allow him to express some of the skills he already has.  Also, the fact that Esperion is at all levels a powerhouse club that expects to dominate possession means its fullbacks will spend an awful lot of time attacking.  This would be a lot harder for Ashito on a counterattacking, defensive-oriented side.  Much is made of “the shuffle” here – the other defenders sliding across to retain a compact shape when one of the fullbacks bombs forward.  But for really big clubs (like Manchester City or Bayern Munich, for example) you often see both fullbacks join the attack – something possible because they dominate possession so thoroughly against almost every opponent.

For now, the key to Ashito’s survival is Takeshima Ryuuichi (Kumagai Kentarou).  He’s the anchor of the B-team’s back four, the stay at home central defender whose lack of attacking intent is what allows the other defenders the freedom to join the attack.  Takeshima makes only one request of Ashito for now – make sure you do the shuffle.  But as the growing pains assert themselves – and they surely will – Takeshima is going to have to make sure Ashito isn’t undone by his inexperience..