Good stuff. Some context: * Something that gets culturally lost in translation for the Kazama flashback: there's a scene of child-Kazama getting really excited about Udon while the other kids demand fancier food. What's implied is that his family/mother is poor and couldn't afford to give him what kids his age want, and he was so aware/considerate of that that he put the burden on his own shoulders and pretended like he wanted the more affordable item on the menu instead, for their sake. An early sign of him living his life for other people and out of duty/responsibility instead of for himself. * My interpretation of where everyone ends up is that it's commentary on what attitudes lead to and sustain greatness in competitive fields. Kong and Peco are the ones who have always had true passion for the sport/winning, and over the course of the show, learned the other side of it that's needed too-- They were never going to stop. Meanwhile, guys like Smile and Kazama have an attitude/nature that was never going to get them far competitively, without making them miserable. Ultimately, Smile's journey was not about becoming convinced that he should care as much about winning as everyone else, which is an easy bad assumption early on-- He just ends up having a healthier/happier/less frustrated and judgmental version of the same attitude he always had about the sport. Koizumi wanted him to see the view from the top (due to his own regrets), but honestly, what he hoped would happen wasn't really what was right for him, and Obaba seemed to know it all along. Kong's character definitely had my heart the most (and Sakuma kind of an understated/unexpected MVP), but it's really a show with five shared main characters. It starts out seeming like it's mostly about Smile, but by the end, not really. It's about every different dimension that the five characters represented pretty equally.
![VENEZUELA vs. ARGENTINA [1-1] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 9](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SJfoPdeOPCQ/mqdefault.jpg)
It was awesome seeing you feel the joy of the Peco-Smile match
Good stuff. Some context:
* Something that gets culturally lost in translation for the Kazama flashback: there's a scene of child-Kazama getting really excited about Udon while the other kids demand fancier food. What's implied is that his family/mother is poor and couldn't afford to give him what kids his age want, and he was so aware/considerate of that that he put the burden on his own shoulders and pretended like he wanted the more affordable item on the menu instead, for their sake. An early sign of him living his life for other people and out of duty/responsibility instead of for himself.
* My interpretation of where everyone ends up is that it's commentary on what attitudes lead to and sustain greatness in competitive fields. Kong and Peco are the ones who have always had true passion for the sport/winning, and over the course of the show, learned the other side of it that's needed too-- They were never going to stop. Meanwhile, guys like Smile and Kazama have an attitude/nature that was never going to get them far competitively, without making them miserable. Ultimately, Smile's journey was not about becoming convinced that he should care as much about winning as everyone else, which is an easy bad assumption early on-- He just ends up having a healthier/happier/less frustrated and judgmental version of the same attitude he always had about the sport. Koizumi wanted him to see the view from the top (due to his own regrets), but honestly, what he hoped would happen wasn't really what was right for him, and Obaba seemed to know it all along.
Kong's character definitely had my heart the most (and Sakuma kind of an understated/unexpected MVP), but it's really a show with five shared main characters. It starts out seeming like it's mostly about Smile, but by the end, not really. It's about every different dimension that the five characters represented pretty equally.
Obaba is such an underrated character. She had so much insight/foresight. Very empathetic too, even if she comes off like a hard ass
Kong and Smile's coach
Agreed!