Life is heaven and hell at the same time

♀ / Aro/Ace / Fandom : Inazuma Eleven/ Might post about other anime sometimes

[fangorn-forest]

children heed my warning. one day your body’s check engine light will come on and demand that you start eating so many vegetables and whole grains. do not ignore it.

[blackwoolncrown]

I want to explain this a bit more since 'health' and 'biology' are loosely speaking, special interests of mine and also what I went to school for.

People SAY that your health 'suddenly' starts to decline in your 30s but that's not really a good way to put it A) bc that's not really accurate and B) bc it frames this decline as something inherent and unavoidable, which does nothing to convince you that you have some agency about this.

So I'm going to explain this in LOOSE NON-SCIENTIFIC language:

When you are an infant or child, you are actively growing. Nature is throwing tons of new cells into you bc your body needs to BUILD BUILD BUILD. What you're able to do, eat and heal from is all largely dictated by this-- for example little kids often LOVE sweet foods or dairy-like foods and are relatively less interested in anything else. This is bc their body is running on HIGH all the time since building body parts is very energetically intensive. They can eat a fistful of sugarcubes and burn them off in an hour. Ask me how I know.

When you are a YOUNG ADULT you are actually still developing to a secondary extent, but your bones and such are fused and now that development goes into solidifying the structure and also finetuning its reproductive capabilities and features-- these, too, are HIGHLY energy consumptive when they first come online. Nature is STILL, thus, throwing tons of energy and new cells your way hoping you'll do something cool with them. You regenerate very quickly, and recover from harm rapidly-- But please note: swift recovery from harm is not absence of harm. This most relates to the consumption of 'junk food' and alcohol-- many people say they could 'eat whatever they wanted and nothing would happen' when they're in their 20s or that they could go out drinking and 'not be affected'. You were affected. You didn't notice.

Once everything has come online you go into maintenance mode. Nature stops throwing excess cells and energy your way bc you don't need that-- your body is yours and you are now responsible for maintaining it...hopefully with what you learned by experience in your 20s. IF YOU WERE NOT PAYING ATTENTION, you did not learn this, and are in for a surprise in your 30s bc your 'free recovery' subscription has ended. Recovery and maintenance- processes that are constant in the human body- now cost MINERALS & ELECTRICITY. You can go into DEBT now, and that debt will come in the form of joints that pop, inability to recover well, lowered immune function, and feeling like shit.

This debt accrues interest RAPIDLY once you hit 36-- the age of around 36 to 46 or so is a kind of reckoning stage where Nature assesses how well you've managed your body and you will be SWIFTLY downgraded if the result is you were just winging it.

So how do you build this account? 2 main things ( LOOSELY SPEAKING this is so not 100% scientific but I have to be general here): MINERALS -- you get these from eating well, mostly. You might want to take supplements based on your unique needs. But you need Minerals & Vitamins (i'm lumping these two together) bc they are the chemical building blocks (currency) your body uses to rebuild and fix up cells. ELECTRICITY is- again loosely speaking- having the proper chemical voltage throughout your body. This 'voltage' drops when you don't move enough, or when you're dehydrated. The building and repairing process your body wants to do may have the materials (minerals and vitamins) but there's not enough power in the factory, or the AC isn't working and the workers are overheating and can't work well. To fix this, drink lots of water and MOVE AND STRETCH your body. The action within your muscles and bones GENERATES ENERGY and it keeps your cells happy.

So the thing is, it's not that you suddenly find yourself taking damage after 30+. You were taking damage the whole time. You're just kept from really feeling it bc you're young and full of extra juice and given time to figure things out.

But at some point Nature expects you to do that, and you will pay if you don't.

Best to start out giving a shit, even if none of your friends think you're cool, even if you get called a 'health nut' bc you will still be able to frolick at 45, 50, probably so on while everyone who said it was dumb to have 'balanced meals' shares memes about how they wake up feeling like shit every day.

Sidenote don't let our shitty fatphobic society obscure the fact that it's okay to care about what you eat. Counting calories or being preoccupied with physical perfection is a sad way to relate to your body BUT that doesn't mean that paying attention to your diet AT ALL is bad. Baby, bath water, etc.

[blackwoolncrown]

My goat ranting has been justified for this day.

[notemily]

your 'free recovery' subscription has ended

smh. can't own shit in this economy

[penrosesun]

Btw, this also goes for things like ergonomics. You may have never needed good sitting posture, or lumbar support, or proper typing technique, or a monitor riser, or good shoe insoles, or... but the thing is, you did, though. You were taking damage the whole time, you were just healing so fast that you didn't notice. Back problems and repetitive strain injuries aren't inevitable in your 30s – but they're pretty inevitable if you go on treating your body as badly as you could get away with treating it in your 20s.

[lovenaiu]

The Inazuma fandom refusing to see Gouenji as a Soccer Freak to the same extent as Tenma and Endou, even if

Even though he doesn't have the same line as Tenma about "soccer has feelings", Gouenji thinks that feelings can be transmitted through soccer. So much so that it is one of the reasons why in the anime he kicks balls at his teammates. He doesn't know how to express his own thoughts or feelings, and he thinks that through soccer he can show everything he feels, wanting his teammates to take it seriously.

He cares so much about the team that, in season 2, he put Yuuka's life at possible risk to help them in the match against Epsilon, He loves soccer and his team

He infiltrated the fifth sector, giving up his own soccer career, almost ruining his friendships with Raimon, even taking bad actions and ruining his own reputation,(And maybe even with a chance of being arrested if something went wrong) all to save soccer, He even refers to soccer as his "savior", No normal person thinks of cutting ties with friends over soccer, even if it was just acting

He loves soccer as much as Endou

[ygreczed]

EXCUSE me this literal ✨️gold✨️ doesn't belong to the tags

[aceofheartsred]

that dark teikoku episode was very sad but honestly what i remember most from it was the ludicrous amount of yelling kidou was doing

[garbage--account]

Kidou : "KAAAAGEEEYYYYAAAAMMMAAAA"

[exhaustedwriter132]

I felt sorrow only for Kidou (whereas in the past, I felt bad for Sakuma and Genda as well) after learning what happened in the Japanese version of the game. His relationship with any Teikoku person is irreparably damaged in the game.

The ludicrous amount of yelling from him was actually brought to a point where he loses his voice in the JPN game on certain occasions.

It was basically a psychological torture session for Kidou.

[ad-wills]

[kuukimeioo]

Raimon's mangers

[metiredlr]

Kidou really was about to lead a teen lynching mob to get Haruna back before that damn old man said ''actually we're gonna play soccer to decide on this'' like damn look at his stance bro was ready to square up

[exhaustedwriter132]

In IE2, Kidou was ready to get into a street brawl against Aliea agents on Ehime'd dock (Endou was too, but he's not the topic of discussion right now). His Teikoku teammates Jimon, Henmi and Doumen arrive on the scene.

So we get this interaction (I'm using the JPN dialogue for this, and this is my translation) :

"Tasukete ni kita zo, Kidou!" (We're here to save you, Kidou!)

"Yoo, naanka taihen sou jaan." (Yoo, looks like a complicated situation~)

"Masshoumen kara butsukaru nante sa aikawarazu youryou waruiyonee~" (I can't believe that you'd rush right in [for Kidou] like always. That's not really tactful now, is it~)

"Sumanai, Kidou. Sakiyamatachi kara renraku wo uketan daga kuru no ga osoku natteshimatta." (Sorry, Kidou. We received a call from Sakiyama and the others, but we were still late.)

"Maa, kuwashii hanashi wa ato ato! Tonikaku, koitsura wo katatzukechaimashouyo!" (Oh well, catching up with each other will be for later! Anyway, we're going to beat those guys up!)

"Aa, kyouryouku tanomu!" (Yes, I ask for your help!)

"Hehe- Makasete kudasaitte." (Hehe, leave it to us.)

"Kidou-san no gourei, nandaka, hisashiburidayone~" (Kidou-san's commands, it's been what, so long since I haven't seen you~) TL;DR: Kidou can very well fight himself, but he is also very much used to having his own attack squad.

[sol-thorne]

Random Inazuma11 rant:

I've been hanging in the fandom for some time and never saw anyone talking about it, but every single time Raimon's coach is doing something weird/unexplained/cruel to the team in the name of 'strategy', everyone has to reluctantly obey (see Hitomiko benching players or Kudou literally confining children inside a bulding). But every single time, the only one who blindly obeys, does not even question things, doesn't argue and tries to think of the why, is Kidou. He's usually the first one to figure out the coach's reason and it's played as a 'wow smart move coach it's okay you didn't explain anything for whatever dumb reason'.

I mean how messed up is it that every time this happens, the whole team speaks up (rightfully so) but Kidou just obeys and even empathizes with a coach's messed up authority. That just shows how badly Kageyama's influence shaped him and has long lasting consequences even when he's done with Teikoku. And the worst part is that he perpetuates that messed up way of coaching through InaGo when he takes over Raimon after Endou. My guy needs a STEADY AMOUNT OF THERAPY.

[garbage--account]

Kinda agree with Kudou. Not with Hitomiko.

Kidou more than once called out Hitomiko for her strange moves in strategy. The one that come to mind is the third match against Gemini Storm. Hitomiko wanted Fubuki to be on defense the first half while Kidou clearly ARGUED with her that they needed strong attack immediatly.

After this match, Kidou trusted her a bit more strategy-wise but definitly took a step back after the Genesis incident.

And don't get me started when they suspected their coach may have been linked to Alius the whole time (especially in the game).

In fact, correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't recall Hitomiko doing a lot of strategies and mostly trusted Kidou for that. Not only because she understood that she couldn't force her way on Raimon after the second Gemini storm match, but also because she had to manage a whole team in a bus, make sure they are fed, healthy, safe and not falling behind in studies, plus their itinerary, organizing the searches in locations they're in, make sure they are not spied or threatened, and most importantly training and recruiting new members. (And she does not the best job considering Fubuki, Sakuma and Genda's case but that's a lot to handle).

Kidou may not have questionned the coach's ways but he definitly have in S2.

And there are also legit reasons he didn't question Kudou.

First he was literally trained to be a strategist all his youth. That's literally why he got to be adopted by a wealthy family on the recommandation of Kageyama : he was remarked for his great intelligence and leadership at only 6. At 15, we can easily assume he is already an expert so when Kudou uses his strategies without explanation, Kidou is probably like "yeah i'd do the same, it was the smartest way". That doesn't make him a blind follower, but someone who understands the assignement. Second, it's his time being coached by Kageyama, especially for the creation of Koutei penguin hissatsus. Before N°1 was forbidden and replaced by the safer n°2, it has to be used in trainings. Probably by the current Teikoku in OG (and not the ancients). Yeah, they were in danger. Compared to those, Kudou's and even Hitomiko's trainings seems reasonable, safe and sound but still effective. And he is kinda right ?

I see there is a bit of Kageyama's influence on Kidou in his relationships with other coaches (and his way of thinking sometimes), but most of the time the coaches were genuinly right and Kidou saw it, and when they are not, he ain't shutting up.

[exhaustedwriter132]

Kidou will always think of the "Why". He must find the reason behind everything and will put his feelings aside for the "greater good".

Because that's how he can minimize any horrible event happened to him.

Because that's the only way he's learned how to survive.

[bunnymoonart]

They mean the world to me *s0bs*

[ygreczed]

The Suinima Pendant 08

01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09  

Heeeyyy, back with this update (sorry again for how long some of you had to wait for it) !

I’ll try to go back drawing this comic but for now I’ll just post the chapters I had stored in my drafts. I hope you’ll enjoy it… Having Kidou realizing how hard it is for Fudou to be living in his shadow and Fudou finally feeling like he is seen as an equal by his utlimate rival was kind of carthartic to me ❤️

Also, this is my 1000th post wow

[spatio-rift]

lol

[useless-catalanfacts]

The Catalan authors who were kept out of the Nobel Literature Prize for being Catalan

Did you know that there have been a handful of Catalan writers who were candidates to win the Nobel Literature Prize, but because of Spanish interference they never did?

The Nobel Prize discloses its debate and reasoning process 50 years after each edition. This means that we already know the details of what happened in the earliest editions of this Prize, which was started in 1901.

The name of the Catalan play-writer Àngel Guimerà (author of Marta of the Lowlands, Mar i cel, La filla del mar...), whose works have been translated to many languages and played all around Europe and the Americas, with many film and opera adaptations, sounded often in the Nobel committee. He was presented as a candidate to win the Nobel Prize 17 times in a row, since 1907 until his death in 1924. In the editions of 1917 and 1919, many were convinced he would win. However, the declassified documents show why he didn't: as written by the man who was then president of the Nobel Committee, Haralg Härne, Guimerà wasn't given the prize "to avoid hurting the national pride of the Spanish". In 1919, Härne writes that the objective of the Nobel Prize is to promote peace and thus to award Guimerà and show support for a minority culture would be to encourage internal conflict (🤦). The Academy decided that they couldn't give a prize to Guimerà "before awarding another writer who expresses himself in the most ancient noble language of the country" (weird way to mean "the official language", aka Spanish, because they surely didn't mean Basque). In summary, if a Catalan is to be considered, he must always be second to a Spanish man. Even when the Catalan is, in the words of the Nobel Academy, "the most eminent writer of our times", he can never be considered an equal, always must be behind.

Àngel Guimerà wrote in the Catalan language, which was discriminated against by Spanish and considered an enemy by the Spanish government and much of Spanish society. Guimerà was a firm defender of the right to use the Catalan language and that nobody should be forced to speak the imperial languages instead of their own, and was involved with the political movement for the rights of Catalan people. For this reason, every time the famous Swedish academy was considering Guimerà, the Spanish Royal Academy of Language (RAE) fought it with all its might. Nowadays, Guimerà's theatre plays continue to move thousands of spectators every year.

The same happened again with the poet Josep Carner. In the 1960s, Josep Carner was on exile, because he was a Catalan poet writing in Catalan and who stood against the fascist dictatorship of Spain, which persecuted the Catalan language and identity. Famous writers from around the world, including T. S. Eliot, François Mauriac, Giuseppe Ungaretti and Roger Caillois, supported Josep Carner's candidacy to win the Nobel, but the Spanish Government did everything possible to obstruct it. We don't know if Carner would have won or not, but he was deprived of even trying because of the Spanish government's hatred of Catalan.

Something similar seems to have happened between the 1970s and 1990s to three other Catalan poets: Salvador Espriu, J. V. Foix, and Miquel Martí i Pol, where they did not get any support from the Spanish authorities, so we don't know how it would have ended up.

Another example of what it means to have a state actively working against you because of bigotry against your cultural group.

Sources: book Det litterära Nobelpriset by the president of the Nobel Committee Kjell Espmarck, Pep Antoni Roig (El Nacional), Joan Lluís-Lluís (El Punt Avui), and Jordi Marrugat (Institut Ramon Llull).

[spatio-rift]

orion was insane for recontextualizing haikidous relationship by showing that while kidou keeps going on and on about what asuto did for haizaki and what awaits him next on the world stage he does not realize one bit that what HE did for haizaki meant the MOST to him. like its wild that they managed to turn the undeserved, gratingly forced enki parallels of ares into a bit of very interesting kidou characterization that adds layers and complexity to haikidous relationship. the rest sucked major ass but that part was crazy

[exhaustedwriter132]

Absolutely, and I realized that when rewatching Ares and Orion. The Ares manga goes crazy about them too, so if you're curious, I made a meta post about HaiKidou in the Ares manga (if you're still interested in Inazuma Eleven, of course): https://www.tumblr.com/exhaustedwriter132/751046111484133376/haizaki-and-kidous-relationship-in-the-ares-manga

[exhaustedwriter132]

Haizaki and Kidou's relationship: Ares/Orion anime VS Ares manga (Part 1)

Warning: Long post incoming. My goal with this post is not to change anyone's mind, but simply to show what I found in the Ares manga because I found it so baffling when I first came across it. I'll preface this by saying that I am aware that most of the fandom perceives Kidou and Haizaki as "father-son" or "older brother-younger brother". I was a proponent of the "father-son" dynamic because that's what the Ares/Orion anime led me to believe (and then I rewatched it after reading the Ares manga... so I had to change my opinion to something else).

Then I thought of something : does Ares have a manga? I read the original manga and the Heir of the Penguins manga, so it wasn't unnatural for me to think that Ares would have a manga as well. It turns out that yes, it does. The version I was able to access is in Spanish. As far as I know, there is no available English translation (but I will translate the screenshots that I will provide).

No, it doesn't save Inakuni Raimon. They are as annoying as ever. The manga tried to turn Inamori into another Manga!Endou and it didn't work because Endou is actually a good character unlike Inamori.

Eisei, Hakuren, and Zeus don't appear. So this means no "on-screen" Kira Hiroto, Kiyama Tatsuya, Fubuki Atsuya, Fubuki Shirou, and Aphrodi. However, Kidou alluded to them when he brought up "strong people" across the country.

Seishou is still as strong ever and is the "top dog" because Kidou raised them.

Now that we've gotten the context out of the way...

The biggest difference between the Ares anime and the Ares manga is Haizaki and Kidou's relationship. That is because their characters in the manga – while not completely different from their anime counterparts – are definitely more unhinged, unrestrained, and villain-coded. Those who have read the original manga know that Manga!Kidou (or as the Japanese fandom calls him: Yabuki) is extremely violent and generally lacks morals compared to his anime counterpart (likely due to Haruna's absence in the manga).

On Haizaki's side, Anime!Haizaki is what I would qualify as a tsundere. He is combative, yet emotional. More importantly, he has learned to put trust in his teammates and took his lesson to heart as he amply demonstrated in Orion.

Who are Haizaki's most important people in the anime? Let's list them:

Miyano Akane, his childhood friend whom he is avenging

Haizaki Mitsuko, his mother

Kira Hiroto, his rival and best friend

Mizukamiya Seiryuu, his team's captain

Kidou Yuuto, his soccer mentor and his light (as Haizaki states in Orion)

Now you may ask "Why aren't you including Inamori in this list?" Because Orion!Haizaki confirms that Kidou is his light even though Kidou attempted to set Inamori up as Haizaki's light for the entirety of the Ares anime (that plan is jokingly called "Gaslighting Haizaki" by the fandom, but Kidou should have realized that he shouldn't project his situation with Endou onto Haizaki and Inamori). Episode 7 of Orion also completely destroys any relationship there is between Inamori and Haizaki because Kidou was taken away (I'd love to discuss Haizaki's breakdown in that episode in-depth, but that's for another post).

Before diving into Anime!Haizaki's relationships with these five people, it's important to mention Haizaki's dismissive father. When Haizaki was playing inside the house with the soccer ball, his father scolded him, saying in a dismissive manner that he doesn't want the dirty ball inside the house. This is the only interaction that we get between Haizaki and his father. In present day, the father is nowhere to be seen.

Breaking down Haizaki's relationships in the anime

Let's start with Akane. She is obviously set up as a love interest for Haizaki from the beginning, fulfiling the classic trope of "Damsel in Distress". At the end of the Ares anime, Akane seems to drag Haizaki on a date to the amusement park, which Haizaki decidedly does not like because he cannot stand rollercoasters. However, Akane is completely absent from the Orion anime even though Orion is the sequel to Ares. Essentially, Akane is a plot device, but she gives Haizaki a purpose : revenge. That's the reason Haizaki plays soccer in the Ares anime. He wants to go about it alone because he can't bear to be vulnerable to anyone else after losing Akane to the Balance of Ares program. That's why he had to put his walls up: he's sensitive at heart.

Then, Haizaki's mother, Haizaki Mitsuko, appears very briefly in Haizaki's flashback. She seems to be a loving mother (and – a little headcanon of mine – I think Haizaki grew his hair out to resemble his mother). Good parents in Inazuma Eleven tend to generally stay in the background, so we don't know much else about Mitsuko.

Next, we have Kira Hiroto, the God Stri– Sorry, I meant Eisei Academy's ace striker. Haizaki starts butting heads with him after Gouenji gets injured and benched in Orion because the spot for the number one ace striker on Inazuma Japan has now been left vacant. Tatsuya scolds both Haizaki and Hiroto for fighting each other when they are currently teammates. Then, we find out why Haizaki is being difficult: Haizaki instantly recognized that Hiroto's level is close to his and that Hiroto still has room for improvement. Thus, he shows a lot of impatience, which Kidou notices (refer yourselves to Inazuma Eleven Orion episode 4). In episode 6, where the "Oops, my hand slipped" moment happened, Haizaki and Hiroto bond over beating up Ichihoshi under Kidou's orders. After Kidou's arrest, they decide to continue Kidou's work of eliminating Ichihoshi without butting heads at all. Endou stops them from going any further, having noticed the hidden cameraman. Endou also asks them later on to stop antagonizing Ichihoshi and treat him as a teammate in the locker room. Hiroto looks down on Endou's point of view, essentially saying that Endou is naïve but Haizaki doesn't say anything in response. Haizaki and Hiroto may be similar in many ways, but they have diverging opinions at times. In short, Haizaki has a relationship of equal standing with Hiroto.

As for Mizukamiya, he is Seishou Academy's captain, and the only other person on the team who didn't want Haizaki to be pushed out. He strongly opposes Kidou's decision to put Haizaki as a goalkeeper, but Kudou agrees with the plan so there is nothing he can do about it. We do not get much development between him and Haizaki in Ares while Orion gives us a glimpse of development in their relationship where Mizukamiya says that he'd want to be nicknamed "Tamer of the Demon of the Field" and Haizaki gets mad at that because he doesn't want to be tamed. Mizukamiya was saying it in jest, though. Mizukamiya also delivers this line: "As for me, you are where I belong." Thus, he declares his loyalty to Haizaki. When I watched it for the first time, I was confused on where it came from because there hasn't been any buildup to it. Fortunately, Inazuma Eleven : Heir of the Penguins (which I consider adjacent to the Ares anime, and not a separate mangaverse) explores Haizaki and Mizukamiya's relationship in Ares where Mizukamiya shows how much he wants to understand and connect with Haizaki. Haizaki, in return, was very much against it until he sufficiently softens up to the point of offering an earbud to Mizukamiya so they could listen to music together on the bus. There is also Mizukamiya stalking Haizaki, and Haizaki kabedon-ing Mizukamiya. Overall, Haizaki perceives Mizukamiya as his captain while Mizukamiya wants to be more than just that for Haizaki.

Finally, we have Kidou Yuuto, Haizaki's soccer mentor and light. Many in the fandom perceive Kidou as Haizaki's "father" or "older brother" – all valid interpretations. What we know for certain is that Kidou commands authority over Haizaki despite being players on the same team. That's because Kidou came to Seishou as a Reinforcement Committee member in Ares. RC members possess more authority than the rest of their team (even above the captain if the RC member is not the captain), only below the coach. Kidou avoids abusing his authority by ensuring that Mizukamiya still commands respect over his team as captain and by not assisting them in every match. He raised their level and avoids the possibility of having the players being dependent on him.

Then, you, the reader, would ask me: "Sure, Kidou has authority as a Reinforcement Committee member, but when has Haizaki ever given a crap about authority? He's the Demon of the Field. He won't be tamed by anyone."

I'd answer with "Yes, you are right, but... Kidou isn't just anyone."

In the Ares timeline, this is the first interaction that we get between Haizaki and Kidou (courtesy of the InaPen manga):

Haizaki nicknames Kidou "four-eyed cape dork" to make fun of him, but Kidou interrupts him (notice that a part of his speech bubble is over Haizaki's) by correcting him. Notice how Haizaki immediately switches to "Kidou" the moment Kidou corrects him? It's still disrespectful because Kidou is his senior, and as such, Haizaki should call him "Kidou-san"; however, it's a far cry from the nicknames that he gives his teammates to demean them and to show them that they are all below him to the point where their names are not worth remembering. Calling Kidou without an honorific is essentially Haizaki's last stand at defying Kidou's authority. However, it's clear that Haizaki knows his place because this is how he perceives Kidou:

In the anime, the hint at Kidou and Haizaki's relationship drops when Haizaki name-drops Kidou at the end of episode 1 when he says "I think I understand... what you call the 'light', Kidou." So we get the idea that Kidou is somehow mentoring the player called the "Demon of the Field".

What does their relationship look like in action? The first interaction we get between Kidou and Haizaki in the anime is during the fanservice shower scene in episode 2. When I first watched it, I didn't think much of it. I was just happy to see Kidou. Then I went to rewatch it and it was clear that I had missed signs. Having the context of the InaPen manga helps greatly to understand this scene as well.

Kidou asks Haizaki to play in the next match (against Inakuni Raimon). Haizaki is at first unbothered and replies that he does things in his way and he won't have anyone, even a RC member like Kidou, tell him what to do. Kidou insists on it, saying "You will play." Haizaki then opts to mock Kidou for the suggestion by sarcastically calling him "Kidou Yuuto-sama" (in Orion, he tells Kidou that he's not his mom) because Kidou is interested in a crappy team. Haizaki finishes his shower and is about to leave, but Kidou asks him to wait. Even though Haizaki said that he won't have anyone tell him what to do, his actions don't match up with his words because he actually obeys Kidou and stops in his tracks to listen to him. Then Kidou goes on one of his "light" speeches to convince Haizaki to play against Inakuni Raimon, and the flashback ends there. Haizaki is contantly questioning what Kidou's objective was to have him play against Inakuni Raimon, especially because Kidou is nowhere to be seen in that game. During Ares, Kidou focuses on dealing with Haizaki. He attempts to set up Inamori as Haizaki's light (which didn't lead to anywhere in the end because Haizaki considers YOU as his light, Kidou). The Kidokawa Seishuu match is pivotal to develop Haizaki as an ace striker whose teammates can rely on, with the help of Gouenji and Kidou. Haizaki goes past his limits to reach Kidou's pass (Kidou intercepted a pass to Gouenji beforehand), which was so shocking that even Gouenji had to stop in his tracks.

In Orion, Haizaki has developed sufficiently as an ace striker on his own, but with Gouenji having to leave the team, he starts butting heads with Kira Hiroto (as mentioned in Kira's section of this post). Haizaki confides his issues with Hiroto to Kidou after Kidou notices Haizaki's impatience. Haizaki and Kidou have grown sufficiently close enough for Haizaki to open up like that.

At the end of episode 4 of Orion, Haizaki and Kidou look at the sunset together. Kidou speaks of his own light, Endou, thus explaining why he was attempting to get Haizaki to find a light of his own to guide him. Kidou also says that he believes that Haizaki has what it takes to be Inazuma Japan's ace striker (which is high praise coming from Kidou, who has played with Gouenji), surprising Haizaki.

Episodes 5 to 7 reveal to us just how much Haizaki values Kidou. Episode 5 delivers us this line from Haizaki: "Kidou... you were like a light to me too... to the point that it blinded me." (I recommend watching this sequence for the facial expressions - from Haizaki's eye squinting as if Kidou was truly blinding him with his light to Haizaki's relieved smile.) Kidou himself cannot see beyond his own darkness, so Haizaki acknowledging Kidou's efforts in helping him is heartwarming. Episode 6 has the infamous "Oops, my hand slipped" scene, but most importantly Haizaki, along with Hiroto, goes along with Kidou's orders. On episode 7, Kidou gets arrested and what ensues is what I would call a mental breakdown for Haizaki. Haizaki pins Ichihoshi up to the wall and is about to beat him up until Endou interferes and tells him that Kidou would be sad if Haizaki gets taken off the team as well, and that stops Haizaki. Ichihoshi leaves after gloating to the team, and Haizaki points at Inamori (a rude gesture in Japan) and goes off on him for protecting Ichihoshi. He then proceeds to flip over two tables and punch Goujin in the face for holding him back. In the next episodes, Haizaki adopts Kidou's mentality of "eliminating" Ichihoshi from the team and has his bestie Hiroto on board. Unfortunately, it doesn't get anywhere because Endou interferes (as explained in Kira's section of the post, again).

I've said the essentials for the anime. Now onto the part that you're all probably curious about...

What is it that's so different about Haizaki and Kidou's relationship in the Ares manga?

As stated close to the beginning of the post, Haizaki and Kidou's characters in the manga are a bit different. Both Manga!Haizaki and Anime!Haizaki exhibit sadistic tendencies in the first chapter/episodes. However, Manga!Haizaki's level is cranked up to eleven. In the anime, Haizaki has five people with whom he can be considered close to. What about the manga?

Who are Haizaki's most important people in the manga?

Kidou Yuuto. And only him. Akane doesn't exist and Haizaki's mother is nowhere to be seen. He never gets to interact with Kira Hiroto either because there is no Orion manga, and Eisei doesn't make an appearance. Haizaki in the manga also completely dismisses Mizukamiya. What caused such a jarring change?

Why does Manga!Haizaki only end up having Yabuki as a close person?

Allow me to guide you through the important tidbits of the Ares manga related to Haizaki and Kidou, starting with Manga!Haizaki's character establishing moment: his sheer sadism towards Inakuni Raimon.

Haizaki: "Get up... We're going to continue playing!"

This is Haizaki's reaction after severely injuring Inamori.

All we know about Haizaki in the first chapter is that he is sadistic and completely unmanageable. He doesn't even respect his captain:

Mizukamiya: "Haizaki, come! Get in line!" Haizaki, walking away: "Tch! Shut up!"

Remember that in the anime, he doesn't ditch his team after the match ends. He talks to Kudou about how Inakuni Raimon's eyes got him irritated. We can already see a diverging path between Anime!Haizaki and Manga!Haizaki.

After this match, we don't see Haizaki for a couple of chapters. However, at the end of the Inakuni Raimon VS Teikoku Academy match, there is a small panel showing a certain someone's shadow:

(Apologies for the strange formatting) Indeed. It's the horror legend himself: Manga!Kidou, otherwise known as Yabuki.

The next page causes nothing short of a mental whiplash after witnessing Haizaki's behavior in chapter 1:

Kidou: "Even when the going gets tough, they always look ahead to grasp victory. It seems that they have improved a little… Am I right… Haizaki?" Haizaki: "You still haven't reached my level... Inamori Asuto."

Kidou taunts Haizaki without fearing repercussions because he knows that Haizaki won't be able to do anything against him. While Haizaki looks to be the most aggressive and dangerous, Kidou is the one in control. In addition, this scene is framed like the typical villain anime scene when you find out that there is a villain (Kidou) behind the villain you met first (Haizaki).

Haizaki, addressing Genda: "You've got this big name... 'King of Goalkeepers'."

Haizaki sees Inakuni Raimon as weaklings, so he might be confused at how Genda conceded goals from such a weak team...

Haizaki introduces himself in a dramatic fashion to both Inakuni Raimon and Teikoku Academy. Notice the last panel where Haizaki's jacket looks a lot like a flowing cape...

Genda: "The ball went so fast... that I wasn't able to see it." Kozoumaru: "W-What... What are you doing here?" ???: "We only came to see... your match."

Michinari: "Kidou Yuuto?! They say that he's the best midfielder of Japan!" Goujin: "The best midfielder..." Hiyori: "... of Japan?!" Kidou: "Your next match is against us."

Kidou: "Seishou Academy." Kidou: "In the previous match we scored 10 goals... but in this one, we will score 20!" Haizaki and Kidou laugh evilly together. Haizaki: "In the next match, you will taste true despair... We'll crush you until you can't get up!" Haizaki: "What's going on with you? Are you so scared that you can't even speak?"

Haizaki and Kidou look like a villainous couple here. We know that Kidou would have a special interest in witnessing Inakuni Raimon VS Teikoku Academy, but Haizaki has NOTHING to gain from watching it. He only comes because Kidou probably told him to. Haizaki also takes care of targeting Genda because of his title "King of Goalkeepers". Haizaki is essentially showing off to Kidou – showing that he is stronger than Teikoku Academy.

Next up, we have the training scene at Seishou:

"Seishou Academy training grounds" Mizukamiya: "Haizaki hasn't come to train today either." Kidou: "..." Kidou leaves Seishou's training grounds to find Haizaki. Haizaki: "Damn it..." Haizaki: "I will crush you... Tch... Inamori Asuto..." Kidou, smirking: "Hah!"

Kidou knows that Haizaki has been training and knows where he is training as well while the rest of Seishou team has no idea about Haizaki's whereabouts. After finding Haizaki, Kidou is very much amused by what he is seeing even though Haizaki is causing property damage. Haizaki is fired up and motivated; that's what matters to Kidou.

We have the rematch between Inakuni Raimon and Seishou Academy where we witness Haizaki's progression to a mental breakdown:

Norika: "Guys!" Zhao Jinyun: "Hu hu." Haizaki, gripping his hair: "All of them have… those eyes that leave me with rage. The same as that guy…" Middle panel Haizaki: "I will crush every single one of you, until the very last!" Bottom panels Mizukamiya: "Haizaki!" Haizaki: "Give me the ball. I'll finish with this once and for all!"

It's a jarring change from Inazuma Eleven : Heir of the Penguins, where Mizukamiya and Haizaki have a very good relationship (though Haizaki will act tsundere about it). In the Ares manga, Haizaki is completely dismissive of Mizukamiya. In the anime, he at least tries to explain himself when Orio, Shiratori and Mizukamiya confront him after school.

Middle panels Orio: "What's going on, Kidou-san? We're currently having a match that's harder than predicted and you continue to still be on the bench." Yabuki: "It's not my turn yet…" Last panel Yabuki: "Not until Haizaki realizes something…" (Screenshot 20)

Yabuki then goes on to narrate Haizaki's backstory, which means that Haizaki has confided in him. Remember that in the anime, Haizaki doesn't start opening up to Kidou until Orion.

Middle panel "The match ended… with an overwhelming defeat of 5-0." Bottom panel

"Despite the defeat, the boys had enjoyed the match… Haizaki, seeing the faces of his teammates, was unable to understand what was happening."

Young Haizaki: "Why are they happy when they lost the match? There is only one reason to play football… (with a crazed eye) and that's victory!" Yabuki, in present time: "It's for that reason that Haizaki became the 'Demon of the Field'…"

Haizaki was isolated as a youngster because he was too strong and had a terrible attitude. Haizaki's subservience to Yabuki is likely because Yabuki showed him what's what and Haizaki had no choice but to accept him as his soccer senpai. As for why Yabuki would have interest in Haizaki, it's pretty simple: Yabuki saw potential in him and took him in because he noticed that Haizaki was alone and needed guidance (now, Yabuki's intentions and Anime!Kidou's intentions may not necessarily align here...).

Haizaki: "This is good... let's see what they're capable of." Haizaki, grinning: "Even if you go forward... with this football, you'll never be able to surpass me!"

Amano: "Haizaki! What do you think you're doing?" Haizaki: "Don't touch me! I'll redirect the shot and I'll put the ball in the opponent's net at the same time!" Middle panel Amano: "Are you pulling my leg or what?! Take this match seriously!" Yabuki: "Amano! Leave this to Haizaki." Amano: "But Kidou-san..." Amano: "Urgh..." Yabuki: "Sit this one out."

Here is a major difference between the anime and the manga: Kidou in the anime scolds Haizaki for underestimating Gouenji (Seishou was playing against KIdokawa Seishuu in the anime) and against Inakuni Raimon, Kidou once again warns Haizaki of doing things on his own. What we see in the manga is the opposite: Yabuki enables Haizaki's behavior. Amano protests a bit, but Yabuki becomes very harsh and Amano accepts to sit on the bench. (24)

Haizaki, staring crazily at the ground: "You really think that I enjoy football?!" (Another major difference: Manga!Haizaki doesn't like football due to being isolated for his strength; Anime!Haizaki loves football from the start because he has a purpose of using it for revenge) Yabuki: "… Get up, Haizaki." Haizaki perks up. Yabuki: "It's time for you to show your true strength!"

Again, Yabuki motivates Haizaki with mere words. It's like he can flip a switch within Haizaki to obey his command.

Haizaki: "Kidou..." Haizaki: "What did you mean earlier?" Kidou: "When the second half starts... you'll understand." Manga!Haizaki is completely submissive with Yabuki; in contrast to the anime, where Haizaki has the audacity to grab Kidou's shirt, lift him up, and threaten him.

Here we see Yabuki playmaking and making line-breaking passes. Haizaki: "What are you doing, Kidou?! Pass me the ball at once!" Haizaki: "Why, Kidou? Why aren't you passing me the ball?" Yabuki: "It's simple… It's for you to become… a true forward…"

Anime!Haizaki would have likely grabbed Kidou's shirt for not passing him the ball. Manga!Haizaki here simply lets Yabuki walk past him while Yabuki explains his reasoning. Again, it's a sign of submission.

Then we get the forced evolution of Manga!Haizaki:

Image 1 Zhao Jinyun: "He [Kidou] kept the match going without passing the ball to Haizaki-kun… in order to find the moment in which all of us left him unmarked." (Even Zhao Jinyun is terrified of Yabuki's mind.) Middle panel Yabuki: "… This is a pass… from the whole team!" Bottom panels Yabuki: "A pass… in order for you to become a true forward!" Yabuki: "The height, the power, and the effect… This is a perfect pass… This pass is the result of the work of all of them…" (Haizaki responds with his strongest shot "Perfect Penguin", but unfortunately I don't have the space to include the image here.)

Yabuki: "It seems that, in the end, you are a true forward… Now yes… victory in this match is guaranteed." (No, Yabuki. It's not. There's something called "plot armor" for Inakuni Raimon unfortunately.)

Yabuki is happy that Haizaki is living up to his potential.

Seishou end up losing to Inakuni Raimon, and also to Outei Tsukinomiya later on to establish Outei Tsukinomiya as a threat (I can make a whole post of how Nosaka's character in the Ares manga is actually better than in the anime because he gets to be a full villain in the manga, but again, that's for another post).

I've reached the limit of 30 images for this post, so I will link you to the second part of the post where I discuss what I consider to be the best scene in the entire manga : a scene that is only between Haizaki and Kidou.

[Part 2]

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Haizaki and Kidou's relationship: Anime VS Ares Manga (Part 2)

Hello again, as promised, I will be discussing the scene between Haizaki and Kidou while Inakuni Raimon is playing against Outei Tsukinomiya.

As a reminder, in the anime, Haizaki and Kidou show up in Inakuni Raimon's locker room. Kidou and Zhao Jinyun explain how Haizaki's transfer was possible, and Haizaki immediately strips to put on Raimon's shirt (number 14 shirt, which Hino-sensei said that he leaves it to our imagination as to who picked the number : Haizaki or Kidou).

It goes down differently in the manga because they are alone:

Haizaki: "Tch… Damn it!" Kidou's silhouette: "The first half has already started… It's a question of time that Raimon falls behind on the score." Haizaki: "What are you doing here? Kidou…"

Haizaki feels powerless because Seishou has already lost to Outei Tsukinomiya, so he will not have the opportunity to teach Nosaka a lesson. Kidou somehow locates Haizaki and shows up behind him.

(Notice how Kidou is a shadow at first, then has the light behind him when Haizaki calls out to him.)

Image 1 Kidou: "Take this… It's for you." Haizaki: "…" Haizaki: "This is… Raimon's shirt…" Sasotsuka's message on the eleven band: "Good luck, Haizaki!"

Orio's: "Go and fight with all your strength!" Amano: "We're with you, Haizaki!" Mizukamiya: "Fight for us!" Shiratori: "Go, Haizaki! Do it!" Haizaki: "Guys... why...?"

Haizaki doesn't understand why his Seishou teammates would encourage him after he was being dismissive of them. In the last panel, Kidou is gauging Haizaki's emotional response.

Kidou: "We already knew that Raimon offered you to join forces with them. Inamori came to Seishou Academy to ask us to let you be with them. Inamori made you see football in a different way... You seemed happy on the pitch. I suppose you would want to play with him again."

Haizaki's reaction right after is basically a picture worth a thousand words. He doesn't understand that Kidou cannot see that Kidou is the one who made him happy. At the start of the manga, Haizaki's eye is very much conveying the "thousand yard stare" but here, his eye shows a lot of emotion (which close to Anime!Haizaki).

Kidou: "I took care of all the paperwork for your transfer to Raimon. Go and help them win, Inamori and the others are waiting for you…" Haizaki looks at Kidou in shock. Kidou: "Hurry up. You need to get there before the match is decided." Haizaki still stares at Kidou in shock, then finally leaves. Kidou: "Fight on… Haizaki!"

(Yes, both Sasotsuka and Kidou use the same word "ánimo", but I translated it differently for both of them to match their characterization. The original JPN word is likely "Ganbare", meaning "Do your best", "Fight on" or "Good luck" amongst other things.)

That last page has... a lot to dissect. Let's start with the first panel:

There are a lot of elements to consider here : the white background, their backs faced against each other because Kidou walks past Haizaki again, Kidou's cape looking like two wings, and the wind blowing as evidenced by Kidou's cape floating and the few leaves surrounding them.

Kidou's cape fluttering in the wind and looking like two wings is important because Haizaki's hair mirrors it a bit later on in this page:

Going back to the first panel, the white background usually indicates that it's only the two characters' world. It's only them in the moment. Next, Kidou walks past Haizaki again, and Haizaki lets him. If you recall, there was another instance of this earlier in the manga, in the rematch between Seishou and Inakuni Raimon:

Haizaki is a lot more emotional and vulnerable when Kidou is involved. This is something that he shares with his anime counterpart.

Now, the other two parts of the page is quite fascinating:

Haizaki is supposed to be super motivated to teach Nosaka a lesson. Kidou is handing him an opportunity on a silver platter.

Yet, Haizaki doesn't want to leave.

Haizaki only leaves because Kidou tells him to hurry up, and even then, Haizaki looks back at him, waiting for Kidou to tell him more.

This is my interpretation, but I think Haizaki wanted to hear Kidou encourage him too. He heard the encouragement from every single one of his teammates, but he wanted to hear encouragement from his most important person – his soccer mentor – the most. When he realizes that the opportunity to fight against Outei Tsukinomiya again is all he's going to get from his mysterious senpai, then he starts running to the stadium.

On Kidou's end, he isn't happy that Haizaki has to temporarily transfer to Raimon, but it's the only way to grant Haizaki one last opportunity to defeat Nosaka. He is doing his job as Haizaki's mentor: being pragmatic because Haizaki needs Inakuni Raimon to grow further as a soccer player. Kidou is way too closed off and doesn't like to express his vulnerability – he is Haizaki's senpai, after all – so he only lets out a smile and says words of encouragement when Haizaki finally leaves.

Perhaps, he knows that he cannot return Haizaki's feelings in the same way.

Haizaki, with tears in his eyes: "Thank you so much, idiots!"

Haizaki may show himself as the "Demon of the Field" to everyone else, but he will always reveal himself to be "Haizaki Ryouhei" to Kidou Yuuto.

Anime!Haizaki and Manga!Haizaki may differ on many points, but there is no doubt that Kidou Yuuto will be an irreplaceable and precious presence in their lives.

[Back to Part 1]

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Two long haired dubious soccer anime higher ups named Ray Dark. Cannot believe this. If he starts also manipulating kids I might laugh