I'm so happy to find fellow harlem beat reader on tumblr! It's unbelievably hard to find one (〒︿〒) can you tell me your favourite team and character? And also how do you compare the storyline with knb?
OMG I’m so happy someone asked me about Harlem beat!! After slam dunk, it is my second favourite basketball manga (yeah, sorry fujimaki-sensei) and I’m really sad it didn’t get wider recognition. It’s really a pity that there’s no group scanlating it since I’ve lost my tankobons long ago and I reaaally want to re-read it but it’s hard to find anywhere ;-; so I’ll answer this based on my memories from the last time I read this manga (which was more than seven years ago *cries*)
My favourite team was, handsdown, Tsukuba High
(because of the ikemen haha) but no seriously this team angst-y backstory is really fascinating. And their development from a bunch of (at least seemingly) spoiled rich brats who played basketball like controlled robots to a passionate team worthy of being a champion is one of the best in any sport manga. And they’re not even the main protagonist nor are they the main rival (wait is there any main rival in Harlem beat? I guess it’s Kanakita right? Just because they’re the reigning champion). But yeah, the Tsukuba babies always hold a special place in my heart (esp the cutie pie Majima Makoto omgg I miss him so much TvT)
My favourite character was from the protagonist’s team though; it’s a tie between their ace slash pretty boy slash academic star Sawamura Masahiro and their manager slash coach slash evil witch Yabe Kiriko and please don’t make me choose because I love them both so much *sobs* they are both lil shits and the spawn of satan with their smartass comments and endless trickery (and when they’re combining strength or fighting with each other it’s always hilarious). Their stories though were somehow the main reasons for all my tears in this series.
Sawamura is an obvious choice because really, EVERYONE loved him. The ace of the team, the academic star in the school. Which turned out to be a materialistic guy and a cheapskate but once we learned about his tragic past and his background and how he worked so hard for everything it’s impossible not to sympathize with him. And near the end of the story, he grew up so much (he used to be a lone wolf and really egoist in the early chapters) with his charming leadership qualities (he’s too perfect i cry). It’s also awlays interesting to watch his interaction with others, especially his endless teasingbickering with Mizuki (and not to mention his relationship with Kobayashi omg it’s the funniestbest broship ever).
The same with Kiriko, she is not the typical girl manager in a shounen sport manga because she really kicked ass. She was a hella good player herself, and she’s really strict that she became a terror for the team (she especially liked to bully the freshmen it’s so funny omg). She had lot of angst though, with her insecurities, her past (she had to give up on basketball because of her permanent injury ;-;) and also her dreams. She was how a girl character should be in a shounen manga; strong, independent, a solid support for the boys and in the same time, someone they can respect.
I have compared it to KnB in my previous post but well, they actually have different approach? Harlem Beat was a coming-of-age story revolved around a group of friends who love basketball while KnB was about a basketball player with unique ability who tried to help his (relatively) unknown team to be a champion, which made Harlem Beat more of a slice-of-life while KnB an action manga. The storyline in Harlem Beat was not always happening in courts, so I guess we get a better glimpse of the characters’ life (and become more attached). Personally I like it better how in Harlem Beat we were never sure if Johnan will win the match or not so the suspense is real, unlike with Seirin which was more predictable especially in the winter cup.
About the variety of characters, in KnB we have kiseki no sedai who are the aces on their respective team and the story would mainly focus on them, but in Harlem Beat there weren’t really characters like that. We get the story of the rival team as a whole team. I can’t really compare them though, because again, KnB was an action manga and the aces are representing the main bosses they need to defeat. And again the aces in KnB were really interesting because they have their insane special moves that made it more interesting in the court.
We can compare the basketball matches though, and both have their own charms. In Harlem Beat the suspense was real, but since it focused more on the emotional aspect, it can be quite boring at times (and heartbreaking at most times). But then, Harlem Beat also had street basketball with the crazy techniques and it’s really refreshing to have a break sometimes from the stiff rules in official game. In KnB, the matches are more interesting because it focused on showcasing skills and techniques, but when it’s emotional it’s also heartbreakingly sad.
So in my verdict, I enjoy both of the stories but knb has kise ryouta in it so it will always be special for me lol. I personaly like Harlem Beat a little bit more just because it was more grounded and I love more background story and dramas, and it was consistent from start to finish. I also didn’t really enjoy the last two matches in KnB, which felt like a sloppy storyline for me, so it kind of screwing up my whole experience in KnB in terms of storyline.
dededos
vaporwave
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