Ojo's school festival is really impressive!
Yep! It's just as lively today as it was yesterday.
We aren't here to play.
Today we're going to watch the football team's open practice.
I know already!
I got a nice shot!
Riko?
You're everywhere, aren't you?
Yep!
This time I'm covering a special article on the Kanto Tournament's receivers for Football Monthly.
Which means...
Well, I, Taro Raimon, am ready to help you anytime!
Thank you so much!
Would you mind taking a quick look over this interview?
I just gave Tetsuma a surprise interview.
Here's Tokyo's best receiver.
He's the perfectly accurate, invincible heavy locomotive,
Jo Tetsuma from the Seibu Wild Gunmen!
Tetsuma, what are your feelings about the Kanto Tournament?
Do you consider Ikkyu and Sakuraba to be your rivals?
Yeah.
Yeah?
But Ikkyu from Shinryuji is out of the tournament.
All that's left is Ojo's Sakuraba.
I...
I...?
Which means, if Ojo and Seibu win their next games,
we'll see who's the greatest of the Top Three Receivers!
Wi... Wi...
Wi?
Wi...n!
Huh?
H-Huh?
Sorry.
Despite his appearance, Tetsuma has a strong sense of rivalry.
Don't be hard on him.
But both Tetsuma and I believe that we'll be the ones victorious.
Tetsuma, Slant!
Tetsuma's really on fire!
Yeah...
Actually, what I'd like Raimon to take a look at is this next interview with Ikkyu.
Huh? Sure.
Umaku tobidasenai
When it seems like
sonna toki wa
I can't rush forward
kanjiru mama ni hane wo hiroge
I just spread my wings and go.
Togiresou na
I project all my
omoi wo kono sora ni utsushite
disjointed thoughts onto the sky.
Clash & dash! Clash & dash! Kyouteki wo gekiha!
Clash & dash! Clash & dash! Smash & bash your opponent!
Mabataki shiteru mae ni in your area!
And in the blink of an eye I'm up in your area!
Watch out, watch out! I'm about a touch down!
Donna toki demo
No matter what happens,
Sasaete kureru kimi ga iru kara
with you standing behind me,
nando datte tachiagatte
I'll get back up every time
ano hikari ga michibiku
and follow that light
basho e ikou!
wherever it goes.
Donna toki demo
No matter what happens,
Sasaete kureru kimi ga iru kara
with you standing behind me,
Nando datte tachiagatte
I'll get back up every time
ano hikari ga michibiku
and follow that light
basho e ikou!
wherever it goes.
The Oath to Become an Ace!
Ikkyu, I'm here for a surprise interview!
This stinks. He didn't notice me at all.
Sorry, but Ikkyu's mind is on training.
He can't forgive himself for losing in our game against Deimon.
My chance! Ikkyu!
Please give me your opinion as one of the Top Three Receivers in Kanto!
Excuse me, Ikkyu?
Um, a word please?
The era of the Top Three Receivers is over.
Kanto has entered the era of the Top Four Receivers.
HUH?!
It's Taro Raimon!
Including Taro Raimon, Kanto now has four top receivers.
But that's only for now.
I'll crush them all soon enough!
So you see, I'd like to hear what you think of being counted in the Top Four.
I...
Ow, ow, ow! Who did that?!
Who do you think you are?
Torakichi!
What's your problem?!
There's no Top Four!
Sakuraba's the only number one!
Huh, isn't that...
...a wristband?
Yep! It's for Sakuraba!
It's all new and shiny!
Ojo's Ace Sakuraba
Ojo's ace, Sakuraba, is going to wear it in the semi-finals and kick Deimon's butt!
Until just recently...
...you were cheering for us.
Gather up! Gather up!
Isn't that...
...Otawara's voice?
It sounds like the football team's main event just started!
Welcome, everyone, ladies and gentlemen!
Here you have a football.
It's super hard to throw and super hard to catch!
BUT!
Ojo's receiver, Sakuraba, is going to catch all the balls!
I'll try my best!
He'll catch any throw!
So the crowd throws balls and then Ojo catches them.
It's an event that lets them practice.
I'll get some great shots!
It'd be so cool if Sakuraba caught my ball!
Oh, yeah! I'm going first!
Torakichi, that was a pretty good pass.
He praised me!
Sakuraba! Me next!
Catch our love-filled passes!
Catch mine!
He's great.
Looks fun! Let me try!
What gives?
Don't get in my way!
Outta the way!
- You're butt-ugly! - Move it!
What's with all these balls?!
Not bad!
- You're great! - Cool!
He's awesome!
What'cha think? See how great Sakuraba is?!
Sakuraba!
It's a wild ball...
Look out!
Riko!
Good job, Sakuraba!
You're cool!
Sakuraba's really the best!
- Lookin' good! - Too cool!
- Sakuraba's awesome! - Sakuraba's awesome!
The ball was so high...
As the school festival draws to a close, I, Riko Kumabukuro,
am going to give the Ojo fans a surprise interview!
Which player is everyone's favorite?
Shin!
Takami!
Otawara!
Nekoyama!
The ace, Sakuraba, of course!
Everyone knows Ojo's ace is Sakuraba.
Ojo's ace is Shin.
Sure is.
What was that?!
Sakuraba's the only ace player around here!
But still...
Of course Sakuraba's great and all, but...
Everyone knows that the real ace is Shin.
Right!
He's weird! He thinks it's Sakuraba!
Torakichi?
Sorry, but I'm a bit busy right now.
Hey, everyone's saying that Shin is Ojo's ace.
But you're Ojo's real ace, right?
Right?!
No, Shin's probably Ojo's ace.
Since that's what everyone's saying, it's probably true.
Sakuraba, let's start practice now!
Okay!
Sorry, Torakichi.
I'm in a hurry. See ya later!
Huh?
Torakichi?
Hey, Torakichi, what are you doing?
Did you give him the wristband?
What's wrong, Torakichi?
Why didn't you give it to Saku?
Hayato Arima's Football Clinic!
What do you call it when you set up a strategy during a football game?
Hint: It's written with three katakana characters!
The team gathering around their QB as they come up with a strategy is called a "huddle."
Come up with a strategy to defeat your opponents! Ya-huddle!
I see. And then Sakuraba said that.
No, Shin's probably Ojo's ace.
Why'd he say something like that?
Sakuraba's a really great player...
Torakichi...
At first I just thought he looked cool.
But that's not it anymore.
Sakuraba always works so hard.
I started liking him more and more as time passed.
So I decided that I'd root for him for the rest of my life.
I want to become an American football player like him someday!
That's seriously what I thought.
So why...?
How come he's able to say that he isn't Ojo's ace so easily?
Quit being stupid, Torakichi!
Don't you believe in him? In Sakuraba?
But if he said something like that, I won't have any trouble beating him as a receiver!
- What was that for?! - Stupid! Idiot!
How dare you say that?!
Stupid brat!
Don't joke like that!
There's no way Sakuraba could lose to a lame receiver like you, stupid!
That's the spirit!
Everyone says that Sena is Deimon's ace,
but I don't think I've lost that title to Sena yet!
Hiruma and Jumonji and everyone at Deimon thinks of everyone else as aces.
We can play because we believe in and help each other.
Otherwise we wouldn't have enough power to stand up against the strong opponents
we're up against in the Kanto Tournament.
Wouldn't you agree, Sena?
Yep.
I bet Sakuraba feels that way, too.
So, Torakichi, you've gotta believe in him!
Hey!
Let's go see Saku!
I think it's best we ask him in person!
Yeah, you're right.
Great idea. Wanna head on out, Torakichi?
Torakichi?
Hey!
What's takin' you so long?
I'm gonna leave ya!
What's gotten into him?
It's great to see Torakichi overflowing with energy.
Wow!
Huh? What's he doing?
Stupid! You don't even know that?
It's high-altitude training.
High-altitude training?
Sakuraba's reducing his oxygen intake so that it's like he's training on a high mountain.
The less oxygen you breathe, the harder the training is on your body.
So it's a super tough training style, right?
Yeah...
Great, that's 10 kilometers.
Sakuraba, it's about time you stopped.
No, let me run another 10 kilometers!
Don't over exert yourself.
There's no point to this if you hurt yourself.
I can't just... stop.
I can't just stop... now.
Oopsy!
Takami, do you remember back when people were fussing over me because I was an idol?
- Sakuraba! - You're Ojo's ace!
They're really cheering for you!
Everyone is cheering for the White Knights, led by Sakuraba.
Sakuraba, make sure you don't hurt yourself.
You're my valuable main star, after all.
Back then people kept saying that I was Ojo's ace.
But... even I knew that I wasn't really that great.
After all, standing before me...
...was the true ace, Shin.
Back then, all I could do was quietly watch Shin's back.
But you're different now.
Ojo couldn't survive without you there as our catching ace.
I swore an oath.
I swore that someday I would surpass Shin.
But until then, I can't call myself Ojo's ace.
Right. Did you hear that?
Torakichi?
Sometimes we have to give some fan service...
Sakuraba!
I knew you weren't a loser!
I just got the wrong idea when you said that you weren't an ace.
Torakichi...
But I know that's just like you!
Torakichi, listen carefully.
Ojo's ace is Shin...
...for now.
And that means that it might change someday, right?
Yeah.
But as far as I'm concerned, now and forever, you're my number one ace.
Is that okay?
Torakichi...
Thank you. I'll work hard to meet those expectations!
Great! Just you wait, Shin!
Sakuraba's going to surpass you in no time!
Sakuraba's the number one ace!
Sakuraba...
Taro Raimon, I won't lose.
I'll give my all to defeating you and Deimon.
Sounds good!
Our game against Deimon will be the most difficult game we've ever faced.
Deimon has truly grown strong.
But the same goes for us, too.
Shin and Otawara and even Sakuraba have become so much stronger.
Sakuraba, huh?
Everyone put Shin on a higher level than themselves when he first joined.
They didn't even think of comparing themselves to him.
So Sakuraba... was the only one who tried catching up to Shin.
He has the strongest heart of everyone at Ojo.
His ambition prevents him from giving up even when he wants to.
He struggles because he IS strong.
Kimi to deaeta no wa kitto guuzen ja nai,
Lately I've been thinking
Itsu no ma ni ka sonna fuu ni omoeteta.
that it was no coincidence we met.
Doko made tsuzuku, bokura no tabiji?
How far will our journey take us?
Futo kizukeba saitetan da na,
It's just now dawned on me that the flowers between us
bokura no aida ichirin no hana
are in full bloom.
Makimodosu clock & play back (Every day)
Rewind the clock & play it back (every day)
Dai kirai datte sakende mitatte, kage oikakeru
I wanna scream "I hate it" at the top of my lungs, but it won't come out.
Arigatoutte sunao ni ienakute
I just can't say "thank you" to your face,
sonna jibun ga dai kirai de
and I hate myself for it.
tatta hitokoto nanoni kuchi ni dasezu ni
It's just one word, but it always remains unsaid.
mune no oku de deguchi wo sagashiteru
It's stuck in my heart, searching for a way out.
Nanimo kamo ga barabara ni natte
Even if everything around me falls apart,
Kowaresou de kiesou de
and looks like it's gonna disappear forever,
Sore demo bokura sugoshita hibi wo shinjiteru
as long as I keep my trust in the days we spent together,
Kawaranai mono zettai arukara
some things will never change.
Since Sakuraba made that promise to Torakichi, we can't back down now!
Listen up, kiddies!
We'll do ANYTHING to win!
What's with this training?!
Cerberus is Eyeshield?!
Next time on Eyeshield 21: It's just, so we can win!
Ya-ha!
Long time no see, everyone!
I'm Miracle Ito!
The second model figurine of Sa-ku-ra-ba that everyone's been waiting for is in stores now!
Ta-da! It's called "Maid Figurine Sa-ku-ra-ba!"
Welcome back, Master!