Seibu were pretty much equal, maybe even superior to Deimon on the offensive side of the ball. They had the better quarterback, a running back that matched Sena, a better wide receiver and slightly inferior line. With that many weapons, it wasn’t tough to see that the scoreboard was gonna blow up.

When Deimon couldn’t stop the Kid and Tetsuma combo, they really needed to rely on Kurita to win the all-important line battle. It was a back and forth tussle but the lack of a kicker really made it a huge obstacle to overcome. Due to the lack of an extra point on top of their touchdowns, they were losing a point to Seibu every time the two teams exchanged blows.

This leads to one of the most memorable scenes in the manga, the return of Musashi. It was built up for so long, as Sena and co. had been trying so hard to get their kicker back but thanks to an emotional exchange between Musashi and his father, he was able to return into the game to even out the tides. His arrival revitalized Hiruma and Kurita and together they slowly chipped away at Seibu’s lead.

The Tetsuma/Monta and Sena/Riku battles also followed the same template, as Musashi’s arrival managed to invigorate them both enough for them to defeat their respective rivals. Riku finally acknowledged Sena as being above him in the end but Monta wasn’t as fortunate. His revival proved too late as Tetsuma won the crucial catch in the end leading to a gut-wrenching defeat. This sudden twist at the end, when everything was finally going Deimon’s way was one of the reasons why it resonated so much to me, since it made me realize that nothing is given in this manga. Sometimes, your best just isn’t enough and this defeat was heavily felt in the end.

With the return of their ace player Akaba, as well as the sudden Eyeshield revelation, Bandou were not the same team that slipped their way through every round in low scoring affairs. Akaba gave the team an edge, given his natural ability as well as his extensive knowledge of each and every player on the opposing team. The morale boost of his return did wonders for a team that lost all their players to Teikoku and Deimon really had no answer for the former Tokyo MVP.

Along with their trick special team plays, and a penchant for basing their offensive gameplan around the kicking game, they were the most unique team in the whole series. As an avid NFL follower, it was refreshing to see the special teams get that much exposure, seeing as they are usually an afterthought given the spotlight showered on the offensive and defensive side of the ball.

Akaba vs a now eyeshield-less Sena was epic. They were exchanging blows during every down, with the Bandou ace coming up on top in every situation. Sena won barely due to his inhumane lightspeed, but this was one of those matches where it was really tough to give Sena the win. When pitted against each other with no other variable, Akaba was probably above Sena in overall talent but due to his speed as well as Hiruma’s cunning plays, Sena was able to overcome that hump and gain the all-important victory. Getting back the right to wear the Eyeshield was a huge moment in the manga, since Sena proved to the world that he was able to play without hiding in the shadows anymore. That moment Sena had with Mamori at the beginning of the match was very touching, as well as the one at the end with Suzuna. It showed his growth as a player and as a person.

Lost in the shuffle was the battle between Koutarou and Mushashi. The former a refined, elegant kicker and the latter a rough, powerful kicker with a bomb on his right foot, they were the exact opposites on the kicking game. In the end, Koutarou allowed a critical moment to get into his head, whereas Musashi was able to filter everything else to make the important kicks. It may not have gotten the all the exposure, but this battle between the two was a very significant moment for me.

That was a great twist, to have Gaou destroy Seibuu the way they did. If anyone could avoid this, it would have been Hiruma. With Kurita’s special training, and their first play being a trick play risking everything on the line, it was going to be a simple affair. But Kurita ultimately let everyone down when he let Gaou slip long enough to fracture Hiruma’s throwing arm. That single scene, along with seeing Hiruma lying on the bed was powerful, since all of a sudden you realize that he was not able to achieve his dream of getting to the Christmas Bowl.

Through deductive reasoning, that left Musashi as the only viable option for QB. Seeing as he is one of the pillars of Deimon, it seemed fitting for him to take helm but instead, Sena took hold of the situation to become QB, since he was the only one able to avoid Gaou’s rush. If you’ve been following this play-by-play, you would think that it was tense throughout the whole match but Riichiro was still able to squeeze in some really good comedic touches. It really eased up the atmosphere a bit since the tension was high. Ultimately having Hiruma come back covered in ketchup blood was priceless, as well as Sena’s errant throwing.

A number of things that added to the amazing atmosphere of the game was Marco and Maria’s promise, which culminated in a scene that was one of my favourites in the whole manga. Those who can recall it might think the same, but this undertone made the other team much more believable, since Hakuushu too had their reasons for winning. An amazing arc.

There was surprisingly a lot of history developed in the background of this match as well. The big reveal of Hiruma, Kurita and Musashi initially fulfilling their dreams of joining Shinryuuji, only for Agon to shoot them down means that there was a personal vendetta for the trio in defeating Agon. The added fact that Hiruma and Agon also had a personal history was also a nice development, since their polarising views on what a team should consist of means that their two ideals were clashing to show which one of them is right. Even though Deimon ultimately won, Agon was never truly defeated. It was through a team effort that Deimon managed to pull off this huge victory, seeing as they were no match going against Agon’s genius one on one. With his inhumane ability to react to anything on sight in the quickest time possible, it was impossible to gain the upper hand on him. Combine that with his unlimited stamina and natural god given talent, he was unstoppable. The only thing that could be considered a weakness is his terrible attitude, since he sees even his own teammates as pawns for his own gain.

Deimon were able to capitalise on this, with their teamwork as well as Sena’s rapid development during the game. Sena against Agon was a huge highlight of the battle as well, since Sena had no choice but to defeat Agon in order for them to succeed. Agon did not show him any mercy, battering Sena at every opportunity but Sena finally found a loophole in his defense, as he was able to stiffarm Agon’s blindside, giving him no time to react. Monta too had a formidable opponent in the genius cornerback Ikyuu, who took pride in being the best aerial player. In the process, he was able to create his own moves to defeat Ikyuu, giving Hiruma the option for the long distance throws.

So, with all the drama and history between the two teams, as well as the huge David vs Goliath connotation, this match ranked second on my list. Seeing that smug Agon getting put in his place in the end, after all his insults to Kurita, Sena and co was so satisfying. Kurita was finally able to show that he was not as worthless as Agon thought, creating the final breakthrough at the end of the match, and Hiruma was able to prove that his ideals were better. There was no better way to end such a massive battle.

Unlike the Shinryuuji game, there was no ill-will towards any player on the other team. These two have mutual respect for each other’s achievements and this rivalry that was born from that respect has been one of the staples of the manga. Not many long-standing rivalries live up to the hype that they build but this match managed to reach and exceed everything that I had hoped for. This battle was the critical peak of the entire manga. That’s not to say that every battle after this is mediocre (see: Hakyushuu Dinosaur), but it’s tough to top yourself when you’ve just reached the summit. The highlights alone show the amount of key things that happened throughout this battle and believe me, there are plenty more that I had to leave out in order to make it somewhat shorter.

Sakuraba’s transformation into an elite receiver, after battling his own personal demons for much of the manga, was very touching and seeing him create a formidable tag team with Shin from this newfound confidence was hugely admirable. It was a great rags to riches story that spanned the whole manga, and to finally see him fulfill his potential was enough to give me goosebumps. Shin as usual is a monster and the perfect rival to Sena. His drive to improve himself at every opportunity gave him the keys to the lightspeed club and with him playing on offense as well, Deimon really had a lot to overcome. Up to the halfway point, there really was no answer to him. Even the prematch preparations were more of a mental boost, a temporary effect to help keep morale and stamina high. Sena was only able to overcome him for that one critical moment in the end. This was yet another match where the collective effort of the team created the chance for victory, as Hiruma had to utilise every available possibility in order to keep the team within touching distance.

The ending drive was also the best in the entire manga, as Deimon needed to rely on a kickoff touchdown in order to claim victory. Acting on the fly to create the Killer Hornet was a great surprise, since I have never even considered such a tactic to be used in such a moment. The final clash between Sena and Shin was very well done as well, as every panel contained an intense amount of emotion and detail. The final roar that Sena ripped out at the end of it all was well deserved, since this battle was the definition of the word epic.

Like Ootawara mentioned towards the end of the battle though, I really wished that the two teams would have met in the final. The fact that it had to happen in the semis of the Kantou tournament was pretty unfortunate, but at least it was handled perfectly. To me, this was the pinnacle of the manga, bar none.

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