Brief impressions on the manga. (There’s a little spoiler regarding the ending too.)
After watching episode 3 of the anime adaptation of Sayonara Watashi no Cramer, it was obvious the animation wasn’t doing it full justice. On top of that, I just could not wait anymore for the next episode to find out what happens next. I decided to go to the source itself–I read the manga!
First off, a disclaimer. I’m not that into soccer, unfortunately. Every now and then I read some headline about soccer news, just surface deep. So most soccer references and tactics in the anime (maybe 90% of it) would just go over my head. Of course I would still recognize the really famous names, like Ronaldo, Zidane, Pele, Messi…but that’s about it.
Second, I haven’t finished the anime of Your Lie in April, so I don’t have attachment to the author. But the Cramer manga has good art, which has me interested. I would have liked to have all 13 volumes printed in my hands, but the print versions are not complete, so I have to settle for the digital versions. But yep, I like the art a lot, it’s dynamic enough and expressions are great. I admit when I bought it one big reason is for the art.
As for the story, it’s the usual in sports manga. You have the usual rival teams and super talented players. A lot are given backstories, and it makes them more interesting. I also like that near the end, other Warabi Seinen players are also given their time to shine.
A lot of the focus however, would be on the 3 main Warabi Seinen players: Nozomi Onda, Midori Soshizaki, and Sumire Suo. To be honest, I am more interested in Nozomi Onda. I am least interested in Suo.
As for the games, yeah as a soccer tactics/strategies ignoramus I can’t comment much, but the struggles and triumphs are conveyed well. On that end, I’m going to do rereads in the future to take in the paneling, expressions, etc. I’m also following the episode threads on r/anime, which I also find interesting. But yeah, I’m going to be let down once the future episodes don’t meet my expectations. Such is the fate of the avid manga reader.
My only complaint is, it’s too short. Sure the Warabis get to play several of the top teams, but never in official games. And when it felt like things were only just getting started–the Warabis get their first official win, the manga ends. The last scene is with the guy coach, and not even Onda. It left me a bit disappointed. I wanted to see more of what Onda could do, and the continued evolution of the rest of her teammates. I also would have loved to see the evolution of their female coach, Nomi. It felt like she could be learning more from the guy coach (forgot his name). As a casual follower of basketball, I know that great players doesn’t necessarily mean a great coach. There could have been more story to tell on this end…
And that’s why I decided to order the print versions of the prequel. It’s supposed to focus on Onda, so I hope I get my fix there. There’s also supposed to be a movie, but it’s by the same director of the anime. The trailer actually looks better than the series version. If I’m the director I should be ashamed at the gap in quality. But who knows the movie could have had a bigger budget…
That said, the manga is actually part of the Spring Anime 2021 Kodansha Humble Bundle which has about 3 days left, hurry if you want to get a digital copy. The digital files are actually DRM-free, if you like it that way. All 13 volumes are in the bundle. However, the prequel is not there (hence why I ordered the print version). I’m actually kind of hoping the author restarts the manga again in a few years. But until that miracle happens…Let’s just pray it happens, huh? 😀
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