From the back cover:
Everybody has a dream, and for junior high school student Shou Kazamatsuri, that dream is simple: he wants to get off the bench and play soccer. An inspiration to everyone he meets, the indefatigable spark plug won’t quit until he becomes the best soccer player he can be!
But soccer is a team sport and that means Shou must also work extra hard at being the best teammate he can be. No matter how good he gets, he still needs the support of 10 other players to score a single goal.
One player, however, has vowed to single-handedly crush the upstarts at Josui Junior High. His name is Ryoichi Tenjo and he is easily the best soccer player Shou has ever seen. Nobody has been able to stop Ryoichi in the past. Now, it’s up to Team Josui to teach the arrogant hothead a lesson in humility.
Review:
I’m getting a little tired of Whistle! now, so it’s good that I was planning to take a break from this series for a while. This volume had its good moments, like when Masato gets to play again and when Ryoichi executes a couple of really cool moves, but it also had a lot of the same old stuff. Too much lesson-learning and not enough soccer-playing.
Once again, dialogue continues to be cheesy. This volume’s winner: “Every time they face a problem, the team’s bond deepens.” Well, thanks, Coach Obvious!
I also didn’t particularly care for the resolution to the plot involving the talented female player. Essentially, she’s told “nobody’s going to play against you hard enough, so you have to go create a girl’s team rather than be on ours.” I predict that we’ll never see her do this, and that she’ll just be another sideline commentator from now on. Time will tell.
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