blodeuedd

So. Chinese Prince of Tennis. You all hoped I'd forgotten about it, eh? HAHAHAHA! My love continues to burn bright! *waves Qing Xue flag aroud*

How much fun was it to have friends over so I could subject them to the awesomness of angsty Chinese tennis boys? :D The hotpot and team cooking were loads of fun, too, and we ate very, very well indeed.

A few memorable quotes:

"So, we have a textbook that was written in -- broccoli!" (Emily, being distracted by vegetables)

"It, like, eats a hole in your stomach, but not in a bad way." (Me, on the subject of mapo tofu)

"Oh my, Fuji wants Captain's ass!" (Tiffany, after Zhou Zhu gave Guo Guang a particularly loaded look)

We only got 6 episodes in, which is not so much, as far as marathons go, but it was enough to make me start whining about how there were no more subbed episodes and when was all the Golden Pair angst going to be resolved, goddamnit?!? And then my guests went home, and I looked up the download links to send to them and there was a shiny new subbed episode up! *hearts and sparklies and kittens*

I downloaded it immediately, of course, but by the time it was done it was bedtime, so I just skipped through it to ~~see where the Golden Pair bits were~~ check that the file was okay, but had to stop and watch a wee bit when I saw the there was a full-blown shouting argument between Da Shi (Oishi) and Ju Wan (Eiji). I guess it shows how pathetic I am that I went to bed troubled because of what they said to each other. ;_________;

When I got home tonight I watched the episode properly, and then the next one raw and in crappy .rmvb quality because I wanted to see them get back together! And I was rewarded, because OH MY GOD COULD GOLDEN PAIR BE ANY SLASHIER?!

I find it really interesting how the characters are developed in this series, and the relationship between Da Shi and Ju Wan is a good example.

I love the Golden Pair in the anime (and I'm assuming things are pretty much the same as in the manga, in most respects), but you must admit that they sometimes act and resolve their conflicts way more maturely than 14-year-old boys have any right to.

In this version, the conflict starts to come to light after the St. Rudolph match, which Ju Wan and Da Shi lose because of Ju Wan's lack of stamina. Ju Wan is upset at himself, and upset because the others are (mostly rightfully) blaming him for the loss. Da Shi shoulders part of the blame, telling Ju Wan that it's his job to make sure Ju Wan keeps up, and he was maybe being too easy on him during training. Ju Wan is pissed off at Da Shi patronizing him like that, but they're still on good terms. Things really come to a boil when they take sides over Chun Long's situation with his father: Da Shi (he obviously regrets having helped Chun Long lie to his father that one time) says that Chun Long should obey his father's wishes and stop playing tennis, since it's his responsibility to help his family; Ju Wan says that it should be Chun Long's choice, and since Chun Long wants to play tennis, why should he give it up?

Eventually, Ju Wan announces he wants to play singles now, and requests to not be put into doubles for their next match. Da Shi sits in the dark, alone, angsting into the night.

Episode 16 (the latest subbed one): They're arguing in the locker room, but to try to resolve their ~~lovers'~~ spat in private, Da Shi drags Ju Wan into the bathroom, grabs him by the shoulders and slams him up against the wall (*fans self*) to try to talk some sense into him. The fight moves back to the locker room and, not caring that everyone else is watching, they really have it out with each other, Da Shi telling Ju Wan he's being too immature and selfish, and Ju Wan yelling back that if Da Shi really thinks that, why the hell didn't he say anything instead of putting up with him for three years? Things end with Da Shi saying, "I'm sorry I've wasted three years of your time. I won't play anymore." *cue me tearing up*

My reaction was that the whole thing played exactly like a fight between lovers. But hey, I've never had a doubles partner, so maybe this is standard? XD Anyway, things continue to unfold as in a romantic drama. Ju Wan seems to have a short memory, though, because the next day he's got his arm casually slung around Da Shi as they eat lunch. On the other hand, he spends a good while gazing longingly at ~~Da Shi's ass~~ Da Shi cleaning up the courts, but turns and walks away just in time to miss Da Shi looking up and gazing longingly after him. XD

You may recall that in the original, it was just before the match against Hyoutei that Oishi was injured, so that Eiji ended up playing D2 with Momo. Things get shifted around a bit here, so that Qing Xue is going up against Shan Hua (Yamabuki). Da Shi isn't injured himself, but he runs into the Bu Dong Feng (Fudoumine) players who were in the car accident, and goes to the hospital with them. Since he wasn't intending to play anyway, he phones Guo Guang and tells him to put Hai Tang (Kaidou) in the D1 slot with Ju Wan.

Da Shi makes it to the stadium, but sits outside angsting on the steps.

Episode 17 (watched raw, so while I could understand little bits, and guess a lot, much went way over my head, no doubt): Inside, Ju Wan keeps looking up at the door, hoping for his boyfriend to come save the day, but nothing. Zhou Zhu (Fuji) and Chun Long (Taka) lose D2 because of Taka's drama, which I won't go into right now, and things are looking grim for D1 until suddenly, Da Shi swoops in and teaches Ju Wan and Hai Tang how to be an awesome doubles pair. They even pull off the Australian formation! :O

A while back I joked about Da Shi composing love songs for Ju Wan, right? Well, Da Shi's song that goes, "You are the shoulder I lean on, I am the shoulder you lean on" (veeeeery loose translation) plays over this montage scene of him and Ju Wan. Well, Hai Tang's there too, but this is SO obviously not about him that we can safely ignore his presence.

Ju Wan and Hai Tang win the match and hug for an awwwwwfully long time, before Ju Wan remembers his true love and runs off after Da Shi, who's left the stands. Hai Tang (seriously, he's trying to get into everyone's pants in this potverse!) gazes sadly after him. Or maybe he's just thinking, "Damn, I hope Zhen Zhi and I never have a stupid fight like that!"

Outside, there's a lot of Chinese going on, so I didn't get most of it, but Ju Wan talks at Da Shi's back, then turns around so Da Shi can talk at his back, and finally they're facing each other with tearful smiles and falling into each other's arms and all's right with the world again! ^________^ (And I squealed and woke up Tabitha who had been peacefully sleeping on my lap.) They stroll back into the stands, not holding hands, but they might as well have! Their love, it is plain to see. I'm betting someone's going to be slammed up against a wall for an entirely different reason this time, once they get a moment alone, guhuhuhu. :D~~~

All right, now it's late, and tomorrow I need to sew a Christmas tree costume, and somehow turn myself into an elf. Of the Santa's helper variety. @_@ Good night!