How long could/should ES21 last?

[Leaper]

Recent events have gotten me thinking about this. Certainly, other series have had VERY long runs. Heck, a second year could be fascinating. Imagine the freshman recruiting class, the reaction of some Devilbats who have to defend their starting positions for the first time against actually dedicated "intruders" to their tight-knit circle. (Never mind other new characters and never before seen teams.) Imagine their next game against Agon... and shudder.

Now, I'm sure many folks would rather the story last only a year, to protect against future potential lapse in quality, and maybe that's the way to go. But still, how long should/could the series last?

[SoulReaporKoul]

How about we keep going until Sena's Senior Year, there are new members to the Devil Bats, and Hiruma stays as coach since he is a Demon with an infinite supply of money and Demonic Power, therefore he could spend all his time perfecting the Devil Bats and/or Representing Sena as his agent getting him amazing contracts, and then have just one last epilogue chapter after the Graduation Chapter with People filling the Stands (you can show Sena's friends having conversations all around the stands) of an NFL game as the announcer calls for the Captain of ******** as they fight for their next super bowl championship, the two Captains of opposing teams stand in front of each other for the coin toss, and it's Adult Eyeshield 21 VS an adult Shin

[fluke32]

You know, the best way to end this Manga? To actually end it on the same date that Christmas Bowl actually happens.

That said, IMO, the manga should end with the Christmas Bowl Arc and in 188 days. This would be approximately 26 chapters, 9 chapters for the Pre-Christmas Bowl Arc then 16 for Christmas Bowl Arc and 1 chapter as an epilogue sounds about right. Kinda sad though, but very fitting.:D

[igotthegoods]

i favor quality over quantity :)

es21 should not have another season. the series should end after an epilogue following the christmas bowl.

i also hate the idea of hiruma staying on as coach. it's a lame way to keep a popular character in the story :notrust

[Xophien]

This must end with the Christmas Bowl. This manga managed to stay interesting over the course of 30+ volumes, which is already incredible for a shounen, but I don't think a time jump and a new season would be a nice move from Inagaki-sensei and Murata-sensei. Let this manga end while it's still great, and don't let it take the path of other shounen mangas that became quite lame after the ~35th volume, I'd say :noworry

As for a more specific date, I'd say it'll end end2008/early2009, with ~35 chapters left. It'l depend on how much of the break between the Kantou tournament's finals and the Christmas Bowl Inagaki-sensei will depict, and I expect something like at least a volume worth of chapters (like, 8~9). After that, the Christmas Bowl match itself should be at least as long as the Hakushuu one, but maybe not as long as the Oujou one, so something like 25 chapters, and a couple of chapters for epilogue would be nice, for a total of ~35. That'd put the end of the manga near Christmas, which'd fit Fluke-kun's idea as well (even though he has some trouble with numbers +D)

[Keiichi]

I'll be gutted when this series ends. It's been one hell of a ride so far, and the final lap's just around the corner. That said, the championship celebrations should take a full chapter by themselves, followed by a couple of aftermath episodes, and finally an epilogue of the future - college, the scouting combine, the draft, and finally the pros.

I do like SoulReaporKoul's idea about Sena and Shin playing in the NFL - but one of them's gotta be a Dolphin. There was a pic of Ricky Williams in Vol.15 after all. Maybe even both of them; God knows, with the loss of Zach Thomas to Dallas and Ronnie Brown coming off of injury, we need a decent RB and LB right now...

EDIT: I suspect the identity of Hiruma's father may come to light as well. My money's on the Kantou Commissioner. It would explain why he's so driven to win...

[Ritsuku]

I've read so many books that end just when the final thing "is coming"

it REALLY REALLY SUXS

because there are always questions (like did they win and blah)

and there was this series where the person LOST at the end of the book. That made me feel really fustrated (Hikaru no Go)

i think Epilogue and winning the tournament is great. Also, a recurring lappse of where they still fight eachother or someway they're connected (they join the football league or somthing)

Senior year would be great, get to see how bad the new batch is XD

or something :p

[kazuma_uzumaki]

something tells me the epilogue is going to be EXACTLY like every other manga about a club.

end of manga heppens

time skip

new members come in, unable to see faces

old character (sena) comes in

the end...

[Ritsuku]

...haven't read that many on a club

but sports...yeah now that u mention it....

Well, no one has a better idea i guess...XD

can we have a contest on the most creative ending?

[black_crow]

I agree with SoulReaporKoul, it should continue until senior year
Its just to good to end :)
but i have a feeling that reality isnt that forgiving haha

[fluke32]

As for a more specific date, I'd say it'll end end2008/early2009, with ~35 chapters left. It'l depend on how much of the break between the Kantou tournament's finals and the Christmas Bowl Inagaki-sensei will depict, and I expect something like at least a volume worth of chapters (like, 8~9). After that, the Christmas Bowl match itself should be at least as long as the Hakushuu one, but maybe not as long as the Oujou one, so something like 25 chapters, and a couple of chapters for epilogue would be nice, for a total of ~35. That'd put the end of the manga near Christmas, which'd fit Fluke-kun's idea as well (even though he has some trouble with numbers +D)

Ooops. My bad!XD I was calculating by weeks, so I ended up with 188 days which should have been 288 days left before the week of Christmas Day is in. (GOD, HOW COULD I HAVE MESSED THAT ONE UP?!?!)

Christmas comes on a Thursday this year so it was kinda weird to end the manga after Christmas but that could also work. Anyway, with 286 days left before X-mas, That means we have approximately 41 (week before X-mas)-42 (day after christmas) weeks. (LOL! Xoph, you're a little too short as well!:p)

This means that we have 41 to 42 chapters remaining if the manga ends with the Christmas Bowl Arc and if the mentioned arc was to happen on the same date as the Christmas Bowl was supposed to happen in real life.

But yeah, anyway, It simply must end by the end of the year or by the the start of next year. But I'd rather not let it drag on till next year since that would make me want to have it continue! Sure it's still winter by January in Japan, but still, it wouldn't feel right!!!

[Xophien]

Christmas comes on a Thursday this year so it was kinda weird to end the manga after Christmas but that could also work. Anyway, with 286 days left before X-mas, That means we have approximately 41 (week before X-mas)-42 (day after christmas) weeks. (LOL! Xoph, you're a little too short as well!:p)

There's 40 Mondays (day of the Jump's release) before Christmas, to which you can subtract one week of break for the Golden Week, plus two weeks of break (if my memories aren't messed up) for summer break, which makes the total of chapters left before Christmas 37 :oh (and that's off-topic, so let me ban myself now :darn)

[Ritsuku]

Won't they have some super training program?

and did you see how LONG the Kantou tournament is????

I think its way later than 35 chapters or whatever unless they are ending when they DO enter the CHristmas bowl

Now that i think about it, they probably WILL end at the Christmas bowl because the goal was "we will GO to the christmas bowl" not "we will WIN the christmas bowl"

though that would REALLY SUCK if that happens because you don't know who would win or exactly how much BETTER the people are in the Christmas bowl. or something

plus the end of a good series but i guess its gotta end sometime...:(

[pirate-hitman:L]

They obviously will show the game against Teikoku Gakuen.

[black_crow]

They will definetly show the Christmas bowl, because not only did they want to go to the christmas bowl. But Sena wants to beat the Real Eyeshield and the rest want to prove themselves the top *insert position here*

[hhv94]

Check out episode 145 raw on Veoh.com. It seems to imply the series is done for now... :(

[Leaper]

Well, that's the anime, which always seems to have been looked down on around here. :)

That's for the anime thread!

[segua]

Man you guys all stuck in just high school football huh? I'm sure that if the mangaka wanted, he could have ES21 continued onward to college and then to the pros.

[fluke32]

Man you guys all stuck in just high school football huh? I'm sure that if the mangaka wanted, he could have ES21 continued onward to college and then to the pros.
Well, I dunno about the "if the mangaka wanted, he could drag the the story beyond HS", but I assure you that by then, the manga would have lost it's flavor. The MAIN Goal in ES21 was to get Deimon into CB. And right now, Deimon is assured to get in it so the 1st objective has been cleared.

Now the next agenda is to see whether or not Deimon can win in the grand prize of them all: Winning the Christmas Bowl. Now THAT is the most suitable ending for the manga.

Anyway, what I'm worried about now is how do you fill 20-30 chapters for the pre Christmas Bowl Match Arc?!?

[esuri]

I just hope it's not a Slam Dunk ending...

[black_crow]

Even though the first objective has been clear. The Devil bats seem to show another goal. such as being the number one *insert position here*. Monta says he wants to be the best reciever in the world and Sena wants to beat the real eyeshield. So the manga could possibly cotinue past the christmas bowl or at least have a epilogue chapter.

[Ritsuku]

so now that we have offcially established the CB,

will it end with the Chirstmas bowl?

maybe it'll end up like prince of tennis: one tournament after another

but then i guess hiruma and Kurita cant go on, so what then?


so i guess theres no more tournaments so it does mean that it will end there or somewhere there

[black_crow]

Well Hiruma could always blackmail the principle into changing the rule so they can continue to play.

[OS.Hoshi]

To me, the best thing for Es21 is for it to end after they win the Xmas bowl. & then an epilogue consisting of short side stories about other characters, perhaps bearing nothing to football at all! 8D The characters are so great that once the Dbs have gotten what they want, we could see more of the others with something other than football. & it seems it can be possible for it to happen at THIS year's Xmas! 8D On Sena's bday, probably XD

[Ritsuku]

Well Hiruma could always blackmail the principle into changing the rule so they can continue to play.

I dont think that will happen because everytime they mention it, the mood gets depressing...

i think Hiruma even knows that you have to get through highschool and make good grades at least (....I think and hope :darn)

[Leaper]

I dont think that will happen because everytime they mention it, the mood gets depressing...


?

I don't think the possibility has EVER come up, which is a big reason why I'm suspicious. :)

[fluke32]

While I agree that it is suspicious, even if Hiruma does pull some strings, what next? The flavor of "this year will be our last chance" would be lost and at that point, the manga will be on a downward spiral to nowhere...

Sure they can put getting to the Christmas Bowl as a standard goal yet again, sure you can have different players and circumstances... But by that time, it would have a bland feeling since Deimon has already done that.

That was also another thing that makes the manga great, Deimon had to face something new and/or unknown in each and every time the team played. And having nothing too new to present makes the manga as predictable as ever. In turn, this predictability would also ruin what the mangaka has done for the manga's flavor up-to-date!

Everything has been so epic as far as storyline is concerned and it would be the same thing all over again if we do get to see the current Deimon squad play another season together.

Face it people, let the manga end with the CB. As the saying goes, let it end "while the going gets good".

[Ritsuku]

do you mean them winning or them facing their first oppenent ?

like Rough and Hikaru no Go. They were pretty good (unless you hate the bland flavor of rough) but then they stopped so suddenly, it made me so depressed for a few days...

[black_crow]

I hope it doesnt stop right before the match with a cliff hanger :(
I hope that it AT LEAST finishes the CB.

[Leaper]

Sure they can put getting to the Christmas Bowl as a standard goal yet again, sure you can have different players and circumstances... But by that time, it would have a bland feeling since Deimon has already done that.

True, but then, if they LOST the Christmas Bowl... :)


That was also another thing that makes the manga great, Deimon had to face something new and/or unknown in each and every time the team played. And having nothing too new to present makes the manga as predictable as ever. In turn, this predictability would also ruin what the mangaka has done for the manga's flavor up-to-date!

Well, there are, what, fifteen to twenty teams that have never been seen in the manga except maybe for one-panel cameos - and some even fewer times than that?


it would be the same thing all over again if we do get to see the current Deimon squad play another season together.


That's why I was pondering the effect of the freshman recruiting team in my OP. I, for one, think it could be really interesting.

Now, this is not to say you're WRONG about what will or should happen. Just that it's not quite as dramatically impossible as you think. Heck, other titles have overcome worse obstacles before. (Of course, whether the results are any good is up for debate, which is why I allowed for what I said above. :))

We'll find out relatively soon enough.

[fluke32]

True, but then, if they LOST the Christmas Bowl... :)
Then it's done! They don't have to actually win you know. The initial goal has already been accomplished so Winning isn't exactly what they were aiming for at least for now. Anyway, there's nothing they could do if they lost, and moving on to the next year is definitely another story all together.


Well, there are, what, fifteen to twenty teams that have never been seen in the manga except maybe for one-panel cameos - and some even fewer times than that?

Well, while it is true that there are probably other teams that hasn't been shown, We can't use that to justify the continuation towards beyond the current storyline. Besides, making more opponents doesn't necessarily mean more varied play style. Take the Scorpions, Chameleons, and Punks for example. They're all teams that rely on the basis of using dirty tactics.



That's why I was pondering the effect of the freshman recruiting team in my OP. I, for one, think it could be really interesting.
Like I said, that's a different story all together. By that time, Deimon no longer is an underdog team since they have reputation. And Deimon being an underdog is what made this manga a good read. IF We continued the story beyond the phase where Deimon was constantly the underdog towards the phase where Deimon are considered as contenders, that would not be as interesting in general. IF the story still revolves around Deimon.

Besides, all these arguments are also the reason why I considered that the manga will end after the CB. An Epilogue chapter can definitely state what would happen next for Deimon after it's first taste of CB, and all these are all possible scenarios that could be summarized in the epilogue chapter.

IMO, if ES21 would continue, it is best to have a different school, and a different startup team whose aim would be to get to CB and play against Deimon who just won the CB. If the manga's direction is towards those lines, then it would be more interesting in a general sense.:amuse

[Leaper]

Perhaps you're right. On the other hand, I'm not sure about how strong a role the whole "underdog" thing plays. I mean, at a point as early as their second win against a super-strong team that "should have" won, are they really underdogs anymore by that point? :D

Of course, maybe that's only to the readers, who knows they're most likely going to win. It's hard to say. :)

In the end, naturally, it's the writer's opinion on dramatic potential that matters. We'll see. (Then again, isn't the new Naruto series under a different writer? I know the Kindaichi revival is/was. Man, THAT thought could be a whole other thread!)