Shounen Robot x Laserbeam Hangout Thread

[Brandish μ]

As far as Kyosuke is concerned, given what we know about him, I see no reason to think he's consistently hitting 59s and 60s, but I also think his other numbers are better than what you're suggesting. His special traits are great offense from the get-go and the ability to save par. This makes me think that he'll rarely score bogeys or worse even on a bad day and his score will mainly depend on the number of birdies and eagles he can hit. So my estimates would be around 65 on average (i.e. pretty much untouchable for non-bird names even if he plays normally while they're at their absolute best, given what we know so far) and I don't think he'd go over par even on an ordinary bad day.

Yea, the recovery Kyosuke is renowned for is going to be a highlight. Many of the great players are exceptional at this. The manga should show how much of an advantage this is, maybe in comparison to Robo's recovering ability (like how Youzan hit about as far as Robo's drive with an iron).

One thing I'm wondering that we haven't discussed yet is how Kyosuke's style could change later on in the game. The first shot he just hit almost the moment he stepped up, but will he continue doing so on every shot? Or will he actually start taking his time if he gets pressured or when the course layout becomes more complicated? Any guesses?

I'm going to guess that Kyosuke will play aggressively and fast all the time, and this might only waver when he's under pressure. Maybe later in the round Robo does something to unsettle him.

I hope to see the other members of the team play as well

Yes that will be good, the one I most want to see is Sota.

 

[AzzRule Hazark]

http://readms.net/r/robotxlaserbeam/016/4396/1

 

[Kaoz]

Not even a third of the way in and Kyosuke's already starting to play for real, huh? That last chip-in was quite the shot though. If he keeps doing this stuff, I reckon he'll open up a pretty big gap until hole 12 or so and after that Robo might get a chance to counterattack or at least start to keep up.

 

[Brandish μ]

Kyosuke's very much in control isn't he. His personality is a lot like Hisoka from Hunter. Enjoyed the Emperor a lot this chapter.

Kyosuke is ahead despite Robo having decent conditions that don't leave him exposed. And with the last shot, which was amazing (that was one tough looking green).

Also quite liked the page with the Regulars and their opponents. Gin was my favourite of mine there.

I reckon he'll open up a pretty big gap until hole 12 or so and after that Robo might get a chance to counterattack or at least start to keep up.

From what we've seen of Kyosuke, how do you think he'll crush Robo? I can see him opening up a gap too, like you said; and then take the foot off the gas when he thinks he's done enough (maybe hole 15).

I hope Robo does something that 'scares' Kyosuke, though I'm not sure Robo is good enough at his current experience level.

 

[Lady pompom]

Kyosuke is having lots of fun with the match, it seems. If Robo doesn't improve quickly, the gap between them will only increase.

I hope Robo does something that 'scares' Kyosuke, though I'm not sure Robo is good enough at his current experience level.

From what they told, Kyosuke is not the type that would be easily scared, but there's room for posibilities since Robo is the one that might be feeling cornered now and it can help him improving faster. But i agree with you, not sure if he's experienced enough to scare Kyosuke yet.

 

[Brandish μ]

From what they told, Kyosuke is not the type that would be easily scared, but there's room for posibilities since Robo is the one that might be feeling cornered now and it can help him improving faster. But i agree with you, not sure if he's experienced enough to scare Kyosuke yet.

Yea, Kyosuke is the aggressive type, and seems to enjoy rivalry or being challenged. So maybe him getting scared isn't exactly possible - he might enjoy it.

I do hope that Robo does enough to become a toy for Kyosuke. Not as good a toy as You-kun though.

 

[Kaoz]

Enjoyed the Emperor a lot this chapter.

Needless to say, I'm 100% with you there once again. Having a powerful character with this kind of personality, or anything close to it, is a rarity in sports series as far as I know. It's just nice to have someone unconventional like this alongside a more proper rival like Youzan.

Something I do wonder if this thrill seeking will be Kyosuke's downfall at some point. I could imagine him getting beaten by someone weaker if they're able to manipulate his state of mind to their advantage.

Also quite liked the page with the Regulars and their opponents. Gin was my favourite of mine there.

Eh I have mixed feelings about the remaining match-ups to be honest. It seems like at least Shintaro and Gen will face opponents very similar to themselves (in terms of personality) which just doesn't really appeal to me. Maybe if their playstyles are completely different it won't be so bad, but if those are similar too, then that's a part I'm not really looking forward to. Rion's opponent might have this issue as well, even if it's less obvious right now; he just reminds me of Rion when he got fired up back when teamed up with Robo.

But yeah, I'd prefer it if we had some more variety here.

From what we've seen of Kyosuke, how do you think he'll crush Robo? I can see him opening up a gap too, like you said; and then take the foot off the gas when he thinks he's done enough (maybe hole 15).

Well, if this shot is any indication, I guess he'll just start doing stuff Robo shouldn't even be able to consider (and if Robo does, he'll just self-destruct). I won't be surprised if his tee shot on the first hole wasn't the best he could do there either. While the course was perfect, I could see him being able to hit a fair bit farther than that. Not as far as Youzan, but still farther than what Robo's capable of.

Another important point will be pressure, as Asia Run pointed out. Kyosuke was being pressured and still held par on every hole, but I'm not sure Robo will be able to do the same. If that excitement he felt at the beginning turns into fear he'll be in a lot of trouble.

From what they told, Kyosuke is not the type that would be easily scared, but there's room for posibilities since Robo is the one that might be feeling cornered now and it can help him improving faster. But i agree with you, not sure if he's experienced enough to scare Kyosuke yet.

Yeah, there's pretty much two possibilities here:

1. Robo will be able to use this opportunity to improve by a lot really quickly. He'll get destroyed for most of the rest of the match (doubt Kyosuke is gonna go easy on him until and unless Robo's lost his fighting spirit), but maybe start getting closer to Kyosuke's level again during the last third of the match and maybe he'll tie or even win the last hole or something.
2. Robo will self-destruct as mentioned above and Kyosuke will lose interest in him as a result.

With the camp coming up, (1) seems a lot more likely to me though. We also need to consider that, if this is a 1-in-universe-year series, Robo will need to be able to beat Kyosuke in a few months from now, so he'll have to show some signs of closing the giant gap between them.

 

[Franckie]

Just finished all 16 chapters. This isn't a bad series. We have a competent main character and side characters like the Emperor aren't shabby either. This ought to be good.

 

[Brandish μ]

Well, if this shot is any indication, I guess he'll just start doing stuff Robo shouldn't even be able to consider (and if Robo does, he'll just self-destruct). I won't be surprised if his tee shot on the first hole wasn't the best he could do there either. While the course was perfect, I could see him being able to hit a fair bit farther than that. Not as far as Youzan, but still farther than what Robo's capable of.

Another important point will be pressure, as Asia Run pointed out. Kyosuke was being pressured and still held par on every hole, but I'm not sure Robo will be able to do the same. If that excitement he felt at the beginning turns into fear he'll be in a lot of trouble.

It'd be great if Robo cannot instantly copy a shot Kyosuke can pull off. And I agree that first drive wasn't Kyosuke's best, since he stated he was holding back.

Robo's emotions and how he handles them in a match is something I want to see. His personality makes him unaware of what he's feeling (there was a comment about putting some feel into the first drive, and that Robo probably didn't realise it). He still has to score in the 70s so I'm banking on him not getting rattled, or even better he comes up with a way to handle pressure.

Just finished all 16 chapters. This isn't a bad series. We have a competent main character and side characters like the Emperor aren't shabby either. This ought to be good.

I agree the characters are solid; it's a well-balanced cast.

 

[Kaoz]

He still has to score in the 70s so I'm banking on him not getting rattled, or even better he comes up with a way to handle pressure.

Well, thinking about it some more, even a 79 is at least 7 over par, so there's some wiggling room there. You could also argue that it'd add to the drama if Robo is set up for failing even his personal objective and then pulls off an incredible streak of birdies on the last few holes after recovering from the pressure. So I think it'd be nicer if he did get rattled and bounced back, presumably after getting the standard pep talk from someone.

Also, any thoughts on Rion's match? It's hard to make predictions for the other three since we know next to nothing about them, but at least in Rion's case we kinda know what he plays like.

 

[Brandish μ]

I think Rion will lose. Mainly because these are the national champs, their regulars should be better than Eiai's 4th best. I wouldn't be surprised if Eiai lose in every match except for Sota. And even he might only win by a few strokes.

At the end of the year, or whenever Eiai take on Touhoku in a final, then Eiai will win (only just). I'm not sure how a school is crowned 'champs' tbh but for now I assume there are fixtures throughout the year, and then a finals series at the end.

 

[Kaoz]

I think Rion will lose. Mainly because these are the national champs, their regulars should be better than Eiai's 4th best. I wouldn't be surprised if Eiai lose in every match except for Sota. And even he might only win by a few strokes.

Oh yeah, they'll most likely lose 4/5 matches. I was more thinking about it in the sense of whether Rion's opponent would also specialize in curve shots for instance or if he might be the exact opposite etc. Maybe instead of side spin he could be the one with excellent top and backspin control.

 

[Brandish μ]

Oh yeah, they'll most likely lose 4/5 matches. I was more thinking about it in the sense of whether Rion's opponent would also specialize in curve shots for instance or if he might be the exact opposite etc. Maybe instead of side spin he could be the one with excellent top and backspin control.

Ah, right. In that case, what shots are available?

Draw - although the emperor used one, it wasn't named.
Backspin
Top spin - not sure this will feature, since you don't want to do that. There might be a situation where it could work
Low trajectory - when there's wind, hitting low helps
Shots from the sand - someone could be great at these
Putting - Idk if there are types of putts, but there'll be some players who a renowned for it

There's probably many shots that could be added. I wonder how the mangaka treats this, do all players get one? Or just the important ones?

For Kaoru, I am thinking long distance driving because of his height. There is a positive correlation between height and driving distance.

--- Double Post Merged, Jul 13, 2017, Original Post Date: Jul 12, 2017 ---

We'll see a strawhat in this next chapter as a tribute to OP's 20th anniversary.

Spoiler

 

[Kaoz]

Chapter 17's up: http://readms.net/r/robotxlaserbeam/017/4427/1

 

[Brandish μ]

That was awesome from Robo when he went straight at the pin. Even Kyosuke was taken aback (for just a panel). The match didn't progress as far as I thought score wise, but we got a bit of development for Robo's game - mainly with pressure/psychology. Kyosuke didn't letdown either in this chapter.

It seems we're going onto Rion's match now.

Also, how long do we think this arc will go for? (called "arc of the strongest man" on the cover).

 

[Lady pompom]

Wow. Robo lost his composure. About the arc, it can only last until the end of the training camp, but if Suzaku keeps following Robo around as a rival to see his growth as a player making other challenge right after the training camp, it can last longer, I guess.

 

[Brandish μ]

Yea, I guess other parts can be added in. I think this match versus Touhoku might be another 5 chapters, and at the end Kyosuke will "let Robo grow" before he plays with him again. Then training camp. I'm looking forward to Robo improving too, as well.

if Suzaku keeps following Robo

This made me laugh because it could be true xD

 

[Kaoz]

That was awesome from Robo when he went straight at the pin.

Especially combined with him just reciting the rules to Kazama right afterwards. It's been a little while since we've had a moment like that.

Also, how long do we think this arc will go for? (called "arc of the strongest man" on the cover).

I mean, until the end of the match. We're at hole 7 now I think? And it's been 4 chapters since they started, so I reckon it should be another 8-10 chapters until the end. Not all of them will be about Robo, I'm sure we'll see the other regulars hit some shots and use that shift in focus to skip ahead in Robo's own match, but it should work out to about the same amount of chapters either way. Then probably one post-match chapter to wrap things up.

 

[Organizized]

Loved that we got to see some deadpan Robo this chapter, just reciting the rules. I kind of predicted he would make a shot like that, straight at the flag to cover up his lack of skill making other kinds of shots.

I like the Emperor's playing. He's more interesting in his playing style than I thought he'd be.

 

[Kaoz]

So, one detail I found remarkable is that - for I think the first time? - Robo's analytical abilities are coming back to bite him, or rather we learn that there's a concrete downside to them in that he has trouble moving on to the next point before he understands the ins and outs of what happened before. He overcame it this time with Kazama's help, but how do you see this kind of thing play out in the future? Will he learn to shift his focus by himself soon or will it be a more permanent weakness which his teammates will have to compensate for (not too hard considering he won't be by himself during team competitions)?