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Ambiguously Gay: Subverted with Kisaragi, who certainly seems to have a huge crush on Gaou.
Though, in the Sphinx's case, it's explained in-universe that their school is in the Southern prefecture and the students go surfing a lot, giving them deep tans. Ambiguously Brown: The entirety of the Taiyō Sphinx, Agon. Monta, particularly, usually ends up facing off against a receiver hyped as his superior by far. Always Someone Better: There's at least one on every major opposing team. Always Save the Girl: Hiruma, of all people. Even In-Universe people forgets that they are identical. Always Identical Twins: The Kongo brothers, although there is no way you can confuse the shaved and frowning Unsui with the dreadlocks Smug Smiler Agon. EYESHIELD 21 EPISODE 1 SOUL ANIME FULL
All There in the Manual: Some biographical info (like relative intelligence amongst the Devil Bats, the full names of the main American players) were only/first revealed in the manga compilations' "side" pages. There's no two ways about it, whether he's on your team or not, Marco's a decidedly sinister guy who likes to drink soda, share it with anyone he talks with, and likes to wear Armani suits. Against the Setting Sun: Episode 11 of the anime has one of these scenes, and is actually called "Oath Beneath the Setting Sun". When told to 'keep hydrated' in preparation for a match, he went through twenty-something water-bottles in less than five minutes, resulting in the one time he ever deviated from his pass routerunning off the field in the middle of a game to get to the bathroom after getting a stomach cramp. Advice Backfire: Jo Tetsuma is so literal that he takes everything WAY OVERBOARD. The anime includes her in an earlier episode, trying to track down her brother Natsuhiko. Adaptational Early Appearance: The manga introduces Suzuna Taki in the Death March storyarc. Plus, some changes were done in comparison to the manga for example, swearings and guns or gambling references were reduced. Adaptation Distillation: The anime cover the story until the semi-final bewtween Deimon Devil Bats and Ojo White Knights. Sena going from rookie to living up to his ace status is a major part of the story, Sakuraba was a mediocre player until he chose to drop his celebrity career to live up to the media hype about being the ace and gave his team the best offense they ever had, Kakei and Yamato faced Sena one on one to keep their team morale by showing which aces was better, Shin keeps on training because he takes his status as ace like an obligation and Agon is a perfect example of a Broken Ace, being the best player but also a huge douche who made his team afraid of him more than the other team. The team's ace is not just a trump card, he is the motivation for all his teammates. The Ace: Every major team has at least one and explores the tropes in a lot of way. (Hiruma added the last part to make Monta happy Montana was a quarterback.)
Hiruma later convinces "Monta" that his nickname comes from Joe Montana, a famous wide receiver in the NFL. Accidental Misnaming: Because of some confusion on Sena's part, the team thought Raimon Taro's name is Kaminari Montarou.Furthermore is Ikari, who joined the team after three suspensions from school in order to defend the football team's glory, what with the golden age having graduated.He had no intention of playing sports in high school, and only tried out for the White Knights because Sakuraba asked him to. She was then practically forced to join the team, while all she wants to do is to draw shoujo manga and play the piano. Karin Koizumi's talent was discovered when she tossed a stray ball back to the practicing team.The Ha-Ha Brothers were initially blackmailed into playing as linebackers until they discovered their love of the game.Monta first caught Sena's attention by catching an errant ball.Sena's speed comes from years of evading bullies and running errands for them.