Gothic Sports
by Pedro Rodriguez
Anya is pretty excited to be the new girl at Lucrece High. She has been trying to apply for sometime because of the solid athletic department. However, when she joins the basketball team, she is almost quite literally thrown off the court. The soccer team though less brutish, doesn't welcome her with open arms either. As time passes on, she slowly comes to the realization that none of the teams will give her a break. When she tells her fellow classmates about her misfortune, one of them makes that grand suggestion of starting their own team.
Brought to us by the young Anike Hage, "Gothic Sports" is that well known tale about a group of outcasts that band together under a common cause: to beat the people that look down at them at their own game. In this case, the name of the game is soccer (more commonly known throughout the world as football). The "Gothic" angle comes about while trying to recruit new members; not being able to catch anyone's eye, Filiz, Anya's classmate, pulls out an umbrella to match her Loli-goth outfit and prances around. Seeing how it's a great way to stand out, our protagonist commissions Filiz to make the uniforms for the team. While the design is similar to the Lolita fashion found in Japan, it still has a great deal of practicality for a soccer game. It is a basic black uniform, with a red strip of fabric running down the left shoulder. The red fabric has white fringes along the side. The girls also have their sleeves cut off, and wear short mini-skirts; a bit contradictory to Lolita fashion, but efficient on the field nonetheless. Using a Shirololi theme for the goalie's uniform is also a nice touch.
Anya's role as the ring leader of misfits is about what you'd expect from any other ring lead from this genre. As a bright an energetic young girl, she is gifted in creating unique solutions to difficult situations. Like a chink in a knight's armor, Anya is written with a few personality flaws, mainly consisting of her pride. It first comes into play when Delia, whom Anya spotted at the Basket Ball court, pops into her meeting. Still hurt from her loss, and knowing full well that Delia is pals with Marie, Anya gives her the cold shoulder. As it turns out, Delia has come per request of the Principal (another surprise) to help her out. Over the course of the next few chapters we see Delia laying down a foundation for the team in ways that Anya did not consider. It is even hinted that this new gig could affect Delia's relationship with her best friend. Anya's pride complicates things even more when two old rivals show up to help. Appearing earlier in the volume, Leon and Kris are two boys that Anya grew up with, and at some point in time they did something that left an emotional scar. Her resentment towards them both makes her put the past before her team. As the second volume gives promise of some explanation, it should be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
For the most part the artwork earns high marks. When it comes to anatomy, facial expressions, or attention to detail, I can see Anike Hage has been winning awards even at a young age. Figuring out who is who on the team can be a bit tricky though, and the character design between Anya and her new rival Marie is a little too close. There are also a few toning issues found every so often. It's most noticeable in the beginning where it looks like Filiz is wearing a strip of toning rather than a frilly shirt underneath a low cut dress.
Tokyo Pop also did a fine job in translating that you almost forget that it was originally in German. There are also a few footnotes which explain the differences between measurements, and the German grading scale. I'm still a bit confused by the school system over there. For example the fact that Anya transferred from a trade school or the fact that Delia is a twenty year old twelfth grader. This reviewer is also happy to note that the front and back of the manga has color pages. something that has been on my wish list for a very long time.
The idea of a group of outcasts banning together to play against the privileged can be considered overplayed here in the US (especially in the story's age bracket), but the subplots that continuously emerge make for some interesting angles, thus keeping the premise from being too generic. Despite issues like toning, Anike Hage did a fairly good job. While it's not the tightest work out there, it does stand head and shoulders above other works done by people in her age bracket. It should be interesting to see how her skills develop over the next few years.
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