All right. Captain Tsubasa 102 takes us to the semi-finals. Now, please understand that I am recalling scenes from a show I saw three years ago. I'm sure I'm fairly accurate...after all, this is one of my favorite anime of all time. But some of the tiny scenes may be out of order...I'm pretty sure they're not. Heh heh heh...

The semi-finals include 4 teams....Nankatsu is picked to play against Jun Misugi's team...(can't remember the name...ugly uniforms), and Meiwa is playing against Furano. Hikaru Matsuyama, the captain of Furano, is not particularly fond of Hyuga kun...they had a rather violent encounter earlier, when Matsuyama kun accidentally bumped into Hyuga kun and was hit by the boy for his clumsiness. Naturally, Matsuyama kun is more than a little interested in getting revenge. So the Meiwa/Furano game begins, with Tsubasa and the rest of Nankatsu watching.

All right. I'll tell you right now...this game features some very bad sportsmanship, and surprisingly enough, a good amount of it is incited by Matsuyama kun. The captain of Furano is injured at one point, but is holding his own...and he has a reaaally mean plan. You see, Meiwa is a team that relies solely on its strongest player--Hyuga kun. On the other hand, Furano is famous for its teamwork. And Matsuyama kun has a very nice plan...to have his teammates try to tire out Hyuga kun. And it works...the captain of Meiwa is so worn out from chasing Furano all around that he is at the point of collapse by halftime. Only Misaki kun notices Hyuga kun's sudden weakness from the crowd...but he doesn't say anything yet...

At halftime, Kozo asks Takeshi to help Hyuga kun out, since he is not doing too well. Takeshi agrees to this, remembering how much his captain has helped him and his own family in the past. You see...Hyuga kun is actually a pretty nice person...he works to support his financially unstable family and defended Takeshi from a lot of insults...(and now we see why he needs that scholarship...)....kawaisou....

The game resumes. Matsuyama kun's injuries worsen, and thanks to a few yellow cards, the game is very close. It doesn't look good for Meiwa, however...because their strongest player is almost completely incapacitated. Meiwa gets another yellow card, and Hyuga kun nearly goes into shock at the thought of losing. (And that woman from Toho is watching him sympathetically with binoculars...why doesn't she just pay admission like a normal person...?) However, just as Matsuyama kun is about to use his free kick...a voice comes from the crowd, requesting that he be substituted into the game...

Here's where it starts getting good...well, the crowd parts and out comes that weird long-haired guy, now wearing a Meiwa uniform! He inserts himself into the game by force....^_^...and then we finally learn his name--Ken Wakashimazu. Matsuyama kun tries not to be intimidated by him...but when he finally tries to score, Wakashimazu catches the ball easily. (Wheee!) Now it's up to Hyuga kun to score the winning goal...and he runs across the field madly, plowing through everybody, including Matsuyama kun, who REALLY cannot handle pain...(....) Hyuga kun manages to score, then collapses in front of his teammates.(sniff).

Meanwhile, Tsubasa is rather impressed, after hearing from Misaki kun that Hyuga kun was feeling sick for most of the game. So he gains two things....a new respect for Hyuga kun and a new challenge from scary freak Ken Wakashimazu. (heeh...I do love Wakashimazu sama, but he really IS a scary freak!)

Now...on to the next game. Tsubasa is approached by Yayoi, Misugi's wanna-be girlfriend. (Of course, Tsubasa's wanna-be girlfriend Sanae is not too pleased that everybody thinks Yayoi is prettier than her..!) It seems that Yayoi knew Tsubasa before--she was the red-haired girl chasing after Tsubasa's moving van--and now she has a favor to ask of Tsubasa. Jun Misugi...has a heart condition. He has vowed to give up soccer after beating Tsubasa, and now Yayoi is kindly asking Tsubasa to throw the game. Tsubasa is...very reluctant. And shocked. Oh, by the way, if you're starting to feel sorry for Misugi, don't. As soon as he found out that Yayoi told Tsubasa about his heart condition, he slapped her! (In case you haven't noticed, I really, really do not like Misugi. He is annoying and all the girls always go on about how handsome he is, even though he isn't anything special. Just my opinion...^_-) So...the game goes on.

Now....I am very sorry, my friends...but I was forced to GO TO SCHOOL so I could not see most of this game! But Tsubasa is very rattled by Misugi's heart condition...so rattled that he cannot play. He falls to his knees in despair, and then Wakabayashi arrives...kindly kicks a ball into his stomach and yells at him for letting him down. (Jerk. And nice lime green shirt.) Tsubasa is chewed out by both Roberto and Sanae, and finally Misaki kun gives him the courage to continue. Nankatsu wins(of course), and Misugi, being carried on a stretcher, thanks Tsubasa for the game. Hmph. I'm almost glad I missed most of it.

Now...the next episode, which I saw on Labor Day, should be titled "Genzo Wakabayashi is a Great Big Jerk". He has recovered enough to play in the final against Meiwa...and is very enthusiastic about getting revenge on Hyuga kun. Unfortunately for him, he discovers through Misaki kun that his rival may be too sick to play in the final game. This is bad news for Meiwa as well, and Wakashimazu takes Takeshi outside at night for some...special training. (And now, we get to see how Wakashimazu sama yells at people! ^_^)... Wakabayashi kun tries to go into the infirmary and rough up Hyuga kun, but his coach stops him. He is not pleased. Subdued, Nankatsu's goalkeeper leaves.... And Kozo waits in the infirmary, watching over the ailing Hyuga kun...(sniff).... Miraculously, Hyuga kun does recover by morning, and there is a cute little scene with him talking to his teammates...he really is a nice guy after all, when he's not flattening people...^_^ Tsubasa meets him on the field, and is very happy to see him well...

All right. This is it. The final game. Unfortunately, my evil VCR would not let me tape any of these...and I was in school, so I missed almost the entire thing! I am sad. But I will try to give out some little details I do know...(sighs)...all right. Well...Tsubasa gets injured. Misaki gets injured. Wakabayashi is still injured, and he runs out of the goal at one point..I think he scored. This just in: Thanks to some outside help, I have discovered that Wakabayashi...didn't score. Heh. Keep in mind that I saw this show when I was 15, and I'm 19 now. Hyuga kun cuts his forehead on the ball(!)...he actually looked like he enjoyed that one! Wakashimazu reveals just how weird he really is...he knows karate...! Sugoi...! (Remember this. Important plot point)....I did see the final episode of the game, though. You see...Wakashimazu gets really angry, and runs out of the goal so he can score. (and nobody will pass him the ball).... The badly injured Wakabayashi cannot defend Nankatsu's goal...so when the other team's goalie jump-kicks the ball(....), cute little Misaki jumps to head it out of the goal...and smashes his forehead into the goalpost. An enraged Tsubasa converses briefly with his barely-conscious friend, and then charges at Meiwa's goal. Takeshi is so frightened by Tsubasa's transformation that he is rooted to the spot...while Hyuga kun and Wakashimazu sama run like mad to defend their goal. Too late...Tsubasa plows right past Hyuga kun, and wins the game...

After the closing ceremony, Tsubasa discovers something. Roberto is missing... He runs to the airport to see his mentor's plane fly off. Roberto has left without him...he was torn about his decision to take Tsubasa from his home at such an early age... And the first storyline ends, with Tsubasa standing in the airport, crying....

I think there may have been a few episodes after that before the next storyline started...but I missed them. But here's some important information. Wakabayashi kun has left for Germany...Misaki has moved away from Nankatsu...Hyuga kun was given the scholarship to Toho, after all.... Four years pass, and thus begins Captain Tsubasa 201!