Giant Killing - Episode 6

After all of the excitement of the friendly against Tokyo Victory and the final choice of captain for East Tokyo United done and dusted, episode six of Giant Killing largely concerns itself with more mundane matters, namely media events to keep the sponsors happy.

Needless to say, Tatsumi isn't exactly excited at the thought of taking part in such an event, but nonetheless he finds himself dragged their to play his part (albeit without the expected suit), cropping up to deliver a Jose Mourinho-esque appraisal of what both himself and his side will achieve during the season to come, leaving the majority shocked and the journalists excited to have such an outgoing individual in the limelight.


With his little speech out of the way, Tatsumi ends up sneaking out of the event alongside another manager - A slightly oddball Frenchman who turns out to be Japan's national team coach, but who reminded me a little more of France manager Raymond Domenech... well, okay, the manager in Giant Killing isn't quite that bonkers. Anyhow, come the end of the episode we see the season proper kick off with ETU's first league game, but it isn't looking like the luckiest of starts for the supposedly lucky Tatsumi as we close out this instalment.

I can't really dress this particular episode up as anything other than the weakest offering this series has brought us so far, with the encounter between Tatsumi and national team coach feeling forced and the lack of actual football action proving to be rather frustrating, teasing us only with the final minutes and that big opening game. Still, I'm continuing to enjoy watching Tatsumi doing his thing, as he seems to behave more and more like the aforementioned Mr. Mourinho by the week. He certainly isn't the kind of character everyone will like, but you can't help but have a grudging respect for the guy, especially if his arrogance proves to be well-founded as the season progresses.