VS.アゲイン is a 4-volume manga series by 中馬孝博 about corporate volleyball. (A rare sports series about adults!)
Anyone may join at any time. General spoiler courtesy applies.
I don’t remember how I discovered this series, just that I bought it immediately because it’s a sports series about adults! And adult-adults at that, not college students! Also, volleyball. It’s been sitting in my 積読 for forever despite how much I’ve been looking forward to it because I told myself I’d only read one volleyball manga at a time, and I still haven’t finished アタック!! Well, I have decided that that’s a stupid rule and am starting it now.
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ch 1
挟土繋３３歳。
営業のエースとして働く挟土には実業団バレーボールチームに所属していた過去がある。
勝たなければいけない試合での負けを心の奥にしまって生てきた挟土だが、後輩・蒼井と共に再びコートに立ち、過去を払拭することを選んだ。
That’s the summary for vol 1. I had the impression that the guy in uniform on the cover (Aoi, I assume) was Hasado’s former teammate who pulled him back into playing volleyball, but he didn’t quit?? How is it his past if he’s still on the team. I think I’m a little confused. Is he effectively a ghost member or something?
I guess so, then. Somehow I didn’t think he’d still be allowed to be registered on the team if he never shows, but I don’t know anything about how corporate sports work.
Does it count as a meet-ugly if you arrive to help him out and he immediately puts you in a skimpy cheerleader uniform to sell mint chikuwa to guys. (I still don’t entirely know what a meet-cute or meet-ugly are tbh) Of course, I have no idea if there’s gonna be any amount of romance in this (their meeting in the storeroom kinda feels like it could be a setup for that, though it could just as easily be simply for volleyball), but from ch 1 at least I feel like I probably wouldn’t mind, assuming Miku’s at least mid-20s.
Mint chikuwa though… Ough, that sounds awful. I definitely don’t envy Hasado having to try to sell that at all. (Granted, I am also someone who thinks mint with literally anything other than chocolate sounds awful. I know mint and lime is another classic combo, but ew…)
ch 2
Ah, yup, he never knew Aoi at all, if he only just joined the company this year. Well, I’m not exactly disappointed that it’s not someone from his past who’s dragging him back into volleyball. Kinda seems more fitting this way.
Look at this adorable face though. Aoi’s totally the overgrown puppy type. I love him already. (He can’t tie his tie right though.)
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ch 3
Holy crap. Here I was wondering if Koshino the elder was ever gonna show up. I didn’t expect him to have died!
But Miku clearly doesn’t blame Hasado, even if his old teammates did.
I wonder how much Hasado blames himself, or if he only feels responsible for the loss and nothing beyond that. Drinking was a habit of Koshino’s, after all.
I just realized, when Miku said おじさん (the second time; I’m slow), that nothing actually indicated that Koshino was Miku’s older brother, I just assumed that on my own. And assumed that he and Hasado were the same age. But if he’s Miku’s uncle and Miku’s presumably within a decade younger than Hasado (I still can’t tell how old she’s supposed to be in those flashbacks, but my initial guess was high school), then he was probably older than Hasado, too.
Yup. Of course there’s no way Miku would blame him.
So ネリモ is one kana off from 練り物 and ソウザイコ is one kana off from 惣菜. I wonder if that was the intention behind naming them, especially since both words have to do with food and both companies sell foodstuffs…
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I’m listening to Novelbright’s The Warrior – the OP of リーマンズクラブ – while reading this (I’ve had it on repeat since the end of last month; it’s a very easy song to just leave on repeat), and I kinda feel like it might be fitting for this too.
I’m reeeally not liking this Kishimura kid so far. Since he’s on the team, I hope he gets likable soon.
Huh, I wasn’t aware Ayumi could be a masculine name, but I guess it depends how it’s spelled.
Anyway, that’s the first volume done! I’m definitely enjoying it so far.
