Red Blue - Ch. 209 - Capture Every Moment

[AnelaceFan]

Probably another timeskip incoming for the not-ufc arc?

 

[Henryvolt]

Oh, Orima won but it cost him. Though from what it seems I think he's Okay with that. He might have just gotten the best fight of his life.

 

[Kireato]

I think the pickaxe punch (idfk what to call it) was the one where the guy copying him couldn't figure out. And every now and then he'd throw out a strike that make Suzuki go "huh?"

I think he just spammed his Super too much and learned why it doesn't come in the basic kit.

Sigilbreaker26 covers this, but it's definitely not the same punch. Not the same impact point on the fist, and for this one the fist is straightened.

To be clear, this form of punching has been used, iirc, but I think mostly to generate cuts and get a medical stoppage due to blood blocking vision.

Orima did it because he's naturally inquisitive and was enjoying himself so much he wanted to try it. His other punch uses an unusual hand position too. He was just being too clever for his own good with this one.

Testing new things is great, but you test things in a test environment before going live with it. He knows those bones are smaller and more vulnerable, he should know that bones can be conditioned but it needs to be done progressively. He goes full force in a fight (at the end at least). That's not clever, that's mad.

 

[likv0r]

Ok, this will be an unhinged take, but I’m starting to think the author is actually a genius at subtly showing how destructive attitudes can "spread" from one person to another and negatively affect their long-term careers.

Starting with Coach Tokiwa: since the beginning of the manga, he’s been shown as pretty reckless (and also a drinker), and despite his talent, he essentially wasted his own career (there is that plot-armor win against Azim, but it basically goes nowhere after the time skip).

Initially, that recklessness kind of feels like it matches Aoba’s “hater aura” and makes their duo seem cool. But then it starts translating into questionable managerial decisions that aren’t necessarily good for a fighter in the long run. Letting a 19-year-old with around 3 years of training fight the undefeated champ was a huge gamble. Even Aoba himself was hesitant at first, but Tokiwa pressured the chairman to make the fight happen (which was, BTW, pure power fantasy; look, I told my boss what to do) and essentially transferred some of this recklessness to Aoba (who is more calculating by nature).

Yeah, it made for a great fight, but Aoba took a lot of brain damage. Based on how competitive he already was and how talented he is, giving him another couple of years to fight easier opponents and develop further probably would have let him beat Orima or another champ under much better circumstances.

Then the same destructive energy reaches Orima too. He gets pulled into Aoba’s aura, becomes too careless, and now his main weapon (his right hand) is basically gone. Best case, his UFC career gets delayed; worst case, the injury affects him permanently or even forces him to retire.

So maybe this whole “hate/obsession as the main driver” thing, while presented as a cool character trait, is actually more like what Hazuru called “Aoba’s black hole” (I would also add Tokiwa there too) in Chapter 175: it doesn’t just consume Aoba, but everyone who gets pulled into it. He has already retired Kuresihi from MMA; now Orima is in danger.

 

[Sigilbreaker26]

Ok, this will be an unhinged take, but I’m starting to think the author is actually a genius at subtly showing how destructive attitudes can "spread" from one person to another and negatively affect their long-term careers.

Starting with Coach Tokiwa: since the beginning of the manga, he’s been shown as pretty reckless (and also a drinker), and despite his talent, he essentially wasted his own career (there is that plot-armor win against Azim, but it basically goes nowhere after the time skip).

Initially, that recklessness kind of feels like it matches Aoba’s “hater aura” and makes their duo seem cool. But then it starts translating into questionable managerial decisions that aren’t necessarily good for a fighter in the long run. Letting a 19-year-old with around 3 years of training fight the undefeated champ was a huge gamble. Even Aoba himself was hesitant at first, but Tokiwa pressured the chairman to make the fight happen (which was, BTW, pure power fantasy; look, I told my boss what to do) and essentially transferred some of this recklessness to Aoba (who is more calculating by nature).

Yeah, it made for a great fight, but Aoba took a lot of brain damage. Based on how competitive he already was and how talented he is, giving him another couple of years to fight easier opponents and develop further probably would have let him beat Orima or another champ under much better circumstances.

Then the same destructive energy reaches Orima too. He gets pulled into Aoba’s aura, becomes too careless, and now his main weapon (his right hand) is basically gone. Best case, his UFC career gets delayed; worst case, the injury affects him permanently or even forces him to retire.

So maybe this whole “hate/obsession as the main driver” thing, while presented as a cool character trait, is actually more like what Hazuru called “Aoba’s black hole” (I would also add Tokiwa there too) in Chapter 175: it doesn’t just consume Aoba, but everyone who gets pulled into it. He has already retired Kuresihi from MMA; now Orima is in danger.

I get what you're saying but Aoba was working his way up to this. He beat Yamamoto, widely seen as the gatekeeper to the top of the division, then Kureishi, one of the hottest prospects. This is a regional promotion not a world class one and Aoba isn't getting rushed. The only real problem with Aoba's preparation is how one dimensional he was until like two fights ago. Aoba didn't just get handed this title shot either him or Kenshin were the next logical contender. And honestly he didn't even really get beaten up that badly.

Finally, Kureishi retired for completely different reasons than Orima (if Orima does actually retire). Kureishi just decided he liked grappling more.

 

[Sigilbreaker26]

That's not clever, that's mad.

When I say too clever for his own good I mean Orima was basically extrapolating from his knowledge of anatomy (which is how he developed the spiral adamant) but without considering the fact that people don't punch with the minor knuckles for an extremely good reason. That's what that phrase means it doesn't mean that he wasn't doing something incredibly stupid.