It’s good to see when Ashito and Hana start talking that he doesn’t berate Hana for not telling her she plans to go to Barcelona. Rather he asks her to talk about her time in Spain with Fukuda. We do see some maturity out of Ashito where he takes his health seriously enough. Granted it could be better if he intereacted with others.
As shown before Fukuda had a rough transition coming into Spain. A key example of how prejudice and lack of communication are a big deal. Which we can understand why Fukuda harps on communication so much as a coach. It’s really cool to see how it was through soccer that he got to learn some Spanish through the kids. At the same time he earned their trust through soccer which was his intention coming into Spain.
In the match against Europa it was a pivotal one. Fukuda finally got into the lineup, but it wasn’t until their backs were against the wall that Fukuda finally got an opportunity. He truly made the most of it. It’s pretty interesting the teamwork between Garulla and Fukuda with the former being a veteran who played in clubs outside of Spain. So he was used to issues with communication and like Fukuda just wanted to play and communicate through soccer. Which allowed Fukuda to make the most of this opportunity.
Fukuda’s words to Hiero were pretty significant. Hiero sometimes called Fukuda Chino with no ill intent. From the Spaniard’s view, Asians look similar. But when you look at Chinese, Japanese or Koreans that is very disrespectful. Kids look up to pro players as icons and it’s better to set a role model for them. As players play internationally that means fans will also watch from so many countries. It is an important thing to keep in mind there is more to soccer outside of Spain.
It’s interesting that Hana ended up moving in with Fukuda. When Kinuyo and Hana visited Fukuda is when the spark lifted for him. So it makes sense why Ethan made the request. Having Hana there brought a sense of home for Fukuda and as she loved soccer being around those kids was great for her even if she had trouble understanding the language. They understood each other through soccer. Really showcases the point how sports can have an effect even if there is a language barrier.
When both Morino and Saejima who were both Japanese that Fukuda had history with it brought an interesting conversation to the table. As the flashback has shown it is in Spanish culture to invest in kids who play soccer. Which is foreign in Japan where the expenses are shouldered by the parents which we saw in the beginning of the series with Noriko and why Ashito has so much pressure on him. It really raises the point that Fukuda made that Ashito’s mindset would have been perfect for Spain soccer more than Japan Soccer.
One thing that we noticed was that Fukuda was obsessed with soccer. To a degree that was very noticeable to Morino. Perhaps this is the connection that Hana worries for Ashito. It looks like a pivotal moment will be shown in the next volume.
Through Kuribayashi and Akutsu’s conversation at the end of the volume we see an example of what if a Japanese kid was scouted for soccer in Spain. Of course they would want to invest in him, but that would require Kuribayashi living in Spain. Of course for Kuribayashi he didn’t think much of soccer. Curious how long Kuribayashi stayed in Spain. Curious that is where his encounter with Daiman was. Interesting to learn they were both foreigners to Spain and how these two left a big impression on each other.
