Eyeshield 21: Difference between revisions

In short order, Sena was discovered to be a fast and agile runner, trained by a lifetime of running from (and running errands for) bullies. In addition to his team secretary duties, he was quickly [[Deal with the Devil|recruited]] to be the team's starting running back by the team's captain: demonic Youichi Hiruma. To keep him from becoming a recruitment target for every other club in the school, he was given a secret identity: Eyeshield 21, the mysterious hero from Notre Dame, who always plays wearing a helmet with a dark green eyeshield.

 

 

On the way, they [[Underdogs Never Lose|win a bunch of games]], they [[Averted Trope|lose a bunch of games]], create [[The Rival|fierce but friendly rivalries]], [[Coming of Age Story|learn epic manliness]], and generally get ordered around by the whims of their [[Devil in Plain Sight|captain]].

The manga has now ended, after 333 chapters.

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** Sena's speed comes from years of evading bullies and running errands for them. Which is actually kind of depressing....

** Monta first caught Sena's attention by catching an errant ball.

** Furthermore is Ikari, who joined the team after three suspensions from school in order to defend the football team's glory, what with the golden age having graduated.

* [[A-Cup Angst]]: Suzuna. She's ''very sensitive'' about this.

* [[Affably Evil]]: Marco. There's no two ways about it, whether he's on your team or not, Marco's a decidedly sinister guy who likes to drink soda, share it with anyone he talks with, and likes to wear Armani suits....

* [[All There in the Manual]]: Some biographical info (like relative intelligence amongst the Devil Bats, the full names of the main American players) were only/first revealed in the manga compilations' "side" pages.

* [[Always Identical Twins]]

* [[Arc Number]]: 21 of course. It's in the title and on the jersey of the hero, and becoming the real Eyeshield 21 is the ultimate personal goal of the protagonist. However, it also pops up more often than any other number. Sena's testing number in the first chapter, and Hiruma winning money to return from America with games of blackjack are obvious examples. Even Yamato's prediction of 42-0 could be interpreted as 2 * 21 = 42. Another example could be Hiruma and Agon combining for the Flying Dragon at the beginning of the final volume. Their jersey numbers are 1 and 2 respectively. Sena's birth date also falls on December 21.

* [[Art Evolution]]: The style starts off rather rough and sketchy, with character designs leaning more towards cartoon-ish and perspective being more exaggerated. In general, the characters were more lanky and angular. As the series went on, the style became more conventionally shonen, with smoother, more serious looking re-designs and beefier bodies. Nearly all the characters got more attractive without losing what made them distinctive.

** Hiruma's philosophy on football and everything else.

** Seibu is also primarily focused on offense, to the point of packing no defensive power whatsoever. They get by on their ability to score pretty much at will, but they give up points to even the weakest teams.

** Ojou and Taiyou invert this by focusing entirely on defense. Taiyou in particular uses the mighty Pyramid Line to compensate for their quarterback's moderate talent.

* [[Audible Sharpness]]

** Hiruma can analyze his enemies and come up with 18 different strategies at same time, even under severe pressure. Yukimitsu can analyze and discover the enemy's formation's weak-point and can make the best use of it. Mamori created a sign language so she could communicate the things she observes about the opponent's formations from the bench.

** Parodied by Sasuke Kanagushi of the Dokubari Scorpions; by paying attention to tiny details in their positions, he can accurately predict the movements of the opposing team. However, against Hiruma, as Takami says: "His enemy's just [[Magnificent Bastard|plain too evil.]]" Hiruma tricks him, using ''[[It Makes Sense in Context|blush and lipstick]]''.

** Heinrich Schultz of the German team goes the extra mile by memorizing every last little detail about a player so that the can reliably predict their actions when he goes against them.

* [[Bald Black Leader Guy]]: Banba looks and acts the part to the Sphinx, despite apparently being Japanese.

* [[Bandaged Face]]

** Despite being the leaders on the opposite sides of the spectrum for their consideration on talent, Agon and Hiruma are a very effective combination. Agon who runs on pure reaction is complemented perfectly by Hiruma who works on the opposite, pure mental ability. Despite their abhorrence of each other, they work together far better than any other combination of characters on EVERY TEAM.

** There's also Sena and Monta, and more literally Unsui and Agon.

* [[Becoming the Mask]]: Sena, from a coward gopher runt into a determined running-back like he was touted as.

* [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]]: Mid-series, it is [[Ship Tease|implied]] that Hiruma and Mamori may be like this (however by the end of the series they bicker [[Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other|considerably less]]).

** Be prepared to face an enraged Ikari if you insult ANY of the Ojou White Knights. [[Hair-Trigger Temper|And the fact that he quickly assumes the worst]] when people are talking about ANYTHING doesn't help at all.

** And be prepared to face an enraged Tetsuma if you hurt Kid. Similarly, don't call Tetsuma an idiot in front of Kid. This enough to piss him off, and make him drop his [[Obfuscating Stupidity|lazy, uninterested facade]] for an instant.

** Let's not talk about Suzuna's [[A-Cup Angst|bust]], or [[The Napoleon|height]]. In general, [[Older Than They Look|don't talk about her child-like features.]] [[Unstoppable Rage|It's safer]] [[Hilarity Ensues|that way]]. [[What an Idiot!|Then again, her brother often forgets about this.]]

** [[Cool and Unusual Punishment|Shaving Agon's head.]] More generally, showing him that there's somebody better than him out there or ignoring him completely.

** Played a little straight with Sena; he might be a coward, but piss him enough by insulting his teammate and you'll pay a big price.

** Kurita is one too. No, not that he has a dark side or anything; Kurita's simply ''too'' nice of a guy [[Does Not Know His Own Strength|who doesn't know his own strength when it comes to personal interaction (especially hugging.)]] And when he's excited enough on field, [[The Juggernaut|you don't want to face him.]]

** Takami, who is generally a really swell guy. It's just that occasionally he really just gets into the zone, and he can be very intimidating at those times.

** Kurita, who is actually gigantically fat, although most linemen (especially the bigger ones) are like this.

** One of the "Devil Bat Spy" bits claimed that Mamori can out-eat Kurita, but only when it comes to cream puffs. Considering Kurita once ate A HUNDRED OF THEM, that would be no small feat. Of course, it could be a fabrication, but she's rumored to be quite crazy about them...

* [[Big Game]]: Arguably Christmas Bowl, although the games before it had this feel to them, like the matches against Shinryuuji and Ojou.

* [[Bishie Sparkle]]: Parodied on Taki. Played straight on Kisaragi. Also briefly parodied on Monta when filming the video sent to America.

** Kiminari Harao, quarterback of the Taiyo Sphinx, is androgynous-looking and wears an Egyptian-style skirt ''on the field'', and his entire team wears eye makeup. He also gets more chocolate from girls on Valentine's Day than anyone else in the tournament. He also has the 2nd most friends out of anybody in the tournament, after [[The Heart|Suzuna]].

** Kisaragi from the Hakushuu Dinosaurs, who is downright beautiful in the most feminine way possible. When the team manager, Maria, steps into the showers to talk to Marco, while the other guys hide their genitals, Kisargi hides ''his chest.''

* [[Blood Knight]]: Gaou Rikiya defines this trope; He finds the very concept of "holding back" completely alien and perplexing. At the same time, he will absolutely never break the rules while on the field. Quarterback gets rid of the ball .1 seconds before Gaoh smashes them? Gaoh doesn't smash them. Kid and Hiruma also note that this trait makes him even more dangerous than he might initially appear.

* [[A Bloody Mess]]: [http://www.mangareader.net/134-7039-2/eyeshield-21/chapter-264.html Hiruma returning from an injury during the Hakushuu game].

** Gaou as well started to be like this.

* [[Book Ends]]: The first and last chapters have similar color spreads that show the growth of the players through the series.

* [[Boring Invincible Hero]]: Initially subverted - the Devil Bats win against teams who are genuinely worse than them, and lose against the better ones. Played straight in the Kanto Tournament arc. Deimon ''always'' trails the team they're facing at half time, only to come back in the 2nd half and win.

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]: Almost ''everyone'' in this manga is a [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]]. Hiruma's over-the-top devilish attitude; Sena's cowardice; Taki's idiocy; Mamori's overprotective tendencies, her bad art and her love for cream puffs; Monta's resemblance to a monkey; Shin's training habits and poor luck with technology; Kisaragi's obsession with strength, and so on.

* [[Busman's Vocabulary]]: Action movie star Bud Walker seems to think he's constantly filming a movie, if all the jargon he spouts is any indication.

** A minor one also came sometime before the Hakushuu game. For one of the chapters, we were given a full-color two-page spread of what all the characters were up to. ''Agon'' was shown to actually be training, struggling to do push-ups while Yamabushi sat on his back. This is a call back to an earlier chapter where someone mentions Unsui trains till he bleeds (while showing Unsui doing ''one handed'' push ups with Yamabushi on his back) and Agon has never had to work for anything.

** An additional one occurs just before the {{spoiler|Japan/USA game}}. Back in Las Vegas, Monta and Sena killed their amazing winning streak by betting everything on Red 21, which are the Devilbat's main color and Eyeshield's number, respectively. Fast forward to Yamato confronting {{spoiler|Mr. Don}} at a casino, betting on red. This time, the ball lands on Red 21.

* [[Camp Gay]]: Sanzo, so much. Crossdresses, wears make up, and is called the "Queen of Shinryuuji".

* [[Captain Ethnic]]: In the last [[Tournament Arc]], many of the foreign players shaped up to be this, from the cold, ruthless Heinrich Schultz from Germany to the gigantic Olympic weightlifter Rodchenko from Russia.

** "Now I remember, this is pain!" says Sena, "It hurts!"

* [[Cast of Snowflakes]]: Especially considering that given the sport, characters have some of their most important moments in helmets and padded uniforms. Despite this, each character is easily distinguishable.

* [[Censor Box]]: Hiruma's cheerful exchange with Apollo before the NASA Shuttles game is completely in English and almost completely covered with the Shounen Jump logo.

* [[Character Development]]: One of the big draws of the series is the fact that almost every main character gets at least some.

** Sena's speed and near-inhuman footwork came from constant training... via running errands and evading bullies for 10 years.

** Monta's incredible catching ability came from 10 years of training only in catching, [[Running Gag|which is why his throws are sooo bad....]]

** Unsui was born without natural talent, and is called the strongest average person, a title he gained through intense training.

* [[Charlie Brown From Outta Town]]: Number 88 on the Japanese world cup team is bandaged like a mummy, but is stated to be a familiar character choosing to obscure their identity for some reason. {{spoiler|It was Rui Habashira}}.

** Taken to nearly literal extremes by {{spoiler|the 60-Yard Magnum.}}

** Remember all the way back in the first chapters when Hiruma says he broke his 40 yard dash record? His running a 5.1 instead of a 5.2 ends up being one of the deciding factors {{spoiler|against Shinryuuji.}}

** {{spoiler|And the pop quiz}} that Hiruma gives Mamori and {{spoiler|the bet he almost loses}} comes back more than 200 chapters later.

** Subverted with the {{spoiler|Chris Cross}} play first shown as a card at a rest stop during the Death March. The play was called their trump card when fighting the {{spoiler|Teikoku Alexanders}} (around 200 chapters later), with Sena and Monta as the pair running in the play. {{spoiler|They screw up and fumble the ball, with the Alexanders gaining possession.}} Played straight later on in the same game when Hiruma {{spoiler|turns it into the Evil Cross, one of the most [[Mind Screw|Mind Screwing]] plays in the entire series, second only to the Dragon Fly.}} Later, it's used by Hiruma [[spoiler|and Agon]] in the match against {{spoiler|America}} in the World Cup.

** Musashi was initially introduced as the carpenter working on the club house long before {{spoiler|he was revealed as one of the founding members of the Deimon Devil Bats, and their ex-kicker.}}

** {{spoiler|Marco}} also seemed to be of little consequence at first, appearing no more important than the other throwaway captains in the Kanto tournament. In fact, {{spoiler|the Dinosaurs}} as a team are first mentioned as early as chapter 52 when they're listed with a bunch of other teams. While the other teams end up not having any significance at all, they advance to the Kanto finals.

** For that matter, the Ha-Ha Brothers, who first appeared as the nameless bullies antagonizing Sena in the first chapter before ending up (unwillingly {{spoiler|at first}}) joining the team later.

** Subverted by Miyake, one of the students who tried out for the team at the same time as Yukimitsu and Komusubi; Introduced with [[Boss Subtitles]], given a motivation, close-ups... ''clearly'' this guy is going to be important, right? Nah. He washed out of the tryouts during the Hell Tower phase, and now he's just a comic background character who hangs out with [[Jerk Jock]] soccer player Muro.

* [[Club President]]

* [[Cluster F-Bomb]]: Hiruma calls practically everyone "fucking (something)", with "something" usually being a slightly demeaning nickname such as fatass, shrimp, baldie, or idiot. A more extreme example is when Monta nearly got himself ejected from the Tokyo tournament via yelling at a referee before Tetsuma intervened; Hiruma proceeded to unload a machine gun onto Monta while sprinkling him liberally with "fucking"s.

* [[Co-Dragons]]: [[The Juggernaut|Gaou]] (Line) and [[In Love with Your Carnage|Kisaragi]] (CB) to [[Manipulative Bastard|Marco]] (QB/Safety/Team Captain) of the Hakushuu Dinosaurs.

* [[Cool Big Sis]]: Mamori, at least for Monta, Sena and Suzuna. Maruko Himuro is implied to be one, too.

* [[Cowardly Lion]]: Sena. He'll run at the first sight of trouble, but if his friends (or team) in danger, he'll run ''straight at the problem.'' [[Jerk Jock|Agon]] [[Eyeshield 21/Awesome|learned that the hard way.]]

* [[Crash Into Hello]]: Sena met Suzuna this way. Played differently in that Sena deliberately threw himself in Suzuna's way to catch her when she was jumping, something she worked out the second time it happened.

** Hiruma, who could unnerve an American soldier when he was just in elementary school. Talk about a [[Magnificent Bastard]] in training...

** And then Gaou, who crushed a car that hit him at elementary school age.

* [[Crippling Overspecialization]]: Both played straight and inverted; the only thing Monta's good at is catching. This makes him bad at baseball, his favorite sport, but he's a spectacular reciever in American football.

** {{spoiler|The all-stars also made quick work of Militaria and won by a decent margin against Germany. The fact that both of these victories happened in the same chapter is a testament to that}}.

** This also happened in the Tokyo Tournament. The most prominent is the match between Amino Cyborgs and Deimon Devilbats. The scientifically advanced, calculating, purported "Tournament Stormers", the Amino Cyborgs, got trounced 38-8 by the [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits|Deimon Devilbats]]. To be fair, the Devil Bats spent all summer on the Death March...

* [[Delinquents]]: The "Ha-Ha Brothers", the Zokugaku Chameleons (''every last one of them'' has a motorcycle) and the Dokubari Scorpions. And Ikari, from Ojou, who's so rowdy his teammates hold him in ''chains''. He's only ever missed practice twice... because he was ''under house arrest''.

* [[Demoted to Extra]]: Ishimaru's plainness has become a running gag in the series, and is especially prevalent after the second popularity contest; He came in 9th in the first, and 21st in the second. Sure, he's second string, but Yukimitsu gets more screen time, and he doesn't even play!. Adding insult to injury, a survey posed to fans pitted Ishimaru versus Unsui, asking who was more forgettable. Ishimaru won by a fair margin, with the victory caption reading 'His presence is faint!'

** Not the typical shounen manga example, but Yukimitsu has the highest determination stat out of anyone in the team. With it, he's eventually able to overtake ''Agon''. Without it, he wouldn't be on the team at all.

** Shin. Oh, boy. When the White Knights go to dinner to celebrate their victory against the Punks, Shin does one handed chin-ups instead of eating. Later on he manages to reach Sena's speed of 40 yards in 4.2 seconds, just to be able to compete with him.

** Many of the characters, especially for the Devilbats, get their [[Determinator]] moments. The line "I'll do it even if it kills me!" shows up a lot. Even Hiruma gets his [[Determinator]] moment when he returns to the game after having his throwing arm broken.

* [[Devil in Plain Sight]]: Hiruma Youichi. [[Meaningful Name|"Devil In Broad Daylight"]] indeed.

** In Chpt. 317, Mr. Don drinks, and he, with Clifford and Hiruma, all (supposedly) 18, are gambling in a casino. In New York. While there are casinos in New York, only an unlicensed, illegal casino would be likely to let them in.

** It's hard to be sure sure which part of Houston Panther lives in, but the number of neighborhoods in the greater area that look that much like Brooklyn are somewhere near zero. Funnily enough, it's mentioned in one of the collected volumes that Murata, Inagaki, and their editor went to the U.S. specifically do to some research on architecture and that sort of thing -- apparently they just scoped out the wrong locations.

* {{spoiler|[[Distant Finale]]: The last chapter of the manga takes place two years later, and shows the cast entering college.}}

* [[Down to the Last Play]]

* [[Dramatic Wind]]

** "Sgt." Gomery from Militaria, right down to calling people "maggots" and such. Because American Football is '''''war''''', maggot, do you understand me? And cut that hair, boy!

** Then we've got the Chameleon's manager, Megumi Tsuyumine. She makes everyone in her team practice through force and intimidation.

** Hiruma often does this when necessary.

** Otawara, in many ways. For one thing, he's barely literate. For another thing, he [[Fan Disservice|frequently forgets to dress his lower half]].

** Taiyou's offensive linemen, barring Banba, aren't so bright themselves.

** Tatanka probably qualifies as well; after learning several foreign languages in an attempt to emulate Mr. Don, he discovered he'd somehow become worse at speaking English.

* [[Education Mama]]: Yukimitsu's mother

* [[Elaborate University High]]

** The Hakushuu Dinosaurs could be seen as this to the Devil-Bats as a whole. Both are darkhorse teams run by [[Manipulative Bastard|Manipulative Bastards]] and based around a few key players, and are willing to do just about anything to get to the top.

* [[Evil Laugh]]: Kekekekekeke...

** When he got tackled by Agon near the sidelines, after Hiruma's [[Eyeshield 21/Awesome|fake spike trick play]], Monta yelled, "CATCH MAXXX!!", which Agon responded, "It's useless, the ball is in your hand already. Your dream is over now!" {{spoiler|It's revealed that [[Eyeshield 21/Awesome|he had actually tried to grab the SIDELINE,]] forcing the clock to be set back and allowing the Devil Bats one more chance to pull ahead and win.}}

** In the game against the White Knights in the Kantou Tournament semifinal, the White Knights, with only one minute left, send their strongest runner, [[The Juggernaut|Shin,]] to score a touchdown. Sena is benched with an injury, and as a replacement, they call in [[Weak but Skilled|Yukimitsu.]] Yukimitsu clearly can't stop Shin, since he's the weakest of the Devil Bats, and really, ''no one'' can stop Shin. With three seconds left in the game, Yukimitsu, instead of trying to hold Shin back, ''[[What the Hell, Hero?|pushes him into the endzone.]]'' Then it's revealed, {{spoiler|Ojou's plan was to score ''right as time ran out,'' leaving Deimon no time to catch up. Yukimitsu realized this, and ''saved'' Deimon, by giving them [[Down to the Last Play|the one second they needed to mount a comeback.]] [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|And they did it.]]}} As Shin said, "Even though you're an enemy, that's... ''[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|magnificent.]]''"

** Ikkyu seems to be based on [[Dragon Ball|Vegeta]], having the exact same hairdo, having a similar short stature, and being similarly [[Pride|prideful]].

** Possibly Kobanzame from the Kyoshin Poseidons. He has a slightly longer-than average nose, lies about his confidence and abilities on a regular basis, claims any good idea that comes up is his, is [[Improbable Aiming Skills|incredibly accurate]] (albeit only over short distances), secretly has absolutely no self-esteem, believes that he is holding all of his friends back but is too terrified of being alone/loves the team so much that he simply ''[[Determinator|will not quit]]'', and is good at his job precisely ''because'' he's a horrible coward. Sounds very similar to [[Cowardly Lion|Usopp]] from [[One Piece]], doesn't it?

** President Arnold Oberman is literally Arnold Schwarzenegger with a different last name.

** The manager for the Yuuhi Guts is a basically just a female Domon Kasshu.

** Sena starts out as this, but he's surprisingly [[Accidental Athlete|good at this job.]] Though the "fake ultimate hero" angle mostly comes from the badass persona Hiruma had cultivated around Eyeshield 21.

** Sakuraba also starts as one (thanks to a certain Model Company), but he nearly trains himself to death to improve his skills. It works.

** Kiminari Harao of the Taiyo Sphinx. He's an at-best average player who relies entirely on his team's powerful offensive line and secretly knows he's not his team's real ace.

** The running gag of Otawara's frequently missing pants complete with frequent farts. On top of that, at one point he dons a maid's uniform (alongisde Sakuraba, who can actually pull it off). [[It Makes Sense in Context]].

* [[Fan Service]]: The various cheerleading teams, most especially the Devil Bats, Wild Gunmen and Poseidons. For female readers, the fabulously fit athletes working out and sometimes removing their shirts.

* [[Fission Mailed]]: When the team loses the Fall Tournament semifinal, [[Tear Jerker|everyone breaks down in tears]], until Hiruma reveals the consolation game.

* [[Five-Man Band]]: Many.

** Deimon:

*** The Big Guy: Ootawara

*** The Smart Guy: Takami

*** Sixth Ranger: Ikari (who plays [[The Big Guy]] with Ootawara)

*** [[Tagalong Kid]]: Torakichi

*** The Smart Guy: Heracles (being the team captain)

*** The Chick: Karin

* [[Foe-Tossing Charge]]:

** Otawara in the first Ojou/Deimon game.

** This is Gaou's ''modus operandi'' when playing offense--the Hakyuushuu Dinosaurs run a north-south game wherein they basically follow Gaou, who runs over and through anyone who gets in his way. [[Worthy Opponent|Until Kurita, anyway.]]

** Sena's test number for the Deimon entrance exam? 021.

** Whenever a supposedly "insignificant" off comment is made about a team, it always comes true (unless it's said by Onihei of course). For example, in chapter 19, Agon predicts Ojou can only make it to 4th at best. Ojou got 3rd in the Kanto tournament, and ''4th overall''. One random member of the Dinosaurs suggested "they should just aim for 3rd", which is what Hakushuu ended up getting.

* [[Forgotten Childhood Friend]]: Riku

* [[Four Is Death]]: Yamato's prediction for the game against Teikoku is 42-0, as 42 is pronounced as shi-ni in japanese, which is a homophone of "to die". Additionally, chapter 4 of the series is appropriately titled "Kill 'em".

* [[Freudian Excuse]]: Less than you'd think.

** There is no explanation what so ever for Agon's behaviour - [[For the Evulz|the man is just plain evil.]]

** [[Blood Knight|Gaou seems to break bones for the fun of it.]]

** It is hinted that Hiruma {{spoiler|has a far from normal relationship with his father}}, but it doesn't explain his manipulative, borderline sadistic, nature at all.

* [[Fun with Foreign Languages]]: The NASA Aliens' Gonzales brothers have some interesting kanji tattoos due to Watt's cluelessness regarding the language. More specifically, the older Gonzales' tattoo reads "Big Shit" (which is somewhat appropriate) and the younger one's reads "Piss."

* [[Gecko Ending]]: The anime got one after the final battle between the Devil Bats and the White Knights. They skipped directly to a [[Distant Finale]], without even ''pretending'' the tournament was over.

** Kisaragi's given name, "Hiromi", is almost always a girl's name, which fits in pretty well with his overall feminine aesthetic.

** Maruko "Marco" Reiji and Himuro Maruko; In Marco's case, it's deliberately referred to and the reason he insists on being known by his nickname... and on calling Hirumo "Maria."

** Many of the power players, like Shin or Banba, are implied to be this, having good grades while also being tremendously physically powerful. But the most promninent might be Hayato Akaba, ace Tight-End of the Bando Spiders, who spends most of his time as technical advisor for his team due to tournament rules, and manages to ''analyze the movemements of all of the opposing players and share it with his team''. He still manages to throw ''[[The Big Guy|Kurita]]'' with relative ease.

* [[Genius Ditz]]: Taki's math ability ends at the six times table (his other academic abilities are about the same level), but if a question is phrased in American football terms, he will answer it correctly without fail.

* [[Genre Savvy]]: Kid likes to quote, [[Tempting Fate|"Something bad will happen after something so good"]] and vice versa. It ''always'' happens.

* [[Gentle Giant]]: Kurita. Yamabushi as well, unless your name is Ikkyu.

** Mostly verbal. Takami did the straight [[Armor-Piercing Slap]], though, as well as the Ha Ha Bros literally kicking some sense into Komusubi.

** When [[Jerkass|Harao]] begin to chide his teammates for their failures, [[The Stoic|Banba]] calls him out, pointing out his shortcomings as a quarterback.

* [[Going Commando]]: There's an [[Omake]] devoted to how much of an average day Otawara spends without underwear. Apparently he frequently forgets it while changing in the locker room.

* [[Gonk]]: The linemen of the Taiyo Sphinx (barring Banba), especially the incredibly squat and wide Niinobu Kasamatsu, who looks positively inhuman.

* [[Good Eyes, Evil Eyes]]: Shun Kakei's "fox eyes", though he just really hates Eyeshield posers.

** Although words like "tacchidaun!" can't be avoided, Hiruma's "fakkin" nicknames are just part of his charm.

** In the dub, having Americans like the NASA Aliens call football "American Football".

* [[Gratuitous French]]: Taki tends to say "Monsieur" instead of "-san".

** The manga gets the rules of American Football ''mostly'' right, but players [[Unnecessary Roughness|often perform acts violent enough that in any real game a referee would be jumping in]]. Much more prominent in the anime, especially when it's in filler.

** Another clear example is when Kamagaruma uses the Chariot Bump at one point to try and keep Monta from catching a long pass, which is clear pass interference.

** Also subverted at the end of the Seibu game. {{spoiler|On the Devil Bats' all-or-nothing onside kick, Monta rips the ball out of Tetsuma's hands, but his shoulders had already hit the ground. All of the Devil Bats get mega pumped and start opening up paths for Monta to block, creating problems for those familiar with football rules. However, the ref calls the play down where Tetsuma was down, meaning the Gunmen retain posession. And the Devil Bats lose the game.}}

* [[Groupie Brigade]]: Sakubara's fans before his [[Important Haircut]].

** The Yuuhi Guts, who work super hard but are still a below-average team.

** The Zokugaku Chameleons, who trained long and hard all summer for the fall tournament, but lost in the second round.

** Subverted with the Devil Bats as a whole, though. There are numerous scenes where they're shown pushing themselves at practice, and that's not even counting the Death March. Subverted especially in case of Sena and Monta, as their hard works paid off in awesome way with Sena's amazing footwork and speed, and Monta's ability to "read" and "listen" to the ball, making him able to predict ball movement.

* [[He Also Did]]: Sort of. Series artist Yusuke Murata sent Robot Master submissions that got made into [[Mega Man 5|Crystal Man]] and [[Mega Man 4|Dust Man]] when he was in grade school.

** Kurita, after Gaou breaks Hiruma's arm, sending him out of the game [[Ten-Minute Retirement|for about one quarter and halftime]]. He even loses the ability to understand Komusubi, signifying that he was no longer a strong man.

** Komusubi, at one point, felt that his lack of height had become too great a liabiliy, especially since the players and even the ''cheerleaders'' of the Kyoshin Poseidons were exceptionally tall. It takes [[Epiphany Therapy|some talk from Sena]] and the Ha-Ha Bros (very literally) [[Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!|"kicking" some sense to him]] to get him back on track.

* [[Heroic RROD]]: Sena's maximum speed, at first, is his own bane. Before Kantou Tournament, he can only run at his maximum speed once since it overexerts him and makes him pass out. Even after strenuous stamina tranining, during the match against Shinryuji, Sena's legs were on the verge of total collapse from trying to keep up with Agon.

* [[Heroic Wannabe]]: Natsuhiko Taki thinks he's a genius in football, but he's not as great as he thinks.

** Sena and Monta are nearly inseperable after they meet. More apparent in the anime.

** Kid and Tetsuma also definitely count, knowing each other since early childhood.

* [[Honor Before Reason]]: Surprisingly, {{spoiler|the Americans}}. Including {{spoiler|Mr.Don and Panther}}.

** One egregious case: The Kantou Area Commisioner is so [[Hot-Blooded]] (literally), that his office ''didn't need a heater in the midst of winter.'' .

** The Yuuhi Guts, particularly team captain Daisuke Atsumi and manager Katsuko Konjo.

* [[Huge Guy, Tiny Girl]]: Komusubi's parents.

* [[Husky Russkie]]: Rodchenko takes it to the next level: He's the ''world record holder in the bench press''. This is also implied to be his downfall as he's ''very'' top heavy and comparatively lacking in lower body strength.

* [[Hyperspace Arsenal]]: Hiruma

* [[I Can Still Fight]]: Hiruma after Gaou breaks his arm.

* [[Identical Stranger]]: Subverted. While the Devil Bats meet a man who looks exactly like Ishimaru in America, Ishimaru himself isn't with them and the only confusion is immediately dismissed because, well, they know Ishimaru's back home.

* [[Idiot Crows]]

* [[The Idiot From Osaka]]: Aki Reisuke and Hera Kureji of the Teikoku Alexanders. Kureji manages to make it ''intimidating'', somehow. The ace players of the Alexanders are each shown to have an idiocy rating, with Aki at the top with 60%.

* [[Important Haircut]]: Sakuraba gets a crewcut at the beginning of the fall season {{spoiler|after finally quitting his contract with Jari Productions to focus on football.}} This move ends up cutting away at his massive fanbase until only the real fans (all ''three'' of them) are left. Ironically, he signs with Jari Productions again soon after. Yukimitsu also started doing his hair differently at the start of the Kanto tournament. Hiruma dyed his hair blond shortly before starting the team in the first place, as well. Agon shaving his head also marked his decision to go all out in the tournament, starting with Militaria. {{spoiler|Then he removes his wig completely to call his brother out.}}

* [[Improbable Aiming Skills]]: Almost every major quarterback is shown to have these. This is Takami's most prominent ability, beside his height. The Kid is practically an Olympic champion of sharp-shooting. Hiruma uses this for ''everything''. Karin brings this to a new level: all her passes are supposed to be catchable, no matter where the receiver is or how he's doing... well, as long as they're in Teikoku Alexanders, anyway. Subverted with Homer, who doesn't have any accuracy and relies on power and his receiver to do anything.

* [[Instant Humiliation - Just Add YouTube]]: Before the NASA Aliens game.

* [[Insult Backfire]]: The Amino Cyborgs take it as a compliment that their muscles look artificial.

** Hiruma. Admittedly, Mamori tends to [[What the Hell, Hero?|call him on it]], but this guy waves his guns around in the middle of school and everything's just ducky.

** Agon is a much bigger jerkass than Hiruma. Hiruma at least cares about football and his team. Agon doesn't even care about his teammates, especially in the International Youth Cup arc {{spoiler|where his cunning plan, as Hiruma points out, amounts to "When we're losing, the great me will save everyone". Everyone hates him so much for this, they decide to foil his plan and beat their opponents with all their strength. They do so.}} In the end, however, he mellows a ''little'' bit.

** While Mizumachi sometimes acts like a dick toward shorter players, even pushing Komusubi to want to leave the team. He's not really a jerkass, he's just very tactless.

** All the members of the American Pentagon are fairly unpleasant (with the obvious exception of Panther, Sena's [[Worthy Opponent]]) but Mr. Don takes the cake. He had Yamato, who at the time was hailed as Eyeshield 21, the strongest running back at Notre Dame High School, expelled from the team (it's implied by abusing his power as the son of the US president) just because it offended his sensibilities that someone so obviously inferior (i.e Japanese) would claim the title. And he wears an almost permanent sneer. {{spoiler|Yamato's revenge is a moment of great joy.}}

** Hiruma himself might not be all bad, either, as [[Lampshaded]] by Mamori.

** Marco, as well. In spite of his sinister aura and intimidating appearance, and, indeed, his usually less-than-noble intentions, he's shaken pretty easily and is more frightened of Gaou than anyone else.

** Harao's jerkish tendencies spring from his feelings of inadequacy as a player. He acts the way he does to distract people from the fact that he lacks any real talent.

* [[The Juggernaut]]: Gaou is the straight version; at least until he meets Kurita, who's much slower but [[Mighty Glacier|pretty much unstoppable]]. Yamato Takeru is also practically unstoppable on the field; the best thing Deimon can do is slow him down. Not even Shin, widely regarded as the strongest Japanese linebacker EVER, can completely stop him. Tetsuma will go exactly where he's commanded, trampling everyone in his way. Then Mr. Don... oh, God, Mr. Don.

* [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]]: Marco did this [[Heroic BSOD|after realizing that his team's strength was nothing compared to the Teikoku Alexanders]], who won every Christmas Bowl and had ''[[Implacable Man|never been scored against for 20 years straight]].''. He decides the most probable way to win is [[Shoot the Dog|to destroy the enemies completely, using brute strength, injuring the opposition if he can get away with it.]] Of course, since his [[Motive Decay|original goal]] was to show his [[Ojou|senior]] [[Love Interest]] [[The Promise|the "morning sun after the victory"]], the latter didn't really appreciate it.

* [[Keet]]: Mizumachi, [[Up to Eleven]].

* [[Kevlard]]: Kurita has this mildly. The average high schooler can't really hurt him, but a lot of the linemen he plays against are around his size and can do plenty of damage.

* [[Kick the Dog]]: Agon's hobby.

** Despite [[Attack! Attack! Attack!|his love for offense,]] Hiruma knows that sometimes, he should just give up. The first time is against Ojou, and he's rather an asshole about it. Then, in the match against Seibu, he realizes that none of his carefully crafted scenarios will work against the Kid. {{spoiler|Musashi's appeareance changed that, though.}} Also his poker game against Clifford, although his tactical retreat really pissed Clifford off.

** Monta giving up baseball, since his ability is much more suited for American Football.

* Leitmotif: Most of the main characters have one but the one that really stands out is Hiruma's (appropriately named the same). It starts playing each time Hiruma yells [[Catch Phrase|YA-HA]] and [[Dynamic Entry|jumps down from somewhere high, shoots his guns]] and explain his next crazy plan to the team.

* [[Let's Get Dangerous]]: During the Bando game, {{spoiler|Taki goes into a [[Heroic BSOD]] because he failed so often, but quickly recovers, ties his hair into a ponytail, and suddenly becomes serious. He goes on to clinch the victory.}}

** Type 1: Ootawara, whose speed is ''insane'' for someone his size. That said, while powerful, he's actually one of the weaker opposing players to deal primarily in strength; at the beginning of the series, Shin can bench more than him.

** Type 2: Yamato and Shin. Shin's just a tad slower {{spoiler|initially}} than Sena but has incredible physical strength and resilience. Yamato runs at slightly below Sena's pace and while he isn't noted to be especially strong, he takes pride in being a more complete player than Sena because he can take hits and hit back. His main strength, though, is his ability to run without being taken down by tackles.

** Gaou doesn't ''seem'' to be this at first, but in reality he is. Kid notes that Gaou's blitz speed keeps increasing, such that he starts getting closer to Kid with each play. Furthermore, regardless of the fact that he doesn't actually fall for feints, he was ''still'' fast enough to nail Riku with his right hand while Riku was on the left side of his body (for reference, Riku ''wins fights'' simply by using his running style).

* [[Literal Genie]]: Tetsuma takes instructions very literally; If you tell him to run, he'll run... but he won't stop if you don't tell him to stop.

** There's at least one (and usually more) notable player on the opposing teams.

** This has the unfortunate side-effect of several Devilbats {{spoiler|being pushed out of the narrative by the all-stars in the last arc. Komosubi and Taki in particular are last seen cheering on the sidelines during the last game of the world cup; they are conspicuously absent from the final chapter, with no explanation given.}}

** Additionally, pretty much every minor or incidental character gets further characterization in the bonuses in the collected volumes.

* [[Love Makes You Evil]]: Marco. He was actually a pretty decent guy until he realized average guys couldn't defeat Teikoku. He then resolved to do anything, including (and often) crippling anyone who gets between him and showing Himuro "the morning sunshine after a victory."

* [[Mama Bear]]: Just don't threaten Sena or Suzuna when Mamori's nearby. This is a woman who is brave enough to face ''Gaou'' should he endanger them.

* [[My Name Is Not Durwood]]: Because of some confusion on Sena's part, the team thought Raimon Taro's name is Kaminari Montarou. Hiruma later convinces "Monta" that his nickname comes from Joe Montana, a famous wide receiver in the NFL. (Hiruma added the last part to make Monta happy; Montana was a quarterback.)

* [[Naked People Are Funny]]: Otawara, if you can get past the [[Fan Disservice]].

** Suzuna. She has the nerve to call [[Devil in Plain Sight|Hiruma]] "You-nii", which also happens to be "Elf-bro" when translated into English.

** Also, [[Cluster F-Bomb|Hiruma]]. He usually refers to someone by "fucking" followed by a trait of theirs, such as "fucking shrimp" for Sena.

** Homer might be based on Brett Favre, with whom he shares both a powerful throwing arm and a tendency to misfire passes.

** Morgan, the star running back who edged Leonard Apollo out of his job, resembles Deion Sanders from what little we see of him, Sanders having been perhaps the most infamous fame-loving, money-flaunting egotist in NFL history

** Rui Habashira does this to Hiruma while choking back tears after the Chameleons were knocked out of the fall tournament.

** After Hiruma traps Marco using his own trick, Marco asked whether, if Hiruma were in his shoes, he would use the same tactics (using [[Blood Knight|Gaou]] to [[Shoot the Dog|crush their enemies completely]]). Hiruma's answer: "Of course, fucking eyelashes!"

* [[Occidental Otaku]]: Jeremy Watt of the NASA Aliens.

** Taki and Akaba get along very well, despite seeming almost ridiculously incompatable.

** Akaba and Kotaro.

* [[Old Master]]: Doburoku-sensei. Sumito Sendoda of Shinyuji Nagas also counts.

* [[One-Hit Kill]]: What happens when Shin uses his Trident Tackle against [[Mook|most regular players.]] Subverted since several strong or strong-willed players manage to hold it off, even [[Fragile Speedster|Sena.]] However, Shin isn't to be underestimated; The Trident Tackle stopped Yamato and his Caesar's Charge flat.

* [[Only Known by Their Nickname]]: There are characters, like Kid, that are known mostly by their nicknames. Marco is a deliberate case, since [[Gender Blender Name|he didn't like his girlish real name.]]

* [[Opposing Sports Team]]: Dozens of them. Several are portrayed much more sympathetically than usual, however, and the series doesn't shy away from the fact that the Devil Bats are crushing a lot of people's dreams, either. Teikoku, however, plays it a little straight. The team's structure forces players to compete against each other to get to the first string. Consequentially, in every game, the players are working more against each other than with each other. They can get away with it because the first string is ''that'' good, but it's clear that the entire setup is ''wrong.'' And the team is mostly made up of aces stolen from other teams, as well...

* [[Overtook the Manga]]

** Almost every character originally played as a villain or antagonist gets one of these, from arrogant ace Harao to slimy agent Miracle Itou. Mr. Don also manages to get in on this... though, true to form, he manages to strangle a woman while Petting The Dog. Even Agon manages to pull off some strange variant of this when {{spoiler|he takes off his helmet as simultaneously a sign of challenge and encouragement to his older brother, who has always sacrificed everything to raise Agon up.}} Still a dick though.

* [[Phenotype Stereotype]]: Just see the Youth World Cup. {{spoiler|Finland: Best dental care in the world, USA: Of the players in the Pentagram, two are blond, one is black, and one is Native American. India: turbans, Russia: has the strongest guy, who loves material wealth, Germany: sharp features, analytical and good memories, France: led by a [[Bishounen]] prettyboy}}

* [[Pint-Sized Powerhouse]]: So much for Chuubou Akira. Also Komusubi.

* [[Plucky Girl]]: Katsuko Konjo, manager of the Yuuhi Guts, needlessly follows an intense workout regimen so brutal that it would make most other teams' actual players plead for mercy.

* [[Pointless Band-Aid]]: Monta

** While most of the Devil Bats showed obvious signs of fatigue and exhaustion during the Death March, Hiruma chased after his receivers while screaming passing patterns and strafing them with machine gun fire with no indication that the endless running (while hauling around a machine gun) had any effect on him. Even when they reached Las Vegas, he continued to harass them and shoot at them in the hotel...until he got to his room, where he collapsed, face-first and unconscious on the bed, with his shoes still on his feet and his gun still in his hand.

** After exhausting himself to defeat the Bando Spiders' Spider Web, Sena makes it almost to the locker room but collapses in Suzuna's arms before he gets there.

** Panther ''[[True Companions|and his whole team]]'' [[Pose of Supplication|knelt down]] [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|for this]]. Panther went on to beat back Deimon for the win.

** Yukimitsu Manabu scores the first touchdown against the Shinryujii Nagas in both a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]] and a [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]].

** Shin tries to do this with regards to an offensive tactic during Ojou's first game against the Naga, however he is denied becuase they had not practiced the ballista enough.

* [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]]: Deimon; in fact, only three (later two, one forfeited himself) of the players on the team had any prior experience in football.

* [[Rated "M" for Manly]]

** During the Bando game, Kotarou lands the kickoff just out of bounds right by Deimon's endzone. In college and professional football, this results a penalty that results in the ball being started at the 40 yard line. However, at the high school level, this is allowed due to the quality of most high school kickers.

** Kakei and Mizumachi of the Kyoshin Poseidons are a pretty exaggerated example- Kakei takes being unemotional to new levels, while Mizumachi is the biggest spazz in the series.

** There's also Agon and Unsui. Agon is driven by spite and hedonism while Unsui has the self-discipline of a monk. Agon has a perpetual sneer while Unsui rarely ever emotes at all.

* [[Right Behind Me]]: Sakuraba overhears Takami praise him in a discussion about his hopes for the wide receiver with his coach. It's the [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]] that ends his [[Heroic BSOD]].

* [[Right-Hand-Cat]]: Leonard Apollo has one named Hillary in the anime. He loves that little thing.

** Seijuro Shin, the stone-faced star linebacker of the White Knights, is Sena's rival. Agon is arguably Hiruma's, Ikkyu Hosakawa is Monta's and Gaou is Kurita's. Additionally, Sena also faces opposition from Riku of the Seibu Wild Gunmen, the person who taught him to run in the first place, {{spoiler|and the real Eyeshield 21, Yamato Takeru}}.

** Hiruma also has notable rivals in the other 'control tower' players, Marco and Takami. More than one occasion of detected tactical malice from any of these three has given others the willies.

** For Mamori, creampuffs. It's even been stated that she eats more creampuffs than [[Big Eater|''Kurita'']] and she can apparently discern their weight and size by sight.

** ''Kicking'' is serious business for Kotarou and Musashi.

** Mamori had one of these moments when Doburoku mistakenly assumed Hiruma was her boyfriend. Suzuna was [[Shipper on Deck|intrigued]]. It doesn't help that this is a [[Running Gag]] in the anime.

** In the Devil Bat's Investigation Files, when asked if Rui Habashira and Megumi Tsuyumine are dating, his answer: [[Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness|"Well, you see, if a man and woman are seen together, that doesn't mean they are doing girlfriend/boyfriend things. The relationship between a man and a woman isn't as simple as whether or not they're going out."]]

** There was a considerable amount of Ship Teasing for both Sena/Suzuna and Hiruma/Mamori throughout the series... though ultimately, nothing was confirmed. But you mustn't forget, this ''is'' [[Maybe Ever After|a Shounen manga]].

** Rui and Megumi also get teased a bit in the side chapters.

** For Hiruma and Mamori, {{spoiler|the fact that she chose to stay as Hiruma's manager in the [[Distant Finale]] when every member of their team is now split up is quite telling.}}

* [[Shirtless Scene]]: Mizumachi, Shin... [[Fan Disservice|Ootawara]], although with Ootowara, shirtless isn't the problem--it's ''pantsless.''

** In the episode where the Devil Bats go on a one-night cruise before a big game, someone eats their dinners, and Suzuna turns the episode into a mix between [[Detective Conan]] and [[Phoenix Wright]]. A blantant shout out to Detective Conan starts with a set of doors opening and closing between breaks.

** The Bando Spiders' uniform is basically a football version of Spiderman's iconic costume.

** A [[Fourth Wall Mail Slot]] column talking about how easygoing Ishimaru is claims that it'd take something like "[[Cyborg 009|kidnapping him and turning him into a cyborg for a black-market organization]]" to rile him.

** Some of the Kanto team's mascots are shout-outs to other works. For example, the Kita Eskimo's mascot is [[Mega Man (video game)|Ice Man]].

* [[Slow-Motion Pass-By]]

* [[Sneezing]]

* [[Speed Stripes]]

* [[Spikes of Villainy]]: Hiruma is very pointy.

** The Bando Spiders rely on their kicks; {{spoiler|They're all legs}}.

** The nickname "Panther" is one in Japanese, since it can be formed from a phoenetic shortening of his real name, "Patrick Spencer." (Pansaa = ''Pa''torikku Supe''nsaa'')

* [[Team Spirit]]

* [[Tear Jerker]]: Several over the series, an early flashback showing one for Kurita. After buying 100 cream puffs expecting a huge turnout for club tryouts, he sits alone in the dark, eating them in tears. Someone saying how tasty pastries are has never been sadder.

** "You put [[Fake Ultimate Hero|Sakuraba on the offense?]] Thank you. You made our job easier, reducing one pass target on the field". And then Sakuraba turns out to be a phenomenal receiver, given his tenacity and height.

** "We already know Eyeshield 21's weakness. We can stop him". [[Look What I Can Do Now!|And then here comes the Devilbat Ghost.]]

* [[Terrible Artist]]: We're frequently reminded why Art is Mamori's weakest subject in school.

* [[Testosterone Poisoning]]: A funny in-universe example where every member of the Devil Bats basically 'mans up' by getting [[Big Old Eyebrows]] and very intense eyes during the Hakushuu game. Even the [[Team Mascot]] got in on the act, and Mamori and Suzuna had to resist it with every last bit of their female instinct.

* [[Those Two Guys]]:

** The recruits from the basketball team.

** There are also Mamori and Suzuna's friends. The latter gets some screentime but no dialogue.

** Two idiots from the soccer team, Muro Satoshi and Miyake (Mitaku in the fan scanlations, for some reason), whose schtick is insulting people, [[Laser-Guided Karma|which often backfires on them.]]

* [[Three Amigos]]: Sena, Monta, and Suzuna. Kotaro, Akaba, and Julie as well.

* [[Thundering Herd]]: Aside from the players, in early episodes Sakuraba is often pursued by a [[Thundering Herd]] of fangirls from his [[Instant Fanclub]]

* {{spoiler|[[Time Skip]]}}

* [[Tokyo Tower]]: Or should we say Hell Tower?

** Hiruma with ''sugarless'' bubblegum and Marco with soda.

** Don't forget Mamori's cream puffs and Monta's bananas.

** The Devilbat's training on the infamous "Death March".

** Other teams get into it, too; the Zokugaku Chameleons' training involved chasing and being chased by and ''carrying'' their motorcycles.

* [[True Companions]]: Although they're not always ''friendly'' to each other, the Devil Bats have many moments, probably the best being an unplanned, unspoken onside kick to the second half of the Devil Bats/Nagas game. The entire team knew it was coming despite Hiruma's words to the contrary.

* [[Ugly Guy, Hot Wife]]: Hatsujo and his girlfriend. Every time the Cupids lose (which is often, they're a bottom of the barrel team with the only moderate talent being Hatsujo himself), you can't help but feel like Hatsujo's the ''real'' winner, you know?

** Both inverted and later played straight with Kotaro and Musashi. Kotaro initially considered himself to be Musashi's rival without having a clue of exactly ''who'' Musashi was, and later became a more normal kind of unknown rival himself.

** We never know the [[The Real Remington Steele|identity of real Eyeshield 21...]] until the Christmas Bowl.

* [[Unstoppable Rage]]: This what happens when you tick off Gaou. Additionally, Ikari of the White Knights is ''always'' in this mode, thanks to his temper.

* [[Unusual Ears]]: Hiruma

* [[Warding Gestures]]

* [[Wax On, Wax Off]]: "Kick this stone across the U.S., and don't lose even a tiny bit of it."

** Hiromi Kisaragi's athletic skill is below average, but his Ptera-Claw is formidable against a receiver like Monta.

* [[What the Hell, Hero?]]: Musashi punches Hiruma hard enough to draw blood when Hiruma orders Sena to continue marking Agon, even at the risk of permanently crippling his legs. {{spoiler|Subverted because it's actually staged as part of a trick play.}}

* [[Who Needs Overtime]]: Hiruma always chooses to go for the "surprising win" instead of overtime, although it's kinda [[Justified Trope|justified]] since the team only has 14 players (4 borrowed from other sport clubs), so continuing with a ''really'' exhausted team is a poor option.

* [[Whoa, Bundy!]]: Many of the Devil Bats' huddles during football games in the manga break with a cry of "Kick their asses!" Many of their opponents have similar Whoa Bundy cries.

** Onihei's team was built up as a powerhouse and an overall favorite in the tournament, so that when they got their asses handed to them by the Kyoshin Poseidons, we'd know who the ''real'' power was. Similarly, Taiyo and Seibu both bit it against Hakushuu to illustrate how brutal the Dinosaurs were.

** Subverted in the Ojo versus Sado game, where Otawara gets bowled over twice - but he was faking weakness so Shin could test out his Trident Tackle on opponents, and when he gets to let loose his [[Lightning Bruiser]] properties soundly trounce Sado.

** Gaou thinks Kurita is one.

* [[Wrong Genre Savvy]]: Toganou often wonders if Hiruma [[Badass Abnormal|is not human]].

** Mamori, with some dashes of [[Mama Bear]].

** Dinosaurs manager Maruko Himuro is implied to be one.

** Karin Koizumi might be one, subverted since she's a quarterback.

* [[Younger Than They Look]]: Most of the football players from other teams look like they'd fit in better in real NFL matches than in high school, most notably Musashi and "The Kid." There was even a metatextual "Old Man's Face" contest between them. Musashi won.

 

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