open/close all folders
General
The Fall Tokyo Tournament's biggest dark horse after the Devil Bats themselves, the Poseidon were traditionally a fairly weak team, before Shun Kakei joined up. Recruiting a batch of new recruits, all of whom were 5'11 or taller, and using their heights to dominate both the line and the back, the team took out the veteran Hashiritani Deer and the thuggish Zokugaku Chameleons, before facing off against the Devil Bats in the semi-finals.
- Color-Coded Characters: Their uniforms were ocean blue, which goes with their Motifs.
- Combination Attack: Their ultimate tactic, the Poseidon, involved all of their star players - Kakei, Mizumachi, Ohira and Onishi - becoming linebackers and using their heights to block ALL of their opponents' runs and passes. That gave the Devil Bats a hard time.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: They inflicted this on the Deer, and then the Chameleons. They came on the receiving end when they fought the Naga in a practice match.
- Foil: To the Oujou White Knights. Both are highly defensive teams that are rivals to the Deimon Devilbats, but Kyoshin's tallest players (Kakei, Mizumachi) are specialized in defense while Oujou's (Takami, Sakuraba) are allocated to offense.
- The Giants: Their key strength was the ridiculous heights of their ace players. Also, the Kyoshin Highschool seemed to be the largest highschool in the series (in terms of the size of its campus building).
- However, before Kakei and Mizumachi came along, the Poseidon were considered one of the shortest teams in the Kanto region, alongside the Deer.
- Making a Splash: They did not have real Elemental Powers, of course, but their Motifs can invoke this trope. Like this scene
(Note: the water isn't real). - Mythical Motifs: Poseidon.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Notably, Kakei is the blue to all of his teammates.
- Rookie Red Rangers: All of the team's star players were first-years, and among them, Kakei was the only one who had significant prior experience in football.
- Save Our Team: The Poseidon were a rather weak team... until Kakei joined and helped recruit the current star players.
- Stone Wall: They seemed to lean more towards the defensive side, seeing that all games they engaged in tended to involve both teams scoring few touchdowns, and all of their best players were of the defense team.
- Theme Naming: To go with the sea motif, most if not all known members have names related to water or oceans. Even their managers’ names, Otohime and Urashima, reference the Japanese folklore about Urashima Tarou who went to the sea.
- True Companions: They had undergone some really crazy training regimens, and they managed to endure it because they trained together.
- The Worf Effect: Their being steamrollered showed how tough the Naga were.
Shun Kakei (筧 駿)
"... I'll challenge you again, next year."
The stone-faced linebacker of the Kyoshin Poseidon and, despite being a first-year, the team's de facto leader. Kakei's greatest strength lied in his great height and long limbs, which he used effectively to block his opponents' runs and passes. He imparted his techniques to the new recruits Onishi and Ohira. With the three of them as linebackers, the Poseidon evolved into one of the most formidable teams in the Tokyo Tournament. Kakei used to study in the USA, and once faced the real Eyeshield 21 in a football game in middle school. He greatly admired the supreme skills of the legendary runner and was not amused when he heard that someone was pretending to be Eyeshield 21.
- Position: Linebacker / Strong Safety
- Jersey: 41
- Height: 202 cm (6' 8")
- Birthday: June 6
- 1st Year Student (Grade 10)
- The Ace: To the Poseidon. He's both athletic and intelligent.
- Always Someone Better: Because of his natural height, Kakei used to be an ace player when he's in grade school, but he ended up at the receiving end of floor-wiping once he got into American middle school. That led him to his Break the Haughty moment and motivated him to start learning techniques with which he could take advantage of his height. He later became a real ace player to the Phoenix Middle School.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Used to have little drive to use his height to his advantage in football. When he got crushed in the American middle school league, this trait died out quickly.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Kakei managed to stop all of the Devil Bats' backs dead simply by strategically deploying the Poseidon's defensive players. He knew so much more about tactics than the rest of his team, it sometimes felt like he was the only one who knew football here. He's also the only one who made a decent analysis when asked to predict the outcome of the Kanto Regionals.
- Berserk Button: Don't try to sully the original Eyeshield 21's reputation in any way.
- Blasé Boast: When dealing with Hiruma's Wishbone antics, Kakei pointed out that the Poseidon could turn the table by controlling which Devil Bats player would come through... only to flatly ask the rest of his team to let him face Sena and assert that he'd defeat the latter. He did it in the next play.
- Break the Haughty: What happened to Kakei in America, beating him out of his Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy attitude.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: He's this when he was in grade school. He got better.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: After his Break the Haughty moment, Kakei began to spend time studying the techniques he could use with his height and long arms. After this plus some hard training, he came to be able to pin grown men down with only one hand.
- Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: To Mizumachi.
- Color Motifs: Ocean blue.
- The Comically Serious: Kakei probably couldn't help, since his teammates were so wacky. For instance, he continued to placidly talk about Akaba's running style as Sena and Monta tried to take down Mizumachi at the bathhouse (long story). Kobanzame lampshaded this by noting that he's too used to the other Poseidon players' antics.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: When he's in America, Kakei had received some good ones from other middle school players. He spent much of the Devil Bats vs Poseidon match inflicting this on Sena.
- Defeat Means Friendship: One of the straightest examples in this series, and it's nicely justified as well. At first, Kakei despised Sena for posing as "Eyeshield 21" albeit not being as skilled as the original, but once Sena proved his own prowess by defeating Kakei personally in their match, Kakei warmed up to Sena. The two were on friendly terms since then.
- Friendly Rivalry: Had one with the original Eyeshield 21.
- Genius Bruiser: Kakei is unusually tall and strong, but he's pretty smart too.
- The Giant: His main strength, and he used it with brutal efficiency too. As a linebacker, Kakei was nigh impenetrable, as he'd stop you short with only one arm no matter you're trying to run or pass.
- Graceful Loser: One of the first things Kakei did when the Poseidon lost to the Devil Bats was to personally recognize Sena as a potential equal to the original Eyeshield 21.Kakei: Eyeshield 21 (Sena)... It was your complete victory. After all, you decided the outcome of the match by yourself...
- Guyliner: As pictured.
- Honor Before Reason: If his distaste of the fake Eyeshield 21 is any indication.
- Humble Hero: Kakei was obviously a better leader than the current captain Kobanzame, but he never for once boasted about it and always recognized his teammates for their contributions.
- Icy Blue Eyes: Presumably both a reflection of his personality and a reference to his team's ocean Motifs.
- Large and in Charge: Kobanzame was the official captain, but the towering Kakei was the one really giving orders.
- The Leader: Even though Kakei was a first-year, he acted as the level-headed de facto leader to the team. This was in equal part due to Kakei's status as the Poseidon player most experienced in football and the cowardice of the official captain Kobanzame.
- Meaningful Name: If you pronounced Kakei's name in the Japanese order (i.e., last name going before first name), his name is "Kakei Shun", which kind of sounds like Caucasian. This may be alluding to the fact that he had spent some time in America.
- The Mentor: Onishi and Ohira viewed Kakei as this, at least. Kakei also briefly served as this to Jumonji, right before the Christmas Bowl.
- Mighty Glacier: Kakei was strong and extremely tall, but he didn't seem to be very fast.
- Newcomer Saves the Day: Sort of. During the main event of the series, Kakei had just returned from the USA as a first-year. But with his skills and knowledge of football, he quickly became the real leader to the Poseidon. His presence plus his idea to recruit Mizumachi, Onishi and Ohira gave such a huge boost to the traditionally weak Poseidon that the team became a dark horse in the Fall Tournament.
- Nice Guy: Unless you're trying to defame the original Eyeshield 21, Kakei was in general polite and friendly.
- Only Sane Man: Kakei was to the Poseidon like Musashi and Jumonji were to the Devil Bats.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to all of his teammates' red, especially Mizumachi's.
- Serious Business: Football is this to Kakei. The finale revealed that he even went to college in America only to further develop his skills in football.
- Signature Move: The Moby Dick Anchor; a tackle that used Kakei's wide reach to entrap the opponent. With this, he was able to stop and totally shut down Sena's Devil Bat Ghost. Until Sena developed the Devil Bat Hurricane.
- The Smart Guy: He's indisputably the Poseidon's brains when it came to tactical decisions.
- The Stoic: Kakei rarely let his emotions show.
- Not So Stoic: ... But he was obviously angry when Sena and him talked about the fake Eyeshield 21.
- Not So Stoic: ... But he was obviously angry when Sena and him talked about the fake Eyeshield 21
- Straight Man: How he reacted to the antics of the other Poseidon players.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: The guy was 5'7" in grade school.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Used to be this when he's in grade school.
- Worthy Opponent: To both Sena and the real Eyeshield 21, Yamato. The latter acknowledged Kakei as one of the few linebackers who might be able to stop him.
Kengo Mizumachi
A fun-loving, extremely lanky lineman who came to Kyoshin from the swimming team. His special ability is "The Swim", where he uses his height to push down opponent's linemen. Takes his clothes off a lot.
- Position: Lineman / Tackle / Defensive End
- Jersey: 71
- Height: 203 cm (6' 8")
- 1st Year Student (Grade 10)
- Beware the Silly Ones: He will drop his fun loving attitude if his team is losing, and when a 6'8 tall lineman lunges at you in desperation it's not a pleasant sight.
- Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: With Kakei. And Kobanzame. And Agon. Pretty much everyone actually.
- Determinator: Part of the reason he joined the football team was because his teammates on the swim team didn't have his drive and passion.
- Dumb Blonde: Gender-inverted example.
- Fun Personified: Mizumachi enjoys a lot of things: from playing sports to running around without his shirt on. He's always seen with a goofy smile, even when things get serious.
- The Gift: Mizumachi is considered as an athletic prodigy, and was sought after by the athletic clubs in Kyoshin. A good testament to his talent is that he's able to transition from swimming to American Football in a short amount of time, and before football, he was the best swimmer in Japan.
- I Know Madden Kombat: Who knew swimming translated so well to football?
- Jerk Jock: Subverted. Mizumachi came off like this at first, but is subsequently revealed as a Spirited Competitor with no sense of tact.
- No Social Skills: Whatever goes into Mizumachi's head comes out of his mouth, for good or ill.
- Running Gag: His interactions with the very powerful girl of the Poseidon’s cheerleading team, Urashima.
- Save Our Team: Suckered into joining the swim team through this, he later joins the football team to actually do it.
- Spirited Competitor: One of the few reasons he quit the swim team is that no one aside from him had the drive to compete. This is also one of the reasons why he plays American Football, as there are a lot of competitive people he could go up against.
- Surfer Dude: In the official translation. "Like, dude."
- Tempting Fate: During the Poseidon’s training match against Naga, Agon said that he didn’t need to wear his uniform to beat their enemy. Mizumachi’s respond? To strip himself of the uniform, saying that he too didn’t need it because it restricted his movements, and charged towards Agon. Mizumachi got his right arm joint dislocated by Agon, and it took him until the end of Devil Bats vs Naga match to recover.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Being a former swimmer, he's used to being half-naked and he likes it. He did this so much he later became Ootawara's streaking buddy.
- Worthy Opponent: To Komosubi, whom he later acknowledged as such. For the most part Mizumachi has the upper hand throughout their clashes on the line, but the two times that Komosubi manages to knock him down both lead to significant gains for the Devil Bats, and earns Mizumachi's respect.
Osamu Kobanzame
Kyoshin's quarterback and overshadowed team captain. Generally unremarkable save for his ability to dump the ball fast enough that he's never had an interception. Never actually "leads" the team, just sort of... agrees with Kakei.
- Position: Quarterback
- Height: 163 cm (5' 4")
- Weight: 54 kg (119 lbs)
- Blood Type: O
- 3rd Year Student (Grade 12)
- The Captain: He is this officially, at least.
- Cowardly Lion: Despite his nerves, he tries hard and is a capable quarterback.
- Determinator: He endures all the crazy training regimes Mizumachi proposed.
- Dirty Coward: Has a brief moment of this when he went to spy on the Devil Bats.
- The Load: Sees himself as this, since he does not really bring much to the team and is the least physically remarkable. None of his teammates sees him as useless and his determination is actually what convinced Mizumachi to join the football team.
- Manly Tears: Shed this alongside Mizumachi when the Poseidon lost.
- Meaningful Name: His last name literally means "Little Shark".
- Mr Big: The (official) captain and the smallest of the key players, though lacking in the Hair-Trigger Temper that leaders of his size have.
- Straight Man: Arguably the most "normal" person in his team.
- Weak, but Skilled: He doesn't have the physical strength and talent of the star players in his team and is quite short for his position as quarterback. However, his experience makes him a competent quarterback. He is also very accurate, even when he's panicking, as throughout the tournament, up until the Kyoshin-Deimon match, he never had an interception.
Hiroshi Onishi and Hiroshi Ohira
Kakei's self-proclaimed "apprentices" (fanboys) who constantly argue over who's the better player.
- Position: Linebackers
- Jersey: 32 (Onishi); 31 (Ohira)
- Height: 204 cm (Onishi); 205 cm (Ohira)
- 1st Year Student (Grade 10)
- The Apprentices: Self-appointed to Kakei.
- The Big Guys: To the Poseidons. Both literally and figuratively.
- The Giant: They are the two tallest players in the entire league.
- Hell-Bent for Leather: How Ohira dresses in his down time. Sena refers to his sense of style as "old fashioned" (presumably due his resemblance to the classic biker image).
- Hot-Blooded: Ohira is so hot-blooded he cries perpetual manly tears.
- Jerkass: Onishi tends to be this towards Ohira.
- Manly Tears: Ohira, almost constantly.
- Meaningful Names: Their names literally mean "Atlantic Ocean" and "Pacific Ocean" respectively.
- Noble Male, Roguish Male: Onishi is the Noble Male while Ohira is the Roguish Male.
- One-Steve Limit: Averted, much to their displeasure.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ohira is a parody of the typical "hot-blooded" character while Onishi is supposedly "refined".
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Onishi claims to be this.
- Stoic Spectacles: Onishi.
- Unskilled, but Strong: They're very tall, but aren't as skilled as Kakei.
