Monta (Eyeshield 21 character)
Taro Raimon (雷門 太郎, Raimon Tarō?), commonly known as Monta (モンタ, 門太?) is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Eyeshield 21. He is the wide receiver of the Deimon Devil Bats American football team.
Characteristic
He resembles an ape, particularly a chimpanzee, in many ways; indeed, his simian similarity is the character's running joke throughout the manga. Although he is as short as Sena Kobayakawa, his large hands, arms that are noticeably longer than his legs, acrobatic moves, and leaping ability make him a very effective receiver; he can even catch Yoichi Hiruma's bullet passes with one hand. He has a habit of posing every time he makes a spectacular catch for a touchdown, rolling after the jump, and breaking out of the roll by kneeling and pointing upwards with his index finger. He also has the habit of attaching 'Max' to nearly everything he does (suffixing his phrases with MAX! in the Japanese, and prefixing them with MAXI-! in the English), since he believes that one should give 100% effort in all endeavours. He was named Monta after Sena mistook his name as Montarō Rai (Sena originally thought his name was "Kaminari Montarō", since the character 雷 can be pronounced as either "rai" or "kaminari"). He begins to like being called 'Monta' after Hiruma tells him the nickname 'Monta' was supposedly derived from Joe Montana. Monta does not know that Joe Montana is a quarterback, not a wide receiver. Monta has a crush on Mamori. He's always trying to win her heart, often failing miserably, because she always gives more attention to Sena. Monta's throwing is incredibly horrible: he moves his arm in the right direction, but somehow, the ball goes in a completely different direction! Not only that, but his kicking is similar. His throws/kicks usually hit someone on the head, or break a window. Monta is also known for his bad grammar, as he once said that he will "restore his disgrace" (because he lost the ball in front of Mamori), but was corrected by Hiruma, and Hiruma even requested that someone "teach that monkey how to communicate with humans ", which embarrassed him even further.
At the same time, although he is considered an idiot, he gives wonderful motivational speeches, especially to Sena. Every time Sena felt like all was lost, Monta would give him a pep talk, leading Sena to start moving again.
History
Monta makes his first appearance after the first match against the Oujou White Knights. He tried out for Deimon's baseball club, inspired by the Shuei Bears player, Masaru Honjō, an outfielder known for his spectacular catching. However, due to his poor skills in other areas, he fails to make the team. Soon after, he runs into Sena who convinces him to join the football team. The two become close friends and Monta, with his incredible talent for catching, becomes a key player for the Deimon Devil Bats as their best receiver.
Techniques and strategies
- One-handed Catch - First seen in Volume 3 when Hiruma was scouting for a new receiver by randomly throwing footballs at unsuspecting candidates. Due to Monta's large hands and gripping strength, he's able to catch a football with just one hand, even if it happens to be thrown extremely fast, or in an erratic manner. This is in the same manner as a baseball player as he extends his arm with his baseball glove to make an extreme catch. With this move, Monta defeats Sakuraba's attempt to copy the Devil Backfire. This also useful in defend against power-interceptor cornerback like Kisaragi, since his other arm can be used to repel the interceptor.
- Vertical Jumps - Though Monta is no match for Sena's speed, he wins in the ability of aerial battles. It is exactly for this reason why whenever he races against Sena, Monta's preferred method of traversing is through continuous leaps. His jumping abilities occasionally make fun of his resemblance to a monkey, but still it is impressive. Though not confirmed, he can jump to a height that is taller than Kurita after his training with Ikkyuu.
- Acrobatic Catches - No matter what position he's in, Monta has the ability to catch any type of pass, and can also catch multiple passes in rapid succession. He's been seen to catch the ball while inverted, rolling, jumping, or even leaning backward. He's been known to catch extremely fast, brutal balls, even from speed passers such as Hiruma, Unsui, Agon, and the Kid. His large hands have phenomenal gripping strength, allowing him to hold onto the ball, even if it is soaking wet or being pulled at by an opposing player. As years of building his catching ability, now he can deduces ball movement and position in an instant he see it, almost like when Sena find appropriates running route by instinct. Monta has stolen the ball from each of the other top three receivers in the manga as a result of his incredible hand strength and ball movement observation ability.
- Shinzo Bump(Heart Bump in the English version): This is what Monta calls this technique when he uses the bump against the Wild Gunmen. It is nothing more than a palm thrust to the area above the heart.
- Devil Backfire - First seen in the Devil Bats/Naga game, (where Monta catches a ball from behind without looking), and realized during the Deimon/Oujou game. This is a means for Monta to counter taller opposing receivers. Due to his training both from baseball and from playing alongside Hiruma, Monta is able to pick out the wind movements of a ball without having to see it. For this technique, Monta puts his arms behind his head while running and determines the wind movement of the ball after Hiruma releases it, thus being able to grab it without having to look as well as preventing him from any more battles with taller players like Sakuraba. This has the added bonus of no reduction in speed, as most players have to turn around in order to see the incoming pass. Without the need to turn around before jumping, all of Monta's strength can be used to jump, thereby negating his disadvantage in height. The move also plays against Sakuraba as it can block his field of view as Monta comes barreling into him.
- Sagittarius: - First seen in the Hakushuu game, This combines the Devil Stungun and the Devil Backfire, Sena becomes Monta's guard and guards him with the Devil Stungun. Monta called this the "Explosion MAX." Precursor of this move can be seen during Deimon Devilbats vs Shinryuji Nagas play, in which Monta carried the ball alone after receiving pass from Hiruma during fake spike play, and Sena rammed himself against one of the Shinryuji Nagas' safeties trying to tackle Monta, effectively stopping him from the tackle, before it failed due to Agon's quick response to what Monta attempted to do, and manages to tackle him. However, thanks to Monta's determination, they were saved from defeat, after Monta was forced Out of Bounds using his superior catching skills.
- Christ Cross - Another variation of running play, where Monta and Sena cross paths with Quarterback (Hiruma) as their center. This will hide the true ball carrier, however due to Sena and Monta's initial inexperience with the play as well as never having used it before, their first use of the Christ Cross results in a fumble with the ball almost being stolen by Teikoku.
- Staring Contest - Basically, the game of interception is a staring contest. In this game, the defender (who is running backwards) and the designated receiver (who is moving forward) will stare at each other, trying to determine their opponent's movement. It is a game of endurance, depending on whether the defender (because he can't run at his full speed while running backwards, and to cover long passes against a fast receiver, he must turn around to catch up with the receiver) or the designated receiver (because he can start to get pressured, especially if his pass routes already got covered, forcing him to take readable routes) will chicken out first. The loser will lose time and momentum he needs to response the pass.
- Ball Movement Reading - A skill which Monta has developed over his years of catching baseballs and later footballs. Despite the oval shape of the football, which can cause it to bounce in irregular ways, Monta is able to anticipate the direction in which it will go, thereby allowing him to get into position to catch it. He beats Taka Honjou this way, because Monta jumped for the ball much earlier than Taka could. This ability allows him to 'focus ONLY on the ball,' which makes him the best receiver in terms of catching.
- Screw Bite - A skill which Monta has learned from Reiji Maruko of Hakushū Dinosaurs. He first demonstrated it in Chapter 315 when he stole the ball from Bud Walker. Marco stated that Monta was even more adept at it than himself because of his catching skill.
See also