Agon Kongo
Agon Kongo (金剛 阿含 Kongō Agon) is a character from the manga/anime series Eyeshield 21. The younger of twin brothers on the Shinryuji Naga American football team, Agon is considered a genius player for whom the sport comes naturally - not least of all by himself - and treats everyone other than himself as worthless trash. However, he is forced to come to grips with his own arrogant ways and feelings when he faces the Deimon Devil Bats in the Kanto tournament playoff, particularly the trio of Yoichi Hiruma, Ryokan Kurita and Gen "Musashi" Takekura, of whom his actions allowed them to form a rival football team in the first place. He plays Wide Receiver during the Deimon vs Shinryuuji match.
Personality
The Kongo twins are like chalk and cheese—not only in ability, but also in attitude and personality. Agon Kongo is lazy, arrogant, vicious, invariably turns up late to the matches—often in the second half—and never ever trains, yet his skill is incredible. He is also very sensitive and irritable at times, particularly after he had his dreads shaved, and Mizumachi would point out the fact that Agon may had been using a wig from then on, to which Agon would respond by leaving Mizumachi with a large lump on the head. He is also a chauvinist who does not take rejection well, since when Mamori shrugged-off his advances on the bridge he threw her on the ground and advanced on her, although he made it look afterwards like an accident. Even though Unsui is a solid player, whose skill has come from constant hard work, Agon's abilities go far beyond even the best. Kumabukuro, the reporter, says that he has tremendous talent that is only seen once every 100 years. Even the Naga coach wants everybody in the team not to act the way he does, and tells them that only Agon has the leeway to act in this manner. This is because Agon's natural talent is near-superhuman, and allows him to do whatever he wants. This has made him arrogant—but as Hiruma and other characters have noted, that arrogance is not overconfidence, but born from the simple fact of his real superiority. He looks down on everyone else - even his own (older) brother, whom he calls "Unko-chan" as if to scorn him (effectively a tautology, as he's calling Unsui small twice - lit. "Little Unsui the Child". "Unko" is also a childish way to say 'Shit' or 'Dumping' in Japanese, effectively calling Unsui a 'little piece of shit'). Initially, he displays his agility to Sena and makes a powerful bullet pass at Torakichi (still in his wheelchair), who teases their team but luckily is saved by Sakuraba, Monta and Sena.He has incredible strength, as shown when he beat up the entire Zokugaku gang in an instant. Shortly after this incident, Sena and Mamori encounter Agon on their way elsewhere. Agon tries to accost Mamori to help him get to the stadium, but Sena intervenes. Agon weasels his way out of this, however, and as he leaves the pair behind, Sena feels for the first time he has encountered someone with evil intent.
While growing up with his twin brother, it was discovered early on that Agon had a talent for learning complex physical tasks within minutes, just after seeing it. This is called the God-Speed Impulse reaction. He was able to balance and ride a bicycle on his first try. His reaction time is at the human limit and is triggered by sight. As he grew up, his brother Unsui encouraged him to develop his amazing ability, while he stayed mostly in the background. Unfortunately, this also led to building Agon's ego and his tendency to regard everyone else, including his own brother as inferior. Eventually, the two began leaning toward American Football and were recruited by the Nagas. Agon's God-Speed impulse is similar to the photographic muscle-memory abilities of other fictional characters such as Taskmaster from Marvel Comics and Monica Dawson from Heroes.
In the anime, specifically episode 112, he is shown to throw a pass left-handed, but given the character's nature, he is more likely to be ambidextrous.
Although Agon is at the limits of human potential he is equalled by other characters throughout the story. Sena, Shin, Yamato and Panther in terms of speed; Gao, Kurita, Shin, and Yamato in terms of strength; and Hiruma, Kid, Takami, and Marco in terms of intelligence. Its through these and his arrogance that he is beaten.
In the World Cup Arc Agon is shown to hate to be looked down on, ironically it is the same thing he does to others, but he also is shown to have some sentiment for his brother. he also is shown to not only work well with Hiruma and the rest of the team, but to actually enjoy working with Hiruma, which he is even surprised by,commenting that he and Hiruma would be a perfect team if Hiruma's natural abilities were on par, but still resorts to calling Hiruma a trash with no natural talent. He also seems to think more highly of Sena and others, because in college he attends the same college as Akaba, Taka, Yamato, Juumonji and Hiruma and even comes to scout Sena with the others, complimenting Sena by saying that those trashes (The Cupids College Team) cant touch Sena's speed.
Story
As the game against Deimon continues, Agon starts to lose his cool, as the Devil Bats begin to fight back from a 32-0 first half thumping. He is first upset by the Devil Bats' onside kick, then is caught completely off-guard when Yukimitsu (the weakest member of the Deimon team) scored a touchdown, despite being double-covered by both him and Ikkyu. He was able to do this by analyzing the Nagas' defense patterns, and picking out option routes - third pass-route choices in the middle distance, as opposed to short passes to Taki or long-distance bombs to Monta - on the fly. This, and Yukimitsu's sheer determination to succeed at something other than studying, got Deimon's first points on the board.
Afterwards, Eyeshield 21 successfully intercepted a lateral pass meant for Agon, followed by Juumonji recovering the ball (as this is classed as a fumble) and scoring the second Deimon touchdown, despite being tackled by the arrogant dreadhead. Agon ended up being dragged into the endzone by Juumonji's sheer force of will. Eyeshield's interception of Sanzo's lateral got to him, but being unable to prevent Juumonji's touchdown return truly rattles him, as linesmen are not known for their speed (however, the Hah Brothers are built more like linebackers, as opposed to the line build possessed by Kurita and Komusubi).
In recent chapters he witnessed the one team-mate that he does give credit to, cornerback Ikkyu Hosokawa, fail to stop Deimon from scoring. His version of Eyeshield 21's Devil Bat Ghost surprises everyone, but now he is becoming even more enraged as Sena forces yet another fumble on his brother, ignoring Agon completely when the whole Shinryuji team thought he was still marking him. This is most likely the one thing that can truly upset him. .. not even being bothered with by the ones he most wants to crush.
In the following chapter (191st Down), the red mist descends on Agon. After a lifetime of being praised for his innate skills, to be disregarded so completely is something that he is not prepared to stand for, and in a fit of fury he tries to take Sena down. He fails - as he goes to chop the ball out of his grasp, Sena motions as if he were going to stiff-arm Agon away. Agon's surprise is such that he is caught off-guard for a split-second - all the time Sena needs to whip a Devil Bat Ghost on him. Even that is not enough to put off the smug Naga - with his lightning-reaction time, he wheels round to have another shot at Sena. Agon then receives one of the greatest upsets of the entire game, if not his life, as his tackle to stop Eyeshield 21 is countered, and he is ground face-first into the turf! Since he was in a fit of rage, Agon had not considered the possibility that his shorter, weaker opponent would even try to down him; that, and Sena's hand on the back of Agon's helmet where he couldn't see it (and was therefore unable to react), wounded Agon's pride more than anything physical.
In the game's dying seconds, Agon is the only person who realises what Hiruma's up to with Deimon's final drive. The final frame of the 194th Down shows his menacing stare behind the sports goggles he wears. At 18 seconds left in their final drive, Hiruma takes the snap and makes a fake spike to catch the Nagas off-guard. Yukimitsu stayed on the line of scrimmage for this play, which allowed Monta to go in motion. Thinking the play was dead because of the fake spike, Ikkyu (who was meant to be covering Monta) switched off - all the chance Monta needed to get a head start on him. Hiruma heaved a bomb in the air for him - which Ikkyu managed to get a hand to, but all he could do was deflect it directly into Monta's clutches. Agon, the only person who could see this coming, tackled the receiver at Shinryuji's red zone with 4 seconds left. During this, Monta shouted "CATCH MAX!" again, for all he already had the ball. Agon assumes that he meant catching the ball and arrogantly retorts that it didn't matter if he did catch the ball, as long as he was brought down. With the clock ticking inexorably down to 0, and Shinryuji still a touchdown up, it looks as if he had permanently ended Deimon's dream to play in the Christmas Bowl. Agon's plan was to let Monta get so far away that the rest of the Bats wouldn't have time to get back into formation for a spike.
However, the referee ruled the play as out-of-bounds after seeing a lump of turf had been ripped up. Monta's scream of "CATCH MAX"! had nothing to do with the ball, as he already had hold of that - he was aiming to touch the sideline. He opened his fist and revealed the missing bit of turf. The ref has the clock reset to 4 seconds because of this. Now, with this being Deimon's final play, both Kongo brothers wonder what Hiruma is up to as the Deimon quarterback pumps Devil Bats' fans up into a frenzy.
Apparently, the cheering crowds were just a diversion. Hiruma was actually going in motion as he ran side to side, pumping the crowd up. The play started unexpectedly when the ball was hiked directly to Sena. The Nagas were thrown off-guard again as it seemed that Sena would use the Devil Bat Ghost with the Nagas all over him. However, he lobbed the ball upwards. The Nagas were all in disbelief, as they had already covered all the receivers. The crowd was also another distraction so that Sena could make a pass to Hiruma. The Nagas were already in disbelief in the beginning, as the ball was hiked directly to Sena. After Hiruma caught the ball, Agon still arrogantly believed that he could catch up to Hiruma, since he remembered that Hiruma's best time at the 40-yard sprint was 5.2 seconds when he tried out for the Shinryuji Nagas. However, to his complete shock, he found out that Hiruma had gotten 0.1 seconds faster and that was all he needed to outrun him and score. Now the score is only 34-35 in favor of the Nagas as Deimon prepares to go for either a 1-point kick or a 2-point conversion.
Agon then receives the final insult and defeat as the one other Deimon member that he despises becomes instrumental in Deimon's two-point conversion play. No other team has ever scored a 2-point conversion against Shinryūji. Sena lined up on the extreme left of the line; the huddle before this play boiled down to his decision - take the kick and risk overtime with his failing legs, or risk the whole game and go for the win. This, combined with the Nagas' perfect record against 2-pointers, led all to believe that Deimon was going to go for the easy kick and take the game into OT. Indeed, Musashi came on for the kick and Hiruma went into a holder's position.
Once again, it was a fake. Hiruma held the ball and picked it up, rushing with Musashi into the middle of Shinryuji's goal-line defense - behind Kurita who, through sheer determination and willpower, pushed Agon and Ikkyu diagonally, altering their centre of gravity, before they could get to the ball. Hiruma, meantime, lateral the ball high into the air for Sena to catch and perform the Devil Bat Dive, thereby shattering the Nagas undefeated record both in games and 2-point conversions. Shocked and dejected, Agon leaves the field, and warns his teammates not to slack off on their training for the Spring Tournament, where he vows to defeat the Devil Bats. Whilst his brother Unsui is heartened by this, seeing it as a sign Agon is willing to work with others, this is more likely to be a rose-tinted view, and that his brother blames everyone but himself for the loss to Deimon - Agon says as much himself: "If you keep holding my legs we won't win."
Note: In the anime, Agon takes the defeat like a sore loser, and was about to attack Hiruma until his brother Unsui actually punches Agon to knock some sense into him.
As of Chapter 229, Agon is one of the spectators at the Deimon/Ojo game, and even he admits that Shin's Trident Spear Tackle could blow him away but only in trying to block the move head on instead from the side. However, he is quite surprised that Sena, one whom he thinks as a no-power runt, is taking a more brutal method to stopping Shin's tackle by taking it straight on. At the end, he's surprised to see Sena get past Shin with a Devl Bat Ghost followed by a One Man Devil Bat Dive, and then finally a Devil Stun Gun to deflect Shin's sudden upward thrust of his arm in his desperate attempt to stop Sena, the last of which actually caused Agon to lower his glasses a bit in order to better see it with his own eyes the simultaneous use of Sena's prized devil-themed maneuvers, but he still considers the team from Deimon as trash and leaves the stadium in a sour mood. Currently, he is watching the Dinosaurs against the Devil Bats on TV. Seeing Hiruma bluff and confound the Dinosaurs despite doing practically nothing on the field, is putting Agon in an even more aggravated mood. As Hiruma and Sena get in position for the Devil Dragon Fly, Agon says "Those... trashes."
It is revealed in Chapter 280 that Agon ever since his defeat against Deimon went training everyday when he's not with girls. In this chapter, Agon also went to see the Teikoku Alexanders and told them that he would join the Teikoku Alexanders because he didn't want to wait for the next tournament to face Deimon. Yamato accepted this proposal...provided Agon could beat him one-on-one. During the slightly before, and during the match itself; both of the Alexanders' star players casually admit Agon's strength as "-like [theirs]. A Superman of the Gods." During his battle against Yamato, Agon proves easily able to catch the runningback citing that he had gotten used to that style of play while playing against the Devil bats. The moment this happens however, Yamato decides to use his real play style on Agon. What happens next is only barely glimpsed, but the next scene explains that Agon had fled, sensing the danger Yamato posed with his God Speed Impulse and that he could not win. However, because of the rule that a player must have gone to a team's high school for six months before being able to take part in a game, Agon is not able to join the Teikoku Alexanders.
He comments that Yamato's true ability is not balance nor speed. He also comments on the basis of the Sena's Devil 4th Dimension, noting that only Sena ("only that little trash") can take such a quick step backwards before taking off again. He seems to be amazed at Sena's completed Devil 4th dimension (with the backwards Devilbat Ghost).
He is not seen when the Devil Bats finally conquer the Teikoku Alexanders.
In the latest story arc after the Christmas Bowl, Agon is being persuaded to play for Japan in the World Youth Cup, an international (but more focused on Japan vs US in the manga) football competition. Agon might have refused had he not watched a broadcast by Morgan, the president of competition and the man who beat out Apollo for the starter's spot many years ago. Morgan says that he will choose one player from the winning team for a $3,000,000 contract with the San Antonio Armadillos. Not surprisingly, he made it onto the team as a starting Outside Linebacker, but he was not seen at the team flight, and was instead taking his own flight. For an unknown (but probably evil) purpose, he recruited the Ha-Ha Brothers, Takami, Komusubi and Onihei onto them team, saying he was going to force them on the team. It is revealed, right before the Japan vs Russia game, that Agon hid the uniforms of the starting players so that the other players that he scouted could play. His scheme involves joining the game to make a strong impression and bid for the $3,000,000 when the Russian team is crushing the players. However, as Hiruma gleefully commented, the Japanese team is not to be underestimated, starters or not. He seems to have recruited a great range of players past those seen in chapter 308; he recruited cornerbacks Kisaragi and Kamaguruma as well as others. In more recent chapters, his evil plan to get the reward offered by Morgan was foiled when the Japanese Team beat Team Russia. The next morning, Agon comes up with another scheme, where he tries to coerce the two quarterbacks during a car ride, Kid and Hiruma, to give up their quarterback positions and let him be QB instead. Hiruma refuses, retorts that Kid is a way better QB than Agon could be, and proposes he would rather give him the $3 million than give up the possibility of winning the other prize: his first and last chance to make the NFL. After Sergeant Gomery, leader of the Militaria team, shaved off part of Agon's dreadlocks, Agon responded by shaving off the rest of them. This may have been an act of humility and respect for Hiruma's goal to reach the NFl after realizing what he had been talking about during the time they were together. As a result of this incident, he now looks exactly like his twin brother, Unsui except for the sports goggles he almost always wears. Agon declares that the deal involving the $3 million is off, and that he would exhibit his full strength and fight for the prize along with everyone else. However, the other point of view that is possible, in which Agon hasn't lost his arrogance, is that he realized that his hairdo is simply ruined and is better off shaved. In accord with this point of view, his willingness to "go full strength" may have come from Militaria's blatant underestimation and insult of him (Gomery having called his haircut "cheeky for a substitute" (he never was a substitute in the first place) and him "maggot", "stupid", and "weak"). Against Militaria, Agon shows no mercy, even arguing with Gaou over the division of the "prey" (the Militaria team). He and Gaou crush Sergeant Gomery mercilessly.
In chapter 316, Agon stops Gaou from battling Mr. Don, because such a fight could disqualify Japan. When he realizes that Mr. Don didn't want to stop, he was about to allow the two to fight it out, but Agon sensed the dreaded power of Mr. Don's strike, and as result, saves Gaou by chopping Mr. Don's blow (Agon was knocked back onto the ground in the process). Throughout the chapter, he reasons that if he didn't stop and save Gaou, the $300 million and the game would be lost, either from disqualification or the loss of a crucial player.
[edit] Techniques/Strategies
- God-Speed Impulse - This is Agon's innate talent which allows him to move and react with near-superhuman speed. Also, he can use this ability to learn complex physical maneuvers in a short time. This ability extends to practically anything, from driving a car in chapter 313 to riding a bike during his childhood. However, this ability has a fatal weakness; it only works if he can see the movement. When Sena placed his hand on the side of Agon's helmet, this was round the back of it where he couldn't see, and Agon was unable to react to it in time. This ability is sometimes used to humorous effect, such as when Agon's hair grows back after being shaved off in the previous chapter or in the game against Militaria where he tails Gomery until he and Gao down him.Note: Agon is also very intelligent on and off the field and has been shown to be able to read plays when he attempts to down Monta in his own red zone to end the game (and run pass routes as shown in the anime)
- Dragon Fly and Golden Dragon Fly - A maneuver regarding various lateral passes that require multiple quarterbacks. In the case of "Dragon Fly", it is both Kongo brothers. With the "Golden Dragon Fly", they are joined by Ikkyu. Against the American All-Stars, a new Dragon Fly combination was formed between Agon and Hiruma.
- Chop - Agon's preferred method of tackling. Using the side of his hand in a devastating chop, he can send most players to the turf groaning in pain. The ref would probably draw a flag and a double-digit penalty for unnecessary roughness, and likely an ejection for repeated offences, in the pros. In the world Cup Arc he only uses the chop to stun defenders when running, else wise he always form tackles
- Imitation Devil Bat Ghost - Thanks to his God-Speed Impulse ability, Agon was able to copy the steps of Sena's famous run.
- His 40-yard dash speed and bench press record never been revealed but it can be thought he may be a 4.5 or 4.6, and due to his God Speed Impulse and reaction time, he can move with even the fastest players
- Agon along with Shin and Sena were the most notable Japanese standouts. Agon was not only able to compete but dominate his zone of defense and cut off any pass that entered make a huge wall in the defense where he and shin played.On the first play of the World Cup Championship game he is the only player on Japan's team who was not tricked by Clifford's fake hand off and quickly rushed to cover Clifford forcing him to pass. Also, Agon and Hiruma's Dragon Fly, was the first technique to score a touchdown against America and agon scored it. Also when Shin becomes injured, Agon makes up for his loss by becoming the core of the defense. His God Speed Impulse, seemed to be something no one had seen before, and he scored a lot of mvp points, but did not win the mvp award. Agon possibly has the most potential to go pro out of any of the characters, due to his overwhelming genius, but also he was able to dominate the world's "top" all-stars and he ,unlike many of the players, was pure talent, with no real practice, or work ethic,so with some practice he possibly could join the pros. But he comments that he doesn't want to play American football all day everyday for the rest of his life, as he just wants the money.
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