VERY LONG ANALYSIS OF THE THIRD ROUND (Sorry, there was just so much more to interpret compared to the first two, was really fun though.)

Oh, I LOVE this fight!

Easily a 9.5/10, the two characters are fascinating to me, the theme is wonderful, the tension and drama are perfect. I have SO MUCH fun every time I read it.

There's so much to talk about that I honestly don't know what to say...

Humanity has lost every battle so far, but Adam inspired them to believe it was possible. So we have the contrast: It is possible to win VS But so far we haven't won any.

Brunhilde is extremely stressed about the situation. Then the next fighter is announced: Poseidon!

One thing that doesn't have much impact on first-time readers, but becomes more noticeable as the manga progresses, is that the gods are really trying to wipe out humanity. Because if you only know the story up to this point, it seems like each of the gods is hyped up as untouchable and incredible and blah blah blah.

But that's no exaggeration. Later on, it becomes clear that not all the participating gods are feared as the most powerful; they are still respected for being very strong, but not the strongest.

What happens at the beginning of this manga is that the gods REALLY are sending the heavy hitters first. That is, Poseidon is as big a dog as Zeus, only more feared for his attitude. This puts Brunhilde in a difficult position because if Zeus, who is more playful, won her fight, Poseidon, who attacks to kill, would be more difficult.

But who? Which of the eleven remaining humans could compare to the king of the oceans, given that, as emphasized again and again during the fight, not even the gods knew the depths of Poseidon's strength? Brunhilde didn't know what to expect in the battle, therefore she couldn't identify which of the humans would have a better chance against him.

Then Sasaki comes and chooses himself, and the Valkyrie decides to trust him!

So, to recap what's at stake: Humanity is torn between believing they can, but still must, win, and the next opponent is the most feared god on Olympus, even by the gods themselves, against an old man famous for losing.

What do we know about the fighters?

Poseidon was a god who never looked even his own brother in the eye, killing him without hesitation when he deemed him unworthy of being a god and decreeing, for all of heaven, that he never existed. 

And so it was, Adamas never existed.

Sasaki was a young swordsman who traveled the world fighting every warrior he encountered, but never winning a single fight, always giving up. After losing, he would isolate himself in nature, developing his skills with the animals around him, replaying his battles against his enemies in his mind again and again until he defeated them. He never tried to prove to anyone that he had succeeded. Sasaki died fighting Musashi, refusing to give up because he was enjoying himself so much.

I believe the superficial theme is obvious: Pride vs. Humility. But it's much deeper than people realize. It's not simply a self-important god confronting a human who "believes in himself."

Because this fight represents what it means to be a god and what it means to be a human. It's a more in-depth take on the theme of the first Thor vs. Lu Bu fight.

Poseidon is the APEX of pride. During the fight he is called the most divine god of all, and that's true in this repertoire. 

Repeating his words: "Gods don't form teams. Gods don't create schemes. Gods don't depend on anyone else. That's how a god should be. We are perfect from the moment we are born."

For Poseidon, a god is a being who doesn't need help or make plans. For Poseidon, a god is a being who doesn't bother to do anything.

One of the biggest criticisms of Poseidon's character (which I personally understand, but I'm tired of hearing about) is how the god of the seas never uses water in his entire match. He never does anything different except keep swinging his trident again and again, only stronger and faster.

But... that's the point! Poseidon is arrogant, VERY arrogant, VERY arrogant. He doesn't bother trying new things because he's perfect. He doesn't bother training because he's perfect. Using anything other than his trident to attack would be the same as acknowledging Sasaki's strength, and Poseidon refuses. The fact that he would have to use more strength and speed in his attacks was already humiliating enough.

This is actually the reason why Poseidon's true strength is unknown to the gods, because Poseidon NEVER fights at full strength by choice; after all, a god shouldn't have to fight with everything he's got.

But what fascinates me most about this fight is Poseidon's reactions.

You have no idea HOW difficult it was to put this fight into words because of Poseidon. 

Sasaki is the protagonist of this fight; we hear what he's thinking all the time, but we never see what Poseidon is thinking.

In our perception (and Sasaki's), Poseidon is a force of nature. Throughout the fight, he remains quiet and still, mostly expressionless and without thought. There are panels where I have NO IDEA whether Poseidon is indifferent, angry, tired, frustrated, or thoughtful. He is a complete enigma, a true abyss.

But there are moments when he shows reactions, and they add much more depth to the character than people realize.

1. When Sasaki states to Poseidon that the existence of a god seemed... lonely!

This infuriates Poseidon, or at least bothers him in some way; it's the first time the god seems to attack on impulse, out of annoyance rather than indifference.

Why? Because I think... Sasaki touched a nerve.

Poseidon shares a similar trait with Thor, being an expressionless god constantly bored by living alone. The difference is that Thor recognized this as a bad thing, while Poseidon saw it as natural for a god. It's natural for a god to live isolated and alone, because he is perfect and needs nothing to complete him.

But perhaps, deep down in the mysterious abyss that was Poseidon, a part of him felt lonely, even though that was theoretically normal in the nature of a god. When Sasaki said aloud that it was a lonely life, a part deep within Poseidon was troubled, because it was true!

2. Their smiles!

There are two moments during the fight when Poseidon smiles, and I understand that they were for different reasons!

2.1 Poseidon smiles when he manages to injure Sasaki for the first time!

Poseidon was forced to look a human in the eyes for the first time. Poseidon was forced to take the lead in a battle for the first time. For the first time... Poseidon was not allowed to stand still, annihilating the enemy in a single blow.

Then, Poseidon lets out a brief, subtle laugh and begins to whistle...

Poseidon's whistling is never explained, but analyzing the character and the context, my assumption is that it's his way of maintaining composure. Poseidon whistles when he's angry and trying to calm himself down.

He whistled moments before killing his brother. And now he whistled moments before having to increase his speed and hit Sasaki.

And after striking the enemy, Poseidon smiles in a superior, mocking, and proud way.

The first time I read this, I was caught off guard. Poseidon had been so expressionless throughout the story, and suddenly, we have a panel with the most expressive face he's ever shown. He's smiling and belittling Sasaki: "What's the matter? I thought you were anticipating my moves, you vermin!"

It's strange, isn't it? It's almost against Poseidon's nature. Why does the god who sees himself as perfect feel the need to mock the human in front of him? It's not as if it's in his personality to show feelings, after all, wasn't he the one who criticized the audience, twice, for flattering him?

Sasaki is proving himself an affront to the entire philosophy and existence of Poseidon; he's forcing the all-powerful god to act, and the audience is buying into it. Poseidon scoffs, knowing everyone is impressed by something trivial, after all, the god isn't even using all his powers yet.

In Poseidon's eyes, Sasaki was swimming in the shallow part of the beach and calling himself a professional diver. What a funny thought!

But what fascinates me is precisely Poseidon's need to mock immediately after showing the human that he still has a long way to go. It's so... petty. Which further reinforces another aspect of Poseidon: He highly values ​​his image as a god!

Poseidon says that a god is perfect as he is, and he destroys anything that tarnishes that image of perfection. I don't know if I would call it insecurity, but he gets bothered (very bothered!) when something shakes his perfect image and proves him wrong (Sasaki calling him lonely; Sasaki being able to predict and keep up with him).

Poseidon isn't as perfect as he wants to seem! He gets flawed too!

2.2 The second time Poseidon laughs is when Sasaki hurts him for the first time. (A great contrast to the first time he smiled.)

This time, it wasn't just mockery. I understand it was a mixture of mockery, irritation, and despair. He was laughing because his self-image of perfection was crumbling! (Mockery = "Now he'll think he can beat me"; irritation = "But this guy won't stop following me"; and despair = "He hurt me...")

This is further emphasized by his physical behavior: Poseidon runs his hand over his wounds, then stares at his bloodied hand, begins to whistle (trying to calm himself down), and runs his blood-stained hand through his hair. (Similar to the movement people make when stressed)

Now Sasaki, Poseidon's pain in the ass, I love this old man's attitude during the fight. He's always relaxed, smiling respectfully (even if sometimes there was a slight hint of cynicism in his tone).

Unlike Poseidon, Sasaki is not afraid to acknowledge the danger of the enemy in front of him!

Throughout the fight he calls him "Mr. God of the Seas," which is interesting given that he knows Poseidon's name. But again, it's his politely sarcastic way of speaking to the enemy; Sasaki recognizes that Poseidon gives him nothing, he calls him God of the Oceans precisely as a response to Poseidon's self-assured attitude as the big shot.

I find it interesting how Sasaki keeps talking "to Poseidon" during the fight. The only time the god responded to him was to defend his perfect image when Sasaki asked him why he hated the audience's flattery.

But then he got slapped in the face when Sasaki called him a loner, and from then on, Poseidon never spoke to him again for the rest of the fight.

I find this very interesting! As I said before, for Sasaki, Poseidon represents a force of nature that doesn't see him, doesn't hear him, doesn't answer him, and will kill him the moment he lowers his guard, with the only phrases directed at him being mockery and a discourse on why the gods are perfect.

The entire image Poseidon constructs in front of Sasaki is that of a being who despises him and considers himself perfect.

But Sasaki can only feel pity for the god and continues to converse sympathetically with him during the fight.

Unlike Poseidon, Sasaki got where he is thanks to others! He learned from his defeats! He became so strong by using everything his opponents taught him! Losing to Poseidon would be the same as saying that everyone's efforts, not just his, were useless, and that there were unattainable peaks given for free that no amount of training could reach.

And it wasn't just to other humans; Sasaki was grateful to nature itself and to animals. Unlike Poseidon, Sasaki recognized and admired even the unique abilities of "inferior" beings like animals.

A perfect being, who diminished the efforts of the lesser, who never trained or was grateful to anyone in his entire life—that was what Poseidon represented. Poseidon was an affront to Sasaki's philosophy and life!

Just adding to that, but I think it's great that Sasaki continues talking to himself in front of Poseidon. It's comical because he kind of acknowledges that Poseidon isn't listening, but at the same time still maintains respect for having another person present.

But one detail I find cool about Sasaki is at the end of the fight: For the third time, Poseidon proved to be more than Sasaki thought he was, as the swordsman himself says several times, "When I think I've caught up with him, he moves even further away." This is symbolized by images of Sasaki at the bottom of the ocean, trying to swim to the surface but never reaching it.

Then Sasaki starts to give up... thinking about how normal it was for him to lose...

That's when I realized that the character Sasaki reflects the human race at this moment!

Humans wanted to believe they could win because of what Adam showed them, but they had only lost every battle against the gods so far! Sasaki wanted to believe that all his journey, effort, training, and help had made him an incredible warrior, but he had never won a fight in his entire life.

His victory in this battle would be proof, both that all his effort had not been in vain, and that humanity could survive!

And that's exactly what brings Sasaki back into the fight: All the people who had supported him up to that point rallied to cheer him on, reminding him that a victory there wasn't just for him, but for everyone else.

Sasaki wasn't fighting just for himself; he carried an entire race on his shoulders! It was then that his connection to nature grew even stronger, and the man could feel the entire universe telling him how Poseidon would move.

And Sasaki admits, without any shame, that he also wants to win once in his life. After all, what's the point of striving for something your whole life if you never see the results?

It got long, but that's because this fight is AWESOME! The tension is spectacular, they really convey how oppressive Poseidon is, but Sasaki has such a comforting lightness that you trust him and feel that everything will be alright. And when he despairs, you really buy into how much he's trying to win that fight.

Humanity's first victory is achieved through what most distinguishes a human from a god: Effort! Unlike a god, humans need to fight to build something. Unlike a god, humans need help to build something. Unlike a god, humans are imperfect.

Hearing about it makes it sound awful, right? But at the same time, even if you don't have any context about the two characters, all you need to see is their faces when they enter the arena... and you can tell who's happier. The perfect one or the imperfect one!

Round 1: Thor vs Lu Bu- Winner: Thor- 1x0

Round 2: Zeus vs Adam - Winner: Zeus - 2-0

Round 3: Poseidon vs Sasaki Kojiro- Sasaki Kojiro- 2x1

Missing fighters:

GODS

BUDDHA, LOKI, APOLLO, SUSANOO-NO-MIKOTO, HERCULES, BISHAMON, ANUBIS, ODIN, BEELZEBUB, SHIVA!

HUMANITY

QIN SHI HUANG, KING LEONIDAS, NIKOLA TESLA, JACK THE RIPPER, RAIDEN TAMEEMON, SOJI OKITA, GREGORI RASPUTIN, NOSTRADAMUS, SIMO HAYHA, KINTOKI SAKATA!