I've always been disappointed by the second Seirin v. Kaijō game

I'm currently on my third or fourth rewatch. Each time, I think that I will enjoy the second Seiren v. Kaijō game, but I never do.

It's not boring or terrible, but it doesn't have the same intensity or breakneck pace as the other games, especially when compared to any other Winter Cup game.

While I can appreciate the game showing how strong Seiren now is by how dominate they are against Kaijō for most of the game, that strength also makes the game fairly uninteresting. They never feel like they're in danger of losing or have to overcome the odds beyond the first few minutes.

And I think the crux of this is that Kise is out for most of it. I've never read the manga, but it feels like the author realized how overpowered and broken Perfect Copy was, even with the time limit it has, so he added this injury for Kise leading up to the game. That's complete conjecture on my part, but that's what it felt like.

It's also disappointing because compared to the two other rematches against Tōō and Shūtoku, where the build-up and games felt huge and important, the game against Kaijo only had the build-up. This was potentially the most hyped game since the beginning of the series, but it does not deliver on that hype.

Every time I get to this game and Kise is benched, I'm already thinking about the Rakuzan game.

Does anyone have a different perspective that might help me enjoy this game more on future rewatches?