Tag: sports & competition

Rowdy Sumo Wrestler Matsutaro!! (Abarenbou Rikishi!! Matsutarou)

What’s it about ?

Adaptation of a sumo wrestling manga that started in the 70s and ended more than 10 years ago. I have no clue why anyone would greenlight such a thing (transforming it into a de-facto period piece, set decades ago), but there you have it.

Characters

Matsutaro, our protagonist. Despite being an adult, he’s still in middle school. And failing it badly. He bullies everyone else in his class, including the teachers. Let’s not mince words : he’s a complete asshole.

His mother is busy offscreen, working many jobs to bring some food back to her numerous children. Matsutarou bullies them too, even stealing candy from the baby’s hand because the big oaf is that hungry.

Old man Nishio seems to be his only “friend” ; Matsutaro even helps him out working at his little mine, showcasing his immense strength. Unfortunately, the mountain is getting razed down, so he’ll soon be out of a job.

Any amount of sympathy I might have left for the little big scamp goes right out the window after the two steal a truck, get drunk, and kidnap the pretty teacher at his school. It’s quite satisfying to see them in jail at the end of the episode, because seriously.

Production Values

Barely animated and with terribly oldschool character designs, but then that’s pretty much the only approach you can take with such source material.

Overall Impression

If you’re wondering what any of this has to do with sumo wrestling, well, yeah. I can only presume that he’s eventually going to start that career and set himself on the straight and narrow, but fuck it : this episode has made a very good job of unselling me out of following his adventures. That the teacher is somehow going to follow him to the big city and become his love interest (if the OP & ED sequences are any indication) only adds insult to the injury.

No way I’m watching any more of this.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014 – Page 3.

selector infected WIXOSS

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Surprise ! It’s another cardgame tie-in ! Except a lot more ambitious.

Characters

Ruuko, our teenage protagonist. She’s the kind of introvert who has no friends besides her family circle. Obviously we can’t have that, and it’s quickly going to change.

Her grandma, for example, would be delighted for her to get some friends. She’s way too nice to press the matter, though. I like her morbid sense of humour (that’s quite the nasty punchline for Skyline Tetris), and it’s easy to suspect she knows a lot more than she’s telling.

Ruuko’s older brother doesn’t seem to be living with them, although he visits often. (Where are her parents, anyway ?) Cue standard sibling antics, as he’s a bit of a slob. Out of nowhere, he gives her a starter deck for this new popular WIXOSS cardgame that even girls are into. Except it’s not an ordinary deck.

Tama, Ruuko’s avatar card, might be Augmented Reality pushed to far. Not only is the character in that small piece of cardboard somehow animated, but she’s also talking. Admittedly, not very coherently. Also, only Ruuko can hear her. At least at first.

Yuzuki, one of her classmates, immediately zeroes on her the next day. See, there are only a limited number of players (“Selectors”) with those special cards. If you win while battling each other, you get a wish to be granted. (Which sounds very dodgy to me already.) If you lose three times, you’re out… and I’m not certain it’s only the card who disappears. Anyway, she’s sure the newbie is easy prey.

Kazuki, Yuzuki’s twin brother, watches the match. Except he can’t hear the cards (you have to be a Selector), nor see the very elaborate VR interface the two players are somehow immersed in, so that must be very boring. He compensates by providing some exposition about the rules, as he feels this match is a bit unfair to Ruuko. Not that he should bother, as Tama is somehow super-powerful. Yuzuki is lucky the match gets interrupted (and thus becomes a draw) by the schoolbell. Also, her tentative wish seems to involve being able to bone him, so, er, yeah.

There are various other Selector/card showcased in the OP sequence, so I’m sure we’ll run into them eventually.

Production Values

Very good. If there’s one thing this show does very well, it’s atmosphere. There’s a constant sense of dread, not helped by the creepy gory dreams Ruuko starts having after getting Tama. All the fantasy/VR/whatever sequences are gorgeous, if a bit dark.

Overall Impression

Well, that’s a way to get me intrigued by a card-game show : have it drowning in murky paranoia. Oh, sure, there are still scenes designed to showcase how awesome the damn thing is, but it’s easily compensated by the impression that it’s all a trap and that this is going to end very badly for all involved. The usually super-cute Tama looking like a bloodthirsty berserker during battles compounds that feeling.

I’m seriously getting some Madoka flashbacks here. I doubt this is going to be anywhere as good, but there are worse aesthetics to ape.

Okay, show, I’m intrigued. Where the heck are you going with this ?

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Spring 2014.

Gundam Build Fighters

(50ish episodes ?)

What’s it about ?

Why bother with a space opera plot ? Let’s just have some kids play around with Gundam models.

Characters

Sei, our protagonist. He’s very good at building Gundam models, including custom ones ; on the other hand, he’s complete crap at this “Gunpla Battle” VR fighting game that’s all the rage.

Sazaki, his rival. This kid oozes smugness ; he’s good enough at Gunpla Battes to beat Sei without breaking a sweat, despite having way worse models to play with. He’d love to partner up with our hero : between his skills and Sei’s top-class models, they’d be a force to be reckoned with. Sei refuses, on the ground that Sazaki is a jerk who treats models badly.

Reiji is a foreign-looking dude that Sei randomly bumps into in town. He’s the kind of alien who’s never heard of Gundam Battles (despite a street ad playing right in front of him), and has trouble with complex customs such as paying for the food he takes. After Sei saves him from an angry foodseller, he promises to always be there for his rescuer, giving him a magical pebble to summon him. That promise comes handy when Sazaki is laying yet another virtual beatdown on Sei : Reiji comes out of nowhere, and wins the match within minutes despite never having played it before.

Supporting characters include Sei’s mom (hello, Kotono Mitsuishi), who’s bravely tending to their modeling store despite not being too well-versed into those things (it’s his currently-not-around dad who used to be into it, even competing nationally). Also, Mr Ral shows up as a guest referee for the climactic match. No, seriously, this is a thing that happens.
[For those who haven’t been following my Gundam marathon : Ramba Ral was a minor but memorably badass villain in the original Mobile Suit Gundam series.]

Production Values

You can bet Sunrise is making the mecha battles look as good as ever : this is a glorified toy commercial, after all.

Overall Impression

This must be the stupidest thing ever associated to the Gundam name I’ve ever watched. And I’ve been through Mobile Fighter G Gundam.

But hey, it’s gloriously fun to watch. I’m not exactly the target audience (I watch Gundam for the plot, not the mecha ; I have trouble telling apart the various Gundam models, let alone recognize what the heck Sazaki is using – that’s a doll model from Wing, maybe ?) ; but it is a pleasant-looking show that goes through all the usual toy commercial tropes with gusto.

A niche product as far as most of you are probably concerned, but I’m in.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 11.

Yowamushi Pedal

(39 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Bike racing !

Characters

Sakamichi, our protagonist, is a complete nerd. He hoped to finally find some soulmates in high school, but it turns out the anime club has already been dissolved, and it’s going to be an uphill struggle to reopen it. His other notable quality : he enjoys riding his bike to school (including the 20+ % slope leading to it), and making casual trips to Akihabara. That’s 45km. On a bicycle.

Imaizumi, his “rival” of sorts. Well, not exactly. For him, biking is Serious Business : he has an intense daily training routine, a top-class bike, and is a major contender in nationwide competitions (he lost last year’s major race to That Guy). He hasn’t even bothered joining his new high school’s biking club yet, but that’s just a formality. Anyway, he’s baffled by this reckless kid who’s cheerfully climbing dangerous slopes without any care for his own safety (Sakamichi falls over A LOT during this first episode).

Kanzaki, a girl from the next class over. She’s obsessed with biking (which might be related to her family owning a bike parts shop, and her brother being the former biking club president), and imposes herself as the biking club’s new “manager” (you know, the traditional “girl” position in sports clubs that involves no managing whatsoever). Sakamichi has caught her eye ; cue misunderstandings about her interest in his biking trips to Akihabara. (She comes in tow with a sarcastic best friend who’s dismissive of the geek.)

We see a few of the senior members of the biking club, who all have their own quirks. Do note that our hero has yet to set foot anywhere near their clubhouse, let alone join them.

Production Values

As you’d expect, most of the budget is spent on lovingly animating the bikes. Actually, it does look quite good, and there’s some nice attention to body language.

Overall Impression

Well, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before, but it is quite fun. There’s some good comic timing, and I kinda like all the characters. Also, the bizarrely limited planned length makes me hope it’ll be paced to tell a proper story within it (which is always a hazard with shounen sports series).

I’d be an hypocrite to give a second chance to a –ing baseball series, and not to this. Gods know I enjoyed watching it more.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 11.

I Wanna Be The Strongest In The World ! (Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai!)

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Female Pro-Wrestling !

Characters

Sakura, our heroine, is the incontested MVP of her… idol group ? As a publicity stunt, her agency sends her to participate in a pro-wrestling class. (She was basically the only one willing to do it.)

Erena, her self-proclaimed rival, tags along to participate too, as she doesn’t want to be left behind. She has a tendency to get in way over her head, biting way more than she can chew. In this case, this means challenging…

Rio, an actual pro-wrestler, who doesn’t hide her contempt towards those idol bimbos. A natural heel, she makes a point of thoroughly humiliating Erena. Which provokes Sakura into defending her pal’s honour, challenging Rio in an actual wrestling match. Rio finds it all very interesting… as does the audience : ticket sales for the match go through the roof.

To drive home how IMPORTANT all of this is, there’s an actual news reporter following this event, with enough pull to have the front page changed when Sakura, thoroughly beaten by Rio (as if there was any suspense about that, training montage notwithstanding), proclaims that not only does she want a rematch, but she’s going to become an actual pro-wrestler, for real.

Production Values

Warning : all the fights are filmed like porn. Insistant shots focusing on the wrestlers’ lovingly-rendered crotches (or their boobs, if the camera has no other choice), ample moaning… I’m not kidding, this is NSFW. (But then, what are you doing watching anime at work ?)

Overall Impression

You know, the silly premise is kinda fun : ridiculous, sure, but sold by over-the-top performances. Unfortunately, the fights are completely unwatcheable, which puts a complete crimp on me enjoying this.

I’m not going to bother with this one.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 10.

Ace of Diamond

What’s it about ?

High-school baseball.

Characters

Eijun, our protagonist, is still technically in his last year of middle school, but he’s already being scouted Seidou High School, a Tokyo school that’s been recruiting the most promising baseball players all over the country. Since he sucks at exams and his violent outburst during his team’s final match is bound to get him blacklisted from most high schools, it’s not like he has many other options ; his family can’t believe his luck. But since he’s an arrogant little fuck who really needs to be taken a peg or two down, he’s still looking this gift horse in the mouth.

Miss Takashima, the Seidou recruiter, is plenty weird herself. Under her outward appearance of professionalism, she has a core determination to recruit someone she sees as a prodigy, and won’t take no for an answer. Since this is a shounen sports series, she’s most probably right.

Azuma, Seidou’s star batter, rubs Eijun the wrong way when our hero (?) comes visiting a training session (at Miss Takashima’s insistance). You can see his point, as the guy is a massive asshole who bullies his younger pitchers. Cue showdown after Eijun calls him on his bullshit (and throws in some fat jokes, for good measure).

Miyuki, one of the younger catchers, volunteers to catch Eijun’s balls against Azuma, because he finds the new loudmouth interesting (and he’s not afraid of challenging the bully). You can clearly see the cool-rebel-who’s-not-actually-a-rebel checkboxes being ticked.

Eijun’s pals at his middle school (including his not-girlfriend) get quite some screentime, but if the OP sequence is any indication, both he and the show will quickly forget about them, however much he may be protesting he wants to stay with them and not move to Tokyo. Yeah, right.

Production Values

It’s a shounen sports series that’s probably going to run forever : of course it doesn’t look to great, even in this showcase first episode.

Overall Impression

Darn, baseball. Must not fall asleep watching the most boring sports ever… Oh, wait, they hardly play any baseball in this, instead focusing on the melodrama. Fine by me.

This show must be doing something right. I originally had no interest in watching any of it beyond the token preview, but it hooked me enough to make me want to check out next episode’s resolution to the showdown. Admittedly, most of the suspense resides on whether Eijun is worth the hype (something even he doesn’t really believe) ; while crushing Azuma would certainly be satisfying in the short term, I don’t think this is where the series is really going. At least, I hope so, as Eijun is such an irritating little git that I wouldn’t be able to stand everything going his way just because he’s that good. (Also, it’s going to be quite hard to properly justify him moving to Tokyo and leaving all his friends behind.)

You get one more episode. Don’t waste it.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 9.

Walkure Romanze

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Jousting !

Characters

Mio, our protagonist. Dumb as a bag of hammers, she’s not a jousting knight. She’s attending a completely different department from this jousting high-school, and is terrible at handling horses. So of course a series of contrived coincidences is going to put her on the saddle by the episode’s end. (Well, nearly. But she’s already been challenged to a jousting match.)

Takahiro is just about the only male knight we ever see. Well, except he stopped jousting after some accident, so for now he’s just tending to his temperamental horse Sakura, and angsting about his future. He’s completely oblivious to Mio’s affections (despite all the effort she spends hovering around him)… and doesn’t particuly care about the various top females knights wanting a partnership with him either.

Those include Celia, the Student Council President With Drill Hair, and Noel, her devious self-proclaimed rival.

Bertille is a lower grade of alpha bitch, cultivating her own reputation among her pair of hanger-ons… but being the first to run when Sakura comes charging in. Thoroughly humiliated, she challenges Mio (who just about managed to rein the horse in) to a jousting match.

Production Values

You know a show has its priorities straight when every single female knight wears a (very short) skirt. And panty shots are featured starting right from the OP sequence. Also, the horse keeps eating those skirts, which means that Bertille spends half her screentime in her underwear.

It’s a shame, as the jousting sequences do look quite good ; those cell-shaded CG graphics are impressive.

Overall Impression

I’m watching this so you don’t have to. I’m sure I’ve lost a few brain cells here.

… Actually, I enjoyed watching this one a bit. It’s one of the dumbest shows in a season that’s not really shined for its intellectual prowess so far, and the fanservice is kinda skeevy, but it makes me a lot less uncomfortable than the wrestling one. If I’m going to keep watching a guilty pleasure show, it may well be this one.

via [In Which I Review] New anime, Fall 2013 – Page 10.

Fantasista Doll

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

It can’t be a real anime season without a card game show.

Characters

Uzume, our middle-school protagonist. She used to be good at card games in elementary school, even winning a tournament, but that’s pretty much behind her now. Well, at least until someone slips in her bag a special card-reading-device and a few cards during train rush-hour. She’s then tricked into activating her account (with way too much personal data), which summons…

Sasara, a card-generated warrior who can materialize to defend her from attackers… well, provided Uzume combines her card with some actual equipment cards, otherwise she just shows up nearly naked. Oops. Once that’s dealt with, she’s quite powerful.

Uzume’s opponent in this battle, obviously wanting to get those super-special cards, uses a ninja warrior and has lines like “I won’t forget this ! Next time I won’t hold back !” Urgh.

There are four other card-beings in the lot Uzume got, all with different one-note personalities (the motherly one, the barely-speaks one, etc.). They’re outraged when Uzume asks them to do her chores, declaring her the worst master ever. Oh, come on.

I’m pretty sure the scientist-dude stalking Uzume in one scene is the same guy who shows up later wearing a fancy uniform and a cape, standing ontop a lamppost outside her room at night, to declare her worthy of the Dolls.

There are tons of other members of the supporting cast that don’t really get much depth, such as Uzume’s bossy little sister, her “big sister” figure who seems to be in high school, and her various school friends.

Production Values

Decent. There’s one cute design idea : having the Dolls appear as flat ghosts on transparent surfaces. It’s barely used at all in the show proper, though.

Overall Impression

Sigh. There are a few okay jokes here, but there’s no escaping that this is an obvious toy commercial (at least, I hope that’s the idea) with a generic plot and flat characters.

I’m very tempted to give it a bit more of a chance, as it’s sometimes funny, but it’s too lackluster to make the cut in such a busy season.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013 – Page 5.

Stella Women’s Academy, High School Division Class C3 (Stella Jogakuin Koutou-ka C³-bu)

(13 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Slice-of-life comedy about an (all-female) airsoft high school club.

Characters

Yura, our point-of-view character. She’s a very shy and introverted freshman who’s just entered the Stella Academy, which seems to have more budget than small African nations. She’s trying to change herself and get some friends, but it’s an uphill struggle.

Sonora, her roommate, barely appears onscreen at all ; as a senior, she’s still off visiting her family before school starts. Yura finds tons of guns and military attire in the room & starts getting a bit suspicious…

Besides Sonora, there are four members to the “C3” club : the strategic-minded one, the tea-and-cake-providing one, the hyperactive small one, and the way-too-much-into-this one. They’re definitely looking for more members, and would be delighted to add the weirdo they found play-acting Rambo with Sonora’s gear to their group.

Production Values

Hey, since when does Gainax have budget again ? This looks quite nice indeed, with beautiful backgrounds and a very well-designed mock-battle scene at the end. (I especially love the jazzy soundtrack that starts playing there, making it very intense indeed.)

Overall Impression

Hey, this was surprisingly fun ! It’s not a particularly innovative concept (“cute girls doing cute things… with guns !”), but the characters are charming and the jokes work. It’s just very-well executed overall.

This looks like a keeper to me.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013 – Page 3.

FREE! – Iwatobi Swim Club

(12 episodes)

What’s it about ?

Sports show about FREESTYLE SWIMMING ! Well, whenever they actually get around to restarting the swimming club, presumably.

Characters

Haruka, our lead character. Utterly obsessed with swimming, to the point of wearing a swimsuit (and often not much else) at all times. Unfortunately, his current high school doesn’t have a functional pool, let alone a swimming club. And it’s too cold to dive into the ocean yet. Not that he’s got much competition drive at this point, anyway. If only he got some spark…

Makoto, his best friend from way back. The kind of childhood friend that’s totally comfortable with entering his house, finding him in his bath, and gently scolding him for being late. It’s pretty obvious that Haruka is mostly ignoring him, but Makoto can’t take the hint. He’s the guy who acts as a straight man in all conversations.

Nagisa, who used to be in the same swimming club back in elementary school, and only just came back in town, joining the same high school. He’s kinda miffed that his old friends aren’t doing any competition swimming anymore, but as the enthusiastic one he doesn’t let that stop him from convincing the two others to break into their old (abandoned) elementary school at night so that they can retrieve the trophy they had left in a time capsule.

Rin, formerly the fourth member of their relay team and Haruka’s rival ; he’s just come back from Australia, but has enrolled into the super-elite school nearby with the top-class swimming club. His mere reappearance (checking in on the buried trophy too) is enough to start reigniting Haruka’s competitive drive.

Gou, Rin’s sister, is in the three others’ high school too. She doesn’t seem to be very close to her brother, and I highly suspect she’s going to be their inevitable swimming club’s manager or something. (Also, in keeping with the running joke that all the boys have girl-ish names, she has a boy-ish one.)

Their new homeroom teacher is presumably going to be important too (club advisor, most probably), as a point is made to mention that teaching was her second-choice career. Three guesses what she tried to do before that, and the first two don’t count.

Production Values

This features KyoAni’s usual attention to detail regarding backgrounds and animation of body language… which in this case means much focus on those young muscled, supple half-naked bodies. But hey, it’s not that much different from your usual testosterone-ladden sports show.

Speaking of testosterone, I love the ridiculously gung-ho rap tunes that start playing whenever Haruka & Rin are in the same room.

Overall Impression

The question was on everyone’s mind after those trailers : is this just trolling, or is there a proper show in there beyond the homoerotic subtext ? Well, the good news is that this does have a perfectly serviceable premise… but it doesn’t rise much above the sea of clichés inherent to the genre. It also has no subtlety whatsoever. (The naming joke mentioned above is spelt out explicitly, for example.)

But hey, I have a weakness for sports shows, and I have no problem watching one that’s in about the same league as, say, Kuroko’s Basketball. (Well, a bit prettier, maybe.) I’m probably going to keep with it, although I really don’t expect it to be great.

via [In which I review] New anime, Summer 2013 – Page 2.