Hromino

Somewhat unnoticed by the otaku community, this anime is sometimes compared to Haikyu!!, imho rightfully so. Both anime do a very successful job of portraying character development and building relationships within a certain team against the backdrop of sporting events, plus a significant part of the same creative team are behind both anime. Unlike its aforementioned predecessor, however, Run with the Wind is not an adaptation of a still-being-released manga, but rather a complete, long-out-of-print book, resulting in a precisely measured narrative pace; the story does not drag, does not rush anywhere, does not overstay its welcome, and every scene is necessary. The psychological side of the characters is similarly deftly handled in this season - whereas in the case of the Karasuno boys' volleyball match in Haikyu!!, none of the players there were in any doubt from the outset that they wanted to play volleyball, here the residents of a suspiciously cheap-to-rent college dorm are faced with the dilemma of how to deal with an unwanted debt to their college landlord, who wants to realize his wet dream through the formation of a track team, then the group all have to somehow cope with a very fragile harmony that could easily be disturbed by the refusal of even a single member, and the associated clash of loyalties and self-ambition so typical in Japanese culture, will also trouble many a young adolescent’s mind here. These internal conflicts, along with other personal issues, throw each of the main characters into reevaluating their identities, sorting out their priorities are in life, and pondering what this mysterious concept called "running" actually means to them – a means of gaining recognition from those around them, a mere required duty, a simple pastime and form of recreation, a chance for some form of self-fulfillment, a chance to fit in... or perhaps as a means to gain power? It is this level that is handled excellently with an eye for detail and is clearly this anime’s greatest asset, and although it cannot be said for the potential of developing the characters’ psychological background is evenly spread through all ten members of the team, it is not a major weakness that would in any way spoil the overall impression – after all, in the space of 23 episodes this goal would be very difficult to realize, and less is sometimes more. The level of animation and artwork is, as expected, of a high standard (the Production I.G studio does a really great job with this type of sports anime), the original music too. The opening jingles didn't impress me much, but the closing ones did a little too much – my headphones are pretty tired out. Overall, this is an excellent but grossly underrated affair that works like a carefully oiled machine from start to finish, never letting up its pace for a moment due to well thought out planning, leaving the viewer with a very powerful catharsis at the end. And maybe being underrated ultimately doesn’t matter so much, because this is exactly the kind of anime where you feel that the potential wide popularity it could gain could be to its detriment, and where you do not actually want to watch the second season, as this one was so good in itself that a possible sequel would only spoil it. Plus, do not forget: The Mountains of Hakone Are the Steepest!

I can rarely say an anime has got it all, but Samurai Champloo is certainly one of that rare breed. The critic Madsbender used a simile in his review that I was going to use as well - that is, that this is a sort of anime variation on The Name of the Rose - simply because everyone can find their own thing in it. As the name of the anime itself suggests - chanpurū is the name of an Okinawan dish characterized by the variety of ingredients used - this is a stylish ride across time, genres, moods, and (pop) cultures, based on well-written characters, sound animation and a story framework whose ending gets a well-resolved pay-off. Although most of the episodes have self-contained plotlines, each of them has its own place in the season, and the audience never knows what direction it will take with the next episode. The diversity and originality of the show are also reflected in the now-iconic soundtrack, which features collaborations with some big names in Japanese hip-hop, and has made many Western anime fans aware of the legendary Nujabes. As much as Watanabe is feted mostly for Cowboy Bebop (which I also cannot deny the qualities of), for me, it is Samurai Champloo that remains unsurpassed among his work and has a firm place in my top ten anime list, and since so much has been written about it, like Cowboy Bebop, I have no choice but to end my review with a challenge: Just watch it!

Many people proclaim Mushishi as one of the best anime series ever created, and while I certainly agree that it deserves a spot in my "top ten", I would describe it a bit differently. To me, what is the most striking feature of this anime is its uniqueness. Despite my time spent in the world of anime, I have yet to encounter another series that evokes the same emotions as Mushishi. It's not a grandiose epic that draws viewers in with intricate characters or a complex storyline. Instead, the show's brilliance comes from the combination of stunning artwork, a beatifully atmospheric soundtrack, imaginative storytelling, and an overarching wisdom that seeps through every episode. This wisdom doesn't hit viewers over the head; instead, it gradually permeates their senses throughout the series, offering them a chance to reflect on how to handle the inevitable moments in life when they may not have the power or resources to change things. Mushishi is a simple yet captivating work that immerses viewers and leaves them with a powerful catharsis after every episode.

When two eccentric masters of their art - anime director Masaaki Juasa and manga artist Taiyō Matsumoto - join forces, it is probably a safe bet that the result of them working together will be unmissable among the season's other offerings. I am also very glad that this is unmissable not only in terms of the audiovisual experience, as one would expect, but also that the creators have taken great care regarding what they actually wanted to portray. Ping Pong the Animation is not simply just about telling a story about the game of table tennis - everything in the show is all about the game. Juasa works hand in hand with the audiovisual side of the story, exploring to the very limit how much space can be minimized to fully tell the narrative. Dialogue flies by at the speed of a ping-pong ball after being hit, the progress of a match or important changes in character development are told sequentially through split-screen narrative, and the way movement is captured in unison with the soundtrack is a chapter in itself. The strength of Matsumoto’s manga, apart from his distinctive art style, is how much care he takes in keeping the realism of the dialogue to portray the depth of the characters and their gradual development - this aspect is preserved so well here. I completely understand that the audiovisual and narrative eccentricities here may not be easy to take in for everyone - indeed, I was not so impressed with Ping Pong the Animation the first time around, nor did I finish it - but the second time around, it won me over immediately. If I had tried to find any fault with it, I would have certainly succeeded, but why try at all when the positives clearly outweigh the negatives? If you are looking for something fresh and unconventional in the world of anime, I can only recommend it.

This anime is an accurately aimed cannonball between the eyes of all those who are convinced that sports anime is not for them and avoid it like the plague. Haikyu!! is a sports anime, but it is not primarily an anime about sports. The volleyball practices, tournaments and matches here only provide the narrative framework, or rather the backdrop against which the main thing that is going on – namely the development of perfectly written characters and their interactions. Although there is someone who could be described as the main character, there are many other characters vying for attention in the background, none of whom are neglected and each of whom is portrayed as realistically and in as much depth as possible. The plot of Haikyu!! is all about the clash of different motivations, overcoming mutual differences and animosity, finding commonalities, and finding ever new ways to improve teamwork. The creators let the heroes win and lose, the black and white nature of good and evil is done away with from the very first moment, and the events we see on screen transcend sports and can be applied to any group of people trying to achieve something together, and primarily by trying to change themselves. The realism comes to the fore here, so you do not have to worry about any silly displays of superhuman powers and techniques with overcomplicated, ridiculous names, as is sometimes the norm of this genre. All of the above is spiced up with a nice dose of humor and thrilling fights that will keep you on the edge of your seat, great soundtrack, likable artwork and smooth animation – and so there is no doubt about the rating I should give. Although the other seasons are also of high quality, I consider the first season to be the best due to the fact that there is the most room for what makes this anime so impressive, that is the aforementioned character development and relationship building. So if you are one of those who eye sports anime suspiciously, I recommend watching Haikyu!! as an excellent way to see the light.

This is the anime I had always dreamed of. Not because it takes place in Kawagoe, where I had a nice trip at once, and which brings back a lot of memories, but because it is an unassuming gem that gambled everything on a single card and succeeded. That card is believability. They bet everything on it: they threw away the popular tropes associated with high school romance anime, they threw away the typical character designs, and they threw away any exaggeration to which the setting of a Japanese school can create. To make matters worse, the production company decided to focus on the psychological side of the characters, and created a very serious coming-of-age contemporary romance that does not take place in high school, as is the case with other anime, but rather at the end of junior high school. They could not have risked any more - but a miracle happened, it all worked out. Together with a fitting soundtrack, and engaging artwork, a completely believable story unfolds over only 12 episodes, and with each passing episode, it never ceases to amaze you with its playfulness, freshness, degree of believability, attention to detail, the director's assuredness - and yet the finesse with which it is narrated. I understand that for a Western audience, believability can be uncomfortably startling: there are no eccentric heroes with strangely-colored eyes or hair, and instead of going off on some exciting adventure, the characters awkwardly engage in embarrassing school activities, and boring studying for entrance exams, they do not scream, they do not giggle, they do not behave like idiots, and the parents and teachers behave the way Japanese parents and teachers often do - in both good and bad ways. Many people may find the development of the heroes' relationship a little too rosy - but in my opinion it is more the result of watching other anime, where in accordance with the unwritten Japanese tradition they have to make the story as dramatic as possible, and throw as many obstacles as possible in the way of the heroes to show how much they have suffered for their successes, and that they have to deserve that happiness. These obstacles are also there, but there is a reasonable amount of them - and that brings us back to the beginning of my review. Again, I verified the hypothesis that Kishi knows how to direct anime, as long as it is not an adaptation of a video game. Until the penultimate episode, it looked like a strong 4 stars, but the end completely amazed me, and so I decided to definitely award it the full thumbs up. Watching this again in the future is guaranteed - and I'm already looking forward to seeing what other interesting details I can find. –– Edit: This anime reverberates in my memory so much that it simply has to make it to the top. Wonderful.