A Potential Rival?
Two weeks ago I gave my first impressions of this series and while I noted there was potential for it to be enjoyable I also worried because a lot of the characters who were introduced behaved in a manner that more or less made them characters I just wasn’t going to get behind.
…sooner or later they are actually going to start playing and at that point they are going to want the audience behind these characters but regardless of what development occurs here a character who steals someone else’s shoes is not one I’m going to be cheering for anytime soon.
Karandi – Episode 1 Review
Well here we are in episode 3 and Aniru no Sora is pulling out all the stops to try to convert Momoharu into somehow who we can ‘understand’ and maybe learn to appreciate. But honestly it doesn’t matter how many times this anime now tries to make him look slightly more sympathetic, regardless of how he ended up being the guy who threatened others with throwing their shoes in the sewer, I’m not about to actually connect with him.
Admittedly, he’s a lot more tolerable now and seeing him get beaten up multiple times in the episode isn’t exactly a bad way to try to gain sympathy for a character, but overall, they’d have been better off introducing him as a more stoic character and one who just didn’t get involved rather than an active antagonist. It would have made this sudden transformation to someone with a bit of hope easier to swallow.
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Sora continues to be the hopeless optimist but realistically it is his never say die attitude that carries this anime as well as the hope that maybe for Sora it will pay off (after getting beaten down enough times). While he isn’t a unique character by any means he’s got enough charm on screen to at least make you curious about what is in store for him, outside of running around the court naked – and why was he naked again? The challenge was definitely boxers. Then again, I also noted after episode one that Sora lacked common sense or logic so at least that point remains consistent even if I wish it didn’t.
I think I’m committed to this one at this point. The overall cast hasn’t sold me on the anime and it is pretty formulaic, but there’s something compelling about Sora and honestly while the story is moving through familiar beats, they are familiar for a reason. They just work.
Thank-you for reading 100 Word Anime.
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Karandi James
Follow the journey of Ahiru no Sora with all episode reviews.
Images from: Ahiru no Sora. Dir. K Kusakawa. Diomeda. 2019.
loved the contrast of a ‘gang’ patrolled high school … with a totally normal basketball team vs a normal school with a ‘gang’ basketball team. It’s not deep or innovative (cough cough Haykyuu!!!!) but its charming. Charming is plenty.