Point blank period.
If you haven't seen it before, I warn you that it's a slower watch. But it's absolutely head and shoulders above other sports anime.
The pacing allows for a ton more development, though. And actually, the side characters are so developed that I caught myself Googling who the main character was towards the end of season 1.
Everyone gets legitimate time to shine - especially the rival character... who isn't made out to be the bad guy, at all. In fact, you'll find yourself conflicted between who you want to succeed over the course of the story. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The story already diverges from your standard sports anime in that the protagonist - Sawamura isn't building a team. In fact, he goes to an elite school in the process of rebuilding. They already have a pretty good team, so no spots are guaranteed.
For comparison: as much as I love Haikyuu (and I do), Hinata/Kageyama are guaranteed their spots from the moment they walk in the gym. There's minor "who will be the setter" stuff, but Kageyama is a prodigy as is, so that gets resolved quickly.
In comparison, in Ace of Diamond, there's already an ace pitcher and a relief pitcher. A stroke of fortune/misfortune allows Sawamura an opportunity, but he is NOT irreplaceable. He (and his rival) genuinely have to earn their spots, day in and day out.
And when they do succeed, you really feel it. Just as you do when they fail.
The music is also fantastic. I've never heard a soundtrack so repetitive get placed so perfectly every time. 100+ episodes & shit still slaps.
Anyways, I wrote this up mostly because I love the show, and really wanted to share it with someone. That is all!
If you haven't seen it before, I warn you that it's a slower watch. But it's absolutely head and shoulders above other sports anime.
The pacing allows for a ton more development, though. And actually, the side characters are so developed that I caught myself Googling who the main character was towards the end of season 1.
Everyone gets legitimate time to shine - especially the rival character... who isn't made out to be the bad guy, at all. In fact, you'll find yourself conflicted between who you want to succeed over the course of the story. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
The story already diverges from your standard sports anime in that the protagonist - Sawamura isn't building a team. In fact, he goes to an elite school in the process of rebuilding. They already have a pretty good team, so no spots are guaranteed.
For comparison: as much as I love Haikyuu (and I do), Hinata/Kageyama are guaranteed their spots from the moment they walk in the gym. There's minor "who will be the setter" stuff, but Kageyama is a prodigy as is, so that gets resolved quickly.
In comparison, in Ace of Diamond, there's already an ace pitcher and a relief pitcher. A stroke of fortune/misfortune allows Sawamura an opportunity, but he is NOT irreplaceable. He (and his rival) genuinely have to earn their spots, day in and day out.
And when they do succeed, you really feel it. Just as you do when they fail.
The music is also fantastic. I've never heard a soundtrack so repetitive get placed so perfectly every time. 100+ episodes & shit still slaps.
Anyways, I wrote this up mostly because I love the show, and really wanted to share it with someone. That is all!
