An anime I gave a chance one night out of pure curiosity. My expectations were low, and I watch a lot of anime, so I have many failures in that area.
This was not the case with this anime.
My curiosity paid off, because it "caught me," and that night I watched all the episodes.
It's a lighthearted anime, and you might say the subject matter is for teenagers, because it has almost childish romantic scenes.
But I don't see it that way at all; rather, I think it shows very well how much vulnerability means and how difficult it is to work on yourself, to tell the truth, and to bet on your feelings.
It's about sports, relationships, work, and dedication, showing how much effort is required to achieve a goal.
It beautifully combines sports with the relational aspects of everyday life. The atmosphere is quiet and peaceful, almost magical; the story flows beautifully. I like it because I find many valuable and authentic scenes.
I also like how it approaches the relationship between men and women, and how the attraction it's “working”.
Even if their relationships are teenage, they are still valuable because we have access to the characters' intimacy, their introspection, and the common sense of the Japanese.
If you are familiar with the world of anime, you know how much content is available.
That is why I like that it approaches this aspect of ordinary life and contains relevant situations that can be useful to us.
The main character is Taiki, a responsible, hardworking, and talented guy who likes badminton and strives to improve his game, but also his own life in relation to the girl he admires and who motivates him to be better, more hardworking, and more connected to reality, Chinatsu.
In love with basketball, she is as hardworking and dedicated as Taiki; the two are quite similar and support each other in how they live their lives and the decisions they make.
In addition to those around whom the story revolves, we also have many very nice, different, and worthy characters, including Hina, his childhood friend, who is brave, funny, and good at what she does.
Hina is in love with Taiki and takes risks for her feelings. She tells the truth whenever she gets the chance.
We can see that both girls are attracted to Taiki because he is dignified and brave. Just because he's shy doesn't mean he's not attractive.
Honestly, I would love for Taiki to stay with both girls and so maybe we'll see how the anime approaches free relationship.
The characters are well-developed, and around them revolves this respect for life, people, work, and dedication to a goal.
But we see that dedication and dreams must serve one's personal life, not the other way around.
You only need to convince yourself and give it a chance, because there are very good contexts from which we can learn.
And the romance and adolescence aspects are very well done, and you, like me, will love the characters.
I, for one, look forward to a new episode every Thursday, for the atmosphere, but also for the characters.
The lesson and message of this anime are: how to observe your thoughts and introspect so you can trust your senses after consulting your conscience, and how to deal with compromises and momentary calculations to tell the truth, which is liberating.
Enjoy 😁