This week for Anime Sunday I’m covering a series I wasn’t expecting much out of! It’s my All Out Episode 01 Impressions!
Plot Synopsis: In rugby, there is no ace striker, there is no number four batter, so who is the star of the team? The story begins at school entrance ceremony of Kanagawa High School where Gion Kenji, a small but gutsy go-getter joins the rugby club.
Plot: I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this series at all when I first started watching it, but I ended up enjoying the hell out of it because of how much it reminded me of Eyeshield 21, one of my favorite Sports Manga of all time. That isn’t to say it’s a carbon copy except with Rugby instead of American Football, it isn’t at all. In fact the series are quite a bit different, but it had enough in similar to make me enjoy it. Mostly because of the crazy Captains, although I’m not expecting Sekizan to turn into Hiruma. That would be a bit too ridiculous.
Characters: Gion is a shorty, something I can relate to myself as I’m fairly short compared to most of my family members, so I enjoy seeing him blow up every time someone makes fun of his stature. That being said Gion isn’t a completely flat character and I’m looking forward to watching him learn and play Rugby. Iwashimazu on the other hand is a pretty deep character, and I’m looking forward to seeing him grow as well. Hachiouji and Sekizan are the last two characters we meet, and they are pretty good. That being said I’m expecting more backstory in future episodes or they’ll become a bit flat compared to Gion and Iwashimazu.
Art: Considering that this series was animated by Madhouse and the fact that I kept having flashbacks to watching the Hunter x Hunter 2011 reboot I’m expecting great things from this series. Seriously though it has the same animation style almost exactly and it is very entertaining to watch.
Music: The musical score was pretty good, intense in the right moments and light hearted when needed. The themes weren’t my absolute favorite, but they weren’t absolutely horrible either.
Overall: If you enjoy Sports series, you’ll definitely need to watch All Out.
For those who like: Sports, Rugby, Action, Drama, School Life, Awesome Plot, Excellent Cast of Characters, Fantastic Artwork, Great Musical Score.
Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.