Area no Kishi

Kakeru and Suguru are brothers who both have a flaming passion for soccer. However, while Suguru becomes a rising star in the Japanese youth soccer system, Kakeru decides to take on a managerial role after struggling on the field. But due to a cruel twist of fate, Kakeru ends up reevaluating the role he has chosen.

In hopes of one day being able to enter the World Cup by becoming a member of the national team, Kakeru trains harder than anyone else. He isn’t alone in this quest for glory, though. Kakeru's childhood friend, Nana, is a soccer prodigy of her own, with the wicked nickname “Little Witch”. She is a top-ranked player and is already playing for Nadeshiko Japan, the Japanese women’s national team. Nana's success gives Kakeru the extra push he needs to reach for his goals.

Soccer and adolescent fervor combine for an epic, emotional ride. Check it out for yourself in Area no Kishi!

Aizawa, Kakeru Main

Sanpei, Yuuko Japanese

Mishima, Nana Main

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Aizawa, Suguru Supporting

Fukuyama, Jun Japanese

Araki, Ryuuichi Supporting

Ishida, Akira Japanese

Murasaki, Mai Supporting

Sudou, Saori Japanese

Aizawa, Mito Supporting

Shindou, Kei Japanese

Silva, Leonardo Supporting

Shiratori, Tetsu Japanese

Oda, Ryoma Supporting

Namikawa, Daisuke Japanese

Matoba, Kaoru Supporting

Yonaga, Tsubasa Japanese

Takajo, Akira Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Ogura, Hirofumi Director

Ookuma, Akira Sound Director

Urakami, Yasuyuki Sound Director

Takada, Masahiro Episode Director

Reviews

Mar 1, 2015

Maronise

Recommended

When I first watched anime based on sport I was consumed by it.
I've start to watch different types of sport anime and get more unique types of feelings after watching it.

This time soccer anime it is my first time encountered it and watch till end. I have zero knowledge about soccer etc. Don't even watch real soccer in TV , but in sport anime I'm looking for special stuff.
Just simply looking at persons who like to train their body and don't give up , make friends and keep fighting for the team , this few things give me shivers on my entire body.

Watching this anime ... sometimes it was similar to Kuroko no Basket , in the way of words they was saying in anime .At first few episodes it was boring and hard for me to watch but then KA-Boom ! and can't stop willing to watch more and more . Story was made brilliant it was not a lazy type but the more you watch you get sucked instantly. I enjoyed a lot the characters , the anime would me more popular if they could recruit famous Seiyū just few more.

I'm disappointment in one Seiyū role , I'm myself surprised that there is a male Seiyū that I did not like it. Well to tell you the truth I was disgusted by hearing his voice in anime and this character is Leonardo Silva. I'm definitely don't want to hear this Seiyū in other anime.
In other way the character that changed the point of few this anime was Araki , if not him anime would be dull and 'outworn'.


Once again I've encountered a anime that at beginning was boring but on last episode I was screaming ; Where is more ??
Why they end it on this time ?!
I'm definitely looking forward to see season 2 if they are willing to make it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Feb 23, 2017

DonQuigeek

Mixed Feelings

Disappointing. Area no kishi starts as an interesting new take on high school soccer with formidable expectations. And with 37 episodes to go, you expect them to be quite fulfilled.
Sadly, not.

First things first : the art and animation are a few years back ! Nothing awful, but nothing remarkable anyhow. Even the greatest moments are below 2016-17 standards, especially after seeing the intensity of some pearls like Haikyū vs Shiratorizawa. The overall art feels like the nineties, when sports anime were still cheap and relying only on the contagious rage to win of the main protagonists. You'll even notice a drop in quality after half ... the show, when some characters change from one scene to another. Fortunately, the seiyū do a great job, enough to compensate for that little annoyance.
And the story is rather good ! It starts with one, immediately goes to two, then three, then it becomes everyone else story. The pathos is surprisingly light, the characters are interesting and everything seems to go well, despite the slow rhythm.

Up to this point, it's okay.

The problem is... multiple !

First : even with 37 episodes, the show starts slow and ends up slugish ! The starting ambitions are being cruhed along the way for no reason - storywise. One reason could be that they aimed for a 70-100+ show from the beginning, but couldn't do it.
And there comes the second problem...

Second : the main protagonist is being sucked up by the show's background. In its seinen take, Area no kishi gives a lot of importance to the surroundings of the main protagonist. Excepting the family and the pathos that goes with the inner tragedy from which the story is built upon, which is a clever move, we expect progression. Sadly, we only get dilution. To the point the main protagonist gets too little screen time for a presupposed hero (Daiya no A anyone?), and his performances barely improve, naturally putting him on the sidelines.

Frustrating and, most of all, pointless. Ambitions that fall short are never a good sign.

And it doesn't stop there.
When you're in the second half and you have already noticed the very few comedy routines being reused poorly, there come two episodes of fan service ! Two beach-themed filler-like useless episodes! And suddenly, the 37-run you thought might be too quick for your taste becomes a real drag. Because you know it won't go anywhere, despite its promises, because everything that you thought was slowed in a way to build a great atmosphere and deeply likeable characters ends up being treated with little to no regard, almost clumsiness.

Third : the music is lame ! The action comes with sounds (I think they call it music) that will
remind the oldest of you of arcade gaming! Yeah! That ridiculous! Compared to more recent works, it just doesn't stand the comparison. That's all the obvious I can state.

So, what is Area no kishi?
It's a fair high school soccer show (with almost no school part), even if disappointing. Remember the feel of Ginga e Kick-Off, extract the quality of the art and the animation, add world ambitions but stick to your short-sighted "ginga" and, base story aside, you've got it. It's one of the last sport shows produced with disregard for the genre I guess. Before very strong scores pulled up even the weakest shows, before they decided to try stuff with direction and episode's construction (not the bad half of Area no kishi by the way), before they put enough money in it, maybe.

Fair as it is, it still feels wasted. But don't get me wrong: there are numerous reasons to enjoy it anyway!

I just don't feel like pointing them out.

That's how disappointment works.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 14, 2023

PixelB

Not Recommended

Preliminary (13/37 eps)

Area no Kishi is very similar to Cross Game. Slight spoilers ahead, but these happen in the first few episodes.

Both Cross Game and Area no Kishi feature the death of a loved one that both the male lead and female lead feel devastated by. The repercussions of this person's death reverberate through the series and propel the main characters to pursue their respective sports because the loved one's dream was for them to become the greatest.

However, the two series diverge eventually, and Area no Kishi definitely branches in a better direction. The Knight in the Area is definitely more of a character-centric series rather than ... a super sports-focused one, and they focus on many characters rather than just the main couple's relationship like in Cross Game. Rather than have highly detailed football plays, you're going to have more emotional monologues than actual strategy being told in games. Most of the time, the players showcase their ball skills rather than have a coach tell an overarching strategy. This can be fine if the individual showdowns are exciting and the characters are good enough to stand on their own. They're not. While I do complain when sports shows only focus on a limited amount of team members on a show just about football, at the same time, Area no Kishi has the exact opposite problem. There are too many characters that get screen time. There are multiple subs for each position and even multiple conductor-type players. As such, not a single character gets too much development and they're all still not beyond their generic archetypes in episode 13.

Animation does not do this show any favors. Have fun watching slideshow decks and as many crappy animation-saving techniques to cut costs, because there are virtually no good choreographed shots. It's just white/blue backgrounds on top of low-cost movement loops. When a player outplays someone, the shot is very fast, and doesn't feel like they're actually doing something amazing. There's just not enough smooth movement to make the football interesting.


I don't too much care for the main character, Kakeru, much, but the amount of character development he goes through, in the beginning, makes up for his lame personality later on. The character dynamics with his brother are quite realistic, and the internal turmoil and drama he goes through at the time are also good. The beginning arc certainly makes Kakeru a good character, and Mishima is no different.

The romance is honestly the only remotely good thing about this show. Kakeru and Mishima are the only two characters that get enough screen time to be actually relevant characters, and the relationship isn't an afterthought. Mishima isn't joined at the hip with Kakeru and isn't completely dependent on him, either. She's a better football player than he is at many times, but also has Kakeru's moral support since day one. Mishima goes out and tries to go pro in football herself and Kakeru's the one that has to catch up to wear the blue uniform with her. Unlike Aoba in Cross Game, Mishima's desire to play her sport shines through. While Aoba chooses to give up that opportunity to better Kou's chances at Koushien, Mishima grabs it and tries to become the best that she can be, which I think tells all the difference you need to know between the two characters. The interactions between Kakeru and Mishima are better than most romance shows, but it's pretty clear that romance is only a subplot rather than the main theme of the show. It's one of the types of shows where it's pretty clear that they're a couple, but they only reveal their feelings at the very end (I checked, and chapter 495 of the manga is when this shit happens). A shame that romance, of all things, was the only redeemable thing about the show.

The lack of details in the games, too many characters diluting the focus, romance not being a bigger theme, and lastly, the animation truly breaks this show.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: Area no Kishi Episode 37 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Fantassy - Sep 28, 2012	70 replies	by Zekkenshin »» Dec 5, 2022 2:39 PM
	Poll: Area no Kishi Episode 21 Discussion Stark700 - May 25, 2012	23 replies	by Zekkenshin »» Nov 18, 2022 3:04 PM
	Poll: Area no Kishi Episode 18 Discussion Stark700 - May 4, 2012	31 replies	by Zekkenshin »» Nov 18, 2022 1:07 PM
	Poll: Area no Kishi Episode 17 Discussion Stark700 - Apr 27, 2012	20 replies	by Zekkenshin »» Nov 15, 2022 11:11 AM
	Poll: Area no Kishi Episode 16 Discussion Stark700 - Apr 20, 2012	17 replies	by Zekkenshin »» Nov 15, 2022 10:23 AM

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