Ace wo Nerae!

Animation as any other form of art can't avoid the rule of percentages that supposedly determines what is good amidst the mediocrity (that some would claim is around the 90% of the total).
When it comes to old anime as the one object of this review, new factors appear, and the challenge is placed in discerning between what was lacklustre back in the day of its creation and what are the mere consequences of standing the test of time.

Aim for the Ace! (Ace wo Nerae!) is one show worth to be highlighted thanks to the apparent simplicity of its premise, and the good mixture between ... the sports' department with the constant dramatic situations and the psychological exploration of the characters. The fact of being only 2-cours long makes it from the very beginning way more accessible than some of the long-runners of the time. Aired in 1973, is not only one of the first anime of its genre, but also the first production to came under the name of studio Madhouse, and directed by one of its founders, Osamu Dezaki.
The shows under the direction of Dezaki use to be safe bets for us viewers of our time, since they were able to find their strengths in the same limitations of the format that used to work as detriments instead.

It is not, nevertheless, the aim of this review to praise this particular work for just being one of the first to make their appearance in this particular scene of both shoujo and sports. Aim for the Ace! is one truly interesting series by itself in spite of its context, with themes and worries that almost haven't aged with the pass of the decades, and that are still current and relatable. There isn't an excess of melodrama either, since the different issues are solved quite naturally, while others are introduced at the same time in one constant cycle of formulation-resolution that avoids dragging a particular problem for too long. The portrayal of its sports aspect shows a progressive and believable evolution.

Visually speaking this show is a rarity, way less rough-looking than most TV productions of the end of the 60s and beginning of the 70s. Its peculiar color palette, with a high tendency for pastel colors, Akio Sugino's great work adapting the character designs and the overall good animation for the time are aspects worth to be mentioned.

Apparently an obscure show in MAL terms with not even a thousand people rating the entry, it was actually a hit in Japan back in the day, albeit not in its original broadcast. An increased popularity in the following years thanks to retransmittions lead to the creation of Shin Ace wo Nerae! (1978), a remake of the series with updated visuals more alongside other Dezaki shows of the end of the decade. A summary movie for this remake, with new and better animation was also released on the following year. There are also a second and third seasons, released in the late 80s in the form of OVAs, nearly twenty years after the original series. Unfortunately, only the first season (that can be enjoyed as a stand-alone), the film (which I recommend despite the fact it covers the same events), and the first two episodes of the S2 OVAs are currently available with English subtitles [2021 update: both sequel OVAs are finally fully available!].

In conclusion, this 26-episode experience is really recommendable for any anime fan that is interested in the history of the medium. Some of the characters and themes of this show have been reformulated by numerous others almost to a fault, what affords the series a constant déjà vu vibe. Ultimately, don't miss it if by any chance you like Gainax's Top wo Nerae!, since the major part of that OVA's story works as a parody of Ace wo Nerae!

As an anime coming out of the 70s, about tennis, and by Madhouse, I had certain expectations and let downs.
First off, this screams 1973 perfectly from the clothes the characters wear, the sound/music, all the way to blood flowers. You'll know what I mean when you watch it.
There is so much to love about Aim for the Ace. First off, the main character Oka Hiromi is a bit of a cry baby and is easily overcome with emotions. But, she slowly evolves into a strong-willed women and matures as much as she improves her tennis game. She undergoes very tough training to improve her game ... and it is exactly what you want in a sports anime.
At first the art style will throw anybody off, mainly sparkle sweat. I quickly got used to it within the first episode and grew to love it.
What I loved the most about Ace wo Nerae is the banter between Hiromi and her best friend Maki. Oh and the tennis matches were fantastic. "You" can see where and what other sports anime take from this one.
I truly believe that if you are a fan of sports anime and/or shoujo, "you" owe it yourself to give this a good try.

Ace wo Nerae! is an iconic sports series that has been famously referenced in series like Urusei Yatsura and Kill la Kill. Osamu Dezaki, the director behind Rose of Versailles and Oniisama e…, has a directorial style that is notable for using a lot of stills and focusing on dramatic angles of a characters’ personality. I personally am not a fan of his. I think the directing in Ace wo Nerae is artrocious. For a sports show, there is barely any animation in this series AT ALL. When a character hits a ball with their tennis racket, it pans up a still ten times ... and then switches over to character making a shocked face or something comparably outrageous.

• Ace wo Nerae did many things that Ashita no Joe did, at the time, except it had much lower quality and worse writing. This series is like the bootleg Ashita no Joe, but with girls and tennis. I appreciate the avant-garde moments of this series, like there’s a terrifying scene where Hiromi is surrounded by a gaggle of faceless girls and there is eerie music droning in a monotonous humーto represent her feelings of social alienation. Moments like that rarely happened though. There are primarily lackadaisical moments of artists not wanting to draw a characters’ body, so they zoom into a stretched out face while dialogue blares in a beat of faux surreality; this technique is used over and over again!

• The characters are nothing out of the usual. I think Ace wo Nerae was one of the pioneers of a prodigy versus their wealthy, upper-class rival―hence why Kill la Kill used it in a parodical fashion during a tennis match between Ryuuko and Satsuki. The tropes in this series were very worn and scenes always linger on much longer than they need to be. Unless you want to laugh at the absurdity, this series is a bit of a snooze-fest.

• There’s only a small amount of romantic tension is between Takayuki and Hiromi, and it is completely dispersed when her coach tells her to not pursue romantic relationships and the heartbreak leads to Hiromi being able to beat Reika in their last match. That’s a pretty lame motivation for beating a sworn rival. This series carries a very goofy 1970’s vibe, reminiscent of Creamy Mami, and the audio quality is filled with ear-splitting echoes that mirror the original Doraemon (1979).

• Overall, Ace wo Nerae is very plain compared to Dezaki’s catalog of other series, I thought Oniisama e… was full of flaws, but I would suggest watching that or Rose of Versailles over this series any times of the day, his Golgo 13 OVAs also aren’t the worst thing in the world. Unless you want to get your classic shoujo fill, I wouldn’t suggest this series. I give Ace wo Nerae a 2/10.