Ace wo Nerae! (1979)

High school freshman Hiromi joins the tennis club because of her admiration for Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki is a senior, who's the best tennis player on the team and also nicknamed "Ochoufujin", ("Madame Butterfly"), because of her elegance on the tennis court. However, the new coach, Jin Munakata, wants the inexperienced Hiromi to play in a forthcoming tournament.

Due to this, Hiromi considers quitting tennis for good but, in the depth of her soul, she soon realizes that she loves tennis after all. She returns to the club and, under Munakata's coaching, her talent starts to bloom.

In the end, Hiromi develops a strong emotional bond with her coach, not knowing that Munakata is risking his life because of a chronic illness.

(Source: AnimeNfo)

Oka, Hiromi Main

Kousaka, Makoto Japanese

Ryuuzaki, Reika Main

Ikeda, Masako Japanese

Munakata, Jin Main

Nozawa, Nachi Japanese

Todou, Takayuki Main

Mori, Katsuji Japanese

Aikawa, Maki Supporting

Sugaya, Masako Japanese

Midorikawa, Ranko Supporting

Yanaga, Kazuko Japanese

Otowa, Kyoko Supporting

Komiya, Kazue Japanese

Chiba, Takashi Supporting

Sogabe, Kazuyuki Japanese

Ozaki, Yuu Supporting

Hoshino, Miwa Supporting

Dezaki, Osamu Director, Storyboard

Fujikawa, Keisuke Script, Screenplay

Ryuu, Machiko Theme Song Lyrics

Nakamura, Ryuutarou Key Animation

Reviews

Aug 8, 2009

Skadi

Recommended

Ace wo Nerae! is without a doubt the most under-viewed and unappreciated film listed on this site. At the time of this writing only 53 people have scored this? Truly shocking as I found this to be one of the best sports themed anime I have ever seen.

This movie serves as a recap for the television series from the early 70s. Since I went into this movie not seeing the original series, I can’t compare how this film does justice to it or the original manga. However as a standalone story it’s a very good one. Hiromi Oka is a ... freshman member of her high schools tennis club, which also happens to have many of the best players in the country. On her first day a new coach is introduced and Hiromi is quickly picked by him as a top new prospect, though no one else seems to see this talent including Hiromi herself. He pushes her with a brutal training regiment and slowly she becomes better and more confident leading up to the ultimate goal of making the national squad to compete internationally.

The movie features great sports action and even though I am not particularly a fan of tennis, I found the action to be both realistic and exciting. It also does a great job of keeping it simple. Often movies, particularly recap ones, try to do too much and cram so much information in them that they end up not making a lot of sense. That’s not the case here as we are given just enough background on the supporting cast to make you care for the characters. While the focus of the story remains fixed on the tennis aspects, Ace wo Nerae does a good job of mixing in a little romance and some compelling dramatic plotlines.

I really loved the cast and in particular the lead, Hiromi Oka. She is a bit of your standard leading lady but I found her to be a very interesting and likeable character. I can imagine that she has influenced many of the anime heroines that have succeeded her over the years. The strict coach Jin Munakata, is your typically stoic man with a mysterious past. Though his motivations are hidden from the audience for almost the entire film when they are revealed I felt that they worked pretty well. The rest of the cast is good and the character archetypes will be familiar. Reika who is the best player on the team and is idolized by Hiromi, is aloof and tough on Oka because she doesn’t think she deserves what the coach gives her. She’s a pretty good foil for Hiromi though you can’t really call her a villain. Unlike a lot of sports stories where the rival of the hero or heroine is usually a total asshole, Reika doesn’t come across that way nor will be hated by viewers. Toudou is the best male player on the team and is the love interest for Oka. He’s a likeable character though the romance elements take a backseat to the sports action.

For a movie from the late 70s, the animation holds up remarkably well to today’s standards. The art and character designs are top notch and it is quite beautiful to watch. The only thing that really is painful to view is some of the god awful hair styles and clothing. The acting is very solid as well, though the music is typically 70s but neither particularly good nor bad. There are some really great sound effects however, the tennis matches sounded exactly like they should.

I strongly encourage everyone to go out and try to find a copy of this movie to watch. Anyone who considers themselves a fan of anime should give this a shot. Don’t let its age fool you, Ace wo Nerae! is classic.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Skadi (124)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Feb 10, 2024

CorrectorYui

Mixed Feelings

Per my rating, I have mixed feelings on recommending this. I watched it hours after finishing the tv series.
Starting off with the pros, the high budget is clear with beautiful shots and no off-model moments for characters (or at least I didn't notice any)
In the 6 year gap between the series and the movie, Dezaki's directing became so much more refined and distinctly HIS style from the pastel still frames, the shots of birds taking flight, unique camera angles, and color palette changes in intense moments. It very much made the movie for me.
Onto why I am mixed about this, the movie is ... pretty much a recap of the series, with new content being at the very end. While some moments are changed slightly, the end result is pretty much the same. Some really important character arcs and moments are cut out too, like Kyoko Otowa's development and a lot of how Reika and Hiromi's bond grew and changed over the course of the plot along with Hiromi's improvement being less gradual, only shown through short training montages. I understand the reason being time constraints, but it still does hurt the film.

Overall, if you're watching it for new content, it isn't really needed. However, if you are a Dezaki fan like me and enjoy his directing style, the film is eye candy and a nice watch.

TL;DR: Probably not going to enjoy it if you aren't a fan of recaps, if you want to watch it because it's a Dezaki work and to see his style in motion, go for it.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by CorrectorYui (15)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Mar 3, 2021

Takuza

Not Recommended

Funny

Look, the story in this movie is trash. The entire thing is an irrational, emotionally (and at times physically) abusive male coach unreasonably projecting his desires onto a teenage girl, working her until she throws up. You are not told what his motivations are for the majority of the movie, and when it's finally revealed it is some of the most insultingly inappropriate drivel I have ever had narratively pushed on me in film. The movie has the audacity to have the main character be grateful to this man for his abuse. This may even be realistic, I do not know how people react in ... these situations. Realistic or not, it is disgusting for this to be portrayed as sweet, endearing, motivational, or inspirational narratively. The coach is a piece of trash, and truly how dare this film spend even a nanosecond portraying him as anything else.

I understand that the context was different for the demographic at the time. A 70s shoujo manga about a hot older man taking a passionate interest in you above and beyond the other girls, feverishly driving you to be the best version of yourself because of his dark, traumatic past. Were I a japanese teen girl 35 years ago, no doubt this is would be quite captivating to me. Judge it in those terms if you wish, but for me, as an adult in 2021, this is absolute garbaaaage.

Putting those issues aside, the pacing is poor and while some of the scenes are quite nice (Osamu Dezaki really shines in certain moments) overall the production is nothing to rave about. So take some pretty good direction, modest animation, and a fun enough main character and mix that with poor pacing and an absolutely garbage story and you get a 3/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Takuza (2)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Osamu Dezaki Directed Anime Watchlist

by TheCoolGuy82

34 Entries · 52 Restacks

classic/retro shoujo

by grrrlsrevolution

50 Entries · 135 Restacks

Dynamic and Energetic Anime

by radton

44 Entries · 30 Restacks

North American Anime & Manga Releases for May

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for May. Week 1: May 2 - 8 Anime Releases Fate/stay night Complete Season Blu-ray [2023 Re-release...read more

May 5, 2023 5:32 PM by Aiimee | Discuss (2 comments)

North American Anime & Manga Releases for February

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases for February. Week 1: February 7 - 13 Anime Releases Horimiya Complete Season Blu-ray & DVD Co...read more

Feb 14, 2023 4:00 PM by Aiimee | Discuss (0 comments)

	newly animated or just recap? gknight - Apr 24, 2013	4 replies	by Fronzel »» Apr 25, 2023 11:34 PM
	Poll: Ace wo Nerae! (1979) Episode 1 Discussion DonKangolJones - Sep 21, 2010	13 replies	by Daviljoe193 »» Apr 29, 2022 8:15 PM

Top wo Nerae!: Gainax's Precursor to Evangelion and Gurren Lagann

Gunbuster and Diebuster: Two titles that represent different turning points in Gainax's history and serve as the precursors to their more renowned works, Neon Genesis Evangelion and Gurren Lagann. Does the appeal of these OVAs extend beyond their legacy? Let's find out.

by MFA_Community

13,198 views

Spoiler

AnalysisReviewSci-fi