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Apr 9, 2022 2:54 AM
#1

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Jul 2021
9184
The OP is such a banger as expected by Alexandros' beautiful singing but no visual yet, maybe next episode.

Too bad this is going to get overshadowed by various romcoms because it definitely has the potential to become a great soccer series mhm.

I really admire Aoi’s spirit in this medium because he’s someone who is dedicated to flow with his soccer play and takes it janky at first like it’s already shown here that someone is shit-talking about Aoi’s own janky formation which gives Aoi some enragement but as he trains more and more thanks to the Coach of the youth Esperion FC who trained Aoi until the freaking night, his movement will surely start to format properly through various pressures in different matches can give him more barriers if he let go a bit of his out-of-control behavior.

The mother definitely had a difficult time on her end working in the bar and making sacrifices so I understand why she’s mad when seeing her son behaving immaturely and worried about whether or not he’ll get accepted to get a recommendation letter in order to go through a sequence of roundabout exams and perform the best in the tournament afterward.

I expect for the better or worse next episode when it comes to the soccer play.
Apr 9, 2022 2:55 AM
#2

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Jul 2017
14657
Ao Ashi for a start, presents like your typical Shonen fanfare, but is actually Seinen due to its target audience. That said, Naohiko Ueno's soccer manga (some places call it football but whatever) is qute the feature that's brought to life with prominent studio Production I.G. with lots of experience.

MC Ashito Aoi definitely presents like your typical Shonen that can be level-headed and ambitious given his stature, and this is newbie VA Kouki Oosuzu's debut (that sounds a lot like the mix of Natsuki Hanae and Daiki Yamashita), so I'm expecting his very first gig to deliver. All the best, Kouki Oosuzu.

Regarding this premiere episode, the famous player-turned-coach of Tokyo City Esperion FC's youth division Tatsuya Fukuda watching Aoi from the sidelines, and attempts to button Aoi up to improve his skills to take on the world stage with his skill, starting with the try-outs that with his family's financial instability, puts a halt to that. But that doesn't stop Aoi, and this is just the beginning for him.

I already expected Ao Ashi to be a lot like Captain Tsubasa, and it gave me that. Definitely following this.
KANLen09Apr 9, 2022 10:16 PM
Apr 9, 2022 2:55 AM
#3

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May 2020
11427
One thing that’s going for this series is that there’s plenty of source material in stock to adapt from, so they can be flexible with the number of episodes.

For the first episode this was a decent introduction to some of our characters, and can already sense that freaking love for football from both Aoi and the coach himself. Nothing to gain from sticking yourself to your comfort zone, time to go to the higher stage, to Tokyo. Will be an interesting watch.

Apr 9, 2022 3:01 AM
#4

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Jul 2017
462
As expected from Production I.G doing a great job for this series, most anticipated anime this season for me. and yeah let's we see how they work when it comes to the match, good episode 1 my curiousity about this adaptation has paid off and must wait again. the OP is sick i want listen it right now.
Logical_Apr 9, 2022 3:13 AM
im not too good to speak english

.. -- / -. --- - / - --- --- / --. --- --- -.. / - --- / ... .--. . .- -.- / . -. --. .-.. .. ... ....




Apr 9, 2022 3:05 AM
#5
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Jul 2021
2123
Finally a good football anime.
Apr 9, 2022 4:20 AM
#6

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Nov 2013
599
KANLen09 said:

This is soccer (or as you Americans call it football) much within the reigns of Captain Tsubasa and the like, and is at the core of it all, Shonen-ish for the young teens.


You got it wrong there. It's American who call it soccer, British call it football.
Also Ao Ashi is seinen, not shounen, because it incorporates real tactical insights of football which are used in top flight football in europe (idk if japanese youth implement it tho).
Many football fans will appreciate this anime since there is little to none bullshit superpower involved.
“You should enjoy the little detours to the fullest. Because that's where you'll find the things more important than what you want.”
Apr 9, 2022 4:45 AM
#7
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Aug 2016
480
Wait what happened? Crunchyroll doesn't seem to have uploaded it.
Apr 9, 2022 5:58 AM
#8

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Oct 2020
924
Lets gooo, finally a promising football anime im really happy
Apr 9, 2022 6:01 AM
#9

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Oct 2018
2722
Hebi_op said:
Wait what happened? Crunchyroll doesn't seem to have uploaded it.

It's out in Japanese TV. It would be out a few hours later on the streaming sites.

Edit - Nevermind, it's already out.
Apr 9, 2022 6:04 AM

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Dec 2013
836
Etherius_ZS said:
Hebi_op said:
Wait what happened? Crunchyroll doesn't seem to have uploaded it.

It's out in Japanese TV. It would be out a few hours later on the streaming sites.

Out on Crunchyroll already.
Apr 9, 2022 6:05 AM

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Oct 2018
2722
Kamiyan3991 said:
Etherius_ZS said:

It's out in Japanese TV. It would be out a few hours later on the streaming sites.

Out on Crunchyroll already.

Yeah, I also found that just now, edited my post.
Apr 9, 2022 6:34 AM

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Jan 2013
127
I hate football, but it was actually good.
Apr 9, 2022 6:49 AM

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Oct 2018
2722
Pretty good start, while the character writing is a mixed bag and the production isn't as strong as some other IG sports anime, looks like the story is going to carry this pretty well. Out of the 4 sports anime this season, this is easily the best one.
Apr 9, 2022 6:49 AM

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Oct 2017
27118
Pretty generic sports anime premiere but as a soccer anime made by production IG I'm definitely hyped. This does seem to have potential so hopefully this'll be great.
Apr 9, 2022 6:57 AM

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Apr 2014
403
... and went to play in La Liga in Spain, the best league in the world.
Facts.

A good first episode and great potential for a good football anime. Even though there are some points that I didn't like:
  • The defenders stand and talk to each other about the #10 attacking them.
  • The homage to the Zidane headbutt in episode 1. It would be better in a later episode with more emotional weight.
  • The boy who provoked Aoi into headbutting comes afterwards with his parents to apologize.
  • Aoi isn't interested in football tactics at all, yet seems to be an absolute genius in this field as well. Doesn't feel earned to me.
  • The youth team coach wants his club to be the world stage in football, beating Barca, Madrid, Manchester and Milan. But how? There's no competition in which he could achieve that. Even if the club wins the FIFA Club World Cup, it wouldn't really put them on the world stage. Football clubs in Europe would only try to buy their players and otherwise this would quickly be forgotten. At least, if you go by the current way the competitions are held.
Apr 9, 2022 7:02 AM
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Sep 2012
6
It was enjoyable for a first episode. Comparing it to the last football anime which I think was the Captain Tsubasa remake from a couple of years back, I think it's safe to say it's going to surpass it since that one was pretty mediocre. Excited to see how the next matches will be animated. Hopefully they don't rely on CG too much.
Apr 9, 2022 7:06 AM
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Dec 2021
57
I like it. Nice episode. The visuals are good, the animation and art is good which im sure will improve more in the next episodes. Thanks to Production IG for that. I really like the overall atmosphere too. You can really feel and see that the characters has passion for football specially Ashito and coach Fukuda, the football vibe is very strong. It's inspiring and i enjoyed watching it a lot.

The dialogues specially the last quote that coach Fukuda left, "I'll take you... to the world stage." is really a good way to end the episode. I like it. Selection exam next episode woohoo! that arc is one of my favorite. Very exciting and fun. And we will finally see the other characters too. Gonna brace myself for a lot of Akutsu hate lmao.

Oh, and the song from Alexandros, BANGER! The background music/music effects too is so cool. I see that we don't have OP visuals for the first episode which is totally normal. Hope to see it tho to the next episode same with the ED.
Apr 9, 2022 7:08 AM

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Nov 2016
31878
Nice to have Production I.G back with yet another sports series. This is bound to be good and the first impression affirmed it. It's what you would expect from a manga adaptation like this. Nothing groundbreaking, true, but solid.

Looking forward to more.

One Piece episode 914 & 915 & 1027 were a mistake and 957 brought the salvation - FMmatron


Apr 9, 2022 7:30 AM
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Apr 2022
222
ItsClobberinTime said:
It was enjoyable for a first episode. Comparing it to the last football anime which I think was the Captain Tsubasa remake from a couple of years back, I think it's safe to say it's going to surpass it since that one was pretty mediocre. Excited to see how the next matches will be animated. Hopefully they don't rely on CG too much.

In the interview director already said if difficult aspects they will use CGI
https://thetv.jp/news/detail/1077751/p2/
lehuy0210Apr 9, 2022 7:35 AM
Apr 9, 2022 7:30 AM
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Jul 2014
6
Well made first episode, waiting for more. Looks like a solid adaptation, the manga is quite popular and from what I heard, it is good, so I hope we can expect another great sports anime from Production IG.
Apr 9, 2022 7:51 AM
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Oct 2016
2548
Its been a while since I've watched a sports anime to be honest. I think the last one that was primarily a sports anime which I watched was Ahiru no Sora. This and that seems to have some decent similarities. Smaller sized protagonist whom are mostly looked down upon for one reason or another. Wanting to prove themselves that they're capable of being the best. Having far more skill than their teammates and then getting that chance to prove even more. Aoi here gets an extra leg up than Sora did just by virtue of having this old star player turned youth coach Fukuda supporting Aoi and wanting him to come play for the team Fukuda is assembling.

Aoi definitely has the raw talent and ability to be something special he just needs to tighten the bolts so to speak. All the skills are there Aoi just has to refine his attitude and how he works in the team. You can't be a one man show in a team sport, especially not one like soccer where teamwork can make or break a game at multiple points. Its easy just to dump this ball off to your best player and sit back while he scores but that will only take you so far. Even more so when that best player is a bit wild and can let emotions overwhelm them.

Fukuda teaches Aoi an important lessen with laying out those rings in the sand, to scale back on the big powerful moves for more refined executing of your abilities. If players want to go to that next level they need to know how much they can let out on any given play. You can't just unleash your full power on every play and move you need to be a little more precise. Thankfully through Aoi older brother it seems he will get that chance to go to Tokyo and join this new youth team Fukuda is coaching.
Apr 9, 2022 7:55 AM

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Feb 2017
2710
I really like the start of this! Will definitely watch it joy I feel. Looking forward to more.
Apr 9, 2022 8:01 AM

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Apr 2013
7991
Heard lots of good things about the manga even if I have little interest in reading it. But I'll follow the anime to see where it goes. Decent start. In some way it feels like when I watched Diamond no Ace years ago. I'm scared for the most action intensive sequences that they will lack solid animation but who knows what's in store with IG.
Apr 9, 2022 8:11 AM
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Nov 2021
69
Solid start. Pretty decent animation. Of course, the manga still hits different and much better but I think production IG made a good job in animating. There's no perfect adaptation afterall. Also, I've seen worse. And let's see. Maybe the animation will improve further. If I were you guys, If you haven't read the manga yet, you should read it now. It will help you enjoy the story more and understand it more.
Apr 9, 2022 8:14 AM

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Dec 2014
7045
This is fantastic, I loved the episode. Classic story line, solid execution along with nice production.

This along with Blue Lock might be finally be the soccer anime I've been waiting for years at this point.

The main character is great, the coach is cool. The hype is there, this has all the makings of a good show, I hope it reaches those heights.
Apr 9, 2022 8:16 AM
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Apr 2022
2
first episode was pretty decent. Has a great potential. It will be interesting to see how they will handle international leagues. Excited to see next episode.
Apr 9, 2022 8:17 AM
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Nov 2021
30
I LOVE IT!! I love how this story going. And I heard so many good things about the manga, and I saw some banger spoilers too so I will start reading it now. I'm really interested.
Apr 9, 2022 8:25 AM
#FreeWatermelon

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Feb 2020
9287
Usual basic starter for sports anime. But this premiere actually filled with a lot of technical dialogue, which unfortunately i couldn't get through it because of my less affinity with tactical football yada yada.

However, honestly its quick to be an enjoyable for me at least, cause mc so far very shounenish and that manager already become a fun person from my initial impression. The art and animation looks solid enough as expected from ig, and i already like the opening song as well. So, i expect this to hold the enjoyment aspect into more than any other sports anime i watch this season. So, lets just go to the second episode next week...
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Apr 9, 2022 8:27 AM

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Apr 2021
565
Very good 1st episode. Well rounded story unfolded. Waiting for ep 2. Though this anime might be well suited for binge-watching.

Fall 2022 is the most Unforgettable anime season of all time



Apr 9, 2022 9:10 AM

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May 2013
318
phantomfandom said:
There are five sports anime in this season, I already watch other four. And after watching this episode, Ao Ashi is definitely the worst among them. I'm not saying it's a bad anime, just the worst sports anime in this season. Manga reader will probably claim that it'll only get better from now on.


And yet more people seemed to like this one. Doesn't mean anything for you, because YOUR opinion is that Ao Ashi is the worst one and that's all you should care about... but saying it's definitely the worst is a bit too... definitive for an opinion that goes completely against the grain.
Apr 9, 2022 9:31 AM

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Sep 2021
434
so as a soccer and an anime fan this was an interesting first chapter, kinda the same as others sports anime but with this being soccer makes it better
Apr 9, 2022 9:36 AM
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Jul 2018
564084
It was a nice start. As a football fan, I've been looking forward to this anime.
Apr 9, 2022 9:40 AM
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Nov 2021
1673
seems like a good solid sports anime from production IG which is their specialty.
Apr 9, 2022 9:58 AM
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Nov 2021
30
Btw I forgot to ask, do you think we will have the visuals for OP and ED in the next episode? They only give us the OP song rn (which is such a banger🔥) in the end as a teaser? i think. I cant wait to hear the full versions!!!

Mod Edit: Removed baiting.
KarinaraApr 25, 2022 9:27 AM
Apr 9, 2022 10:04 AM
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Dec 2021
57
JJnie said:
Btw I forgot to ask, do you think we will have the visuals for OP and ED in the next episode? They only give us the OP song rn (which is such a banger🔥) in the end as a teaser? i think. I cant wait to hear the full versions!!!

True. About your question, I'm not sure if we will get the visuals of OP and ED in the next episode. But there's a high possibility since it happens often to a lot of animes that just started airing.

Mod Edit: Modified quote of edited post.
KarinaraApr 25, 2022 9:27 AM
Apr 9, 2022 10:31 AM
Ero Ojisan

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Jun 2019
5239
To kick off the World Cup hype we have Ao Ashi. I'm getting some Ace of the Diamond vibes in a since that both MCs love the sport they play, but lack the proper technique to play as a team with other skilled players. It's going to be interesting to see how Aoi reacts to competition when goes to Tokyo for tryouts on the youth team. Production I. G. does good work to show that they are the masters of sports anime adaptations.
Apr 9, 2022 10:53 AM
Wings

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Apr 2017
885
Story doesn't seem all that unique from any other sports anime so far.

It's football though, so it's already automatically better.
Apr 9, 2022 10:56 AM
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Jul 2013
43
If you know, you know but a long and harsh journey awaits Aoi.
Apr 9, 2022 11:11 AM

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Apr 2015
1451
Decent first episode. It wasn't really anything special for a sports anime, but the set-up seems interesting enough and there's definitely a lot of potential here. Plus, another sports anime from Production IG? Sign me up! Honestly not really sure if I like the VA for the main character though, but hopefully I'll get used to it.


"As promised, all that you seek, all that we desire, is prepared up there. On top of the Tower."
Apr 9, 2022 11:28 AM
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Jul 2017
2
Dan-Te said:
... and went to play in La Liga in Spain, the best league in the world.
Facts.

A good first episode and great potential for a good football anime. Even though there are some points that I didn't like:
  • The defenders stand and talk to each other about the #10 attacking them.
  • The homage to the Zidane headbutt in episode 1. It would be better in a later episode with more emotional weight.
  • The boy who provoked Aoi into headbutting comes afterwards with his parents to apologize.
  • Aoi isn't interested in football tactics at all, yet seems to be an absolute genius in this field as well. Doesn't feel earned to me.
  • The youth team coach wants his club to be the world stage in football, beating Barca, Madrid, Manchester and Milan. But how? There's no competition in which he could achieve that. Even if the club wins the FIFA Club World Cup, it wouldn't really put them on the world stage. Football clubs in Europe would only try to buy their players and otherwise this would quickly be forgotten. At least, if you go by the current way the competitions are held.


I think that point 1 &4 is basically due the fact that it’s a middle school football match in Ehime(which is a smaller prefecture in terms of population) and I think the town they live in isn’t a big town in Ehime either so like the local middle school teams are all relatively weak. And since the players are overall kinda weak on both sides (tho the opponent team is probably a bit better on average idk) it just makes Ashito who does have some talent stand out a bit more. Sorta a big fish in a small pond vs small fish in a big pond kinda thing I guess.
Apr 9, 2022 11:38 AM

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Apr 2018
5479
I'm glad that Production IG is the studio that got to animate this. It's looks great, way way better than the football anime (Futsal something) that aired in winter season. The main character is the frontline genius Ashito Aoi. He may be selfish but that's just because he's very honest about how he thinks. He has perfect memories and sight enough to see the whole field while playing not to mention TWICE as much stamina as average player too. That's already pretty good TBH. The opening is amazing!


“You yourself have to change first, or nothing will change for you!”
'
Apr 9, 2022 12:16 PM
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Jan 2022
354
Maybe its because this is my first sports anime, I'm not a big sports person in general... I don't know how to feel about this anime. It's got potential though
Apr 9, 2022 12:25 PM
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Jun 2021
18
KANLen09 said:

This is soccer (or as you Americans call it football) much within the reigns of Captain Tsubasa and the like, and is at the core of it all, Shonen-ish for the young teens.

Bro Americans call it soccer and it's called FOOTBALL
Apr 9, 2022 12:27 PM
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Jul 2020
178
This is the football genre anime I've been waiting for. There is no doubt that Production I.G has always been good at producing sports anime. I didn't read the manga, but it looks like it would be really fun because I love football.
 
Apr 9, 2022 1:01 PM
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Oct 2019
29
Man, I love sports anime so much... this episode was so good!! And Ashito reminds me of at least three other sports anime characters, it was kind of fun to figure that out during the episode :) I don't have that many thoughts on it other than that, but I'm super excited for the rest of the season!!
Apr 9, 2022 1:02 PM

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Jan 2018
3274
Ao Ashi is the best football manga I've read. It has a more grounded and realistic take on football. The matches are really well executed and use great tactics during it. This was a good first episode. I really do hope it gets more attention.
Apr 9, 2022 1:35 PM

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Dec 2019
634
Questionable art direction at points but it was a really endearing first episode. I think this is the director's first role and he did a pretty good job of having me engaged. This first episode really gave me some major Haikyuu!! vibes (I know that people compare every sports anime to Haikyuu!! but there are definitely some striking similarities here). Interested in seeing how this turns out.
Apr 9, 2022 2:18 PM
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May 2021
250
As a huge fan of the sport, seeing that most of the animes regarding the sport have been below average, I really don't want to raise my expectations for this one.
I've heard good stuff about the manga, so I really hope it'll stand out amongst the others.
That said, we do have Blue Lock coming out later (really hope it'll be adapted nicely).
ASOIAF is the best piece of fiction

Apr 9, 2022 4:03 PM

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May 2018
150
I watch sports anime for the hype and drama and this one is starting out at Hype-kyuu!! levels right off the bat on both counts. I’m really hoping this is just beginning and the series can attain “Sawamura finally being acknowledged by Coach after 170 episodes” type of legendary status.

And here I was thinking that Gay Horse Boys was going to be the best sports themed series of the season. Early prediction is that Ao Ashi and Danseur are going to be battling it out for my AOTS.
Apr 9, 2022 4:16 PM

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Sep 2020
4073
Good start. I've always wanted to read the manga but I've not got around to doing that yet. It's a more realistic approach to football and I like that there's going to be more of a focus on tactics. It's been a while since we got a good sports anime and I honestly haven't been this excited to watch one since Ace of the diamond so I hope it delivers.

BestDogeKoromaru said:
I watch sports anime for the hype and drama and this one is starting out at Hype-kyuu!! levels right off the bat on both counts. I’m really hoping this is just beginning and the series can attain “Sawamura finally being acknowledged by Coach after 170 episodes” type of legendary status.

Love the Ace of the diamond reference there. I'm not sure the anime will have that many episodes but I'm certainly hoping that it will be just as entertaining as Ace of the diamond.

Mod Edit: Merged duplicated posts; please use the edit button.
KarinaraApr 25, 2022 9:29 AM


𝒮𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓈, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝓂𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝑜𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊. - 𝑅𝑒𝒾 𝒦𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓎𝒶𝓂𝒶



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