Do you watch sports anime in the Keren flavor? Do you look at it in everyday life? Or perhaps the unity of “match time” [Fujitsu Ryota’s Anime Gate V 117th episode]

He participated in a conversation on the topic of “anime/manga that deals with sports” in a project for a magazine that will be released in early April. This time, I would like to think about sports anime in recent years based on my thoughts for the interview.

The important point when thinking about sports anime is “the degree of keren when drawing competitions.” Will it make flashy techniques that transcend the laws of physics make them passionate, or will they depict the charm of the sport through grounded expressions?
Since most sports anime are based on manga, this “degree of Keren” also draws on the original. However, at the same time, this is also an important part of the “worthy” part of the animation, where movement, color and sound are added. Of course, even in the case of original projects, how to show the competitive scene is an important factor. Roughly speaking, sports anime has spread mainly to works with a lot of keren flavor, and since the 21st century, there has been an increase in works that focus on reality.

In recent years, anime based on golf, which has been broadcast consecutively for some reason, coincidentally, has become a perfect sample for comparing the difference in the “degree of keren flavor.”

The one with the most flavor of the keren is “BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls’ Story-“. This work is an original anime produced by BN Pictures, and as you can see from the idea of ​​”dark golf” involving the mafia, this work is set quite a bit out of place, and when you hit a super shot, you also have to scream out the name of the move.

On the other hand, “Oh! Dragonfly” is a work that is quite grounded. This is a manga that has been serialized in the golf magazine Weekly Golf Digest, and carefully depicts the protagonist who has the potential as he grows. Of course, the protagonist has a natural talent, and that is the source of the catharsis unique to fiction, but even so, the golf portrayal is far more “real” than in “BIRDIE WING.”

The relationship between these two contrasting films remains the epitome of sports anime. Also, Shonen Jump’s Rising Impact is probably a “slightly closer to the keen” position between these two works.

What’s interesting about golf anime is that these three titles have also been added to a new “third pole.” The work is “Sky Blue Utility.” This original anime series is a genre that is deliberately categorized as a “everyday life” and deals with “golf as a hobby.” Therefore, the aspect of golf as a sport has hardly appeared. Because of that perspective, the main character does not improve that dramatically in the film. If you say “I’m on the ground,” there is no work that is “I’m on the ground.” It would be easier to understand if you explain the methodology as it involves works such as the trekking “Yamano Susume,” the camp “Yuru Camp△,” and the DIYer “Do It Yourself!! -Do It Yuserufu-.”

The reason why there are fewer golf anime than the number of golf manga is probably because there are fewer works with protagonists who are likely to be attracted to anime fans, and because the competition is basically on an individual basis, there is a weak “battle-like appearance.” It’s refreshing to see that filling in this situation was not a “pushing it out” but rather a “love to the characters” as the beginning, and “focusing on the fun of hobbies rather than on the competition.” If we focus on the perspective of sports as a hobby rather than as a sport, I think there are other possibilities for tennis and lust baseball. This is also characterized by the fact that it is easily compatible with the recent approach of “illustratively portraying sports in a realistic way.”

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Another notable feature of sports anime is how to balance “time of competition” and “time of the characters’ inner time.”

In manga, even if a panel that expresses the moment of play is accompanied by a long monologue that expresses the inner side of the characters, it doesn’t create such a discomfort. This is because these inner monologues are words that allow readers to understand what the characters thought or felt at that moment, and therefore time is not included.

However, when it comes to anime, the monologue is emitted as audio. In that case, time will inevitably arise, so we will have to somehow balance the difference between “competition time” and “inner time” expressed in the monologue. This issue is a key point in sports anime, which has been frequently pointed out since the days of “The Star of the Giants.”

Specifically, there are methods such as using stop pictures or slow motion (expressions) to draw the play slowly and extend the time, and using the “space” between play. However, the usage of these will vary depending on the type of sport.

For example, in baseball, each play is highly independent, and there is a lot of “space” between each play. This not only increases the time you are playing, but also makes it easy to put “inner time” everywhere.

On the other hand, soccer and basketball are sports where players continue to move, so there is little time. That said, if you keep stretching your time, the speed unique to competition will fade. When you think about it this way, it is often pointed out that the rings of Tiger Mask and the grounds of Captain Tsubasa are “unusually wide,” as are the strange depictions unique to anime, but when you consider them to “be in order to convey the characters’ inner thoughts and various explanations without stopping them,” it emerges that this was a kind of rational judgment.

Both “THE FIRST SLUMDANK” and “Haikyu the Movie: The Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump,” which depict the entire film, were films that put a great focus on competition time. Of course, “inner time” also appears, such as flashbacks and monologues, but that is merely a “subjugation”, and the film itself is primarily designed to involve the audience in “time of competition.” This is a methodology that has become established over the past decade and is a continuous process of enjoying the movie theaters, which has become a place where you can enjoy a live performance.

However, it is also true that there are surprisingly few works that can implement this methodology. If a match (match) is short, it is possible to show off the performance in the number of episodes that aired, just like the figure skating of a medalist. However, if you try to do a complete figure skating tournament in a movie, the main character’s appearance time will be too short (though this problem will be resolved if there are many popular characters other than the main character).

In order for the event to be held as a box office, it is necessary for the audience to want to watch the match from the beginning. Therefore, unless the work has a certain level of track record, there are probably only a few people who feel like they want to take a look at one whole game.

The “inner time” mainly constructed the “inner time” in response to this work that focuses on “competition time.” Blue Rock VS. U-20 JAPAN, which deals in soccer.

The appeal of the work in “Blue Rock” is the fact that unique characters are able to slam their own goals and preferences in a holistic way. Therefore, the time spent on each character’s “inner time” will inevitably increase. This work combines a large number of monologues that represent “inner time” with images showing the characters’ play in slow motion. The moving parts of the slow-motion video are minimal, but the drawing and shooting make it rich, and there is plenty of room for long lines.

In this way, many cuts are spent on “inner time” and compressing the characters’ emotions, and then there is a decisive scene of play depicted in speedy movements. This slow and slow transition from “inner time” to “competition time” has led to a great catharsis for the audience.

It’s not the correct answer for this. This can be said to be a combination of the unique features of the work, the way it is presented, and where to put the manpower of the production site to create the best possible shape.

If you keep these two points in mind, you will see that various sports can become subject matter in anime. Personally, I think anime based on curling and ski jumping will be quite interesting, but I wonder what it is.

[Fujitsu Ryota’s Anime Gate V]Previous articles can be found here

[Fujitsu Ryota]
Born in 1968. Born in Shizuoka Prefecture. An anime critic. His major works include “Declaration of “Anime Critics””, “Channels Always Anime: Anime Reviews”, “Voice Actors: Professionals Breaking Life into Anime”, and “13 Professionals Talk about My Voice Actors.” His latest book is “Why We Watch Anime: 2010s Anime Review.” In addition to teaching anime courses at various culture centers, he also offers live streaming on the Anime no Mon Channel on the first Friday of every month.

《Fujitsu Ryota》