“All Out!!” isn’t one of the anime many people recognized in despite there are many other sports anime which made the fans occasionally want to see it for once too. Besides I love “Eyeshield 21” which is one of my favorite sports anime both in my childhood and still, so rarely sports anime where rugby becomes as the main theme. We got the basketball, volleyball, soccer, ping-pong, ice skating, and “Keijo!!!!!!!!” which became the inspiration for the sports field itself. But, how about rugby? Some rugby anime that I know of besides “Eyeshield 21” is none. Indeed, baseball is the most popular sports fields in Japan, besides soccer and basketball, which is popular in several countries including rugby, especially American football. “All Out!!” is so different from “Eyeshield 21” which deals with superpower forces or something like which that connect sports like “Kuroko’s Basketball.” You could just say, “All Out!!” just looks like a generic sports anime with atrophy of the cliche in some sports anime just for a glimpse but I think it’s one worth watching well if you really like sports anime, rugby, shounen, or just enjoy looking for some adrenaline.
While it’s not one of such a special, the story isn’t too special. We got Kuroko and Kagami from “Kuroko’s Basketball,” we got Hinata and Kageyama from “Haikyuu!!“, and for “All Out!!“, we got Gion and Iwashimizu who joined a rugby team at their school, became friends, and trying to reach one of the biggest rugby competitions ever, the Hanazono. Well, it’s not that original if you wanna talk about the remaining sports anime and this anime is a good example. From those characters, I think from the anime that I mentioned earlier can’t be separated from the tropes of the main character which at first was so weak with his short body but increasingly developed alone and is one of the most unique and most important in a team. We got Kuroko who used his weakness apart from his short body as the sixth shadow and we got Hinata with his small body as a candidate for the next crow. I think, anime like those really wants to show if you never judge from the cover because they have proven it. Back at the anime, the story of this anime besides having a generic story, the story tries to tell each character every time even though there are only those who are only in that circle and not too into the plot itself. The rest, we got summer training, exercise, the rivalry between teams, the development, as well as various sub-plots in each character. In a nutshell, “All Out!!” sometimes becomes one of emotional about bromance stories like couples that girls always imagined in “Haikyuu!!” or “Kuroko’s Basketball” with one female character as their manager.
Initially, we were introduced to these two protagonists: Gion and Iwashimizu. The truth is that Gion isn’t one of the main characters like the two anime where the main character has its own power and style. Tsukamoto from “Days” is one that has similarities where initially they were both so weak but growing faster. Gion’s personality also refers more to Hinata’s side who often yells and they quite an idiot in understanding something but they both develop faster. On the other hand, Iwashimizu is the experienced character with his taller body but his trauma from the past makes him afraid of returning in rugby. Over time, we know a lot about this character, his original character, and background. Komori as their coach is one of the most focused and triggers of every character, but what I’m still confused is the background of this character which is still vague. Maybe, just read the manga instead of waiting for the second season. Sekizan and Hachiouji are among the most focused too, especially Sekizan as the captain of the rugby team, Ooharano is also the most focused, along with Ebumi which is the most aggressive but the background is still not enough. The most important points in this anime not only focus on that, but the characters that we never notice are told with various uniqueness and the plot itself. Apart from bromance which the characters always blushing whatever they want, it’s not that really matter for me.
The artwork is decent with its cool and beautiful animation. Madhouse really does a great job fo this aspect with the various details they show and the uniqueness of the design style from various characters, hair color, and the shape of their face and size body. My minor problems about this anime is always in awkward which I mean for every serious segment, there is always a silence scene which creates an impression that is so awkward for me. Maybe, they wanna keep up the duration to half an hour but why? While isn’t too annoying, I just feel weird. The songs mostly used rock music which is very helpful in every scene. The opening themes of songs and ending are more like into soft yet hard rock but are able to evoke the spirit of this anime. A variety of slow music from emotional scenes is one of the most memorable too.
“All Out!!” is just a kind of generic sports anime with various cliche and tropes that I have always seen in various other sports anime. Speaking of pace, it’s not that boring with the storytelling that always runs from the main plot to the sub-plot of the characters but it’s not too monotonous in each. It’s like a roller coaster always goes slowly but when the match starts, you know what’s more exciting than hitting your opponent’s body to lie in the field. Not that really boring besides the backgrounds of the characters who were still not enough and like other sports anime, you don’t have to follow the basics of what a sport is as long as you know how this anime goes from beginning to end.
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