Tsurune - Reviews

If you're looking for a sports anime with fast-paced drama and naked men, this isn't for you. Tsurune is all about the journey, not the destination. It's about growth and self-love. As someone who deals with mental-health issues and has crippling low self-esteem, Tsurune touched something deep inside me. It describes feelings that are hard to pinpoint in oneself in such a beautiful way. I really enjoyed watching this and to any one who's looking for something new and fresh, look no further!

A lot of people may like this kind of stories, I do too when its implemented properly, with a good train of thought and a decent amount of chapters, which was not the case on this story by any plausible means.

This author was either rushed by the publisher to release content no matter the low quality or the anime production company put too much pressure on a "good idea" that had no "real clear direction defined" while not yet finished or even started to begin with.

Story (1/10)

The concept of this story is really good in my humble opinion but was implemented poorly, as said above due to either over rushing of the author by the publishers or anime production teams or simply has no talent.

Animation (8/10)

The animation is decent, is neither amazing nor bad, but in general, is properly done, so if I'm objective here its a good animated show, so no comments on this aspect, a good rating is given where deserved.

Sound (6/10)

Neither good nor bad, there were no flaws but no flair either which is why I'll value it above "half and half" but that's it.

Characters (1/10)

With the potential of being great, the overuse of cliche and over-convolution of the story, the development of the characters is a hundred percent invisible, and only happens "in the last chapter" rush, so there is no essence, no depth nor any relatability to ANY of the characters on this story, so it doesn't deserve even the 1/10, I'd go in a 0, but that's well not fair either, so as lowest possible to "amount" a proper evaluation, 1 is the highest I could possibly give to this awfully implemented "AMAZING" idea and character development.

Overall (1/10)

Is not even worth a watch, I'd feel that recommending this to someone you hate is even more insulting than actually trying to kill them, is even insulting to you as the "recommending party", you are wasting your own precious time just recommending this.

So if I were to describe this anime in one word, it would be the word "bland". The message, the characters and problems were all normal, nothing special just like any other short sport animes, which frustrated me. I don't have time to watch this boring anime that aires every season and you don't even remember that you've watched. 

If you are new to sport animes, tsurune is a great choice to get started, the animation was gorgeous and it is an easy watch. But for me it was a real struggle, starting from the first episode I just knew where it was going, I got the general idea( and I should have just dropped it) but I just kept watching it, pushing myself because the animation was just stunning. Also the other thing that kept me entertained was the twins and Shu's face( his characteristic was bland as hell like the others).

Overall it was a solid safe anime but I would not recommend to watch it. 

My first time seeing an archery anime, and as it turns out, quite an enjoyable one!

Story- The story focuses how Minato, the main character, who has fallen out of a sport he once loved, and the process he goes through to get back into archery. And at the same time, its also a journey for the archery team as they learn to overcome their problems and work together as a team.

Animation- The animation feels smooth from the every day life to the shooting of an arrow as it hits its target. The design of the characters feels natural and gorgeous to look at, not in a way that feels overdesigned.

Sound- From the pulling of a bowstring to the barking of a dog, everything feels well timed.

Characters- I think one the best parts of the show is how the main cast of characters are portrayed. We have Minato, Seiya, Keichan and all the other guys. Whenever a problem shows up for the character, its not easily resolved and some will pile up before the characters can solve it. It feels realistic and also belieable in a setting that feels relatable to real life. And Minato reached that point of growth with his character that felt so satisfying. One of the best highlights of the anime.

Overall- Part of the reason why I'm satisfied with the anime is because it got the bad taste out of my mouth that the Badminton 2018 anime gave me. You need a protagonist who feels human, who has felt failure, but also follows their own path and is able to come back on their own two feet without coercion. That is what Tsurune did right in opposed to the Badminton anime. Its my hope that people can give this series a chance cause I was impressed!

The first things you really notice about Tsurune are how great it looks and sounds. This is despite the fact that, for a sports show, Tsurune is quietly-paced and shines a bigger light on the athletes instead of the sport. And it makes sense too: kyudo, or traditional archery, is a sport that demands patience, focus, and discipline, which is why it’s great that the series was able to properly relay all these qualities through its technical aspects.

If only the same could be said for everything else.

Tsurune starts strong: when we begin the series, we meet main character Minato, a former promising archer who is now dealing with target panic and can no longer hit the targets like he used to. It’s the same kind of slump you normally see in other athletes, and it’s hoped that, through Minato’s forced return to archery, he’ll regain his form and learn to love his sport again. The premise is already plenty interesting on its own, so you’d think the show would be careful enough to avoid rushing through things and go off-tangent. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what Tsurune does, so despite its amazing technicals, it still manages to bog itself down by neglecting its more important facets.

The main draw of this series’ story was supposed to be Minato’s resolution of his target panic, but Tsurune wanted to over-complicate things by introducing all sorts of additional plot details that initially looked important… only for the show to breeze its way to the conclusions, so most of these issues were glossed over and then thrown to the wayside. The result: conflicts that were originally there to give depth to the characters and the story became completely unnecessary, because of how quickly they were resolved. Most of the time, Tsurune drama’d for drama’s sake – so much so, that it begun to resemble a classic soap opera at several points. The characters didn’t fare much better either: if they weren’t Minato’s teammates or coach, then they were just one-note personalities with none of the character quirks that were hurriedly tacked onto the main bunch to give some semblance of depth.

It would be too much to call Tsurune a complete misfire, because it isn’t. Despite everything, it’s the stand-out technical aspects that make this look like an attractive draw for any viewer looking to avoid the other cliché-ridden sports shows. In the end, however, it’s due to its character and story fumbles that Tsurune becomes the archer with solid form and a good eye on the target – but because it doesn’t allow itself to breathe, its shot veers off-course and misses the bullseye by a wide margin.