AustinDR

 Iwakakeru Sport Climbing Girls *is about an ex-gamer named Konomi Kasahara learning about the Hanamiya Girls' High School Climbing Club and this peaks her interest due to her knack at solving puzzles. With this, she assists her teammates with trying to be the best climbing team in Japan.

It is pretty obvious as to why a majority of people had decided to watch the show which isn't too hard to guess. That aside, I did find the discussions on bouldering informative not so much that I'd take it up, but it was nevertheless intriguing.

The animation is fine for the type of show this is so nothing too amazing, but not lazy. The soundtrack is also average.

The characters admittedly are pretty flat and only really seem to exist to generate fanservice. Despite this, a few characters do stand out. There's Konomi herself: because of her experience as a gamer, she is able to scale walls even though she was a beginner. She is able to visualize the walls as one big puzzle and she strategically analyzes them to solve the problem. However, at the same time, she does have her flaws: while analyzing the problem is essential, she can spend too much time on the problem which would cost her. So, she had to learn how to quickly plan before scaling. Another good side of her is her determination to be the best.

Jun, one of her teammates, helps her learn the ropes of bouldering but unlike her, she doesn't see "climbing" as fun. That is her flaw: she takes climbing too seriously that it makes her forget why she became interested in the sport in the first place, and it was also the reason as to why the Climbing Club didn't have any other members prior to Konomi joining.

Nonoka is the short girl of the team who gets easily disheartened because of her shorter frame, so that is one of her character flaws. Sayo, the leader of the club, is more of a one-note character. She is obsessed with bouldering and is supportive of her teammates, but she doesn't really have any faults that I can dissect.

For the other characters, you have to take into account the other schools and their teams. With Kurikawa, for instance, by far one of the best recurring characters is Chinari Iwamine. She is the Ace for her team and ranked 2nd nationwide. She is a tall, looming girl with a creepy laugh, hypnotic voice, and sinister undertones. Come to think of it, I don't remember any time in the show where she blinked. She has a blank expression on her face matched with a perpetual smirk on her mouth. If one word can describe her, it would be sadist: she takes a disconcerting amount of pleasure watching competitors fall or defeating them and looking at the sorrow on their faces. You can tell that she is also planning something with Konomi having taken an interest in her. For some reason, when she talks with Konomi, she tries to speak civilly to her, so maybe she isn't really as bad as is initially let on and might want to "befriend" her. But then she does say something about Konomi making a tasty feast, so okay.

Not really a must-see of the season, but it is okay for what it is.