There is a deep rooted fear rooted in all people from a young age, the fear of not fitting in. If you don't fit in, you'll be bullied into obscurity, ostracized into nothing. Ballet isn't masculine, it's a girly art to be passionate about. Down below the character of Junpei Murao is a danseur a guy who loves with all his heart everything about ballet! Ever since a ballet recital that he nearly slept through he was moved by the strength and skill of the danseur on the stage evoking a feeling of brain fireworks, Junpei was on cloud nine. However, when tragedy stuck he vowed to give up his greatest passion to be there for his family. It's typical when a father dies that the son is expected to step up as the man of the house, which puts a ton of expectations on young Junpei.

To bury a passion is to bury your purpose in life, Junpei pretends to be happy with his situation. He follows in his father's footsteps towards being a stunt man and joins the soccer team to fit the stereotypical normal boy activities. However, after running into Miyako Godai and Ruou Mori the love for ballet resurfaces from his cold heart and reignites his passion. MAPPA has done an excellent job presenting an artsy story with a unique angle with the theme of masculinity. Junpei's character arc is satisfying to see, even 4 episodes in it's exciting!

Created by the very talented studio MAPPA which are well known at this point with anime like Jujutsu and Dororo, it's no surprise this anime looks superb art wise. They've created a similar anime to Dance Dance Danseur in fall 2020 with Taisou Zamurai. Overall, I prefer the direction and themes of DDD more and overall the writing is less bizarre than Taisou Zamurai. It's also great to see a woman mangaka, George Asakura presents a special angle on the art of ballet! Art and animation, especially in the opening are big pluses, nobody's going to complain about eye candy!

Other than the main character Junpei, the rest of the cast stands out on their own, especially Junpei's rival. Ruou Mori is the mysterious rival for Junpei which should develop greatly the more the show progresses. His past is filled with abuse from the small snippets flashbacks, it's easy to tell why he's likes to live a sheltered life. When Ruou transferred to Junpei's highschool it didn't take long till he became a target for bullies. He didn't fight back and eventually the bullying escalated. It so happened that the bullies were Junpei's soccer friends, mainly Yamato Takura. In a desperate attempt to fit in Junpei doesn't take Ruou side, it's depressing to see Ruou sit there while Junpei lets it happen.

During a school talent show the bullies reach their boiling point pushing Ruou out on stage with a girls uniform. Before Junpei explodes Ruou starts dancing, which eventually becomes Junpei's greatest inspiration to drop everything in his life and become the greatest dancer! Mangaka Asakura is really good at creating these arcs that intertwine with the theme of masculinity very well.

Should you watch Dance Dance Danseur this season? If you want a special look that attempts to battle the concept of masculinity via ballet then go ahead it makes you think. Otherwise, it has the typical sports anime structure where the main character is very talented and you get to see the progression towards greatness and the struggles along the way. I'm looking forward to seeing how Junpei's rival Ruou's hidden past progresses and how the choreography of the dances goes. It's surpising how little people are checking Dance Dance Danseur out, it's a treat.