This show blew me away from the very beginning. I was not a huge fan of soccer going into this show, but I was rather a fan of sports anime. Having watched Haikyuu and Kuroko's Basketball, I had set expectations very high for this anime in particular, and it surpassed them in nearly every way! I do tend to watch anime in the dubs, and then rewatch in subs if I enjoyed it, and this one knocked it out of the park in both.
The show immediately breaks the stale trope of "I have to understand the importance of teamwork before I can truly succeed." Rather, the show shows the struggle of personal growth in a game where people rely on teammates to pick up the slack, over changing themselves first. Isagi is a great character in my opinion. A reserved, brain-oriented player with not too many physical strengths finding a way to play his type of soccer is very inspiring. Characters like Bachira, Kunigami, Nagi, and Chigiri do a great job of diversifying the cast by highlighting different styles and upbringing of athletes and why they play.
Bachira is probably my favorite character in any anime I’ve ever watched. He is so fascinating to watch and get to understand and relate to. Bachira makes all of his decisions guided by a “monster” inside him, which is simply just a vision or an idea of what an ideal player is to Bachira. This monster is something that I understand and relate to, and it is cool to see this idea stylized into a character as unique as bachira. Combining a flashy skill like dribbling with the growing desire to play a bolder, more flashy style of soccer makes Bachira an amazing part of the cast.
Nagi is also a great character in the show, who also brings up a great contrast with Chigiri. Chigiri was convinced he would become one of the best in the world, but a leg injury forced him to reserve himself and to not fully invest into soccer again. This would change when Chigiri was forced into caring again when seeing Isagi’s passion on the field. Nagi never wanted to fully invest himself into soccer, not understanding why people would try so hard for so long. This would also change when Nagi, for the first time in his career, lost a soccer match at the hands of Isagi.
There are so many nuances about this show that make it amazing. Characters like Reo, Ego, Nikko, Naruhaya, and Raichi just add so much to the enjoyment of it all. I wish I could write something about each one, since each character is so likeable. This show is great on multiple watches, because all the time you view Isagi as an underdog solely because he can’t take 1v1’s super well, or do anything super-special. The thing is, Isagi is an amazing player, it just takes more than one watch to understand that. Overall, this show is probably my current #1 all time, and recommend everyone watch it, you won’t regret it.
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