contains spoilers

This anime. Man, this anime. It is.. so good. Enough foreplay, and let's just get right into it.

I do not like sports animes. I don't even like sports in real life. I just always found them boring. But this anime is something different. It is built fucking different. It took me a while to think of one flaw with this anime, which speaks to how good it is.

And that one flaw issssssss, the animation at times. Sadly. Yes, the anime has great animation, yes at times it's some of the best, but.. sometimes the animation turns CGI or is just flat-out bad. Now, it's not all times, and actually at most times it's really good. But those moments where it is CGI are enough to keep it from being perfect.

But the fact I had to think that hard, for that long, about any flaws, and could only come up with one, is proof of how good this anime is. Now, I'm no sports anime-head, I just don't like those animes, so maybe those people could see more flaws with this anime, but for me, it has damn near none. Every single match in this anime was nail biting. Every moment where Isagi's team scored was hyped as all hell. It's rare for an anime, an anime about soccer much less, to have me on the edge of my seat this much, but it did it.

All the characters are great, my favorite being Bachira. I just love his personality.. all he's pretty :D. And just seeing that moment where Bachira awakens, and decides "My monster will no longer be with me. I am fine with being alone" is such a relatable moment, and I want to be like that. I look up to him. It's been a while since a character could make me do that. Oh and that moment where Isagi blocks his shot, and Bachira reliezes that, at the end of this awakening.. he found Isagi . Pure poetry. (I know this sounds like they're lovers, but they're not.. even though they are totally being shipped by the creator, and are my one true ship.)

But every character makes me feel like this. I feel for all these characters,, their backstories adding to what they do in matches, and those moments where they break through, when they awaken, are so hype, and feel so rewarding. I think it's most rewarding, cause a lot of those awakenings, happen at the END of a match. When everybody else has their own moments, so it just feels like a super epic moment among other epic moments. The build-up is what makes these moments shine ever more.

This is seen most clearly with the KING, Baro. He's the first real opponent of Isagi's team, and.. Isagi loses to him. We see how much of an ego Baro has, and how he uses his team to get goals. With them always passing to him. But the next time we see him, Isagi wants to take him on one v one. And again, Isagi loses. Baro shows that his body, and his kicking power, are why he's able to do this. But also shows that his ego, the fact that he lives for those goals and wants to be the king, are also why he's able to do what he does.

And then comes the next time, which is like 10 episodes later, or more. Another Isagi's team vs Baro's. And the reason why this match is so intense, is because if Isagi loses one time, he's not going to get picked, and his soccer career ends. But we see how Baro always demands a pass from his teammate, even if he's not open. And while his teammate didn't make any scores, Baro wouldn't have. But Baro loses, and gets picked to be on Isagi's team. Isagi talks to Baro and asks him what type of soccer he likes to play. He answer, one where I get to score goals. He wants to be the lead.

And we see what he means in his first match with Isagi on his team. He doesn't pass the ball, which causes the ball to get stole from multiple times. A lot happens, and Isagi, who's fired up, and calls Baro a "wasted genus" forces a pass out of Baro. His whole world view crumbles. He gives up on his world view, on being the lead. He gets the ball again.. and just when he's about ot pass, he stops. He sees a version of the future, where he just sits at home while Isagi wins. He decides fuck that, and through some epic animation, and some cool moves, he.. scores the winning goal! (I'm not gonna discribe what he does, just watch the anime)

And after wards, Baro is changed. He asks Isagi what type of soccer he wants to play, which is something he would never do. He would never ask anybody what they thought beforehand. But now.. he's changed. And it's so, damn, satisfying.

And that's why I love this season, cause everything is so satisfying, and hyped. Every character moment, every goal, is a big deal, with a lot of build up. It's amazing.

This anime is so close to being perfect. The slight drops in animation is all that's keeping it from being perfection. If it had good animation all around, it would get a 10/10 (Or 100 out of 100). But as it stands now, 9.5/10 (or 95 out of 100)