Ahiru no Sora is a coming of age story about how easy it is to live an uncomfortably aimless life, with a cast that struggles with how listless living such a life makes them due to their isolation from living a youthful life, social problems and their own apathy, with the series emphasizing the importance of breaking out of that apathy and struggling to find a passion in order to at least move forward, regardless of the excruciating difficulty that would follow. Basketball is the vehicle used to drive these characters forward and plays an important role in these characters finding a way to be reborn, but what the series emphasizes is a need for introspection in order to do something you truly love and can push you forward enough to give you a purpose in life, regardless of the mistakes one might do or the pain that lies further down the road. It handles all this with an exceptional amount of nuance and subtlety, never genuinely shoving these themes down the viewer's throat and instead expects the audience to pick up on hints given throughout much of the first act of the series - covering around the first 33 episodes. This in and of itself is a problem; in sharp contrast to series like Haikyuu and Kuroko, which act more as hypebeasts trying to drag viewers in with gorgeous visuals and adrenaline pumping matches, whereas viewers watching Ahiru no Sora will be treated to lengthy comedy sequences as well as slice of life segments involving the main cast, which due to being very slow paced and often with mixed comedic timing don't endear the show to a wider audience.

While in and of itself neither lengthy comedy sequences nor slice of life segments need to necessarily be a problem, the show ruins this with its dragged out, stretched pacing - a quick distinction from its manga counterpart, where dialogue often flowed naturally and games happened at a quick enough pace to not be dragged out. This made stretches of the show often a drag to watch, and while the slice of life segments don't suffer much from this, the comedy and games proper often do - this is probably why critical reception to the show was considerably worse than much of its recent long-running contemporaries like Haikyuu, Ace of Diamond or Kuroko, which all are comparatively high budget adaptations created by Production IG. By comparison, Ahiru no Sora was done by Diomedea studio, a studio with a prominent reputation for low budget production values and pacing issues with many adaptations they've done; while parts of the series are wonderfully directed, these parts come in-between stretches of very strangely paced episodes. On the flipside, the soundtracks is pretty great, with many standout tracks salvaging many games, and a particular mention needing to go to the various OPs/EDs in the series, with the fourth opening and third ending being my personal favorites. That said, none of the OPs or EDs are particularly bad and all of them are fantastic, which isn't something that can be said for every series with a multitude of OPs/EDs like this one.

Sora's character arc about his complex for his height is greatly expanded on over the course of the series; much about his character seems typical for the standard sports lead, but the distinction is in Sora's nuance. Sora often recklessly challenges delinquents - something used for comic relief - but this disguises a character often insecure about his own height and masculinity in a sport where both are associated with being a better player, with this being contrasted with his mom's upbringing of him which turned that very short stature into a strength instead of a weakness. This largely is what drives Sora forward as a character despite his poor treatment both by his would-be classmates and general student body, with his perseverance standing out in the ocean of apathy that is his school and driving the group of delinquents that largely comprise the rest of the team. However, his character arc is more about how he often defines himself by his mom's upbringing - and how this in return leaves him helpless to find guidance for himself, whose role Madoka fills up as the series continues, acting as the closest thing in the cast to an emotional voice of reason. A combination of his dynamic with Madoka as well as his own desire for independence mean that by the end of the series and after a fair few twists and turns, Sora has begun the steps to attaining his own self-defined independence, with his willingness to turn a certain lie into the truth and take responsibility for his own actions being a driving force.

Momoharu and Chiaki act as another contrast in this regard both to Sora as well as each other, with Chiaki's more extrospective personality concealing a cynical yet realist mind on the team and chances for success, while Momoharu acts introspectively yet concealing a certain hot-bloodedness that drives him to improve further. The two are brothers, growing up taking inspiration from iconic sports manga only to have that idealism crushed when facing odds that are against them, leading to Chiaki being disinterested due to associating his love for the sport with his odds for victory, and Momoharu slowly following by drowning in his own apathy, being discriminated against due to his appearance as well as attitude. Both brothers grow gradually over the course of the series, with Chiaki slowly understanding that he needs to broaden his horizons and reach for the stars rather than simply ground himself in seemingly objective expectations, while Momoharu's impulsiveness leads him to make several mistakes that lead to him slowly taking his passion for basketball seriously and discovering a love for the sport that has seemingly long been lost. Much of their characterization in this adaptation happens in the second half of the anime, but much of their negative traits (overplayed and emphasized as they are) fade the longer the series goes on.

Tobi acts as the closest thing the series has to a veteran player, being cocky and highly individualistic - which betrays a deep resentment of not just his school but most people around him in general, driven by a cynicism of being judged both due to his appearance as well as his estrangement from his broken family life, with his sister acting as the closest thing he has to a bond. He's cocky, arrogant and full of himself, yet these same negative traits conceal a jaded person whose life experiences have driven him to apathy to the point where he'd shun people away. And yet through his experiences joining the team, he realizes that there are players who have undergone troubling experiences yet come out smiling on the other side and being better than he is, pushing him not only to remain loyal to the team but often acting more and more selflessly the longer the series goes on. Much of Tobi's characterization is gradual yet consistent, with his negative traits not detracting from his likability as a character; it's beyond refreshing in a cast filled of delinquents to have a character that only very slowly defrosts over time, and Tobi - partially due to his growing dynamic with Sora but also his immediately sympathetic reason for both playing the sport and remaining loyal to the team - is my favorite character in the series, and I can't wait for more of his progression over the course of the manga.

Kaname is the final central character introduced over the course of the series, with his character arc acting as a foil to Sora's - being one where instead of being discriminated for his shortiness as is the case with Sora, instead being constantly pushed into a sport he grows to apparently dislike due to his height, with his teammates constantly ridiculing him for his low stamina and poor health. His character arc is partially about rediscovering his love for basketball independently of the very factors that pushed him to fall out of love with it, with the cast encouraging him to play to his strengths and be more assertive about his interests while also being conscious about his health. Also relevant is Kaname's subplot with a side character, and how he uses as a motivation his feelings for her in order to drive him forward to improve as a player and win games - making him increasingly become a more prominent player as the series goes on despite his physical weaknesses. Kaname's interactions with Sora are worthy of note due to the contrast between both characters, but there's a surprising amount of nuance and even a thematic point made in the series that what one of them possess the other lacks and vice versa, which grants credence to their friendship as well as their dynamic on the court.

Various side characters are also worthy of note; Sora's mom is a moral support who I loved from the moment she showed up on screen, acting as a kind yet firm voice to guide Sora forward despite her own health. Nanao is an unbelievably likable character whose main flaw is her self-centeredness in taking responsibility for the team's failings when she's the de facto manager upon herself, and yet grows stronger as she realizes that regardless of her tactical prowess, there's only so much she can do alone. Madoka's dynamic with Sora is my favorite in the series, with her acting increasingly as moral support yet due to her own awkwardness in approaching sensitive subjects - a weakness that backfires on her later on in the series - is often easily dismissed in-setting as shallow, when her introspective nature reveals she's anything but that; she bonds with Sora's family, growing ever closer to Sora as she understands his weaknesses and strengths, and grows to become a personal crutch to him as the series goes on due to her own caring for him, even if her consideration for his feelings often stand in the way (even if understandable in-context) from further emotional intimacy. Much of my favorite slice of life segments came from Madoka's interactions with Sora, with their dynamic growing naturally over the course of the series. Many, many characters can be laid out here; Shinichi, Chiba, Fuwa, Satsuki and Yozan all being noteworthy characters that grow over the course of the series.

Ahiru no Sora is a really damn good sports series that has gone under the radar due to various issues I mentioned earlier and understandably so; unfortunately, this means that the manga remains the optimal version to experience Ahiru no Sora's story. What is being adapted, however, is still really good, just marred by all these production problems for those that are willing to give this series a fair chance and are unwilling to read manga for the optimal experience. There's much to love about this series, and considering material that comes later on, I certainly hope for a season 2 to come somewhere down the line, albeit admittedly I certainly wouldn't mind a considerably better production.

Nonetheless, I highly recommend this series and especially in manga format for those that are looking for a damn good sport series, and I don't speak that kind of praise lightly.

Thank you very much for reading.