Ranked #323

Eyeshield 21

How long is it? 145 episodes. What’s it about? American Football. All of it? Yes. (And if you liked this series but found it either too long, or a bit childish, definitely check out Cross Game, a highly underrated sports series that is on a whole different maturity and story level.)

Eyeshield 21 is definite shonen sports anime. Heck, its even sponsored by the Japanese NFL and received backing in the United States as a football series on a sports channel. And now,…don’t get turned off. Because if you do, you’re missing out on one of the most entertaining series people disregard just because of its non-traditional anime content.

Review:

Please, please, don’t dump this series just because its football. I cannot but regret that I did put off watching this and suffered my way through crap series like Blade of the Immortal. My 2 cents on why you should watch (if you don’t want to slog your way through the rest of this):
• Typical plot (yet this works perfectly fine for this series), interspersed with drama, comedy, and laugh your head off antics of its marvelous characters.
• Marvelous characters (I said it but I will say it again), You will love the characters of Eyeshield, because even Sena isn’t as annoying as it seems. And…Hiruma will send you to hell if you don’t watch this.
Now that you’re here:

Characters: To put it simply, there is nothing bland about Eyeshield’s cast. From Sena’s traditional shonen perserverance, to Hiruma’s demonic avarice (and he will become your favorite as well), Eyeshield 21 does a masterful job of designing to characters to both appeal to viewers and to transition their interactions with each other smoothly. The rivalry between Sena and Shin is also nonclichedly carried out, and all the supporting characters get their own backstory as well. To tell the truth, I don’t even think that the supporting characters were even ‘technically 2nd tier’. You cannot but feel for the other characters such as the quarterback of the Zokugaku Chameleons whose delinquent team cannot hold themselves together. And so yes, the characters of Eyeshield are not just comedic, but serious, dramatic, and all the time flawed in some way or another. There’s not fun in watching perfect characters now is there?

Plot: Well, its straightforward enough: team has a dream, team wants to go to Christmas Bowl, team must defeat rival teams, team must work together, team must train, then team must win. But this is all you need to watch Eyeshield. It’s 145 episodes does more than enough to advance the adrenaline pumping scenes of the matches. Between moments of drama and football action is raucous comedy which borderlines on the absurd (cough Hiruma gun toting blackmailer), yet makes it more funny all the same. Now come to think of it, you don’t watch a sports series too much for the plot as more for the character development and anime action.

Sound and Graphics: Nothing too shabby here. The BGMs were great, the Ops and EDs were equally great. Eyeshield does a decent job of fitting its sound to its action scenes. The animation is more than adequate for the heart pumping football action scenes. Of course its NOT realistic. Who would want to watch realistic football for 145 episodes? Nah, this is where you see special moves like those in DBZ like Sena’s Devil Bat Ghost, Kid’s Rapid Fire Throw. (No fantastical equipment, mind but enough specialty to make you want to continue watching.) That said, animation is definitely decent for this series.

Entertainment/Replay Value : This is something I wouldn’t mind watching more than once. The one bone I have to pick with the series is its sometimes slightly traditional fillers, which it has to have in its 145 episodes. But even with that, Eyeshield 21 is hilarious, action packed, and a touchdown for us viewers.

Poptart’s Rating: 8/10 read more

Eyeshield 21, so far, has been the only sports-related anime that I've actually been able to finish - yet, at the same time, it's the longest. In fact, it's the only anime with 100+ episodes that I've actually been able to complete.

How does a girl get through a 145-episode-long anime series about a sport she pretty much hates? Simple, she doesn't. At the time, I was a fan of stuff like Katekyo Hitman Reborn - and when I saw people point out similarities, I gave Eyeshield 21 a shot...a real one. With the first few episodes, I fell in love with the series - and everything about it.

STORY: It's your typical underdog comes out on top type of thing. What makes it different? Nothing, really. However, it's the way that it's executed. They do it in a way that makes you actually want to sit there and watch the damn thing from start to finish. It's about American football, yet it's set in Japan. As far as I knew, the game wasn't even played there. I didn't even realize NFL Japan existed until I saw the show's end credits - but that's not the point. Normally, due to my attending a high school that was OBSESSED with football, I wouldn't have bothered - but, like I said, I ended up trying the series anyway. It converted me from a football-hater to a football-lover. The show has some fillers, and with 145 episodes, that should be expected. I would have rated it a 10, but I was upset that they didn't bother to include the Teikoku Alexanders. Deimon's goal was to win the Christmas Bowl, right? Then why the hell do they end with the semi-finals of the Kanto Tournament? At least go all the way to the first mentioned goal. The ending wasn't bad by any means, but if you've read the manga - it's a bit disappointing because they don't go all the way to the end.

ART: The art was done wonderfully. Yes, it could have been better - but for an anime about a sport that most people assume isn't played in Japan, it's very good. I don't know who the animators are, but they did a very good job with this series.

SOUND: I loved all of the OPs and EDs, well except for the two songs used in the last match against Oujou - but the themes were very well done, for the most part. My personal favorite, lyric-wise, would be "Blaze Away," and I have to admit that it's probably the best ED ever in terms of lyrics because you can hear the emotion behind them. In terms of actual sound and melody, I'd prefer "A Day Dreaming..." any day. However, all the themes were wonderfully performed - even if they wouldn't all fit everyone's taste, anyone who watches the series and actually listens to the theme music will be able to pick at least one that they like. The BGM was beautifully done too, although it's a shame you never hear the lyrics to "Midnight Sunshine" in the actual series because the vocalists (the seiyuus for Sakuraba, Shin, Takami, Otowara, and Wakana - I believe, although I'm not sure if Wakana was really featured) did an amazing job on it, but "Be Survivor" and the other songs featured throughout the series were quite entertaining as well.

CHARACTER: Each character has their own distinct and unique personality. Sure, you've still got your stereotypes, but that's not all there is to them. Juumonji starts off as just another delinquent, but as he plays with the Devil Bats, he slowly grows as a man. In the beginning, he seems like he could just walk by a girl getting raped and not do anything - yet, in a later episode, he saves a girl from that fate. Sena's the weak boy who constantly gets forced into doing other people's errands; the thing that makes him efficient at this, preventing himself from being beat up, is his "golden legs" that enable him to run at the speed of light. He goes through the most growth in the series, and one can't give away much about his development without spoiling the whole series. Hiruma, on the other hand, had the most depth throughout the whole series - and, to be honest, you still haven't figured him out by the end of it. However, the series goes into enough detail about him that it's impossible to not love the character. Shin, Sakuraba, Takami, and Otowara are really the only Oujou players that get any true development but it would spoil things if we went into that in-depth. I will say this, though. Takami can be just as cunning as Hiruma, Sakuraba is more than just a pretty boy, Otowara isn't just the guy that everyone runs away from when he farts, and Shin's more than just the perfect player (you can't really write much about him without spoiling everything).

Teams - Yes, they're getting their own section. The Deimon Devil Bats are the main team in this series, and the most developed one. You see their growth from the original two (Kurita and Hiruma) to almost full team. You can't help but sympathize with them most of the time, and the producers made it hard for fans to not side with them for each and every game. The second most-developed team is obviously the Oujou White Knights. It's clear, throughout the whole series, that the creators intend for most, if not all, of the viewers to fall in love with both Oujou and Deimon - possibly because they knew the anime series would end where it did and wanted to make it a bit more climactic. Kyoshin Poseidon were there mostly to raise the self-confidence of the "Deimon Chibis" since almost all of the starters were 2 meters tall. Shinryuji was there to show how a hard-working team like Deimon can beat even the 'strongest' team in Kanto by focusing all of their strength on winning. Bando was there mostly to show how Musashi was necessary for Deimon to actually guarantee any kind of winning game; they also helped Sena gain the confidence to tell everyone who's behind the Eyeshield 21 mask. The other teams mainly helped Sena to grow as a football player - even Seibu, although Seibu helped Monta too, in that regard.

ENJOYMENT: There wasn't much of anything that I didn't enjoy about this anime.

OVERALL: 8/10 - It could have been better, but at the same time, there's not much they could improve on unless the mangaka or the animators were willing to actually go to America to see how practices, practice games, and official games actually go about. It's still pretty good as is even if they did do the research. read more

Eyeshield 21 - Japan's take on American Football. It's actually quite interesting.

Ok, so for a review on this anime. As far as sports-driven themed anime series, Eyeshield 21 does not disappoint its audience. In a nutshell, Eyeshield 21 is the story of Kobayakawa Sena and his rise from a scared little kid to a full-fledged ace running back that looks down linebackers and defensemen 20x (no joke) his size.

The story is pretty simple. Our protagonist team (Deimon) wants to make it to the championship game (in Japan known as the Christmas Bowl) and needs to make it this season because all of the seniors will be retiring the season after. The anime does a good job on giving a lot of background information on each of the characters as well as the characters on the other teams Deimon faces. And the good part is that they don't give it away all at once, but in bits and pieces which wets your appetite a little more each time, in a good way.

Character development is key in this series, because essentially, that is what you are witnessing as you watch this anime. The rise of Deimon, from a really bad team to one of the elite among Japan. And with that rise to the elite, comes the development of each character - Sena, Monta, the "Ha-ha" brothers, and yes, even Hiruma. It's really fascinating to watch all of these characters develop their skills and "special abilities" so to speak.

And where would the fun go if we couldn't see these skills animated in their full glory. Eyeshield 21 manages to do that quite well. Sena's super speed is portrayed well (although it's kind of weird at times to see him run for what seems like 30 yards, but ends up with 4 or 5).

There are enough twists and plot surprises in this anime as far as sports anime goes (I know, I'm keeping up with the manga) to leave you interested and wondering exactly how will Deimon get to the Christmas Bowl and how will they win....and *if* they win.

The music could be better, but there are a few insert songs that are amazing (i.e. Be Survivor by ZZ) and a few other pieces of music in there. read more

Eyeshield 21 is indeed an outstanding anime. From the very beginning and maybe up to the very end of the anime, it will still be very outstanding.

I might make a review about the characters of Eyeshield 21. From my own observation, each of the characters found in there have their own distinctive and outstanding personalities. I will also say my deepest thanks to Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata for creating the characters of Eyeshield 21.

Here are some of the behaviors of the characters in Eyeshield 21 (I only mentioned 10 characters):
1. Youichi Hiruma - In his appearance alone, you can really tell that he is a vampire/demon perhaps! Yet, all Eyeshield viewers definitely like this character (even me). Hiruma carries a lot of guns. I love his Devil's Handbook! He even was the one who created the team's chant: "YA-HA!"

2. Nurse Oka - In the later episodes of the show, you can see a very scary nurse! This nurse is indeed ugly! Yet, she hates being called by that word. This nurse does not even rely to medical technologies to cure people but uses witchcraft and black magic. (When she talks, a scary background music covers).

3. Sasuke Kanagushi - The team captain of Dokubari Scorpions. This guy can really predict your team's strategy. Although he has this kind of skill, I find it useless because Hiruma is more powerful than him. Later he became Hiruma's slave.

4. Rui Habashira - The team captain of Zokugaku. He has a very weird long tongue.

5. Ha-Ha Brothers - One of the linemen of Deimon, they like to say "Huh". Preferably getting stronger and louder.

6. Monta - The word MAX! is definitely from the vocabulary of Monta. He uses that everyday. Catch MAX, Effort MAX, and etc.

7. Kurita - The fattest in Deimon, he looks really like a chestnut. But who cares, Kurita is a little cute. He likes to say Funnuraba to exert more strength when he pushes an enemy lineman or player.

8. Tetsuma - Character from Seibu. When he is being commanded to do something, he'll definitely do it without stopping. He is good at routes.

9. Agon Kongo - Character from Shinryuuji. He envisions himself that he is a football genius (actually for me, he is not). He treats everyone other than himself as worthless trash.

10. Leonard Apollo - He is the coach of the Nasa Aliens. He alone is a racist! He doesn't want Panther-kun to play.


For more of Eyeshield 21's whackiest and funniest characters, I advise that you watch the show from Episode 1 up to the very last. read more

Well, Eyeshield 21, I have to say, I held off on reading/watching the manga/anime, specially because it's a manga/anime about sports, and that doesn'g sound very exciting. But I decided to give it a try anyway, and find out wha the anime really was, and what it was, is awesome.


Plot: Well, the story follows student Kobayakawa Sena, who just got accepted to Deimon High School, Sena is pretty much a whimpy kid who gets bullied around by others, while running away from some bullies, a Senior Student, Hiruma Youichi, the captain of the Football club notices that Sena is really fast, and wants him to join, and after a rather strange series of events, he ends up joining the Football Team( or Amefuto, as they call it, yeah, idk).
So basically, there's a team, team has a dream, going to the Christmal Bowl (Highschool Football Tournament in Japan), but they have to do it that year, since Hiruma and his fellow student Kurita Ryoukan are graduating that year, they must train, and beat the other rival teams, from which the most recurring ones are the Oujou White Knights and the Shinryuuji Naga.
It's 145 episodes for the anime (and 333 for the manga) and even though it sounds long, it's very entertaining and worth the time, the matches between teams are great and really entertaining. Besides the football matches, there's also a lot of comedy in this series, most which is absurd, which makes it even better, although most of the time, it is delivered by Hiruma, which makes it even better!

Characters: To put it simply, there is no boring character in Eyeshield 21, not even Yukimitsu is boring. The authors of Eyeshield 21 did an outstanding job in making all of the characters, they are all equally entertaining and amazing, Sena's rivalry with Shin isn't anything cliche or whatever, instead it's done really well and you wanna see Sena beat Shin in a match. All the other characters also get their own stories, from Jumonji and Taki to Agon and Panther, they are all done so well, that it feels like there are no supporting characters, they all feel like main characters, and that also makes it very exciting, not even the matches focus on the main characters, all the supporting characters have their own rivals they have to beat, and it makes it even more exciting than it already is, sure, some characters are flawed in a way, they can't all be perfect, can they?

Sound/Animation: Well, the music was great, all 5 OPs are great, and it's Eyeshield 21 that has the BEST ending theme ever (Blaze Away). Some of the BGM was great too, like Be Survivor, and the animation, well, it's really good, the OPs are done great, and the scenes with special moves like Sena's Devil Bat Ghost or Shin's Trident Tackle, they are all done very well, and all I have to say, is that it looks great.

Teams: Well, obviously there's the Deimon Devil Bats, but there's also the rival teams like the Oujou White Knights, the Kyoshin Poseidon, the Bando Spiders and the Hakushu Dinosaurs, each one of these teams have their own characters and special plays, and I liked all of them, all of the teams are equally amazing, and of course the matches are really entertaining, but I did feel kinda let down that the Teikoku Alexanders aren't in the anime, specially since the match between them and Deimon is definetly the best in the series.

Replay Value: This anime is really worth watching again, I wouldn't mind it, really, it's a shame that most people pass on it because it's a Sports Anime, like I did, but I'm sure people would like it if they watch it, now, I've really come to love this series, but I have to say that it's better to read the manga because the anime just stops after the final rematch with Oujou, and it didn't show the matches agains Hakushu, Teikoku and the World Cup, which I would've loved to see, but anyway, it's a great anime and it's really underrated, so go watch it, or Hiruma will take you to hell, YA-HA!

Rating: Flawless read more

At first glance, many thought that American football is all about muscle and killing intent. As a child, I watched NFL games and saw players hurt, injured, worst; crushed, suffer fractures and other accidents that led them to disability. As a sportsman(once a varsity basketball player), I hate games runned by power and skill alone.

Ya-HA!
Enters Eyeshield 21 that features a with unorthodox players such as shorty, porky and a Demon. The plot is very simple, about an errand boy who became a superstar in a game played by monsters and his team, the Devil Bats journey to National Championships, the Christmas Bowl. It highlights the rivalry of the main character, light speed runningback Kobayakawa Sena known as Eyeshield 21 and Linebacker Shin Seijurou who is considered as the perfect player. Like other shounen stories, the protagonist grows strong stronger as he faced stronger opponents until the final decesive battle against his rival.

What everyone loved in this anime is its character development and as a sports themed anime, ES21 expressed the importance of teamwork better.

ES21 can be a manual itself and gradually showed the rules of the American football. This sports unlike any other team sports is a game of specialties and choosing a position is very vital to he outcome of the team. In the Devil bats case, the team is composed usually of inexperienced guys (and some are weaklings) relying only on their lifestyle, natural talents, hard work and rushed training. Here are their ligitimate line-up:

QB- H. Youichi - the devilish trickster and master of psychological warfares.
RB/TB- K. Sena- former errand boy with lightspeed legs
RB/FB- Ishimaru - helper from the track & field club
WR- R. Tarou - dedicated follower of a Baseball catching superstar
WR- Yukimitsu- his life was spent on academics
C- K. Ryoukan- a guy who knows nothing but power
G- Y. Daikichi - a loyal apprentice of Kurita
G- Ha -thugs
T- Ha -same-
T- Brothers -same-

Considering these data, thechances of playing forthe national championship was estimated 0.1% but saccording to their Leader, Hiruma-sama, as long as its not completely zero, winning is still inevitable.

Compared with other sports anime, I'd say Eyeshield 21 is the smartest of them all. This anime proves that winning isn't only a matter of skills, athleticism, work ethic and determination, it takes some deep tactics, calculations and brainstorming to outwit the opposing team and to stand on the battlefield.

After watching this anime, surely you'll never doubt that David really toppled Goliath. Ya-ha! read more

Eyeshield 21 is an essay in 145 episodes about... American Football! A game that I don't know, like or understand, portrayed in anime! A game that we always believed that was only played in America... In anime! Conclusion: Must Watch.

The story is as simple as "sports anime": a team and its players, represented by the Speed-Light Running Back Kobayakawa Sena as main character, must overcome stronger teams and players by evoluting physically and spiritually in way to get to the ultimate victory (participating in the Christmas Bowl). However, this team is not like your average! They are below the average! In the end, this is the fight of an underdog team composed by untalented members that had to generate their talent through train and hard work. Very heart warming for people that, like me, don't have talent and have to do everything through hard work.

Adding to this, the characters are pretty much... Brilliant. Each character design is a caricature from the corresponding personality. With this fashion, characters that had not much of a content, turned into people that you are willing to support and even identify with. You find all the stereotypes, but you also discover that they are real and have their reasons.

The animation is quite good, as well as the art overall, but this series suffers of a disease common to most long anime: repeated animation sequences and loss of detail quality through the series. Of course that if you watch an episode a week like you should and not 15 a day like I did, you will most likely never notice this. However, the slow paced games hook you up to the point of wanting to watch them as soon as possible. Even the filler episodes held enough fun.

A great comedy, with its inspirational and touching moments, and above all a tribute to American Football. read more

I have played football for 5 years all throughout highschool. I did not know there was an anime about football untill June of 2009. I normally would stay away from sports anime's as they are boring and dense but I watched an Amv on eyeshield 21 and fell in love.

Everything is real in the anime, well the tournaments and the attitudes the titles of best running back or linemen, and even the plays. Yes the plays in the show are exaggerated as green beams of light cant come from behind you as you run and all that stuff but in football we do those plays which makes it exciting to watch and its always a grudge match in eyeshield which alot of football is like!

The characters have their own personalities which rocks! They develop and get better through the whole series. Though every region like canada and america and japan all play football diffrently as the show explained.

The art was great and the voice acting was outstanding and it pumps you up to play football. Only complaint was when there was a moment happening in the game the people would talk to eachother wich doesnt happen in football or you would get crushed. None the less it was great to watch and best sports anime out there it recks King of tennis thats for sure! Watch it and enjoy it! YA-HA!! read more

to be honest with you i actually started watching this show a long time ago , i hated it . then i stopped watching, several months later i was bored and i already had downloaded a few of eyeshield 21's episodes and so i watched eyeshield 21. when i got up to episode 30 i was hooked it was fantastic .

the begging isn't that great but it really gets you going later during the show , so don't drop this anime before you get to episode 15 then it really gets going , so you wouldn't have to regret it like i did ^_^ read more

Yay another review~!^-^
I think i'll keep this up a little =3
anyway..this time it's my second most
favorite anime-Eyeshield 21~!

so lets start...the story...
well the story is really great I can't say it's not ^^
it made me fall in love with the futball~!
the only reason I give it a 8 and not 10 is because
there are A LOT logic problems in the series =.="
I can't say what they are because it's spoilers
but there are ^^" and many I have to say...
but the story is really deep and funny and it's really nice!

Animation...well the animation is really funny and weird XD
but that is one of the reasons it's so funny~! and funny is GOOD!
but I can't say it's the best animation I saw...
it looks like everything there is vectored O.o" (if you know what I mean)
but it's okay ^^

Sound~well eyesheild have GREAT sound really!
but...I don't know after listening to the OST it's kinda...
well I don't know...but the openings and endings are great ^^

Characters~! the characters in this anime are great!
everyone is special in another way from the other and that's
one of the best things in the series!
everyone have some secret about him and it's really amazing!

ENJOYMENT~! PEOPLE WHO LOVE COMEDY WATCH THIS STUFF~!!!
because it's a really funny anime XD it's about sport...I know
BUT (!) the humor there can kill you! I promise!XD
anyway it's easy to enjoy this anime if you connect with it ^^

Onerall-9~
yes overall it's a very funny weird and cool anime ^^
and of course anyone who love american futball MUST see this =3
Enjoy~
read more

"Eyeshield 21" is traditional sports anime about a kid who learns to believe in himself and become a winner, but at the same time it is also a comedy with a bizarre twist - it's about a group of misfit Japanese high school kids forming a team to play "American Football" in their Japanese high school. So you not only have all of the usual "Gambatte! Gambarimasu!" (Do your best! I'll do my best!") sort of stuff, but also an attempt to give a Japanese youth audience a crash course in American-style football. The result is a spectacularly funny comedy, both deliberately - due to the wacky cast of misfits - and also unintentionally, because of the ongoing attempts to explain the rules and concepts of American football during the eyecatches and off-and-on during the story line.

First year high school student Sena has always relied upon his older female friend Mamori to protect him. And when Mamori isn't around, Sena has learned to run away from trouble because he is smaller than most of the bullies that bother him. But now that Sena is in high school he no longer wants to be "protected by a girl" and allows himself to be talked into joining his high school's American Football team, which has few players, never wins, and is almost unknown in the high school. But Sena's "running away" has developed him into a phenomenon - he can out run most pursuers and thread his way through most obstacles, including football defensive teams. Because of that, the fanatical and demonic captain of the football team, Hiruma, decides to rebuild the team around Sena, with Sena disguised as the mysterious running back "Eyeshield 21".

What results from this is a fast-paced, unpretentious story with surprisingly adept character development and smart, consistent comedy. Add to this reasonably good animation and a lively soundtrack and you have a nice bit of old-fashioned fun done in a thoroughly up-to-date manner. So forget about anything you ever knew about American High School Football, sit back, grab a bottle of "sports water", and enjoy the action.
read more

Eyeshield 21 is the best Anime/Manga about sports, it is about a kid named Kobayakawa Sena who discovers the awesome world of American Football or Football as an american like myself would call it. To be honest,ES21 was my first sports anime and it is the one that hooked me to sports anime. it is really funny and whenever i have a bad day, i watch one ep of it and i cheer up. It combines both comedy and sports together to make the best sports Anime/Manga

This is the type of anime where the main character sena is pretty lame. He does a cool thing or two every 20 episodes or so and then cries about how he sucks the rest of the time. Personally I couldnt stand him as the main character because he never has his own confidence and is always beaten. When you are watching a long series such as this you need some type of motivation to keep you going every 10 or so episodes and they fail to give it in this show. Sena loses pretty much all the time. They work him up to think hes gonna succeed and bam its torn down with him failing. I personally cant stand watching that over and over again for 100 episodes. It gets annoying. The rest of the characters are great because they keep working hard no matter what and keep confidence unlike sena. The art is really good, Music is pretty good, story is good, but overall sena is the weakest link in this anime. I personally like main characters with a bit more guts and confidence once they see their own abilities. All this guy does is cry and whine the entire series and somehow comes through for his team because they pump him up just for that one time. He has no courage to do anything and is pretty lame. If you can stomach this for 140 episodes then fine but I personally cant handle someone so weak for a main character. read more

It was very very average.
Maybe it's just that I watch too much football.
I dropped after first 3 episodes and finished manga instead.

Positive: how many mangas talk about the gridiron
not a whole lot.
Novel sport, pretty detailed descriptions, fairly involved storyline.

Negative: exaggerated features, even for a sports manga

Hated some details,
I dont like how the author glorifies notre dame. Yeah, ND was good
when they were all wearing pigskin helmets and all caucasian.
Last ND champ was in 80's. If they want to talk about real college football,
talk about SEC football: Florida, LSU, Bama, etc.
Also, players do not immediately sign into NFL. Most players play in college for mandatory 3 years before goin to pros.
Third, I've yet to hear of any real football players with 4.1 speed. That is absolutely and utterly impossible because most players have a pretty big muscle bulk too.

Yeah, I ranted, because I care read more

A sports anime... huh..

Ok, before I start the review I would like to comment on the nature of sports manga or anime.. I'm sure you all know that things in the sports anime are not gonna happen in a reality sense right? For example this anime.. This is about American Football and you will see a RunningBack that runs in a speed of a freaking light. In reality sense, where in the blue hell are you going to find that? See, the logic? But that is the spice of manga or anime in the sports genre can offer. It can defy the law of reality in order to make things exciting.. To be honest, I don't give a damn about American Football.. I think that it is a sport wherein I can't relate because it's too complex for me to understand its rules and nature.. But, thanks to this particular manga, my eyes were opened to the American Football business.. (Though I don' really play)

One thing that is cool on sports anime is that all the move set have their own names.. It is funny to think that even your simple fake has its own name.. Well, it's just my opinion but at times it is awesome.. It's cool but the back side of it is that, there are two many moves with names..

Damn.. I really enjoy writing reviews..

Ok.. I'm going to give my opinions based on the elements in the rating..

Story (9)
Like I said this is sports anime/manga.. Expect that reality is out of question in here.. That's the essence of sports anime/manga.. (Though I'm not referring to all of the series in the sports genre) This series also defies reality in big time scale.. You know, you need basic physics in order to understand why in the blue hell such scenarios happen.. (You don't need to take the physics thing seriously) Example, Sena's run..

On the struggle sense, I mean the struggle of the group to go to the top is great. You can see that they want the big thing.. They're hungry for supremacy.. They want to prove something. Even I can feel that fire sometimes whenever I watch an episode. I admit, it's inspiring. You can apply it in real life.. Don't give up.. Don't lose your fire.. Don't lose your passion..

Art (9)
The art was good. I'm the type of viewer that looks first at the drawing or art before reading them.. So, according to my tastes.. this series is great..

Sound (9)
Are you a fan of J-rock band BACK-ON? If you do, you will definitely get me.. The songs from that band are awesome!! The opening 4 and some endings, it's awesome.. I really like the rap and rock style of music of BACK-ON.. OK, that's all.. hehe

Character (10)
Good job for the creator of this series for making characters of different styles.. First, the protagonist Sena.. He has a balance of awesomeness (when Eyeshield) and wimpiness (when normal mode).. I would also like to thank the creator of this series for creating Hiruma Yoichi wherein I can attribute my somewhat evil and never say die attitude.. As you can see, where in the blue hell are you going to see an athlete that carries legit firearms whether he is in school or in the football field? I also want to point out his catch phrase of saying "We'll Kill them!! YAHA!" That is so EPIC!! It is a good cheer.. It can be apply in real life... I apply it in real life!! It's freaking awesome!!! Well, I will no longer give ideas to the other characters.

Bottom line in here is that, they are a lot of characters and I'm sure there are one or two characters wherein you can relate your life to..

Enjoyment (10)
I find the match build up interesting and enjoyable.. Each school has its own motif and has its own matchup logo and mascot.. Whenever there is a match there is this kind of build up title card that shows the name of the schools.. I was like watching a wrestling match title card.. (If you get my analogies)

Even though I don't really played American Football my entire life, I can say that it is fun to follow this series, The plays are amazing.. You can see the awesomeness and drama for each match specially when the Deimon DEVIL Bats wins..

Overall (9)
I want to play American FOOTBALL.. Joke..

This is a good series.. Good drama, awesome defying of reality, awesome complex characters, good match ups and the I really like the chant..

I knew that the anime series is not completed. I wish that they have another series wherein they will finish the story up to the end. Well, the manga is finished, the material is there.. I honestly felt that you can feel the action more when things are animated.. I strongly wish that this must have a continuation..


That's all.. Thanks for reading..

LightningSnow :) read more

Eyeshield 21. An Anime about Sports, One sport in particular, American Football. 145 Episodes of American Football.

I liked Eyeshield 21. Always keeping me on the end of my chair ready to cry with them, and to laught and have fun with them.

Every battle were interesting. With alot of good cliffhangers.
It seems long sometimes, and Some might say it becomes ''Annoying'' the way the Main Character, Always loose at first, then come back even stronger ready to win. But I enjoyed the very last bit of it.

It was a great anime. Not the best, But certainly a great Anime.
If you're willing to put your time into an Anime, If you like Sports, If you like Shonens, Or if you like American Football.
You should definately give Eyeshield 21 a try.
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Eyeshield is one of a kind of anime. Making an anime about a sport few play in Japan turned out to be a good move on their part. The storyline is not exacctly epic, its just the goal to go to the Christmas bowl and play the best of the best. The characters are indeed very different from one another, and there'a a variety of them, to the little bullied kid Sena,the kind hearthed Kurita and the demented Hiruma, among others. I like how some of the characters progress and mature as the show goes on and how some change mentally. I don't think there was an anime or manga about American Football, but im sure glad they made it because the games are mixed with real life physics and moves an anime can only create, such as throwing a football harder than Brett Favre. As the show goes on, the show introduces new teams, games, characters, and problems characters have to face, such as keeping sena's secret alter ego Eyeshield 21 a secret from the school. There are rivalries just like in real life and the practices are can be brutal, especially if Hiruma is in charge. It starts out pretty slow but then the games are pretty exciting to watch. I really enjoyed this anime and managa because i also enjoy Football. The bottom line is that if you like football, then give it a shot, and if you don't know anything about it, the show explains what positions do and general rules of the game with Mamorinechan's football clinics. You'll know what Im talking about if you watch the show. Overall, its a very good anime due to the facts that no one has tried, or dare to make a football anime that could be successfull and popular. The story starts slow and you wont see the first game until like 3 or 4 episodes or something like that. read more

At a glance, Eyeshield 21 is one of those animes that may not catch the eye of many anime fans just because of people notice the word "Football," I'm not a big fan of Sport anime's myself, as a matter of fact I had known nothing about football going into this anime. The good news is that it doesn't really matter, the basic objectives of the game are told throughout watching.I can wholeheartedly say that the football in this anime does not form an obstacle in the enjoyment of the anime in any way, shape or form. Like me, you'll probably get really into the game as you watch

Story-8/10
Story is straight-forward: To win matches until your reach the "Christmas Bowl," otherwise it's game over.
Typical plot although but I feel that it does not make the anime any less enjoyable, in fact I think it fits perfectly with this particular series. The traditional fillers though does indeed get irritating to watch. However, as you watch you may notice the main protagonist, Sena starts to learn the same lesson over, and over again. I understand that there is some fear in taking on a intimidating player three times your size on, but it starts to feel a bit, repetitive and boring, but once you get passed this minor problem there isn't really anything else to complain about. It takes a unrealistic approach which of course, is a given, I wouldn't watch a realistic football for 100+ episodes.

Animation-7/10
I think the animation is the major sore spot for the series,although they did portray the "Special abilities," magnificently, It was extremely satisfying to see Hiruma's "Devil Bat Lazer Bullet," and Sena's "Devil Bat Ghost," the animation is not terrible or horrid it's just a bit shabby.

Sound- 9/10
I can say that the sounds were absolutely gratifying, the sounds of catching footballs, to Shins "Spear tackle," were very well made during the supposed action scenes. The OP and ED were great I really wanted to sing along as I listened.("Blaze line" being one of my favorites)

Characters-9/10
I firmly believe that the characters defines this series as a whole. Hiruma is probably the best if not one of the best "Anti-Hero" I have seen. Hiruma's not the only one, several parts in the series can you feel the determination, arrogance, and viciousness, of many supporting characters.There will be many characters you can relate to.

Overall and Enjoyment-9/10
I would not mind watching this a few times, although i would skip the fillers overall I think that Eyeshield 21 is a must watch for any anime viewers even if it's just the first few episodes. I would recommend this anime how wants a try at the sports genre as this anime defines the sports genre. Eyeshield 21 has become one of my favorites.

(First review)
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I really love the manga for Eyeshield 21, so I tried to watch the anime. It doesn't really do justice, in my opinion, to the manga at all. The animation is really shoddy, and I really don't like the style. I doesn't feel nearly as dramatic or fast-paced as the manga at all. I definitely recommend the manga, I couldn't force myself to watch more than three episodes of this show, which is really unfortunate because they had good voice actors for the characters, but the animation was just utter garbage and I can't handle bad animation for a manga series so beautifully drawn.

This is one hardcore American/Japanese anime that is worth watching. I'm not really into sports anime, but this one really gave me a glance into a whole new genre that most people don't pursue. Eyeshield 21 is full of action, suspense, not really romance, comedy, and will power! I recommend this anime not just to football fans, but to everyone who is looking for something thrilling and funny.