Basquash!

The idea of the whole anime may sound ridiculous, but it is exactly the fact that they managed to recreate it in an interesting way that makes the series really intriguing. How many people would watch this after a describtion such as this one: "Guys playing basketball in giant robots; sometimes in THE SPACE." I doubt there would be many anticipating to watch something like that. But what never ceased to amaze me throughout the whole series was that I didn't even once feel like I was watching something dumb and not well-thought. An idea that seems stupid, stereotypical and clichè may actually surprise you ... by representing an overall satisfying story.

The whole plot was in general really nicely planned, I noticed they managed to squeeze in something like a mini-culmination in every single episode. There was no episode with just talk and no action and vice versa. So these two things were somewhat in balance all the time. On a sad note, I was left unsatisfied by the way things concluded. Towards the end the anime became too messed up with all sorts of fanatsy elements. A little bit too much, in my opinion, considering that the main thing in this anime is basketball.

The art was good in its own way. I suppose it would be simply out of place if it was too beautiful and graceful. I am content with the looks of the characters, despite the fact that from time to time I found them drawn too childish.

The sound effects, the acting skills of the voice actors and the songs were absolutely and undoubtetly perfectly selected for this anime. I have absolutely nothing negative to say.

The characters were fun, colourful and nicely developed. Some of them were however simply not deep enough. Too superficial and stereotypical at times, but just a few of them and only rarely. I also liked the fact that there were plenty of female characters, unlike in other sports and action anime. I didn't feel any lack of female presence, which somehow gave a certain sense of colourfulness and completion to the whole story.

The enjoyment I got from watching this anime, unlike most people would predict from its describtion, was great. I had mostly fun and laughed like crazy at some ridiculous scenes. I liked the way basketball matches were recreated and it was a real joy to observe such a fine animation.

Overall, this anime is worth watching, regardless of if you are into basketball or sports as a whole or not. I had a great time watching it, but I do not think I shall ever re-watch it. It is exciting and makes you wait with anticipation for the next episode, but missing the element of surprise, it's just not the same.
Whoever hasn't watched this anime yet, I recommend it from the bottom of my heart.

This is my first review, and as much as I will try to stay biased for the reader, I can only write with the mood I am feeling at the time I was watching the episodes.

Basquash:
Well what can I say? What started as a brilliant roller-coaster formula to an inventive sports recipe of basketball, ended up collapsing midway and failing to meet the viewers expectation to what could have been a great shonén series.

Story: 5/10
I've given the story side of Basquash a 5 due to that, there is none. It's your typical shonén anime with sports and mecha(called Big Foots) combined to give you ... an unorthodox game of what's called Big Foot Basketball(BFB for short). Like all sports anime, there is a hint of romance but not enough for a follow through, and like every mecha, there's upgrades although in this show the upgrades are just the shoes(which NIKE have blatantly smeared all over the series as they pretend to sponsor the team).

Well I'd be lying to say there is no story as there is one, but due to the lack of pacing and the inconsistencies the series provides, it can easily confuse the viewer to what they're really watching....and Dan's character is no help either.

Art: 8/10
The art in itself is spectacular, if not at times, over the top. From the anime studio(Satelight) who gave us Macross Frontier, Heat Guy J, Noein and Guin Saga, be expected to be breath taken by the variety of the background colors to the combination of CG. There has not been a moment I have been disappointed and although the character designs aren't very realistic, you learn to grow with it as you may have if you've seen anime like TTGL or Soul Eater.

Sound: 10/10
This is the part I may start to be a little biased, but all with good reason. The OST of Basquash is amazing! From the OP to the ED, to the BGM in between, the music of Basquash is what sets it apart from all the mecha/sports genre out there. Since the release of Eclipse's(who happened to be idols in the series) album, my partner has not failed to play their song once a day on her ipod! Whether it be an opening for the main character(with 'No Limit' by Eclipse) or a tear jerking scene of 2 would be lovers saying their goodbyes('Running On' also by Eclipse), each and every song, will draw and captivate the crowd!

For the most part, I'm guessing this department is what really draws a crowd in as Basquash is like one long drawn out AMV for me.

Characters: 5/10
The reason why I've given its characters a 5 is due to its lack of. You are first introduced to a motley crew of kids lead by Dan(main character a.k.a Dunk Mask). Now at first episode I had liked Dan for being wild and out of control, and his actions is what lead me to ask for more(specially at the end). Pretty much like Kamina of TTGL or Black Starr of Soul Eater, all brawn and no brain. But as the show carries on, you start to at times, loathe his ignorance and stupidity. The supporting cast, is Dan's saving grace. You have Dan's sister who gives us the back story, Dan's team mates Sela and Iceman(who are a mix of cool and sexy), Dan's childhood friends(Bel & Ganz) and childhood sweetheart(Miyuki), and Dan's manager Haruka Gracia(who is the also the main fan-service with her Lunar Busts). Add in idols Eclipse and you pretty much get a cast that's watchable. Oh, and I almost forgot Spanky, who is Dan's sidekick and mascot. A little pet(if you could call it that), who talks crudely and provides the humor for the show.

Enjoyment: 7/10
Basqash's saving grace is its chemistry. As I had mentioned earlier, Basquash is a roller-coaster of an anime with its ups and down, but due to the chemistry of its music, art and characters, it does make you want to keep your eyes glued for the next episode.

Overall: 6/10
Overall I have given this show a 6 out of 10 for its inventiveness. If your looking to watch an anime where you need to use your head like a mystery series, then this is not for you, but if your looking for something fresh with good music and eye-candy, I can guarantee Basquash will deliver.

It usually takes me 1-2 days to finish a 24 episode anime. It took me 1 week to finish this anime. Ima give my opinion on what I thought of this anime.

I always like to begin with art first for my reviews since that is usually what I judge it on when I watch a series.

Art: It was GREAT until..........episode 10 and up. I don't know if it was just me or what, but the "basquash" and the ball bouncing got much slower and boring, the graphics got worse as it went on, and there were inconsistency in the drawings. I don't know if they ... got lazy or fed up with this anime and just threw a crap job at the end, but the art was painfully bad. It was painfully slow, their movements, and there were less ball bouncing. The character art was ok, but it got worse later on. The art was what caught my attention in the beginning with the mecha and the choreography of the mecha, but it got into such a slow paced choreography that it made no difference than watching the first BFB match that was played. All they did towards the end was add some shiny trails, and apparently was supposed to make the matches more exciting, but it wasn't really. (The fatty was still fat, and then all of a sudden skinny.........I laughed).

Sound: It was GREAT until................episode 15 or below, I forgot. The opening and ending was very catchy. I listened to both the opening and ending everytime I watched the anime. The background songs in the anime was also excellent, especially during some of the matches. It made my heart tingle and made me want more. Then it got worse...the sound, like the art, was getting pretty bad. I guess the 2nd opening was good, but the 2nd ending was only mediocre. The background music played later was horrible and at most times, very random. The timing was bad, and it doesn't seem as interesting. They even didn't bother to change the voice actor of Slasher when he turned young.

Character: Dan JD, lawlz. I laugh at him. I didn't like him in the beginning, and I still didn't like him til the very end. All the characters are very shallow, and there are no interesting characters (except for Iceman, gotta love him). They're art was the only good thing. I mean, if they just kept the "dunk mask" on Dan instead of the overly retarded looking blue helmet, I might of liked him a little bit more than I do now. The character relations are horrible too. We see "romance" (LOL) develop at the most random times. Also, I really didn't like Miyuki and Alan. They were pretty useless in this whole mess. The appearance of Navi was at most random. He didn't contribute much at all to the whole anime. If they wanted Sela to like someone, make her like Iceman Hotty.

Story: Lol. I actually would of preferred if this was just a regular sports anime where a boy just wants to go to the moon to heal his sister's legs so she can walk again and play basketball. The whole, Nike saving the world and earth and moon crashing and destroying the moon and playing basketball when the earth is being destroyed is as bit excessive. There were many cliche moments. I laughed at the RougexDan kiss scene. The storyline started going all over the place. I don't know how to explain this anime. I can't even write a review on this without being frustrated. There's so many things to talk about without spoiling a whole bunch of stuff. It was just bad, and I didn't like it. The relationship between Dan and Coco SHOULD have been the main focus of the storyline, but then they shifted to Dan and made him the legend. Starting at like episode 15, they kept saying legend, legend. It was repetitive and not to mention that I have no freaking idea what they were talking about. When I first heard it, I thought, was he gonna play basketball to save the world? I was right, unfortunately.

Enjoyment factor: I liked it until episode 9. Everything went downhill til then. The forced storylines and the forced relationships and the forced dialogues and actions all made this anime very unbearable to watch. When I first watched this, I was like, oh yea, this anime is getting a 8. But no, it's not. Alan was just annoying and a waste of screentime. They made us see her practice basketball, and she gets to use it maybe once in this whole anime. Her "hearings" are also annoying. Then towards the end. We see characters teleporting to different places. One second they're at the camp, the other they're at the gate. The fatty turns skinny, then fat again, then skinny in like 15 minutes of the anime. The ending didn't answer MANY QUESTIONS. I had a lot. WHY DID THEY NOT MAKE COCO AND DAN TALK TO EACH OTHER OR HAVE A MEETING. Instead, they showed Iceman and Dan playing basketball. Gotta be kidding me. And not to mention who Dan ends up with is unclear (although most people say it's Rouge).

TL;DR - THE FIRST 9 EPISODES WERE EXCELLENT. THE REST WERE HORRIBAD.