Shippuu! Iron Leaguer: Silver no Hata no Moto ni

Yo wassup, I am here again on MAL to write a review for the OVA “Shippuu! Iron Leaguer – Under the banner of silver” this is also my second review. I hope you like.

Story: 7
The story it takes place a few years from the TV show “Iron Leaguer”, só just this ova if you have watched the TV series.

The story goes throw a change when silver castle as a new owner and new players and this ignite multiple events and some of the original members tryed to transforme the new silver castle back to his roots, i can say that is a good sequel, the ... OVA format is a excellent choice because its just 5 episodes and it feels just right. It has some of the plot holes of the prequel explained here (like about the history and intentions of the iron soldier company) and some new plots of the antagonists, the end it gave a so-so taste but it was fun.

Art: 8
The art remains the same in therms os design, but it really improve the quality of he animation because of the OVA format.

Sound: 5
The sound is average with some of improvement here and there.

Characters: 7
VA/Seiyuus are the same and with some minor additions, famous names and voices that are remarkable. This tima the spotlight goes for mach windy and the stray leaguers but we still have little development.

Enjoyment: 7
I can say that i have fun watching this OVA, its was nice to see that the characters that i learn to like again and its just 5 episodes, its gave me a breath of fresh air and the feeling of seeing the leaguers again.

Overall: 7
As i say before, this OVA is a sequel of the TV series, then just watch if you watch the TV series. If you watched the TV series and liked i definitly recommend this OVA, you will like a lot.

If you're here right now chances are you just finished the TV anime Shippu! Iron Leaguer and you're wondering if these OVAs are worth a watch (and if you haven't finished the anime already, what are you doing here? Go finish it already! I'll still be around when you come back, don't worry). And the answer to that question? Are these OVAs worth checking out? Well, let's give it a look and see.

The Shippu! Iron Leaguer "Under the Banner of Silver" OVAs serve as an epilogue or further end piece for its preceding anime, exploring new topics, adding new characters, putting existing characters in unique ... situations, and attempting to tie up some of the loose ends the anime may have left hanging.

While the anime leaned heavily into the themes of teamwork, kindness, and fair play, these OVAs see us swinging more in the opposite direction to the darker, grim, and bleaker side of this series’ story. Friendship is, of course, still present, but the more dour style of this narrative may put some people off of it.

This manifests most in how Silver Castle are treated and dealt with. We find our characters struggling and being challenged here in ways we’ve never quite seen before (including but not limited to internal drama and strife). Some of it senseless, some of it with purpose, and each way can make for some interesting content sure but it might not be for everyone, especially if you hold these characters very dearly and felt satisfied by the happy and uplifting Friendship Ending the TV series gave us (which the OVA begins by turning on its head).

But leaning into a sadder narrative isn't all bad, especially if it’s done well. Right? Well, about that...

There is a strong story and strong narrative behind these OVAs but not nearly enough time to give it the room it needs to breathe or reach its full potential, and it shows. The first three episodes are fine enough with most of its problems being bumps in the road or things that you can overlook if you want to, but by the last two episodes it all catches up with them with piles of ideas and concepts crammed into the endgame. Which means most of them aren’t explored or elaborated on nearly as much as they need to be to be effective.

All five episodes have problems such as scenes that are set up and developed only to then be suddenly cut short and never expanded upon or properly concluded. Characters that seem to jump all over the map, appearing out of nowhere to where they are most conveniently needed at the time. Important plot points that are rushed through and barely touched on. And when our favorite characters are put through the wringer on top of all that, it leaves a bad taste in the viewer’s mouth if the story isn’t concluded in a satisfying enough way to justify all that hardship.

In a word it is messy, and what would otherwise be a strong and compelling narrative becomes flimsy and weak. Not every moment is a flop and they are able to do some things decently despite how much they are juggling. But most of what is here are cool concepts and ideas that you can only really get a good grasp on by reading between the lines. I don’t blame this on any incompetence of the show runners but five episodes weren’t enough for all they were trying to tell us. Whether they wanted more episodes and five were all they could get, or they really did over-estimate themselves and think five was enough, we may never know. But what we do know is that this doesn’t work. Mostly...

Normally this would mean we've got a bad set of OVAs on our hands that we’re better off ignoring. But... that's not quite true.

As with the TV anime, it is the characters of Shippu! Iron Leaguer that are the shining stars of its story, and if nothing else can deliver, they sure can. And they do.

This OVA series brings more focus to some characters who might not have got it before. Mach Windy is cool as always and he takes on more of a protagonist role in this story, and Ryuuken, Bull Armor, Juurota, and GZ especially get some of their best moments in the entire series right here in these OVAs, hands down. Some may be one-and-done in a single episode (or even a single scene. But it was a cool scene, Juurota) but their impact is felt, and left me with a big, dumb, happy smile on my face just as much as the anime did at its best.

And the main members of Silver Castle aren't the only ones who get the love. The Gold Brothers (well, they're always awesome), Silky and company, and some of the Stray Leaguers such as Watt, Amp, and Thirteen get a little time to shine here too.

Most of the new robot characters however simply serve their purpose in the narrative and don’t do much else. Aside from Garret who I've got to give these OVAs honest credit for getting me emotionally invested in the guy and actually pretty decently executing character development with him all in the span of a single episode. (But while his arc surprisingly works, it also leaves you wanting more of him.)

You may notice I failed to mention our friends Topjoy and Magnum Ace up there. Unfortunately Topjoy doesn't really do much of note here and Magnum... well, his character arc is about as messy and unfocused as the narrative is, with a lot of interesting ideas and potential communicated poorly, frustratingly, and not quite brought together in a satisfying way. It doesn’t ruin the character by any means but he’s certainly not at his best.

The human characters end up taking a major back seat to the robots, which in retrospect was probably for the best, but they only really exist to pop in from time to time to show us they’re there, nudge the plot forward artificially, or drop lore/exposition unceremoniously. Character development is attempted with the new human character Sheena but, sing it with me now, it’s rushed.

All this said, the best way I can find to describe these OVAs are a series of strong character moments strung together by a far too busy and under-explored narrative. Not everything fails, but not enough succeeds either.

So, back to the real question here. Are these OVAs worth a watch? If you're a big fan of some of the characters I mentioned above, I'd say sure! Give it a shot! If you felt completely content and satisfied with the TV anime's ending and don't want that to be ruined for you even a little, it might be better to give this one a pass. In general though I would recommend fans of the series watch these OVAs at least once, but go in fully aware that they are heavily flawed pieces of media and shouldn’t to be taken too seriously. If you can shut your brain off and enjoy the drama and action, you might catch yourself having a good time. Personally I can’t be mad with how they turned out, just disappointed that they didn’t quite come together and shine as brightly as they could have.

Iron Leaguer came out a long time ago and its not likely to get a reboot or revival series any time soon—or ever for that matter—which leaves these OVAs as the last send off for this series that we’ll ever have. And if nothing else, they do bring a sense of finality that ends our game fair and square.