Cheer Danshi!!

I haven't enjoyed an anime this much recently, and I didn't expect myself to have taken a liking for this one in particular.

There is just something about sports animes or just any anime with a plot revolving around the characters building their team and improving their skills that gets me so motivated to learn something new myself, and with that in mind, I decided to give this one a go despite the plain concept--no isekai, no special powers, and no cute girls on the poster (lol).

Huge props to the animators for doing the character's forms, which you will be able to see from the ... opening in the very beginning (You will grow to appreciate the opening more as you get deeper into the anime.) But since it's a sports anime after all, at times there is a fair bit of drama that sometimes might even seem unnecessary, but at least it doesn't go on for long and tends to be resolved in that particular episode.

The anime is about a men's cheerleading club in a university, which starts off only with two members. As they gain more members for the club, issues that didn't exist before begin to arise since there are a lot of them eventually, kicking off the character development that I crave in all animes. And again, as usual, I really enjoyed Cheer Danshi for the friendship and growth alongside learning more about cheerleading in general as I also thought it was just a group of girls dancing with pompoms when in actuality, that's most likely a half-assed version, and the real one requires lots of training, fitness, and patience like any other competitive sports.

/Something surprising happened in the second last episode that reminded me of a similar scene in Darling in the Franxx, but I wasn't too shocked tbh lol
//I wonder how much Pocari Sweat paid the studio for the product placement.

This anime has a lot of potential, having a unique story of all men cheer dance. I have high expectations because I enjoy the first two episode of this anime. However, I found myself cringe at almost scene and just skip it. Aside from the first two episode, I enjoy the last two episode of the anime. The story was fast-paced and they skip a lot of details.

The characters were interesting enough but the story didn't give us deeper individuality of the members but instead it only focuses 3-4 characters.

It was painfully obvious that they don't have enough budget in making this anime. It ... was to rigid and had no scene where they should show their cheer dance routine but overlay it with dialogue.

So I just finished Cheer Danshi!! and I enjoyed alot, although I might be viewing it too optimistically haha. It seems to view itself as a sports anime, but I find it more comparable to a performance/idol anime, such as LoveLive, because most of it seems to revolve around training and bonding instead of competition. So Cheer Danshi!! lacks the intensity of a sports anime, and instead focuses on the buildup before a final performance seen in many group idol anime.

The story starts out pretty original and ends pretty well. The story premise is original and quickly grabs the attention of the viewer, however, ... the main problem is that the middle episodes are lackluster, as it feels that many opportunities to have something interesting happen are missed. The buildup is generic, and has been seen before in other anime, as they train, gain new members, struggle with conflict within the team, and resolve the conflict ending in stronger bonds. Although with an average buildup, the anime finished off with a great ending that gave a clear understanding of what this team meant for the characters.

The art is decent but standard, it doesnt portray a unique style but its comfortable on the eyes. The character designs uniquely define each character and are probably the best part of the visuals. The animation itself is cheap besides the performances where it gets a boost in quality. Overall it has good art but not amazing.

The sound really helped make the anime feel energized. Nice background sound throughout the anime to support the other aspects of production and great Opening to really pump up the viewer.

There were many characters portrayed in the anime with many unique and colorful personalities. However there are many missed opportunities in this aspect as character development moments are missed especially for many of the beginning characters. As the anime added in a whole new set of characters during the middle of the story, many opportunities to showoff the first group of characters are lost. With the show juggling the team of characters, we only get a taste of who all these guys are, until the very end, where the characters reflect on their experiences and we as the viewers truly get a solid understanding in who they are. Overall though, they are a group of fun good-hearted guys who are inspired to Cheer. In my optimistic/abstract view, I saw the whole team as one character, a few conflicting personalities here and there, but essentially everyone was driven with a passionate heart.

I'm a sucker for camaraderie type anime, so I enjoyed it more than others it seems. I think it did a good job in making all the characters likable in a way, and having a few subplots for some of the characters to struggle with. I think I really the ending the best though, because we really straight into the characters through their thoughts.

Overall, it was pretty good, I fully enjoyed binge-watching it, but definitely could have improvements throughout the story and character development. I'd recommend it to those who enjoy the camaraderie shown in sports and idol animes, but if your looking for intense competition or jaw dropping drama, this isnt the anime for you.

Short version (no spoilers) :
Overall, an ok but cute anime; you will no problem watching this in a day but had major jumpcuts and lack story development. It would have been best as a 24 episode or two-season anime.

Long version (may contain spoilers) :

It was a cute anime and something you could enjoy if you're looking for a feel-good anime. However, since it was only 12 episodes, it was poorly done. The themes felt rushed and provided no background info, and the character developed was at best ok; in the beginning, the MC was still doing judo. Then the next episode, we just skipped ... to cheerleading, and it's never explained what happened to his shoulder. It's obvious that it was caused by judo, but some background of it would have been helpful.

The jump cuts that's one thing that really threw me off. For example, after they cheered at the school festival, the next episode showed all the new teammates who joined. At first, I thought I missed an episode since there were a dozen new people that were never introduced.

The anime lacked depth since it just cut from one thing to the next. The story never got the chance to develop, and when it did go deeper, it was really short. I'm used to sports animes like "Run with the Wind," who explored the characters and story plot a lot better.

The anime didn't show much of the character's lives outside of cheerleading; because of that, there was a disconnect, so you really couldn't relate to them besides the two MC's. Also, I'm surprised there wasn't more of a school aspect since this is set in college.

Some extra things, the romance was a shock, to say the least. That whole thing boyfriend's situation was unnecessary. And I hated Sakuma's voice (I watched in Dub). I understand they were trying to make him more feminine, but they overdid it. The whole "rival" with Hanasaki was terrible. It was so clear he was just a side character to boost the MC's and had absolutely no purpose other than running his mouth.

The story line was extremely well done, it really helps break down toxic masculinity and shows that boys can do something that is more "feminine" presenting. If any guys have doubts about doing cheer or any other more feminine sport this could really boost their confidence in it. It flowed very well and it showed the struggles that people have to face when doing something that's "not meant" for their gender. I gave the story line a 9 and not a 10 because I do feel like it's missing a few things, for example they should have shown more of the actual events that they ... had went to. I don't have to many critiques regarding it though.

I don't have much to say about the art style, it's good, but it's not my personal preference. Nothing wrong with it, it's well drawn and looks good, I'd just prefer something a little different. I gave the art style a 7 for that reason.

The characters, that's what made the show, having all the different backgrounds and personalities. They didn't all work together but the sport brought them together and they worked through it. Most of them had very good character development, some didn't grow as much as others, but I think that adds to the show. It makes it more realistic because not everyone would grow at the same rate. They show the differences between them so well and it made me want a lot more than their was. I have the characters a 10 because I just couldn't get enough of them.

Overall this anime is a 9, it;s one of my favorites but it just cant outrank my top ones but only over little things. Maybe it's because I can't relate as much to this was as my top ones. Either way I would highly recommend that you watch it. It surprised me in the end because I never thought I would enjoy a anime about a boys cheer team.

This was a very average show. The plot was slow and I still have no clue what the purpose behind their routine was; were they trying to win or just perform because the ending was unclear...? I was bored half the time and the other half I was mildly interested in some of the bromance moments. I hated the random romance subplot, which was poorly done by the way, and the relationships did not go deeper than the surface level.

Compared to other recent sports anime, this was a bust. It's literally impossible to compare them but this was not the move.

You could skip this ... and not waste your time....

definitely a run-of-the-mill sports anime. There really isn't anything that separates Cheer Boys from the rest. That is not to say that it is not a good anime per se, probably just not my cup of tea. Frankly, I love sports animes, as they are one of the few genres of anime that I can watch and not get confused/have to rewatch to see everything. They are thoughtless animes, which is why they are so good for some viewers, you don't have to think when watching, all you have to do is enjoy.

Cheer Boys was an anime that took me over 3 months to ... watch from start to finish, and that is not a good thing, but also not a bad thing. I would do other things while this show played in the background because it was not something that caught my attention 100%, I had to do other things to get through it. It was a good anime to have one while doing homework, making dinner, or doing my hair, so for that, I am thankful (dubbed of course).

The animation was nothing special, the story did not develop the way I had hoped, and it was not the best anime I have ever seen, but it also wasn't the worst anime of all time. If you want to watch an anime that isn't trying too hard to be something, I would say that Cheer Boys is a good one to watch in the middle of other shows that you really like. It is a good palate cleanser. Honestly, it was the first episode that really did it dirty. The beginning is very much a pivotal point in any anime, and Cheer Boys did not make its beginning captivate the audience. I understand why people drop it, but with that being said, I am glad I followed through and watch till the end because it was a cute story about boys wanting to do cheer, which is not something you see all the time.

My main grievance with this show is that aspects of the story are never depicted in anime. That being men participating in societal feminine things, while also being college-age and not children. So many aspects could have made it pivotal to the anime community, and that is where it fell short for me the most. I am sad that this show was not more than it was, but it was the worst thing in the world.

All in all, if season two comes out, I will watch it, hoping that it is better than season 1.