Tsurune: Kazemai Koukou Kyuudou-bu

Close your eyes and picture a moment in your life that really affected you. It could be anything like made you into the person you are today. As humans, we are bound to change in some ways or another throughout our lives. Especially in our teenage years, we can be easily influenced by others and events around us. I can safely say that without a shadow of a doubt, we have all experienced change in our lives some way or another. It’s called growing up.

Like most sports shows, competitors experiment with themselves to be the best they can be. Tsurune lives as an example ... of a rare form of sport not seen too often these days in the anime medium. In fact, what exactly is Tsurune? The term itself refers to the sound of a bowstring made when an arrow is fired. As you should expect, that relates to archery when a bow fires an arrow. Adapted by studio Kyoto Animation, Tsurune feels like an anime that could raise a bar. In 2018, there were several sports shows that made a noticeable presence so where does Tsurune really hit the mark?

To be fair, understanding Tsurune as a sports show isn’t difficult despite not being a very popular sport. Be honest, when was the last time you’ve watched a competition in real life or TV about archery? The only time I remember is during the Olympics on an international scale. As a competitive sport, it deals with individuals and teams trying to shoot their arrows to land the center of the target as close as possible. That’s the base of the rules and scoring applies to the performance of the archers. There’s time limit, signals to be followed, and styles that each archer adapts to perform their best. Even the equipment plays an important factor on the result. However, don't be too alarmed. Archery isn’t really hard to understand and this show is more of a character driven story.

If you’ve seen the promotional poster and trailers, then you’ll easily recognize how producers made the cast. Characters are built with a bishounen features to attract audiences and most of them look young and healthy for competition. Deep down though, characters faces inner problems that runs deep in the veins of their past. The most prominent example is Minato Narumiya, the main male protagonist and first year at Kazemai High School. Despite being an experienced archer, he lacks confidence in the present timeline due to a tragic event of the past. Remember what I said about how humans can be changed especially when we were young? Well, here you have it. Minato battles his personal demons throughout the show and we see how he feels detached from himself. The story explores his past regarding his relationship with parents and how events influenced his character. It’s a type of self-discovery where the main character has to accept his past and move on to build a better future for themselves.

Luckily for Minato, he has friends and supporters. His childhood friends Seiya and Ryohei brings him to join their school’s archery club. After encountering the mysterious Masaki in the forest one night, Minato became fascinated by archery again despite having forsaken his bow. Now obviously, the idea isn’t easy as it sounds. Being part of the archery club also means that Minato has to deal with his past. Despite this, he experiences change in his character thanks to the positive influence of Masaki. With the club, Minato’s emotional scar begins to heal. You’re probably wondering at this point if the show will maintain this sort of melodrama throughout the rest of the duration. Make no mistake that while this show can be quite moody, there are still much room for fun and entertainment. Because at the heart of the show, we have the archery club that is growing alongside Minato. The show offers competition, character relationship building, and even a training camp for the team to grow together. While the anime advertised itself as a cast with a male dominant cast, there are even girls joining too. This doesn’t change the general tone of the anime though as the story is still built around the main characters. The more I watched this anime, the more I felt compelled to understand them. Even after half the show, there are moments where I wonder how these characters became who they are in the present. So in a sense, this show has a feeling of mystery. After seeing a good deal of Minato’s past, I think people may feel sympathy for him. Or maybe not. Maybe you want him to be a man and deal with it like a mature adult. Either way, the show does a fairly consistent job at building Minato as a character.

In a sports competitive environment, there are rivals and a name like Shu Fujiwara is no pushover. As a prodigy, he and Kirisaki High School stands as a challenge that the Kazemai archery club must take on to prove themselves. Not only that, the club also faces the pressure of competing in the regional tournament. It all feels too real when we see the emotions and look on the characters’ faces. Then again, competition pushes everyone to be their best so it’s assumed that pressure is a common experience. The bottom line is, the competition itself feels like you’re there with them. Every second, every minute, every moment counts.

From the start, it’s no surprise the anime is produced with sheer amount of visual quality. Kyoto Animation is recognized for their high quality production so naturally, a show like Tsurune would get a similar treatment like Free. Now, I don’t want to compare the show but it’s easy to make comparisons with some of the character designs. Tsurune does have less man service as the visual performance lies in the photographic scenery of camera angles. It draws the audience to see how archery is treated in the anime medium and to be quite honest, I feel like the producers hit the mark. (that’s not a pun by the way). Similarly, the soundtrack plays on a serene tone from the start and shifts between melancholic and dramatic depending on circumstances. I’m not too familiar with the director but they got the point across to the viewers in the safest way possible.

Watching Tsurune reminds me how people can change but often times, it’s a difficult journey. For Minato, he had to realize the truth and accept it. There’s a lot to say about his overall growth process but definitely watch this how to really understand his character. To me, Tsurune made itself as a show that emphasized on human feelings and change. Maybe once you’ve experienced this anime, you can realize it too.

Tsurune is a work that has clearly impressed me with its history, animation but also atmosphere.
It is a work, to relax, a work that will make you dream, a work with many poems, dream but especially an exceptional graphic paw.
This mixed with a palette of characters that is complete, which will help evolve this character who is afraid to resume his passion.
Kyoto animation, have still manage in all the staging, reminding me at times some of their works as Hyouka.
The Ost, are also working, entering perfectly with the story. The choregraphy during archery sessions, are beautiful, the episode 2 was one of the episodes with ... the most beautiful animation.
In short watch this anime for the entire beauty of this work.

Tsurune is weird.

It’s a Kyoani anime that wasn’t a cultural phenomenon, probably because it aired two weeks late and had to share the year with both Violet Evergarden and Free!, but let me say I enjoyed Tsurune the most out of all the Kyoani anime I’ve watched.

Why? Because Tsurune felt real.

There is drama, and there is a lot of it, it feels hectic, nothing gets solved right away and more problems pile up, and some people may have a problem with this but I like this part of Tsurune. Life is hectic, Tsurune just follows the example.

Along with drama Tsurune also has a lot ... of character to it, even though it does seem characters go into tropes, particularly Kaito, Nanoa, and Ryohei, at the same time they don’t. Kaito “Kaachan” Onogi, is a good example because even though he’s the angry one he does self reflect on himself, albeit it’s subtle. In all honesty, these three were in a bad position since the anime really focuses on Masaki, Minato, and Seiya, but those three made the anime worth watching. Seiya and Masaki especially, the struggles they deal with connects them together through Minato, this creates an interesting dynamic. The characters do seem shallow at first, but when you start noticing aspects about their character you truly start falling in love with the anime.

Tsurune also excels at atmosphere, every shot is Tsurune is dynamic and well-placed, especially in episode 10 and 12. The production is obviously top-notch, and this helps Tsurune in the sound and animation department, because every frame deserves to be placed in an art gallery and every track is full of emotion. Good examples of shots in Tsurune is episode 2, the blue moonlight mixes extraordinary well with the characters. Also, shots of them doing kyudo have dynamic camera angles, making hits feel all the more satisfying.

The themes in Tsurune aren’t anything new, but the way Tsurune portrays it is different. “Are adults actually mature?” or “do you love the sport?” are simplistic questions with a wide array of answers, and Tsurune can’t fully answer them either, but the dialogue used to address the questions had a certain charm to it.

The payoffs in Tsurune feel good, they take a while but when it happens, does it happen. Sometimes you might not even realise the answer, and you figure it out as the characters learn which I think is done well.

Some might call Tsurune tedious, character drama is everywhere, Kaachan is a bit of an arse and annoying, or whatnot, but I think those two things are fine. Kaachan did get on my nerves sometimes, but he did change subtly and the little things really shifted my opinion on him.

Overall, I’d say Tsurune is a charming show, as long as you like the characters that is, everything about the anime has a flow to it, no matter how hectic the problems get. I think it would be great if it got a second season, because Tsurune has much to expand on and I don’t think the Free! Treatment would hurt Tsurune.

Anyway time to buy the novel and overpriced merch ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

'Tsurune' is the sound caused by (bow)string upon its release.

Tsurune: Kazemai Koukou Kyuudoubu follows bunch of bow-wielding school boys during their daily life / archery club activities because this is a show by KyoAni and they only make one show every 10 years that isn't related to school clubs.

This time we meet several students whose names are pretty much irrelevant, but they are basically downgraded version of KyoAni's other "cute boys do sports activities within club" series called 'Free' only this time around they don't have much character to show. One of them is smart and wears classes because he is smart. Another can sometimes ... sound angry but really isn't. His character literally has nothing else going on. The real mc is a person whose entire life seems to center around this one sports, but personally I can't really say it felt genuine. For example, some melodrama has been inserted in his life, but it really doesn't seem to exist for him: only for the viewers. As for the countless insecurity-filled monologues he silently has inside his own head as some sort of "psychological battle against one's own self" or "I can't hear my tsurune and therefore I must panick and depress" seemed rather dull and not even very fitting to a show of this sort. Yet they were the driving motion for his entire story.

The last 2 archery bros are incredibly fake. The first one is some sort of "friendly giant" because he is sooo nice and tall. The last character is the exact same as him except shorter, has messy hair and instead of being super friendly he is just super positive about anything and everything that ever happens. Overall the cast was bit too much; like a cake made of nothing but sugar. There are also bunch of side characters who have more important role in the series than the main ones (especially during the first half of the show), but they will be as relevant to this review as they were to the series. I.e. I won't bother talking about them. They mainly offer filler-feel and not much more. Practically all the characters despite their age, gender or role are made to appear with some type of child-like innocence to a point that it becomes pushy. As a whole, the cast was hardly worth of caring about and surely did not carry the show or its weak story.

To continue with the story, it is somehow weaker than the cast. Go from this point to another point, the driving motion being success at shooting those arrows because apparently it can help with the mc's character development among other things such as not make the series feel so pointless. Even tho it still does. The sports side has practically nothing to offer. The slice of life silliness follows the same pushy nature, but at least some of the interactions between main and side cast were pretty fun at times. The light drama is bound to seem like copy-paste to those who have seen more than 3 KyoAni shows. Basically anyone could have given birth to this storyline. That's pretty much it.

The production has KyoAni written all over it from art and animation department. However, money is being saved whenever possible as the series contains tons of still, barely animated sequences which hold almost no movement whatsoever. I also have to point out that the character design is seriously poor. There were times when opponent archery team members were present and I could only tell them apart thanks to their different colored clothing. Some of the boys look so similar to each others it's just ridiculous and also cheap. On the other hand, I really liked the overly tomboyish character design for teenage girls. Unfortunately the girls don't otherwise have any meaningful roles in the series, but I hope to see more of that in the future from KyoAni~ The voice acting is in every way the same as well. The music stands out, occasionally because sad piano is too try-hard and other times because the more energizing OST's play so well during the sports and SOL moments. Still, even the good pieces started to get pretty old towards the end since there are so few songs in the OST that they end up repeating the same ones over and over and over.

Enjoyment-wise, it is safe to say this is the least popular KyoAni show to this date. It sounds uninteresting, it has no wild mainstream appeal to offer and most of all, it is so incredibly spirit-less shell it's hard to hold any strong feelings ('perspective', if you will) towards it either way. Perhaps there is a niche audience who is really into this sort of "light"/"lighthearted" slice of life of boyzz and can get great deal solely out of its atmosphere alone, but I didn't find anything to truly hang onto.

The first thing to spring to mind when I want to describe Tsurune is it’s Free!: archery edition.

Story (3/10):
The story follows Minato, a highschool student who suffers from target panic due a incident in middle school. After abandoning the sport, he returns to play archery in his high school's archery club as they aim to win the prefectural tournament. The basic premise is that of your typical sports anime, however i would say this show is lacking in several aspects which is why I’ve gotten bored with it.

Watching Minato overcome his trauma of target panic is the most compelling aspect of the show, ... however once he’s gotten rid of his anxiety then what? There’s nothing else interesting going on in the story, except if you want to see Minato and Kaachan fighting for Masa senpai to notice me.

There’s a lack of drive from the main characters or massive hype to be invested in the show. To compare it to another sports anime this season, Hinomaru sumo is your typical underdog story, but it manages to be insanely hype introducing or foreshadowing a new antagonist nearly every episode while having our protagonists undergo crazy training ideas to get stronger. There’s a clear objective with Hinomaru wanting to be Yokozuna. The characters are distinct and each of have their own set of personality traits and get character development.
In Tsurune, the story lacks direction and feels like there’s no goal. They want to win a tournament because plot.

Characters (4/10):
If you’ve watched Free then you’ll notice how similar the characters are. Most of them are generic stereotypes for a character driven, slice of life, sports anime such as this e.g. there’s the energetic Ryouhei, yandere Seiya, a self proclaimed pretty boy, tsundere Kaachan and Minato. The girls aren’t worth mentioning because they’re so one dimensional that they have nothing to distinguish themselves apart. They’re pretty much background characters to have some diversity in the club, whilst the main story focuses on the boys. For example, when Masa-san takes over coaching the club the girls introduction are completely skipped as if they don’t exist.

Kaachan is a controversial character where you would either like him or hate his guts. He’s like a less obnoxious version of Bakugou from MHA. I think he’s one of the more interesting characters because I can see some depth behind the bravado. However, that doesn’t change the fact he’s a rude, annoying tsundere most of the time.

Shuu is the main rival from the other school. His rivalry with Minato is refreshing to watch, as he doesn’t seem to harbour any animosity towards Minato. Too bad the writer forgot to give him a personality so his character ends up being “talented kyudo player who’s rival/friends with Minato”. The twins are one note assholes who love antagonising our main cast.

Animation & Sound (7/10):
The opening and OST’s are pretty good. The art is beautiful as expected from KyoAni. In fact, I was more impressed with it than I was emotionally invested in the matches.

Overall (2/10):
I digress, my main flaw with Tsurune is archery is a boring sport. I’ve tried being invested in the sport, but I can’t. Even when they go over the rules, I can’t see anything appealing or how the writer could make it interesting in the long run because it’s just kids shooting arrows at a target. It’s bland and repetitive. Archery’s too one dimensional and limiting to standout from it’s competitors. In other words, the anime was doomed to fail from the beginning.

Enjoyment (2/10):
Tsurune fails to capture what I love about sports anime, which is why I consider it one of the worst sports anime I’ve watched.

Another season, another sports anime.
With a new selection of anime to watch, it's often hard to pick from the seemingly endless range of shows that this media provides. This is more evident with rather underground titles that are cursed to live in the shadows of the more mainstream series. And so, most would seek the guidance of reviews provided by the consumers.
Don't worry, I gotchu.

(skip to the end for tl;dr)

Story (6.8/10)
Tsurune suffers a bit in terms of plot. It's not what you would expect coming from a show labeled under the "Sports" genre. With other series such as Haikyuu and Kuroko no Basuke, ... the sports aspect in Tsurune falls short in comparison. Thankfully, it doesn't seem like the main topic of the show is the competitiveness itself. Instead, archery seems to act as a catharsis for the event to take place and for the characters to interact. Much like the third season of Free, this show is plagued with melodrama, and, while it's not necessarily a bad thing, it can disappoint the viewer looking for action.

Characters (6/10)
The characters are predictable and generally shallow except for our 2 main characters who actually have a backstory. The show tries to make the other 3 guys of the squadron relevant, yet it can't be helped but feel like they were really unnecessary. The dynamics weren't bad but it still felt like there was something missing with the side characters. They felt more like excuses to have a wider cast than anything else.

Art (9/10)
We all know Kyoto Ani by now. Their style is the same one we know and love and the animation is pretty good. Not much to say here. The mood of the setting is always consistent and it just works in their favor.

Sound (7/10)
I have to admit that I'm not one to focus on the ost of a show much, the ambiance felt throughout the show is consistent but nothing too spectacular as it uses the sounds to its advantage. The OP was one of my favorites this season. It fit the show a lot and the song itself is one I come back to from time to time.

[tl;dr]
Tsurune is by no means bad, but it's definitely not for everyone. For the people looking for action and the competitiveness of the sports genre, look somewhere else. This show radiates a more wholesome vibe and leans more to the slice of life projects produced by Kyoto Ani. It's short and sweet and has a relaxing air to it. It does what Kyoto Ani does best while maintaining a consistent mood that almost hooks the viewer.

here we are with another 2018's fall anime series in sport genre :D
tsurune is one of those anime series which you can enjoy as a teenager the most :D
i loved watching it so far...

story 7/10 :
the story is simple...nothing complicated or impressive...its about japanese archery which some kids are interested in it and fight for their purposes as an archer :D all sport anime series are like that tbh :D

art 10/10 :
the art is perfect...we have the same studio as free anime so this was expected :D
i always love the perfect art of this studio *~* i wish that some other anime series with the ... perfect stories would have been made by this studio :D it would have been awesome *~*

sound 10/10 :
soundtracks are awesome...i love the opening the most*~* perfect art with perfect sound you know @.@

characters 8/10 :
tsurune's characters are very good in my opinion...we have minato as the main character who is in love with japanese archery but has some trouble with it and his friends and my favorite character is their teacher who helps minato to overcomes his troubles :D

enjoyment 8/10 :
i always loved sport anime series so its always enjoyable to watch for me :D
its always exciting to watch people competing over something isn't it? as long as you are not among them its fine :D :D
sport anime series always give me motivation to do what i want at any cost :D

overall 9/10 :
i love a good sport story with beautiful characters and good soundtracks so i enjoy watching tsurune :D
if you liked free and sport anime series in general you will enjoy watching tsurune so give it a try :)

In terms of sports anime, I would say that Tsurune is probably the most realistic of the bunch. That is to say, there isn't any super powers, or randomly shouting out the name of their secret techniques. It's all about the real struggles that people who practice archery, or any sport, have to experience and overcome. Overall, I would say that it did a great job at depicting this, but it certainly isn't going to provide you with much hype. If you're not into atmospheric slice of life type anime, then this entry, most likely isn't for you.

As previously the mentioned, the narrative that is ... presented is one that takes the more realistic aspect of sports and converts it into anime form. It then turns into a coming of age story where our main character interacts with, and learns from his fellow team mates and sensei, to overcome his fears. It is most certainly an inspiring story, but the pacing is rather slow, which is what the director most likely intended for this series. This is a good one to just kick back and relax to. Of course, there are some dramatic events, but they're not overly dramatic and unrealistic, which again adds a sense of realism to the narrative. Perhaps some viewers may find themselves being able to directly relate with the characters, which is certainly a good thing for any anime to have.

Production-wise, this anime is a KyoAni anime, so there isn't much to critique. The art style is definitely interesting and non-generic, while the V.A. and OST's were fine. Nothing to write home about though.

I personally felt that the characters were a tad bit generic, as in, that one guy with the red hair who's a hot head, and the cute guy who all the girls love, then you have the cold and calm leader, and of course the underdog protagonist who develops into a better person by the end of the show. I will agree that these characters were used effectively, sadly, I'm definitely not going to be able to remember any of them after finishing the show. There are just some characters in anime that you'll remember for the rest of your life. Sadly, for me, this anime doesn't have any character like that.

Perhaps it's simply because this type of anime isn't what I'm into, but I didn't enjoy it very much. The pacing is just too painstakingly slow for my taste. However, I'm not saying that this anime is bad. It does have its good qualities here and there, but I don't think it's going to be a favorite for the majority of people. If it does, however, sound like just the kind of anime you're looking for, then by all means, give it a go. If not, then I'd recommend watching something else.

Thank you for reading this review!

If you've ever done archery, or any sport/hobby that you heavily enjoyed in your life. You would know what it feels like to lose control of it. Feel like you aren't doing good at it anymore, failing every time you go back to this thing you love and wanting to give up. Tsurune gives you a glimpse of what that feels like, and the joy of overcoming it and being good at what you love again.

Story: 10
The story is beautiful. what else can I say. It throws you in to all of the emotions the main character is feeling and just tugs at your ... heart. Anime about sports, most of them focus on heavy amounts of drama and almost unrealistic situations, but Tsurune has just the right amount of drama. The story pulls you in and leaves you wanting more, even after 13 episodes.

Art: 10
The art and animation in this series was just outstanding. It was fluid and bright, very well animated, and oh my god the animation when they are shooting is beautiful. There is nothing about the art I can find that is even remotely bad.

Sound: 9
The soundtrack fit pretty well with the scenes. The sound affects are what were the best about the sound overall, the sound when the arrow hits the target gave me goosebumps. It was so beautiful.

Character: 9
The characters were very well developed. They each have their own personality, obviously some of them are just the cliche sports anime character personalities, but that stuff keeps the series more interesting.

Enjoyment: 10
I enjoyed the heck out of this series. I've been waiting for a series about archery to come out because it's such a beautiful sport, only seeing archers in fantasy anime was getting a little boring, an entire series about my favourite sport on the planet is just what we needed in this world. This anime kept me hooked and I really hope we get to see more to the series.
As an archer, I approve of this anime.

Just a very bland show in all honesty. It has no real characters, they are all bland and there is virtually no character development to be had. That wouldn't be a problem is there was an interesting overarching story but there isn't.

There are shows that can do the slice of life properly where the main plot isn't very interesting or engaging but it's the dialogue and characters that make up for that. Fune Wo Amu is such a show. That show is about a group of people who come together to make a dictionary but it manages to engage the viewer the entire time ... because nearly all the characters are captivating and you really want to see what happens to them.

In this show I find it very hard to get engaged all all, as all the characters are bland and boring. Nothing really happens in the show at all.

The animation is rock solid and so is the soundtrack that is all the show really has.

It's kyoto animation so the art is gonna be on point as always, but the show itself and the plot is just bad. I ended up watching this whole thing because I was lead on by the great animation and possibility of it becoming good, only for it to just be utterly disappointing. This show is NOT about archery so if your looking for a good sports anime this is not it chief, it's about possibly gay boys and every-single person on the show's drama. This show felt like a crappy remake of the first season of Free!, and I loved Free!, I loved the ... gayness of Free, the drama of Free!, the relationships in Free!, and the characters of Free! it is one of my favorite shows of all time. This show took those same archetypes: the extremely skilled but stoic, the loving caring, the happy bubbly, and the angry rival and just made them worse. Onogi specifically made me want to kill my self every time he opened his mouth because he was always yelling and threatening physical violence in nearly every scene over almost nothing. Even in the last episode when they had already "calmed down and became friends" he almost punches the main character over him saying his first name. The show goes through every single character's inane problems, and right when you think they've resolved everything and the archery competitions can actually start they go into the coach's problems. They somehow don't ever talk about what makes archery great or why they each individually like archery other than in the first episode where the mc says he likes the tsurune sound, ONLY TO NEVER TALK ABOUT IT AGAIN EVEN THOUGH IT'S IN THE NAME OF THE SHOW. What I'm trying to say is if you just want gay bois and drama then you will like this show. If you came for the sports anime then you are mistaken.

Tsurune is a collection of paradoxes: delicate yet purposeful, subtle yet grounded. It deviates from the traditional sports anime formula and carves its own identity amidst moments of endless doubt.

It starts off with somewhat of a generic but tried-and-true premise, what with the protagonist being estranged from the object of his passion due to recent bouts of trauma. However, while stories of this nature are charming in their own right, what makes Tsurune so memorable lies in its approach to the topics at hand. Despite being a sports anime, it is a slice of life and a character drama first and foremost. The sport itself ... serves as a backdrop – a medium through which conflict is explored. A common complaint that surfaces with Tsurune is the lack of excitement inherent to archery as a sport, but that is in no way to its detriment. It is an intimate tale of patience and perspective, and this quality is precisely what sets it apart within the genre.

Minato is neither a prodigy nor is he an underdog. He is as human as the rest of us; he loses sight of himself, of the target, and of the people around him. He is put into situations where he is given no choice but to confront his inner demons and, crushed under the weight of his own anxiety, he recedes further into himself to cope. But his desperation to find a “cure” for his target panic is met not with crippling resistance, but with a gentle reminder of a central theme in Tsurune’s narrative: there’s no need to rush, and in the moment, there’s always very little that’s honestly at stake. The road to self-actualization, with all its myriad detours, can be daunting and scary, but the truth is that it never really ends, and it’s a reality that Tsurune chooses to embrace and make peace with.

The animation quality is quite frankly unfair, and it is immediately evident that this is, in fact, a work by KyoAni. The background art is lovely, as are the color palettes used to convey the atmosphere of each scene. There’s so much to be said about Tsurune’s incredible attention to detail – every storyboarding choice is inspired and deliberate. Even the slightest movements and visual cues can speak volumes about the character and their internal monologue. Not everything is spelt out within the framework of language, and the result is a world that feels alive and real. No moment goes by that feels wasted and it is, in more ways than one, the visual medium at its peak. The soundtrack is also ridiculously beautiful and complementary to what is already a top-notch production. I think it’s particularly noteworthy that the sound of the bowstring release is not recycled among the cast; every character’s “tsurune” is uniquely individual. It’s, again, the little things like this that really elevate and breathe life into the show.

In a character-driven narrative such as Tsurune, the characters are undeniably the backbone of the entire show. Though not every character is given substantial screentime or opportunity for development, the dynamic of the main cast is incredibly charming and down-to-earth. One tidbit that I loved especially was how we were given a little sneak peak into their daily lives through shots of their group chat. There’s something to be appreciated in the mundane – in the things that have become routine that we often take for granted. It’s small details like these that make Tsurune so special. They definitely don’t start off as best friends, and the development of their bond is a slow-burn; there’s friction and incompatibility among the club members, but what makes it worthwhile is their determination to work around that and to learn about each other in the process.

Even if we don’t get proper insight into all of them, the characters in Tsurune go through struggles that are painfully and tangibly human. In addition, true to its principles, the rivalry in the show is wholesome and healthy, which is such a welcome sight in the genre. However, growth doesn’t end with adolescence, and this is perfectly encapsulated by Masaki, who fulfills the role of a mentor for our boys. It’s so rare to find a mentor character as profoundly human as Masaki and his presence definitely shapes the show into what it is. You get the impression that he learns just as much from the boys as they do from him, and the parallels between mentor and pupil all come full circle.

Needless to say, I enjoyed it immensely. It might be because I have a particular soft spot for sports anime and what they embody, but I genuinely think Tsurune epitomizes the genre at its best. I looked forward to every single episode and it’s never ceased to tug at my heartstrings in all the right ways. No matter what point you’re at in your own lives, Tsurune has a little something for everyone; its lessons are timeless and underrated. I wish I could string together the words to express how deeply it resonated with me, but alas, all I can really bring myself to say is that it was an experience I will treasure for a long time to come.

I would say tsurune is more of a philosophical anime than sports anime per se. I dived into it thinking I was going to watch a sports anime something similar to “run with the wind” or “free” instead of haikyuu etc. Even with those expectations it was truly beyond it too. Tsurune is an anime about finding one self rather than doing some sport. Archery, here, represents more about the way of life. And coupled with KyoAni’s fantastic animation and masaru yokoyama’s soothing soundtracks, this anime presents itself as a healing slice-of-life. If you’re feeling empty then I’d suggest you to give this a ... try, because there’s so much to relate to minato and even masaki. They are phenomenal in kyuudou but suffer from target panic and although we don’t see masaki’s journey from the start, we do get to see minato’s. And it may act as a silver lining for us and may also motivate one to get back on track. It does have tournaments etc, but it is not exactly the premise of the plot. As I said, tsurune depicts life and it shows a process of adulting, overcoming difficulties, friendship, all of it beautifully meshed with or rather shown through the lens of archery. We also have girl members and their respective tournaments, something which is usually lacking in a sports anime. So it was nice to see their teamwork and friendship too!

I think it depends on with what lens you see this anime. If you’re just watching it as a sports anime then changes are you’re going to be bored or you’ll just see it as a fun slice of life etc….If you watch it from the perspective I mentioned above then maybe you can see the depth of it (-: Btw, expect no romance be it boys x girls or even boys x boys. I think a lot of ppl mistake it for shounen-ai, but honestly it isn’t AT ALL….relationships can be platonic too y’know~ and this is the best example of it. Everything is just so pure in here…

Can’t wait to see what season 2 has to offer.

Tsurune has become one of my comfort anime for sure! Do watch it guys…

There are many reasons to watch Tsurune. ^(=^.^=)^
First of all you can experience a different kind of friendship, deriving from teamwork and companionship. When a group of people fight for something they all love, they create bonds that compress other negative vibes between them. 🥇
Second of all, it's a peaceful anime with beautiful sceneries, and if you are into japanese traditional stuff this one suits you! 🇯🇵
The art is wonderful, and the animation studio put a lot of effort in every episode until the end without rushing any of them.
... The characters have deep personalities with unique qualities, and that's something that makes you feel sympathy but also awe.
Watch it guys, it's worth it. ♡

I'm not really one for sports shows personally.  There's just something about them that I feel makes them so formulaic and by extension less interesting to watch.  Sure, Kyoto Animation as the tacked on production company for this work is one for interest, but given their track record with Free! and the following that show has accrued, I wasn't really sure fully what to expect with Tsurune.

Story:

A budding archery prodigy in middle school, a bad tournament crushed by expectations and nerves catalyzed by his mother's passing has inflicted Minato Narumiya with 'Target Panic', making him unable to properly shoot a bow well enough to hit ... even the edge of the targets.  Now transferred to Kazemai High School, he is dragged back into Kyudo in the Kazemai Kyudo Club in hopes of reminding him why he started firing a bow in the first place; to hear the 'Tsurune'.

A lot of what this show is about can be boiled down to the tried and true themes of 'friendship', 'comradely', and 'teamwork', as the majority of the series is focused primarily on the team of five boys the show is focused on as they prepare and get better at the sport that they all (mostly) love.  In addition to that, the show provides special attention for Minato, Seiya, and Masaki in various parts of the show to help explore their characters, regrets, and aspirations a bit in order to flesh out their characters.  The end result of that choice however comes off less spectacular as what was probably originally intended, because particularly for the latter two, their backstories and respective character moments feel tacked on rather than a natural integration for the show.  Both Seiya and Masaki have issues that are hinted at in the beginning, but considering how hard the series delves into their stories, the transitions don't feel smooth enough for me to validate them going that direction.

That being said, the show does still shine with Minato as its forefront.  His character arc feels naturally integrated into the narrative, and a lot of what makes the show worth watching goes back to his character and his slow progression towards going back to the sport he loves.  It's also the only part of the show's highest points that feels worth it, and a part of me really wishes everyone else got the same level of attention he had, or alternatively, just make it all his story instead of trying to shove in other characters' problems into the narrative to create conflict and potentially drive the plot forward.

Characters:

Minato's defining characteristic lies in his nerves and growing defiance to overcome the target panic that plagues him.  He starts off as a much meeker version of himself that over time with more exposure (and practice) grows to become a character really worth watching.  This is greatly capitalized by the forward facing shots the show almost exclusively for Minato as he's firing his bow, letting off a satisfying sound to emphasize growth and change for him.  My only complaint is that I really wish the show was JUST about him.  I feel like the whole 'team' aspect to show how important friends are is just padding for characters and easy conflict since 'teams are only as strong as their weakest link' and all that.

And that leads me into why Seiya is by far the worst character in the show.  And that's after considering the token male tsundere that in stories like these act all brash and like a dick when in reality they're just a softy with a really, really, really hard exterior.  It just feels like Seiya does nothing aside from act bitter and a bit angsty.  His character focuses on expressing regret about something relating to Minato, hence Seiya's decision to switch to a different school as well.  The problem with this is that the whole time the episodes run by, he does virtually nothing to even insinuate what happens until a single episode happens and we get the whole story.  It's not unusual to see a massive infodump like that in a character-focused episode, but given the slow burn of progress that the show has had up until that point, I feel like what ended up happening was a character arc that didn't feel satisfying to watch and really wasn't up to the quality that the show's potential had.  Masaki suffers a similar problem with the infodump department, but that's mostly because his backstory just felt like it was thrown in there at points instead of just being revealed slowly as well.

And the rest of the Tsurune club is just there for fodder and/or to provide the 'friendship'.  Truthfully, Kaito, Nanao, and Ryohei have very little to do with any of the show's character focuses.  True, the duo of Kaito and Nanao do get a bit of their characters explored later on, but it's small potatoes compared to the big character moments that Minato has.  Kaito is supposed to be the antithesis to Minato by chastising the poor guy at every turn, Nanao is the popular guy who acts like a floozy, and Ryohei is just happy to be there and gets no mention of anything tragic ever happening to him.

And the problem of lacking impact extends to the rest of the cast, especially towards the female members of the Kazemai Kyudo Club and the series rivals, the Kisaragi Kyudo Club.  The girls just feel like lost potential, like there was truthfully no reason for them to even be there in the first place considering they offer nothing for the series narrative-wise given their usage is purely for plot purposes only.  Kisaragi functions the same, posing as the 'elite' club with such good and eccentric members that they alone can hit three bulls-eyes in a row with their eyes closed.  (Warning, might not be accurate information.)  It just feels like there was no effort put into actually making these characters interesting apart from posing as an obstacle for our protagonists, which is a shame given the potential that could've arisen from their involvement.

Aesthetics:

Tsurune is a pretty show.  Muted, but still pretty, which isn't surprising Kyoto Animation's track record in the last few years.  It's kind of like the 'poor man's Free' in terms of animation quality since you definitely get the Kyoto Animation style, but for the most part you're getting the slightly cheaper version of their potential since it didn't seem like they cared THAT much to make it stand a cut above the rest.  A real shame given how one of their more recent projects, 'Violet Evergarden', had them flex on everyone else in the season for just how pretty they could make anime.

That is however not to say the beauty of some select shots.  Ordinarily, Tsurune truthfully is not amazingly pretty to look at, as we've come to expect from KyoAni.  Until you watch them pull back that string.  Accompanied by a score of light vocals and piano chords, what you get is the show's most picturesque moments, the parts of the show that really stand a cut above the rest.  Close up angles of the boys pulling their bow back with the satisfying release of the string—the sound of the arrow whistling through the air—and the resounding thud of the target.  It's here where the narrative culminates in a single moment, and for a brief moment, there's a gentle atmosphere when watching.

While the score speaks softly with a light piano, the OP and ED of the show speak a different tone.  "Naru" by Luck Life is a rock song that to me recalls the comradely that the five boys share with each other.  Honestly, I don't find this song all that interesting.  Especially compared to the ost's main theme for the show, it just doesn't resonate with me.  Choucho's "Orange Iro" on the other hand is the thing that I expected more for a song relating to Tsurune.  Her voice coupled with a softer song helps hammer in those more quiet, somber moments that the show has regarding Minato and similar moments like it, so that to me is a plus compared to the comparatively louder OP that we got.

Personal Enjoyment:

My opinion of Tsurune changes depending on what exactly you're talking about.  In this case, the whole is most certainly not equal to the sum of its parts.  Had it not been for Minato's character arc culminating in what is quite literally a few single shots, I don't think I would've found anything remotely amazing about this show.  This problem of narrative extends to the rest of the cast as no one is nearly interesting enough to stand out as either their own characters, or do anything significant enough to warrant any focus or attention without Minato acting as a guise in the back.

That being said, a lot of this is still made up during the moments that the characters show.  As an audience, I could definitely feel the emotional impact and satisfaction that the characters got when firing their arrows and managing to hit the target.  If there's anything I can really give Kyoto Animation credit for, it's the fact that they really managed to nail the 'Kyudo' part of Tsurune, really making the sport matter at the highest points in the story with such a beautiful theme to go along with it as the characters are having their internal monologues about overcoming their adversity.

As such, I would give Tsurune my recommendation if only to witness the parts of the animation where you can see the frame count rise significantly for a few seconds until the arrow his the target.  A lot of the show however doesn't feel like it validates such beautiful moments, but given just how well framed and crafted the shooting scenes are, I find literally no other reason to say that the show isn't worth it if not only for that.

Description :
The story follows Minato Narumiya. Minato played Japanese archery in middle school, but after a certain incident, he ran away from the sport. In high school, Minato meets new friends, and together as part of their school's archery club, they aim to win the prefectural tournament.

Review :
I was quite interested when I saw this anime's trailer and can't wait anymore for the episode release. Finally, it was released. And then I watched the episode 1, apparently, it was shared that this Minato was afraid to join kyudo again in his high school because of some problem. And then I was thinking, "Ahhh, I ... think it may be a story about this Minato struggle on his so-called problem". I quite like a story about the main character who struggles of his problem and succeed in the end, so I was quite like this anime, and finally the result of this boy hard work was satisfying. When the first episode, so many peoples rated this anime low score, but now? the final episode came out and the previous review was drastically changed than last time one. See? it wasn't wasted time to wait for this beautiful story ending, right? Ahh~ I was so happy for the 13 episodes. Thanks, Tsurune. You're teaching that miracle has existed if we do not give up before trying it. The last time review I gave this anime a "9" but now, I changed it became "10"!!!

Last Note :
SUPER RECOMMEND IT! Who says that this anime was disappointed sports anime? you must have blind!

Being someone who never plays team sports but somehow has become obsessed with sports anime like Haikyuu, Chihayafuru, and Yowamushi Pedal, I was excited to find Tsurune. It seems promising at first--a reluctant but talented young archer with 'target panic'! (Basically, a mental block.) A mysterious archer in the night, shooting arrows alone at a temple, who has a pet owl! Some unexplained tension between the main character and his best friend/neighbor!

Alas, everything that seemed promising initially is either dropped and forgotten about soon after it's introduced (like the owl) or transforms into something much less interesting, and is resolved ... with some obvious platitude.

Also ... something I loved about all the aforementioned great sports anime was how they delved into the sport itself. Have I ever had any interest in volleyball or bike racing? Hell naw. But those shows GOT me interested in them. One would assume if you're going to go to all the trouble to make a sports anime, it's because you have some passion for the sport, but in this case, the specifics of archery--a sport which I actually AM interested in--are barely touched on.

Any great ensemble anime knows you have to have a good cast of characters to base it all on. Here, Tsurune is sorely lacking. The two main characters are essentially identical: reserved, dutiful, quiet, and, well, pretty uninteresting. All three female archers on their team are, come to think of it, ALSO just like this. (!!) The 'spicy hothead' character is so consistently, pointlessly mean as to come across as almost psychotic, and in any case, not someone whose good opinion is worth cultivating (it would be impossible to acquire, anyway), yet that's, I guess ...? what they were going for with the relationship between him and the main character. Another character who seems interesting is introduced halfway through, but though he and the main character share a relevant past, little happens with him or between them, and it's all very vague.

Also, various car accidents transpire over the course of the show, and in no case do they directly impact the story in any way, so they seem to be merely a cheap way to add pointless drama.

I give it 5 stars because it's not terrible, it's just not good.

Lazily conceived, emptily executed. If you're looking for another great sports anime like Haikyuu or Chihayafuru or Yowamushi ... keep looking (and tell me when you find it).

Tsurune, how well it could be in real life? This show brought to you by kyoto animation and it is as good as always! The main thing here isn't about your ordinary sport type of anime, this is about how they overcome and went to every obstacle that are occur on their way to their goal line.

The fact that this is kyoto animation's work, I got to feel the amazing graphic throughout the entire episodes, not to mention they have a good op and very chilling ending.

The story is not as pleased as that in my opinion (storyboard was too simple imo and is ... not the very best out there), but the way kyoto animation tells us is on another level. They actually can make something this simple (imo) storyboard to something extraordinary and the feels around it have real intense on any aspect. For storyboard itself I put a 7/10 but the way kyoto animation tells us is a topnotch 10/10.

Despite how low it scores (when I write this) and how low the captains that watched the show, I really think this is one of a gem out there.

This is Beautiful....This was my first Kyoto Animation anime.
For a random reference,When I completed Code Geass,I wanted to watch something which is simple & not supernatural. My Birthday was coming near. Tsurune was coming in my recommendation from many weeks & I was attracted by its Cover image.....But I didn't judge it by its cover & Thought why not to start this on My B'day.

I am going to give a brief review on each aspect:

•Story_10/10: (sorry but this aspect has spoilers,better if you do not read.)

I didn't thought they could explain a sports based story in only 13 episodes. Well back to the point,The Story ... goes Around Minato's & Seiya's past experiences of kyuudou & Minato's Old friend whose mom taught Minato & his friend kyuudou.
After the Death of the Minato's Mom,Minato got very depressed & never tried to learn kyuudou & play kyuudou afterwards.
But one day he met his old friends and they brought him back to the kyuudou classes in his school.....He didn't play it & he experienced problem of target panic.
Afterwards,He met a Kyuudou coach at night who became his school's kyuudou trainer for upcoming kyuudou tournament.
How Minato comes back to his instincts & what will happen in that tournament,How they will train themselves for that Tournament & Seiya's Sacrifice is what is shown in this Amazing Anime.
I loved this story because it shown a great friendship between its characters & how every character helps each other.

Characters_10/10:

You will say "You are kidding me".....I am giving everything 10/10 lol....but It is reality of this anime(atleast for me).
The main characters are great,the anime shows their past stories.....The best Characters In this anime(in my opinion) are Seiya,Minato & Their Coach. I liked the friendship of these characters.....I really enjoyed the presence of each character.

Sound_10/10:

I am not Biased about this....It contains a lot of great OSTs.....The Opening & Ending themes are also very nice. The timing of playing ost is absolutely amazing....I can say that It has Relaxing OSTs.

Art_10/10:

After watching this,I watched some other anime by Kyoto Animation & realised that It is best in making Beautiful Backgrounds. In this anime,I noticed this & then I searched about Kyoto animation's features & I got this....This Studio is a master creating beautiful Art.

Well this is the first review where I am not writing on Enjoyment,because my enjoyment is highlighted in all the above aspects I wrote about.
Now I am ending this review....Many people think every anime should contain some special story....but we should admit that not every story can be special....this anime consists a nice storyline and I respect it....I can't demand anything else from this anime....!
I just want this anime to become more popular among sports genre fans & ofcourse outside it too.

Watch it if you think it is worth your time or Plan to watch it & give it a try in future.

Have a Nice day,Hope you understood what I wanted to tell!

I never write reviews, ever, but as soon as I started watching this anime, I knew I’d have to change that. Even with my reluctant state towards sports anime I’ve watched a fair amount of them, all from Haikyuu!! to Yuri on ice, to prince of stride to kuroko no basket, even Kyoto studios own similar show: Free! So, this clearly isn’t my first rodeo with the genre even though I’m nowhere near an expert, but still when I tell you that Tsurune is different, I wholeheartedly mean it.

Already in the first episode you can tell exactly what you’re signing up for. They pull ... you in with the classic Kyoto animation visuals, the character design of cute boys that struggle with their separate setbacks in life (big and small ones). but even though it has these KyoAni features it’s clearly a slight downgrade visually from their regular works, I’d still say it’s above average and even stunning at times, but there’s no denying the stark difference form their higher budget works such as Free! and Violet Evergarden, which itself is the reason for the lower budget as they were airing Violet Evergarden and Tsurune at the same season. But still despite that, the cinematography with the animation to the fluently, the vibrancy and just well thought out scenery for every single scene still makes it so this show is well above average in animation It leaving behind remarkable stunning scenes such as Motomuras introduction scene in the first episode. But besides that, there’s also another downside to it being a very typical KyoAni series, which is the fact that its undeniable similar to their other shows. There no denying how similar the show is to Free! with everything from the plot to the characters, it’s to the point where even before the second episode you will have a general idea of the future plot points if you’ve ever seen Free!, and it will most likely be accurate too.

While I genuinely did find all the characters enjoyable in different amount, I can still admit how typical they were for the genre with the angry hothead one (Rin, Kageyama, Yuri, etc.) together with the easy-going bubbly guy (Nagisa, Hinata, Kenjirou, etc.). but at the same time, why change a formula that’s working just fine? I did at no point mind the typical sport anime tropes with the characters as they were still different and unique in their own ways from these other characters, it being either their own personal demons or their relationship with other characters among many differences.

So, what made Tsurune different? Unlike most (keyword: most) other sport anime Tsurune is simplistic, its calm and serene. It’s not about any flash movement or advance tactics, it’s exactly what it tells you that it is. It’s in no sense or form hectic, it’s a show that succeeds incredibly well with keeping the fine balance between calm and intriguing. Even with all the earlier mentioned flaws it has you rooting for the teams, it has just smiling happily with them as you genuinely feel for the characters.

I really wish everyone who likes relaxing slice of life will give this show a genuine try, I really think there’s something in here for anyone that likes these genres.