number24

Natsuza Yuzuki has been playing rugby as a left-winger ever since he was a child. After enrolling in Doushisha University, he quickly becomes a rising star in the Kansai University League.

His dreams are shattered, however, when a nasty motorbike accident leaves him with a spinal hernia—making him unable to be able to play rugby ever again. With no role available other than the position of manager, he accepts his new post and hopes his squad can obtain a league title.

Yuzuki's team is an unlikely group, including his stoic best friend and full-back Seiichirou Jingyouji; hot-headed first-year Yasunari Tsuru, who harbors a strong dislike for Natsuza, filling his senior's old position as left wing; and Yuu Mashiro, who is struggling to hold his ground as a scrum half.

Despite Natsuza putting his all into training his team for a league title, their squad still feels incomplete. A year ago, Ibuki Ueka, the genius fly-half that was once Doushisha's ace, suddenly quit rugby—and now Natsuza is determined to get him back.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Supporting

Furukawa, Makoto
Japanese

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Staff

Sakamoto, Yoshiki

Producer

Kimiya, Shigeru

Director

Hamano, Takatoshi

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Koyama, Yoshitaka

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Opening Theme

"SET!" by Masanori Kobayashi (小林正典)

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Ending Theme

	1: "Kimi to Iru nara (君といるなら)" by Natsusa Yuzuki (Kengo Kawanishi) & Seiichirou Jingyouji (Ryouta Suzuki)
	2: "COMICAL TRY!!" by Natsusa Yuzuki (Kengo Kawanishi) & Ibuki Ueoka (Junichi Yanagita)
	3: "Every Fight" by Natsusa Yuzuki (Kengo Kawanishi) & Yasunari Tsuru (Shouhei Komatsu)

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Apr 15, 2020

KANLen09

Recommended

One of the few rugby shows I initially scoffed at, at trying to be another abysmal Try Knights, but what it does, it does one thing well: sold the premise on bonds and friendship over the sport through improvement.

Being someone who is harsh on all aspects, I was surprised to find out that veteran script/series composer Rika Nanase is on this, and despite the no-name 3rd-rate production staff team onboard of this show, she definitely stands out as the main source of enjoyment, considering the "cult following" success of this show (for the 3 of you who watched this). Bleach, Eyeshield 21, Higurashi, Junjou Romantica, ... you name it, she has done all and shown her prowess at taking a genre and subconsciously subverting it to make up for the enjoyment experience, and it has certainly done in good spots.

What number24 is all about is not rugby, but the bishie sportsboys of Doushisha themselves. What the team comprises are of dreams of former players that don't belong and/or have given up in rugby, only to find themselves in the sport that's mostly persistent through the bonds and friendship of the bishounens involved.

Take the main team's quintuple for example: Natsusa Yuzuki, Yuu Mashiro, Yasunari Tsuru, Seiichirou Jingyouji and Ibuki Ueoka. These 5 have weaved the same red thread of fate for themselves in the path to find their true stance towards one another:
Natsusa, being taken out of the team and imposed the Manager status (due to circumstances that rendered him unplayable on the field);
Ibuki, who has lost his heart towards playing rugby and has no desire to take up the sport once again (but only does because of Natsusa's persistent teasing);
Yasunari, in spite of being Natsusa's junior, has certain disagreements to how he'd function around the sport and leading his own private life;
Yuu, in spite of his small size and although being barely fit to play, made him the Zhuge Liang team strategist and following under Natsusa's imposed leadership;
Last but not least, Seiichirou, more than being the tropey childhood friend, is constantly being roped in by Natsusa due to his monotonous life and needing someone to lead his life.

Add in the seniors and juniors who only got less screentime and act as second fiddle alongside them, the characters overall are brutal for what they do, but it's also the same actions that teach them the meaning and spirit of camaraderie despite the different plays of all of them. Not to mention the light-hearted comedy that stems from Natsusa's improvised childishness to tease the characters so much it gives off a good chuckle. And that gets a very good sense of debunking the heart of this show, which starts off slow but gives a nice reward at the finish line.

Rightaway, the art/animation itself I really didn't have high hopes for and think much of since it's PRA (a studio mainly relying on outsource help), but to my genuine surprise that everything is clean and distilled, a better effort and not the far cry from Gonzo and Seven's efforts to produce Try Knights (like they have a very limited budget). Yes, everything is far from perfect (some PowerPoint-like recycled visuals), but it never really came off as something that's left to be desired. And for the longest time, breaking out of their shell to have a majority production stake is a good thing for the uninitiated. A fine job, really TBH, I'm impressed.

On the sound side, it's all fair, no complaints here. OP is good, and the numerous EDs are worth the ear-listening treatment from the bishie boys. A good job to the all-male VA team.

I'd think that for future sports shows like this going forward, constructing good character-driven stories is what keeps this genre flourishing, and also getting the right people to handle their job scopes (a.k.a Rika Nanase) is the first sign of relief that this isn't the low-tier that we've come to expect from shitty shows (a.k.a Try Knights, Cinderella Nine etc.). If only the anime industry have learned their lessons well...

Nevertheless, for sports fans, a good enticement of drama and play is essentialal, and I kid you not, this show delivers. Even as a guy who generally doesn't have a taste for bishie boys, this was a good treat to rest to, following the characters and living out their desired dreams and working together to achieve their goals. This is the fine gem amongst the rare in the rugby sports genre, in a fairly good way.

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Apr 26, 2020

uzuxmxki

Recommended

Initially i did not think i would like this show however there is something so refreshing and lovely to me about the characters and how their bonds develop even within such a short period of time. I wont give it a 9 or 10 because it isnt complete but i truly believe it is worthy of a solid 8 based on what we have seen so far. I of course know the show isnt perfect, there are inconsistencies with the animation and other aspects which do affect the overall show however the best way i can describe the show is lustre. There is something about ...

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May 3, 2020

guetea

Recommended

If you're looking for a sports anime with a lot of focus on rugby and intense rugby matches that will have you at the edge of your seat, then I suggest you look somewhere else. But if you want a fun, uncomplicated anime about attractive college guys who occasionally play rugby, then you came to the right place.

Number24 is not an innovative anime, not deviating much from the tropes included in many similar anime from the past decade. It follows the members of an university rubgy club, showing the personal motivations and insecurities of the characters, as well and the interactions and conflict between them. ... Like many similar anime, it suffers from a weak plot (some episodes are completely all over the place in this regard) and the pacing is a bit of a mess. Also like many similar anime, it has waaay too many characters for a one cour anime, wasting time on trying to tell everyone's story instead of focusing more on the main characters and their stories. However, Number24 is one of the most enjoyable "pretty boys anime" I've watched.

The main characters are well fleshed out, with distinct personalities and motivations, and undergo positive development and growth. Natsusa is a really fun protagonist and his character arc of getting into terms with the fact that he can't play rugby anymore (not a spoiler, we're told this on the first 10 minutes) and trying to make the best out of his new circumstances was pretty touching and inspiring. It's also nice that the anime focuses a lot on the managers and showcases how much they help the team. The other four main characters (Yuu, Sei, Ibuki and Yasunari) all are very endearing, having their own character arcs, and all the secondaries are pretty fun. The dynamics between the characters are really fun, and if you enjoy having lots of ship teasing, you'll like this.

Imo the humor was also pretty fun, with some moments that legit had me laughing out loud, so even if the plot goes nowhere and the pacing was quite slow, this anime never bored me. The rugby scenes, while scarce, were in general exciting enough, especially in the last two episodes, and you don't need to have the slightest clue about rugby to enjoy them. The music is nice enough too, with three different EDS that alternate.

The acting was also pretty good overall, with some really well known names such as Saitou Souma (who plays a really fun character and does a great job) or Ishikawa Kaito.

In summary, if you're looking for some sports anime in the same fashion as haikyuu, you're going to be severely disappointed. But if you're looking for an anime more in the style of prince of stride or cheer danshi (but better than those imo) with likeable male characters and plenty of shippy fanservice and shirtless guys, then you'll probably have a good time with this.

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