Gunjou no Fanfare

The obligatory sports anime of the season is about horse racing… but not really, because it’s more about popularity and betting than actual horse racing.

In an AU where Mafuyu Sato from Given (same VA) becomes an idol, Yu Arimura wants to leave the idol life behind to be a jockey. From day one, he has shonen-ai-worthy moments with Shun Kazanami, who is equally new as a jockey. But because this is a sports anime, the main characters need to be (1) new at the sport to ease viewers in and yet (2) somehow super talented from the start.

Of course, some people are naturally good at ... horse riding. It takes balance, fitness, and a connection with the horse, which just about anyone irl could have. So Arimura and Kazanami need to be extra special: Arimura has a telepathic connection with horses and can see horse ghosts, while Kazanami can hear hoofbeats and know exactly where the horses are, even over a radio.

The two bond over their special powers (kind of) and other stuff (also kind of). Kazanami (kind of) helps Arimura overcome his tension from being stalked, though it’s glossed over so quickly that even Kazanami himself forgets about it. That’s the first problem with this anime. The first month of school gallops by in a timeskip, and that first month should have been critical. Arimura and Kazanami are inexperienced when it comes to horses—and so are most viewers—so we missed a lot of opportunities: handling horses outside of a crisis situation for the first time, learning chores like grooming and feeding, how their more experienced classmates treat them. But nope, there’s just a bath scene and then we’re off to the derby, where the main characters and their classmates bet instead of race. Fun.

The next problem with this anime is its huge cast. It’s a flaw with a lot of recent sports anime: the team needs 5-7 members (or 9 for the baseball anime Tribe Nine but 4 of them were quadruplets), 2-3 of them are main characters, and the rest are just known by their hair color and a trope. Haikyuu has a large, lovable cast, but it also has a lot more episodes to work with. Yuri on Ice also develops each of their characters, but ice skating is a solo sport/art. Since horse racing is also solo, hopefully each cast member will get a spotlight at some point.

Despite these issues, Fanfare of Adolescence is still an interesting anime. It’s the first sports anime where a girl is on the school team as a player alongside the boys. Eri Shimotsuki is a competent jockey, and she isn’t sexualized; she wears the same uniform as her male classmates. She also brightens up the team, where all the boys are angsty or aloof. At least watch the anime for Shimotsuki. And the horses. ^^

We had our fair share of horses in anime, the most prominent being` the likes of Cygames's popular franchise that is Uma Musume: Pretty Derby that features anthropomorphic girls with legendary names taken straight out of Japanese horse derby races for spokes-animals. But ask someone what would he/she do in a horse race, and the first instinct is to deal some horse betting for the most popular horse that would score you wins or losses, and also the journey of horse jockeying which takes into accounts of its intense practices and potential dangers, which is what Gunjou no Fanfare a.k.a Fanfare of Adolescence attempts to ... do. And this is brought to you by the same director that did the wonderful LGBTQ+ Yuri show that is Yagate Kimi ni Naru a.k.a Bloom Into You.

Ahh, it's the same combination of things that always marks a bad anime, and it NEVER gets old. And so does the rife when it comes to this show, which bears all the hallmarks of a show that is literally D.O.A from the start:
- The production committee writing the story for this show (which I've mentioned before in a review that this "creative" clash of ideas is always bound to turn up bad) that went nowhere and breaking into "arcs" just because they can easily timeskip the process;
- The sole specified idol studio Lay-duce to produce beautiful looking and young Ikemen (with the exception of the sole female since a single-gender only show would do only do favours to turn it into an idol-fest of sorts);
- The cast of characters that for the most part, only serve to contradict one another in their own personalities and habits, all while being unmemorable, obtuse and even to the point of being annoying to watch (save for some that resonate, but even then not by much);
- The music, which give or take that SawanoHiroyuki is doing the composition for this, and adding the new trend of more "J-Pop and K-Pop" fusion bands, which isn't bad (see Black Clover with Snow Man) but can get repetitive, not to mention boring if you're not a K-Pop song repertoire stan.

It's a shame that Gunjou no Fanfare, even with director Makoto Katou's efforts, is only able to shine in the visual department that borrows many of Yagate Kimi ni Naru's assets to make the show visually appealing, there's no doubt in my mind that Lay-duce did a very good job emanating that feeling of freedom while galloping a horse from the footsteps of being a trainee jockey all the way to becoming professional jockeys, ready to take on the local stage.

But everything wrong with this show is just the same tried-and-true efforts that have been done before but to inducing nauseating effect:
- The popular idol Yu Arimura whom wants out of his idol life to pursue the horse racing dream, with his entire entertainment agency being ready to welcome him back with arms open wide if he misses the mark. being an angsty boy that doesn't want to stay in one place and keep on moving forward;
- The only Ikemen that's worth a shot being likable: the horse "whisperer" Shun Kazanami with his happy-go-lucky personality and one whom often descalates any potential argument to cool it off;
- The foreigner that's a full-on American Grace Amane (which I'm impressed and not that Hanae Natsuki is able to sound like a Gaijin) which can grate on people's nerves for standing out and being outlandlsh.
- Also, I'm kinda glad that the only female Eri Shimotsuki is here, and supposedly because that the "Bloom Into You" director isn't so keen on just having Ikemen that couldn't stand out much, so they had to have her tag along. The most important aspect of her character is that she is not being sexualized and wears the same jockey uniforms as the other boys, even if she is there to break the mold and provide some entertainment that's evident of her lesser-than-usual screentime got.

It would be an understatement to say that this show was fun, and indeed it has moments like that of destress and communion when things hit the fan and everyone bonding to solve problems together for a spirit of camaraderie, that is perfectly fine by me. But there's something about this show that just rubs me the wrong way, and I can only say that I half-appreciated the show for its haphazard story/plot elements with some of the most egregious character development I've seen in a low-key show like this.

Unless you have a reason to watch this show based on the director's influences, then I suggest that you stay far away from this show because there's just nothing interesting about it, other than the fine-line intricacies of raising horses for betting races, and then wash, rinse and repeat.

this is the best sports anime I have ever watched because the story is different from others the art is also amazing and of course, my favorites music is the opening and ending songs I really enjoyed this anime and this anime really focuses on hardships, effort and friendship I really love this anime and it's unique it is not ... like other sports anime that story is repeated and the character voices are perfect for their personality overall I rated this 10 out 10 this anime deserves it has a charm that will capture audiences hearts it is warm anime

This review doesnt have spoilers

What I thought to be a very bad horse anime, had turned it around with episode 10. I will first list the cons, then the pros and my conclusion.

Cons:
1. The characters: The characters are shallow to say at least, the main characters are all mixed and one episode focuses on one character, then the next episode ignores the other characters story and switches to another character. The personalities are enjoyable, but exaggerated. I think they could've done better, but at least everything is very clear. The deepest character is actually the trainer, while the main character Kazanami is definitely the most ... fleshed out of the three main characters, his ark seems to have only started and seems the strongest and currently, most interesting. The other two are very shallow and basic. As of episode 10, it is getting better.

2. Time skips: the two/three time skips are out of the blue and are unnecessary, seems like all they did is cut production and if they were used less or more thoughtfully could've added a lot to the story. Seems like it was a cheap way to quickly run through the story.

3. Story: the story is barely glued together and is all over the place. The idea is great, the setting is unique, but the atmosphere and no personality having characters, of which half disappear after the third time skip, really ruin it. I think it still can fix itself and episode 10 is an example of that, hopefully it gets a second season to redeem the good qualities and uniqueness it has.

Pros:

1. Art and sound: the art is insanely beautiful for the most part, the anime really shows the emotions of the characters through the visuals and the unique abilities they have around horses. Great art for such a show. The opening, ending and overall music is great and often fits the atmosphere very well.

2. The way the emotions are shown: wasn't sure how to name this section, but the way characters and their emotions are shown is so insanely good. I personally think if they continue to go down this route, it redeems a lot of the cons I mentioned.

3. Ease of watching: the characters and their stories are relatively easy to follow and fun to see progress.

4. The accuracy of the horse riding: I am a rider myself and I can say the riding is pretty accurate, the phrases and animations are good, although the bit (metal thing in the horses mouth) never actually opens the mouth like it does in the anime and usually is not one thicc bar.

Overall:
I give this anime a solid 8/10 as of now due to the potential this anime has. I think if you are considering trying to watch it, strap in to wait for 10 episodes for it to genuinely get good and have a solid character arc. I think it is worth the wait to see it, as it is quite shocking. Anyone wanting a horse anime, this is probably as good as it gets.

As a fan of horses, and horse racing, I was extremely happy to see they finally made a real horse racing anime that wasn't Uma Musume pretty derby. This anime has decent visuals and a Sawano OST, but unfortunately due to one scene in Episode 1 with semi BL vibes a ton of homophobes ended up dropping the series, not realizing that (1) most sport anime are "fruity", consider the Top Gun volleyball scene and (2) this is definitely NOT a BL anime.

Story - 7/10, Character - 8/10

Our main character, Yuu, decides to drop out of his idol group to become a Jockey! A semi ... implausible premise unless he really loves horses because while being an idol is hard work it's also very glamorous and comes with a huge fan base of girls! The jockeys in the show are distinct in personality, background and looks, which let this anime actually have a good story with lots of different types of friendship.

There are many subtle themes interwoven in this coming of age anime that will resonate if you've ever been through the type of situations these boys are facing, some of which are fairly common, like:-
* Living up to your parent's or society's expectations of you vs. choosing your own path
* Pressures for a female to "set the bar" for others
* Money is a constant concern
* Do what Daddy wants and life will be easier
* After trying hard at something, maybe this isn't really the field for you?
* How, when and under what conditions is quitting the right decision?

Art - 7/10

The visuals in this are inconsistent. Overall the look of the anime is pretty, with some bits being ground breaking and gorgeous which actually elevate the profound philosophy sections of the anime designed to make viewers go "aaaah my heart". If the entire series were like this it would be an easy 10/10!

Unfortunately some of the horse CGI is sub par and looks wonky, especially the bits where they are going into the gates. That CGI looks like some gambling game in terms of quality - staid, wooden and unrealistic. Then the horses start running and it looks like real racehorses. So I have mixed feelings because it's either great or wonky, hence inconsistent.

Sound - 10/10

This anime with Sawano OST would have been the best OST of Spring 2022 if not for the existence of Paripi Koumen / Ya Boy Kongming! Second place to that is good. The Op, Move The Soul by J01 is an amazing bop! The ED is an amazing bop! Listening to those brings to mind J-pop or K-pop idol songs. They're contemporary and excellent! The Insert Songs and instrumental songs are top notch, especially when paired with the amazing visual bits. The OST is probably the best thing about this anime.

Enjoyment and Overall - 8/10

Overall I really enjoyed this hidden gem. Yes it's a niche subject matter even for sports anime but it does expose some of the dark side of horse racing in a limited fashion, there aren't much in the technical aspects of running a successful stable but the jockey parts are done well.

This is bishounen which I enjoy immensely, with the resolution of their stories and the relationships with Episode 4 having one of the best training arcs in a sports anime because of several profound conversations that were had. This isn't going to be for everyone, but if you like decent looking anime with sports, friendships and deeper thinking on themes set to an amazing OST then this will be right up your alley.

This anime exceed my expectation, I originally watch this because it's boring so I can grinding game while watch this so I can understand why the rating is low. But this anime is stay true to the title from beginning till the end. I expect the ending to be like that if it will stay true to the title and my prediction turn out to be true.

Review about story:
Gunjou no Fanfare or Fanfare of Adolescence is really how to describe this anime. This anime is talking about their struggle as jockey-wanna-be until they become real jockey in last episode. Along the way of ... their journey, they choose their own path. That's why this anime more focus on their road to be jockey, their training, and people involved in this industry so they can learn and develop to be jockey or find their new purpose. This is not anime about them have race again and again like in some other sport anime so don't expect it to be like that when you watch this. This title also explain why there is time skip in this anime, it's because this is talking about their growth, we are expected to see their most crucial development (In this case when they enter the high school and time skip one year to when they are assigned to training center, skip again to when there is mock exam, skip again after graduation).

Unlike some people here who love anime with competition every episode, I enjoy more on relationship between people involved in sport anime so this type of anime is perfect for me. This anime more focused on 2 characters, Yuu and Shun as maybe you expect from first episode but they also show us a bit about other characters and their struggle.

Characters:
I think characters in this anime is not shallow but also not complicated too. . This is what often happen in anime sport that only 12-13 episode, they need talk about some characters in short amount of time so the characters won't be too complicated or they focus on one character but it will be in depth. This anime is the first option. We see what's on their mind, their problem and we even know a bit of their past but it's still not enough for me to be able to say they make a deep characters. But at least this anime really stay true to the title and show us their development.

Sound: Okay, the sound is sawano hiroyuki so it's good. It really make the characters shine more with his OST. The opening is catchy like Korean boyband song and the enidng song also sound good.

I think the weakness of this anime is that it's not clear. It's kinda hard to follow sometimes for someone who don't know anything about horse race. Other example is the information given to us is not clear, sometimes only implied for example the power of Shun. Like wtf is that and how you can give it to someone like XD

this is the first anime i watch that surrounds about horse racing and the characters training to be a jockey. i think it is somewhat an enjoyable anime but i think it could have been better if it has been expanded and developed further.

like for example, it feels very fast-paced with the one year later, six months later etc. you totally don't know what has happen in between to reach that part. also, there isn't much about the each and every character's background to understand why they want to be a jockey.

overall, i think it would be better if it had focus more on their ... training in school, like how each of their lesson helps them in being a jockey etc. like some episodes feels more focus on the character's personal issues than the actual plot but with only 13 episodes, it feels a wee bit redundant.

Beating a Dead Horse.

If you want a sports anime full of the usual sports cliches, poorly animated, but even more boring somehow, look no further than Fanfare of Adolescence.

I was originally hooked by its interesting premise. A famous teen idol quits so he can enrol in a school for horse racing is I’ll admit a premise which can and did create some interesting satire of media harassment and how fucked up and distressing it can be on kids in the public eye who just want to be left alone. However, that’s as far as the praise goes for this show.

Mediocre animation for ... a sports anime, slow pacing and dull, stereotypical characters practically kill any momentum the show had gained out of the gate. When Yuu is asked why he wanted to become a jockey his answer is (I shit you not) “I want to become one with my horse” which isn’t a justifiable or logical reason for wanting to pursue anything in life. It just made me immediately dislike him. It’s also weird in the world of anime because that particle choice phrasing is usually reserved as a soft euphemism to describe someone wanting to have sex with someone else. Yuu wants to fuck his horse. That is my headcanon for this show and you can’t change my mind on that (not that it matters).

The other characters are as interesting as you expect. You have the red-headed, hot-headed guy who is always angry or arguing with others, the girl who is there to be the best girl at a thing only men do, the guy with glasses who is serious, the guy who is aloof, but good at horse riding and horse whispering, etc. However, the arrogant guy who speaks in broken English every other sentence is what killed the show for me. I barely made it through half of episode three once he became a regular cast member and after the first five minutes of episode four, I was done. That’s just how insufferable he is.

Fanfare of Adolescence is ironically the antithesis of adolescence. Instead of an anime running with interesting themes and growing into a sports show worth watching, it degrades and relies on old genre gimmicks and sports character archetypes and cliches without any thought. Like an old horse that can’t race anymore, it should and will be in time, taken out back and put out of its misery.

3/10 Wasted Potential.

I'm so happy that I watched this anime. Its really masterpiece for me. Totally different from some anime sports that highlight the drama between character and their situation, but in this anime they still focus on the match, technique, and many things that related to horse race. The character also didn't trap in their situation so deeply but they manage to make their own solution through it. Their drama also related our real life and how the staff can manage to compress the story in just twelve episodes is amazing, salutt!!!! Really love this anime, and the ending is still remain in my mind, that's ... so wonderful yet deep, opening and ending song is my favorite too, love it!! I wish they can make another season to show how they live their life after graduation, I trully believe this gonna be amazing just like this season. Also sorry for my bad english teehee~ Ahh really I'm burst into tears againn, it's really the END.. C'MON :"(