Ryman's Club (Salaryman's Club)

The world of corporate badminton is not as easy as it seems. Although considered a former child prodigy, Mikoto Shiratori has not been living up to his potential as a badminton player for Mitsuhoshi Bank. Due to a past incident, Mikoto tries to transition from playing doubles to singles; nevertheless, he fails to produce positive results, much to his employer's dismay.

After being fired from the bank, Mikoto is recruited by the Sunlight Beverage corporate badminton team. Surprisingly, not only do practices start in the evening, but he also has to work in the sales department of the company by day. While this is not a novel arrangement, Mikoto had thought he was invited solely to play sports. To make matters worse, he is forced to compete in doubles despite his reluctance.

Struggling to adjust to his new professional life, Mikoto begins to doubt his decision to join the company. However, as he learns more about his latest teammates, he might just find the strength necessary to advance his badminton career.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Edit

Background

Ryman's Club was released on Blu-ray in four volumes from April 27, 2022 to July 27, 2022.

Episode Videos

Okiayu, Ryoutarou
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Matsui, Yuuko

Producer

Satomi, Tetsurou

Producer

Sotokawa, Akihiro

Producer

Ozawa, Fumihiro

Producer

Edit

Opening Theme

"The Warrior" by Novelbright

Edit

Ending Theme

"Nisen Gohyaku-man Bun no Ichi (二千五百万分の一)" by Mafumafu

Reviews

Sep 17, 2023

KamenKollection

Recommended

I've got it at a 10. A personal 10. Do I know much about Badminton? Not really. Not at all in fact. Do I agree with others that the animation could use some work? You betcha. For me though, it's still a 10. Why? Well... simply put, it feels like corporate life.

I feel like what this anime captures so perfectly is corporate life, especially in a way that doesn't alienate western corporate employees. A lot of younger fans or fans in different industries might not get, but it feels genuine. Enough preamble, this show really gets down to the nuts and bolts of what ...

Open

Gift

Oct 24, 2022

azumarillo

Mixed Feelings

This felt like a slower pace, more mature Haikyuu. I liked the tragic backstories and trauma resolution, as well as the inter-office drama subplot. It was something really easy to throw on in the background while I did other things. The animation wasn't particularly stunning and I could not pick the characters out of a line up if you put a gun to my head, but the storyline was gently compelling enough that I continued to hit 'next episode' whenever the last one came to an end, and effectively got through the whole thing in one sitting. I also appreciated that they didn't try to ...

Open

Gift

Apr 16, 2022

bulkyhog

Not Recommended

I love badminton. I played it at a highly competitive level for almost 7 years of my life, commuting an hour to my club 5 times a week where I dedicated buckets of sweat and even more hours to a sport I loved. Unfortunately, many people frown upon badminton. It’s a tricky sport to play, which makes it trickier to understand and appreciate. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that of all the sports out there that anime could cover, badminton is one of the most underrepresented. That’s why I’m grateful for shows that push badminton into the spotlight, because it’s truly one of ... the best sports out there.

But that’s also why I’m very disappointed with Ryman. Just like Hanebado, there was a lot of potential it could live up to. But unlike Hanebado, it fell flat on its face much more quickly and much more heavily in a way that makes the show extremely tough to watch, not only as a badminton fan, but also as an anime fan.

I think a basic requirement for sports anime is serviceable (get it) animation. Haikyuu is a perfect example. Its first few seasons? Great animation which elevated everything else. The last 2 seasons? Piss-poor animation which drags everything down. Even Hanebado, which had such boring attempts at melodrama, horribly faked conflicts, and lacklustre characters, was still an enjoyable watch thanks to its amazingly accurate (within sports anime ofc) portrayal of the sport and the stellar animation.

Is Ryman’s animation any good? No. It’s horrible. You rarely see any rallies aside from the final few episodes. Instead, they’re cleverly cut to make you think shits going on but really its just lack of animation/budget/effort. And even when they do animate “epic” jump smashes, diving saves, or clever net play, the animation is so fucking stiff, I don’t even know if it’s handanimated or done with CGI. Ruins the immersion in the sport when you see janky limbs making janky shots.

And without good animation to prop it up, Ryman just becomes a hard-to-believe, angsty story. I’m not even gonna touch on the attempts at a “story” because it’s just quite sad.

Don’t get me started on the inconsistencies either. There’s supposed to be “powers” like foresight, but only MC has it. We’re also supposed to believe the power structure they have set up: an Olympic/top BWF calibre player can be bested by 2 bums? Very nice. Instead of tapping entirely into super fantasy like Kuroko or plausible realism like Hanebado, Ryman tries to have its cake and eat it too. Ultimately, it ends up falling short here as well, just like everywhere else in the series.

But I think Ryman’s biggest fault is its refusal to properly elaborate on the complex strategies that are actually behind the sport. Shot selection, location, angle, speed, footwork, pace of play, and coordination with your partner. Just applying these to singles alone is complex enough, but it gets even crazier in doubles. Because Ryman chooses to dumb the narration/discussion down, what you’re watching is just a watered-down, unexciting version of badminton. Sure shots are going here and there, but why? How, why, and when do players change their tactics and strategies? Instead the explanation you get is “How about I attack you instead!” or “He’s using that devil drop, killer!” I get that you’re trying to make it cool and all, but really it just sounds lame because people who don’t play badminton won’t have a clue what’s going on and people who actually know enough about badminton will be even more confused as to what the fuck is going on.

3/10 for being a bad anime overall. +5 for showcasing badminton, my favourite sport. -5 for ruining badminton, my favourite sport.

Open

Gift

More stacks

Interest Stacks

Bidanshi shows. CMDCT

by OberonFelsach

9 Entries · 2 Restacks

Best all-male cast

by OberonFelsach

15 Entries · 5 Restacks

They Should Be Together (BL Undertones)

by hakyoins

13 Entries · 14 Restacks

More recommendations

Recommendations

More news

Recent News

PV Collection for Jan 3 - 9

Here is a collection of promotional videos (PV), television ads (CM), and trailers for the last week. This thread excludes videos that have already been featured in ...read more

Jan 10, 2022 5:12 AM by Snow | Discuss (1 comment)

'Ryman's Club' TV Anime Announces Supporting Cast [Update 1/7]

The official website of the Ryman's Club (Salaryman's Club) original television anime revealed five additional cast members on Wednesday. The anime series...read more

Jan 4, 2022 9:07 PM by DatRandomDude | Discuss (12 comments)

More discussions

Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Ryman's Club Episode 9 Discussion KANLen09 - Mar 26, 2022	12 replies	by vidrar_sky »» Mar 18, 8:00 PM
Poll: Ryman's Club Episode 12 Discussion KANLen09 - Apr 16, 2022	48 replies	by BlaizeV »» Jan 22, 1:32 PM
Poll: Ryman's Club Episode 11 Discussion KANLen09 - Apr 9, 2022	25 replies	by SouthRzVa »» Oct 12, 2022 10:58 AM
Poll: Ryman's Club Episode 10 Discussion KANLen09 - Apr 2, 2022	29 replies	by SouthRzVa »» Oct 11, 2022 8:04 PM
Poll: Ryman's Club Episode 5 Discussion KANLen09 - Feb 26, 2022	33 replies	by Nicysm »» Oct 9, 2022 8:21 PM

Ryman's Club

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Characters & Voice Actors

Miyazumi, Tatsuru

Shiratori, Mikoto

Saeki, Souta

Takeda, Kouki

Saeki, Touya

Misora, Ayato

Oono, Yasuomi

Kirishima, Hayato

Usuyama, Toru

Ibuki, Sentarou

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Ryman's Club

Alternative Titles

Information

Statistics

Available At

Resources

Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

Episode Videos

Visit MALxJapan MALxJapan -More than just anime-

Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

Interest Stacks

Recommendations

Recent News

Recent Forum Discussion

MoreTop Anime

MoreTop Airing Anime

MoreMost Popular Characters

Visit MALxJapan
MALxJapan -More than just anime-