Ooi! Tonbo

Trying to move on in his life, former professional golfer Kazuyoshi Igarashi arrives at Hinoshima Island for a job at its development center. Expecting the island to be a very rural area with nothing much to offer, Kazuyoshi cannot hide his amazement when he discovers a complete golf course made by the island's inhabitants. Using the seaside terrain to their advantage, the people there have adopted golfing as their hobby.

To add to his surprise, Kazuyoshi meets a young girl named Tonbo Ooi, who has been playing golf using only a 3-iron—a notoriously difficult-to-use club. As the former pro gets more involved with Tonbo and witnesses her seemingly impossible shots, he begins to see golf in a whole new light, rediscovering how fun the sport can actually be.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Ooi, Tonbo Main

Hayashi, Rika Japanese

Igarashi, Kazuyoshi Main

Touchi, Hiroki Japanese

Tsubura's Father Supporting

Horiuchi, Kenyuu Japanese

Rintarou Supporting

Hatanaka, Tasuku Japanese

Kuta Supporting

Houki, Katsuhisa Japanese

Tsubura's Coach Supporting

Fujiwara, Takahiro Japanese

Udou, Kyuugorou Supporting

Kusumi, Naomi Japanese

Bunpei's Mother Supporting

Saitou, Kimiko Japanese

Udou, Yaya Supporting

Takekuma, Fumiko Japanese

Adaniya, Tsubura Supporting

Kitamura, Eri Japanese

Morishita, Katsuji Producer

Hikita, Takahito Producer

Muramatsu, Sayako Producer

Kasahara, Makoto Producer

Reviews

Jul 21, 2024

PixelB

Recommended

This show made me want to play some golf. Something that other golf shows like Birdie Wing failed to do. And I think it mainly has to do with the fact that Tonbo's a show that's highly grounded in reality, focusing on character development while also not forgetting to apply actual concepts in golf to the show.

Tonbo! is more of a slice of life and coming of age show than a show about competitive golf when it comes to the first season. While golf is always on the horizon, a common theme in the show, and is what brings people together, you can tell that ... the show is trying to weave a picture of an adolescent girl who uses only a three-iron club to commemorate her parents. Throughout the show, her connections to golf and people increase, which is evident in the increasing number of golf clubs that she uses. She refuses to leave her shell that she calls her island because she is scared by the outside world. Yet gradually, through her experiences of taking baby steps forward, being supported by everyone around her, and through her passion for golf, she can attempt to enter the world of competitive golf.

Of course, the other characters aren't bad too. There isn't too much of a focus on them other than Igaiga of course, who is another great father figure towards Tonbo. Igaiga's sense of responsibility in Tonbo is ingrained in him due to his passion for golf which makes him want to see the height to which Tonbo can reach in the world of golf. The genuine character interaction between Tonbo and Igaiga is charming, as you see father and childlike behaviors that suit them both. It's fun to see them bond and progress as people.

Finally, the focus on golf is like I said, always on the horizon. I enjoy how each episode talks a little bit about how the mechanics of golf work. The visuals and explanations are simple and straightforward, but they show the viewer how golf is played and what strategies people use to tackle different holes. The mindset, the type of iron, the wind, the grass, the way you stand, the way you swing, and so much more are talked about in this show, so when Tonbo does out-of-the-box strategies, it's that much more interesting to watch how unorthodox methods achieve the same goals as orthodox ones. To me, the discussion and commentary of golf in Igaiga's monologues is one of the main reasons why the golf play-by-play is interesting. Again, going back to Birdie Wing, the show doesn't focus on even the type of hole or how it should be played, nevermind going into detail on how the player should stand or put their club face, so it's nice to see this show attempt to tackle golf on a play by play level, and this depth is exactly what the show needed to stay interesting.

The show does fall off near the end of the season. There becomes the focus on practically irrelevant romance on side characters with not much personality, and it does just seem kind of shoehorned in rather than progressing the plot. Tonbo and golf are no longer the focus, and instead, romance is? The art and animation are also a bit offputting at times, blending in CGI models and 2D animation at times. The golf course CGI is fine because it provides a good visual for the show while also being presentable, but yeah it's fine for the most part. The facial expressions and lip sync are also basic and could be improved upon, but overall I am excited for season 2 and thus put it at a 7.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Jun 10, 2024

WollenbergGaard

Recommended

Well-written

Preliminary (6/13 eps)

It is a real shame that so many people seem to be missing this particular show this season. A shame, though not surprising.

It is a shame, however, because Tonbo is quite different from most other Sports Anime; indeed, although the show is about golf—a sport quite a lot of people seem disinterested in, and I am one of them too—it is important to note that Tonbo isn't REALLY about golf. No, what Tonbo is about is rather "Wasted Potential," which I would call a far more interesting focus for a sports anime to have than average.

As the plot synopsis for the show describes, Tonbo is ... about an ex-professional golfer who travels to a nearly deserted island to leave his former life behind. However, as he arrives on the island he finds not only a golf course there, but also a young girl with incredible but also highly unconventional golfing skills. The ex-golfer soon develops the desire to bring the girl into the wider world so that she might experience golf on a greater scale. However, the girl is completely disinclined towards this idea, viewing golf not as a competitive sport as such, but rather as something akin to a casual game a child might play on the playground—while also being a way for her to "deal" with her own past traumatic experiences.

What the show is then REALLY about is the two main characters basically butting heads through the playing of golf. And this is a highly compelling semi-life-philosophical confrontation to see play out—even if the characters are only partially aware of this confrontation themselves.

Now, with all of this being said, it is important to acknowledge that the art-style and animation of the show is somewhat underwhelming, frequently reusing pieces of animation during the golf-playing scenes. So the show is by no means a feast for the eyes. It is without question the characters and story-telling that does the heavy lifting.

I am not here to say that Tonbo is the greatest anime of all time, or even the best sports anime around, but what I do think it offers is a cast of some rather compelling main characters, who in turn deal with some truly interesting personal struggles. All while simultaneously managing to juggle a decently lighthearted tone throughout most of the show.

I hope this review has been helpful.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jun 28, 2024

KANLen09

Mixed Feelings

Tonbo! - Conventional meets unconventional to spark inspiration for fledglings. But is it enough to satiate the watch?

In every given season, there's always a few shows that stand out for their peculiarities, and that's especially true in the Spring 2024 season, where there's a chunk of variety for just about anyone. But one genre in particular that always gets mixed receptions is the sports genre. Sport-centric shows can be easy to tell their story and character growth for the fundamental long-term change, but their drama can also make or break the series in its direction. Enter mangaka Ken Kawasaki with Oi! Tonbo, a series that ... has been ongoing for a decade since August 2014 with a whopping total of 50 volumes (as of May 2024), and a story about the familiar meeting the unfamiliar, proving that the assumptions of the outcast can still make something interesting out of the mundane.

In with the mundane skills, and out of Lady Luck, sums up ex-pro golfer Kazuyoshi Igarashi as a whole. An embarrassed swindler that cost both his certificate and reputation, Igarashi hangs his head low, and leaves his family behind to reside at Hinoshima Island in the Tokara Islands (which is based on Nakanoshima), where the near-deserted island has a job offer awaiting him that will determine his new life going forward and not having to touch an ounce of golf again in all senses of the word. Little does he know that the island does have an actual (but unattended) golf course that, as he learns, is occasionally played by the island's residents, but more importantly, for a girl whose golf skills are bizarre at best that Igarashi homes in immediately on her, a budding relationship is born between the two to rediscover the joys of playing golf.

Where there's sports, there's always drama involved, and Tonbo! is fundamentally no different in that regard. I just love the interaction between the two main leads: the adult, who's clearly had life sucked out of his innermost being, and the child, who's really childlike, and sees the world as her oyster, not thinking too much about the outside world in general. Igarashi, as Tonbo would nickname him "Igaiga" for speakeasy terms, is a very critical man who thinks that people should play the ordinary style, but as he's soon about to learn, Tonbo has two things going for her: her trusty 3-iron, and the unorthodox measures of blazing through the golf course like a mofo. And it's that clash of personalities that makes the both of them click. For Igarashi to unwind his expectations and see that someone like Tonbo, as weird as her playing style can be, still defies expectations, that's time in the training of golf knowledge. From the stance of standing aloft to the specific hitting areas of the precious 3-iron golf club hitting the golf balls to putt where it's needed to go (with some luck on the side), the relationship of Igarashi and Tonbo is akin to that of a master-student tutelage that often has the roles constantly reversed back and forth to teach one important lesson: Expect the Unexpected, while keeping in traditional play.

The other supporting islander characters do play a part in helping the sole middle-schooler when Igarashi tries long and hard to convince Tonbo that there's an outside world that demands her style of golf, even when her circumstances force her to take steps back rather than push forward. It's a community affair after all, since Tonbo is well recognized by everyone, and everyone helps one another out as a collective group together.

Where the anime sadly falters is in its production, which, given its Saturday Morning Cartoon-ish timeslot in Japan, is meant to be a show for kids, so there's no need to go all out on pristine animation. Helmed by OLM's Team Hikita (credited as OLM Division 2) alongside Shogakukan's Music & Digital Entertainment (the same CG animation production house as Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid a.k.a The Duke of Death and His Maid) for the CG segments, Tonbo! does look nice, I'll give it that, but its mature nature is hampered down by simplistic production, which at least gets the job done...and that's honestly all that matters.

The kids' thematics continue onto the music, which, like its production counterpart, does its fine job as well. Sacra e sole's OP and Tokyo Groove Jyoshi's ED are perfectly decent for what they are, and even by a monocle that I like the ED more than the OP, I wouldn't hedge a swing to remember both songs, unfortunately.

As much wrong as I can find with Tonbo!, some others will find this a hidden gem of a show where the characters and their developments steal the show for a semi-serious nature, not just involving the complexity of the sport, but also the people involved with it. Still, I reckon you should give Tonbo! a try if what you see in the show does enough convincing to deliver hard hitting moments in a lighthearted tone, especially since Season 2 is continuing this Fall. It's a kids' show after all, and there's learning points to capture too, golf and/or otherwise.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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	Poll: Ooi! Tonbo Episode 13 Discussion kjplethodon - Jun 28	21 replies	by Serafos »» Yesterday, 10:48 PM
	Episode count? Jokuc - May 24	13 replies	by IAMQT »» Jul 12, 3:07 AM
	Poll: Ooi! Tonbo Episode 12 Discussion KANLen09 - Jun 21	15 replies	by Jonas-K »» Jul 10, 3:03 PM
	Poll: Ooi! Tonbo Episode 8 Discussion Csend - May 24	7 replies	by IAMQT »» Jul 6, 9:10 AM
	Season 2 Announcement KANLen09 - Jun 28	0 replies	by KANLen09 »» Jun 28, 7:03 PM