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Apr 9, 2022 7:51 AM
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Oct 2016
2723
Its been a while since I've watched a sports anime to be honest. I think the last one that was primarily a sports anime which I watched was Ahiru no Sora. This and that seems to have some decent similarities. Smaller sized protagonist whom are mostly looked down upon for one reason or another. Wanting to prove themselves that they're capable of being the best. Having far more skill than their teammates and then getting that chance to prove even more. Aoi here gets an extra leg up than Sora did just by virtue of having this old star player turned youth coach Fukuda supporting Aoi and wanting him to come play for the team Fukuda is assembling.

Aoi definitely has the raw talent and ability to be something special he just needs to tighten the bolts so to speak. All the skills are there Aoi just has to refine his attitude and how he works in the team. You can't be a one man show in a team sport, especially not one like soccer where teamwork can make or break a game at multiple points. Its easy just to dump this ball off to your best player and sit back while he scores but that will only take you so far. Even more so when that best player is a bit wild and can let emotions overwhelm them.

Fukuda teaches Aoi an important lessen with laying out those rings in the sand, to scale back on the big powerful moves for more refined executing of your abilities. If players want to go to that next level they need to know how much they can let out on any given play. You can't just unleash your full power on every play and move you need to be a little more precise. Thankfully through Aoi older brother it seems he will get that chance to go to Tokyo and join this new youth team Fukuda is coaching.
Apr 9, 2022 7:55 AM

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Feb 2017
2712
I really like the start of this! Will definitely watch it joy I feel. Looking forward to more.
Apr 9, 2022 8:01 AM

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Apr 2013
7996
Heard lots of good things about the manga even if I have little interest in reading it. But I'll follow the anime to see where it goes. Decent start. In some way it feels like when I watched Diamond no Ace years ago. I'm scared for the most action intensive sequences that they will lack solid animation but who knows what's in store with IG.
Apr 9, 2022 8:11 AM
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Nov 2021
69
Solid start. Pretty decent animation. Of course, the manga still hits different and much better but I think production IG made a good job in animating. There's no perfect adaptation afterall. Also, I've seen worse. And let's see. Maybe the animation will improve further. If I were you guys, If you haven't read the manga yet, you should read it now. It will help you enjoy the story more and understand it more.
Apr 9, 2022 8:14 AM

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Dec 2014
7046
This is fantastic, I loved the episode. Classic story line, solid execution along with nice production.

This along with Blue Lock might be finally be the soccer anime I've been waiting for years at this point.

The main character is great, the coach is cool. The hype is there, this has all the makings of a good show, I hope it reaches those heights.
Apr 9, 2022 8:16 AM
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Apr 2022
2
first episode was pretty decent. Has a great potential. It will be interesting to see how they will handle international leagues. Excited to see next episode.
Apr 9, 2022 8:17 AM
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Nov 2021
30
I LOVE IT!! I love how this story going. And I heard so many good things about the manga, and I saw some banger spoilers too so I will start reading it now. I'm really interested.
Apr 9, 2022 8:25 AM
#FreeWatermelon

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Feb 2020
9471
Usual basic starter for sports anime. But this premiere actually filled with a lot of technical dialogue, which unfortunately i couldn't get through it because of my less affinity with tactical football yada yada.

However, honestly its quick to be an enjoyable for me at least, cause mc so far very shounenish and that manager already become a fun person from my initial impression. The art and animation looks solid enough as expected from ig, and i already like the opening song as well. So, i expect this to hold the enjoyment aspect into more than any other sports anime i watch this season. So, lets just go to the second episode next week...
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Apr 9, 2022 8:27 AM

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Apr 2021
565
Very good 1st episode. Well rounded story unfolded. Waiting for ep 2. Though this anime might be well suited for binge-watching.

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Apr 9, 2022 9:10 AM

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May 2013
336
phantomfandom said:
There are five sports anime in this season, I already watch other four. And after watching this episode, Ao Ashi is definitely the worst among them. I'm not saying it's a bad anime, just the worst sports anime in this season. Manga reader will probably claim that it'll only get better from now on.


And yet more people seemed to like this one. Doesn't mean anything for you, because YOUR opinion is that Ao Ashi is the worst one and that's all you should care about... but saying it's definitely the worst is a bit too... definitive for an opinion that goes completely against the grain.
Apr 9, 2022 9:31 AM

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Sep 2021
434
so as a soccer and an anime fan this was an interesting first chapter, kinda the same as others sports anime but with this being soccer makes it better
Apr 9, 2022 9:36 AM
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Jul 2018
562029
It was a nice start. As a football fan, I've been looking forward to this anime.
Apr 9, 2022 9:40 AM
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Nov 2021
1673
seems like a good solid sports anime from production IG which is their specialty.
Apr 9, 2022 9:58 AM
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Nov 2021
30
Btw I forgot to ask, do you think we will have the visuals for OP and ED in the next episode? They only give us the OP song rn (which is such a banger🔥) in the end as a teaser? i think. I cant wait to hear the full versions!!!

Mod Edit: Removed baiting.
KarinaraApr 25, 2022 9:27 AM
Apr 9, 2022 10:04 AM
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Dec 2021
57
JJnie said:
Btw I forgot to ask, do you think we will have the visuals for OP and ED in the next episode? They only give us the OP song rn (which is such a banger🔥) in the end as a teaser? i think. I cant wait to hear the full versions!!!

True. About your question, I'm not sure if we will get the visuals of OP and ED in the next episode. But there's a high possibility since it happens often to a lot of animes that just started airing.

Mod Edit: Modified quote of edited post.
KarinaraApr 25, 2022 9:27 AM
Apr 9, 2022 10:31 AM
Ero Ojisan

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Jun 2019
5446
To kick off the World Cup hype we have Ao Ashi. I'm getting some Ace of the Diamond vibes in a since that both MCs love the sport they play, but lack the proper technique to play as a team with other skilled players. It's going to be interesting to see how Aoi reacts to competition when goes to Tokyo for tryouts on the youth team. Production I. G. does good work to show that they are the masters of sports anime adaptations.
Apr 9, 2022 10:53 AM
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Apr 2017
835
Story doesn't seem all that unique from any other sports anime so far.

It's football though, so it's already automatically better.
Apr 9, 2022 10:56 AM
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Jul 2013
43
If you know, you know but a long and harsh journey awaits Aoi.
Apr 9, 2022 11:11 AM

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Apr 2015
1573
Decent first episode. It wasn't really anything special for a sports anime, but the set-up seems interesting enough and there's definitely a lot of potential here. Plus, another sports anime from Production IG? Sign me up! Honestly not really sure if I like the VA for the main character though, but hopefully I'll get used to it.


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Apr 9, 2022 11:28 AM
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Jul 2017
2
Dan-Te said:
... and went to play in La Liga in Spain, the best league in the world.
Facts.

A good first episode and great potential for a good football anime. Even though there are some points that I didn't like:
  • The defenders stand and talk to each other about the #10 attacking them.
  • The homage to the Zidane headbutt in episode 1. It would be better in a later episode with more emotional weight.
  • The boy who provoked Aoi into headbutting comes afterwards with his parents to apologize.
  • Aoi isn't interested in football tactics at all, yet seems to be an absolute genius in this field as well. Doesn't feel earned to me.
  • The youth team coach wants his club to be the world stage in football, beating Barca, Madrid, Manchester and Milan. But how? There's no competition in which he could achieve that. Even if the club wins the FIFA Club World Cup, it wouldn't really put them on the world stage. Football clubs in Europe would only try to buy their players and otherwise this would quickly be forgotten. At least, if you go by the current way the competitions are held.


I think that point 1 &4 is basically due the fact that it’s a middle school football match in Ehime(which is a smaller prefecture in terms of population) and I think the town they live in isn’t a big town in Ehime either so like the local middle school teams are all relatively weak. And since the players are overall kinda weak on both sides (tho the opponent team is probably a bit better on average idk) it just makes Ashito who does have some talent stand out a bit more. Sorta a big fish in a small pond vs small fish in a big pond kinda thing I guess.
Apr 9, 2022 11:38 AM

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Apr 2018
5490
I'm glad that Production IG is the studio that got to animate this. It's looks great, way way better than the football anime (Futsal something) that aired in winter season. The main character is the frontline genius Ashito Aoi. He may be selfish but that's just because he's very honest about how he thinks. He has perfect memories and sight enough to see the whole field while playing not to mention TWICE as much stamina as average player too. That's already pretty good TBH. The opening is amazing!


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Apr 9, 2022 12:16 PM
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Jan 2022
354
Maybe its because this is my first sports anime, I'm not a big sports person in general... I don't know how to feel about this anime. It's got potential though
Apr 9, 2022 12:25 PM
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Jun 2021
18
KANLen09 said:

This is soccer (or as you Americans call it football) much within the reigns of Captain Tsubasa and the like, and is at the core of it all, Shonen-ish for the young teens.

Bro Americans call it soccer and it's called FOOTBALL
Apr 9, 2022 12:27 PM
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Jul 2020
178
This is the football genre anime I've been waiting for. There is no doubt that Production I.G has always been good at producing sports anime. I didn't read the manga, but it looks like it would be really fun because I love football.
 
Apr 9, 2022 1:01 PM
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Oct 2019
29
Man, I love sports anime so much... this episode was so good!! And Ashito reminds me of at least three other sports anime characters, it was kind of fun to figure that out during the episode :) I don't have that many thoughts on it other than that, but I'm super excited for the rest of the season!!
Apr 9, 2022 1:02 PM

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Jan 2018
4125
Ao Ashi is the best football manga I've read. It has a more grounded and realistic take on football. The matches are really well executed and use great tactics during it. This was a good first episode. I really do hope it gets more attention.
Apr 9, 2022 1:35 PM

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Dec 2019
635
Questionable art direction at points but it was a really endearing first episode. I think this is the director's first role and he did a pretty good job of having me engaged. This first episode really gave me some major Haikyuu!! vibes (I know that people compare every sports anime to Haikyuu!! but there are definitely some striking similarities here). Interested in seeing how this turns out.
Apr 9, 2022 2:18 PM
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May 2021
251
As a huge fan of the sport, seeing that most of the animes regarding the sport have been below average, I really don't want to raise my expectations for this one.
I've heard good stuff about the manga, so I really hope it'll stand out amongst the others.
That said, we do have Blue Lock coming out later (really hope it'll be adapted nicely).
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Apr 9, 2022 4:03 PM

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May 2018
150
I watch sports anime for the hype and drama and this one is starting out at Hype-kyuu!! levels right off the bat on both counts. I’m really hoping this is just beginning and the series can attain “Sawamura finally being acknowledged by Coach after 170 episodes” type of legendary status.

And here I was thinking that Gay Horse Boys was going to be the best sports themed series of the season. Early prediction is that Ao Ashi and Danseur are going to be battling it out for my AOTS.
Apr 9, 2022 4:16 PM

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Sep 2020
4136
Good start. I've always wanted to read the manga but I've not got around to doing that yet. It's a more realistic approach to football and I like that there's going to be more of a focus on tactics. It's been a while since we got a good sports anime and I honestly haven't been this excited to watch one since Ace of the diamond so I hope it delivers.

BestDogeKoromaru said:
I watch sports anime for the hype and drama and this one is starting out at Hype-kyuu!! levels right off the bat on both counts. I’m really hoping this is just beginning and the series can attain “Sawamura finally being acknowledged by Coach after 170 episodes” type of legendary status.

Love the Ace of the diamond reference there. I'm not sure the anime will have that many episodes but I'm certainly hoping that it will be just as entertaining as Ace of the diamond.

Mod Edit: Merged duplicated posts; please use the edit button.
KarinaraApr 25, 2022 9:29 AM


𝒮𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓈, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝓂𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝑜𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊. - 𝑅𝑒𝒾 𝒦𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓎𝒶𝓂𝒶



Apr 9, 2022 4:20 PM

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Jun 2019
1321
It was pretty good. I have some worries on the production side, but the writing might be great enough to carry it.
Apr 9, 2022 4:24 PM

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Sep 2020
4136
MGrid said:
Jaytaro10 said:
As a huge fan of the sport, seeing that most of the animes regarding the sport have been below average, I really don't want to raise my expectations for this one.
I've heard good stuff about the manga, so I really hope it'll stand out amongst the others.
That said, we do have Blue Lock coming out later (really hope it'll be adapted nicely).

If you are hyped for Blue Lock just because you like football, I recommend you drop the expectation. Since Blue Lock is terrible if you are watching it for the sports representation.
Why else would you read or watch blue lock then if it's not for the sports representation? I personally think it's grounded in some form of reality if you don't factor in the cringey lines from the characters.


𝒮𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒾𝓂𝑒𝓈, 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒸𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝓂𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓌𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒸𝓁𝑜𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒹𝑜𝑜𝓇 𝒷𝑒𝒽𝒾𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊. - 𝑅𝑒𝒾 𝒦𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓎𝒶𝓂𝒶



Apr 9, 2022 5:47 PM

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Apr 2008
685
I've definitely seen more boring starts, but it's not pretending to be anything other than a generic sports show. Not my favorite genre, though I liked Ippo, Haikyuu, Kuroko, and a couple others. Unlikely I'll stick with this, but if I'm going to give Love All Play a second episode then it's only fair I watch another of this.
Apr 9, 2022 6:26 PM
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Sep 2016
7
In the shot where it shows the manager against Barcelona you can see Dani Alves and a Young Messi but I can't grasp who the #9. It could be blonde Suarez or just some made up character.
Apr 9, 2022 6:57 PM

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Aug 2020
2645
Might be the best sports anime this season. I'm hyped for this. Very good head start!


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Apr 9, 2022 7:01 PM

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Jul 2021
467
A pretty solid first episode for a football anime. I'll keep my expectations low but this show seems to be different from other sport anime in recent years.

That headbutt reminded me of Zidane lol.
Apr 9, 2022 8:17 PM

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Oct 2016
25
I was afraid I'd get tired of MC very quickly, but the angle they're taking with him is actually quite great. I appreciate how maturely the incident in the opening match was handled: it's shown to mostly just be an unfortunate incident between kids not fully understanding the consequences of their actions. The coach was really cool too, this is shaping up to be quite solid.
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Apr 9, 2022 8:18 PM

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Jan 2022
36
It's has alot of potential I'll keep watching to see where it goes
Apr 9, 2022 8:41 PM
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Jul 2018
562029
I'm no expert critic, but I can say this first episode shows potential for the series. I havent watched many sports anime, but this sure gets me back in the spirit of Soccer and I hope the Writers & Animators succeed in their vision for where they want to take the series.
Apr 9, 2022 9:47 PM

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Jul 2016
9094
Gotta love that not-so-subtle homage to Zidane's headbutt. Rival goalkeeper feeling so ashamed for calling MC's mother a whore was unexpected tho.

Promising first episode. As expected from Production I.G and their excellent record of sports anime.
Apr 9, 2022 10:18 PM
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Jan 2020
66666
Great op song. And Production IG Sports series are something else. Much better than the common no-name/bad animation stuff.

I like the protagonist so far and football is the one of the only things I like as much as anime so hopefully this can end up becoming great



Apr 10, 2022 12:08 AM

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Mar 2020
812
Interesting episode. Next week let's go to Tokyo!!!

In the end your family still supported you. Arigato okasan to niichan.

I already loved the OP music. I hope the visuals will be amazing as well.

Looking forward next week!
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Apr 10, 2022 12:21 AM

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Oct 2016
4530
Production IG back at it again. That was a really solid start!

Big bro's a real bro for that, looking forward to the next episode to see how he compares to other more skilled players.
Apr 10, 2022 12:26 AM

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Jan 2022
792
I've watched first episode and it was pretty decent. But I don't think it's some kind of show for which I can wait for a week. Guess I'll just binge watch it at the end




!!!
Apr 10, 2022 1:43 AM

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Feb 2021
23405
Had a bit generic start to it but there was some realism to it nonetheless.

I like how their financial condition is displayed to be an obstacle. Haven't really seen much sports anime but from what I've seen, they never have an issue with money.

The older brother Shun is already my favourite character.

I might be wrong but is his mom a prostitute or something? If so then the kid who was trash-talking him should have had a few of his teeth knocked in. Seriously what an asshole.

I wonder if his old team will ever come back into play. Like maybe someday they'll have to play on opposing teams?

Overall pretty nice start.
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Apr 10, 2022 2:04 AM
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May 2018
322
DeonX said:
Had a bit generic start to it but there was some realism to it nonetheless.

I might be wrong but is his mom a prostitute or something? If so then the kid who was trash-talking him should have had a few of his teeth knocked in. Seriously what an asshole.



Even I who read the manga can't remember if they specified it, I just assumed that she works night shifts at a bar or something.
Apr 10, 2022 3:40 AM

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Dec 2020
3855
AYYY BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS !!!

idk shit abt soccer but man that was fun to watch. im liking mc a lot already
Apr 10, 2022 4:33 AM

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Jan 2016
1950
One of the GOAT sports manga finally has it's own Anime adaptation.

Hopefully blue lock won't overshadow this, which it most probably will

EDIT: Nvm, I thought Blue Lock was airing this season.
Apr 10, 2022 6:15 AM

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May 2015
3300
Red_Ranger_Wien said:
phantomfandom said:
There are five sports anime in this season, I already watch other four. And after watching this episode, Ao Ashi is definitely the worst among them. I'm not saying it's a bad anime, just the worst sports anime in this season. Manga reader will probably claim that it'll only get better from now on.

Bruh no this is already miles above the crappy CGI horse show and the mediocre badminton show. It's also better then the golf show. What's the fifth one? I don't see any other sports shows on the season chart.

Fifth one is probably the dance show which is listed as performing arts rather than sports...

I haven't seen the horse and golf shows yet, but from the other three I can't say that Ao Ashi is the best. It has a pretty standard start like any other spots anime and only later episodes will tell if it's incredible or not. Surely, it has potential and ambition to become very popular but so far my hype for this anime is mostly because of the studio making it and not from the episode itself.
Apr 10, 2022 6:23 AM
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Feb 2021
532
Finally some quality football anime to watch which I had never watched before so I am sure this is gonna be amazing and I really love the manga.
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