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This manga screams 2000's shounen manga personally. Also I have read and reread the manga for the purpose of this review.

So my name is Aki and my format for manga reviews is usually initial thoughts, criteria summary, then summarize my thoughts.

So a light summary; our main character ikki is your usual tough guy with his antics and popularity as some sort of boss in a group. He has a harem filled life with his step sisters who adopted him and through certain circumstance was introduce to an Air Gear. If you didn't know what an Air gear is, think of it as roller blades with ... small engines (dont question it, its fictional).

Now initial thoughts are the story is really intriguing but as someone who reads a lot of manga when I was young till now I was never fond of heavy ecchi and this manga is definitely heavy on that but nonetheless that story continues to intrigue me and made me want to continue reading regardless.

Story 7.5
Now I feel like the story has ups and downs but overall it was very intriguing and I keep wanting to read it. Some arcs of the story feels like fillers or at the very least does not progress anything which is fine if done properly but at times had issues with it being to bland. I want to emphasize that the "Sports" genre in this manga is quite different formula from what people are used to but nonetheless have sports elements at the very least. To cut it short and simple, if you really like Shounen, action, and a bit of romance (of course Ecchi too) then this might be for you. But just because you dont like the genre doesn't mean you wont give it a try, id say at least read until ch 50-100 first since this is where I got into the manga.

Art 9
It definitely is reminiscence of the old style of drawing but it did age well (at least for me). Some manga's during 2000 didn't age too well and I would have a hard time reading them but Air Gear is definitely great art wise. Later on you will appreciate the good art style.

Character 8
So first lets talk about main cast of characters. All of them are really good with amazing personalities and are really interesting, some are quite lackluster in terms of character development but some have really great background story about their past. I wont spoil too much but my favorite character is definitely Agito and Kazuma later on the story. Ikki is your usual cool character of course but Kazuma is definitely someone you will like as the story progresses. Agito on the other hand without spoiling is a special character and has amazing background story (even better than ikki personally). But the rest of the cast are ranging from good to really good so you wont be disappointed too much. Only thing that lowers the score for me is they introduce characters with great importance but has little story time or worthless characters in general with big build up but maybe thats due to the Air Gear being a 2000 manga having a different story building/structure.

Enjoyment 9
Without spoiling the manga is definitely one of my favorites in the 2000's era. As a person who dont really like reading mainstream manga like the usual One Piece, Naruto, etc. I find this manga similar to them with its own twist in the story. That aside I appreciate the manga for what its worth, the build up is really good and while the Ecchi is at times disturbing or borderline too ecchi, it doesnt mean its poor or only tries to catch people with its ecchi drawing. Further in the story the ecchi stuff will subside and thats when I really liked the manga. The pacing was really good too, and like I said the build up each important chapter is really good which makes you want to crave for more.

Overall 8.5

Quick summary, its good if you enjoy shounen manga's, enjoy action, and has good storyline.

send me a message request if you want recommend me a manga you enjoy :)

Ballroom e Youkoso is what I would call a hidden gem, the genre itself is both intriguing and at the same time not interesting for many. One of the reason why people started watching in the first place was they bump into it expecting it to be similar to current Sports Anime or because Production I.G. is the one producing the anime and Haikyuu! is definitely a hit. But I can definitely say this is far different from Haikyuu! and wont satisfy everyone.

Lets start with a quick introduction, I also joined competitive ballroom dancing before and Ballroom e Youkoso portrays a good amount of what ... you would expect in Competitive ballroom dancing. I can say for a certain that what the anime and the manga tackles is the environment of competitive ballroom dancing itself and not only our main character and his growths and struggles.

Story: 9.5/10
The pacing of Ballroom e Youkoso is quite slow especially at the latter half of the story. But it showcase how hard it is to dance and the struggles both Tatara and Chinatsu is very realistic. Unity is something many dancers achieve and it can only happen when you build a good relationship and practice with your partner. And i think MC and FMC felt like real dancers with struggles and issues. Also props to Tomo-sensei for portraying a realistic environment.

Art: 8/10
Like many fans, i was expecting a very fluid movement and not CGI (similar to Haikyuu!) but the anime's budget is low and it is to be expected since the manga itself was not that popular for its not so common genre. Besides the lack of fluid movements, it could have shown even little movements to teach viewers of basics and such but it is rarely found in the anime. But the character design is what set a good tone to the anime and also the beautiful setting. The imagery use in the anime is impressive, whenever Hyoudo describes a particular scene you can also imagine what they are describing.

Sound: 9.5/10
Personally I like many of the score and music use in the anime, it never seem to be too much and fits most of the scene quite well. I also have few favorites in the disc so feel free to support the anime by buying the disc. I think its worth it and many feels powerful and impactful.

Characters: 8.5/10
Each character is unique and has its own flavor. All of them are drawn and animated beautifully and its quite amazing. The guys usually have humor while the girls are the ones who are usually elegant well besides Chinatsu and Akira. What others find boring in the character backstory is what I usually enjoy. All of the characters have good background story and I personally feel connection with all the dancers, especially Kugimiya Masami. I wont spoil but unlike many regular sports, competitive dancing is usually based from judge's preferences. Whether they like your style of dancing or not will depend to them. So you can expect many frustrations from dancers who dance particular styles but never won not because they are dancing bad but because someones dance has more impact. For someone who dance for a living, it is hard to be herald as always in the finals but never winning. Not to say that Kugimiya-kun could have change things differently but it is frustrating at times. So I could certainly say many of the characters in Ballroom e Youkoso are similar to modern day ballroom dancers. Both glory and frustration is showcase and I personally admire Tomo-sensei for that. Also Tatara is indeed OP, he is a gifted dancer but IRL you wont see many person with that talent to easily copy variations.

Enjoyment 9/10
I enjoyed it a lot, especially the first 5 ep and Chinatsu x Tatara arc. I am similar to him because I am close friends with my partner so we also fight a lot. The transition from dancing on your own vs suddenly having a partner is something many new dancers will find struggle with. As a lead you are still inexperience leading so technically you will have difficulty while as a follower you wont blindly trust your lead first few times because you are not comfortable with them yet. Basically you build the relationship from ground up regardless how talented both you are. And it is showcase in Tatara and Chinatsu. So yes I enjoyed the show a lot but does not mean i dont have issues with some of it.

Overall: 9/10
Regardless if you are interested in Dancing or not, i think ballroom e youkoso showcase a lot of things. You could also add a slice of life in the genre though it is very subtle. Anyone who likes anime that devotes on a passion or hobby will definitely like this anime. The realistic approach is something I personally like so even though it is quite slow at times, simply watch and finish it before saying its boring,etc. A must watch.