A collaboration of Madhouse and Production I.G., two of arguably the greatest ever studio's in this industry. With loads of experience behind them and even highly in the sports genre (Madhouse: Hajime no Ippo, One Outs and Chihayafuru. Production I.G.: Haikyuu!!, Kuroko no Basket and Prince of Tennis) coming together for the first time. And it was a long runner at that, so you could always expect them to deliver the goods. This will be a combined review of both the seasons, and also may contain spoilers.
After having agonizingly lost in the finals against Inashiro a year ago and missing out on an opportunity to play at the National level, it was no other way but to try again for the highly lauded Seido High School of Baseball. And with many of the acclaimed senior players retiring from the team, things looked bleak for Seido. With new freshmen joining the team, it was always hard to build back the team and try to challenge other clubs.
The characters as players also go through quite a lot development as they try to ramp up their game and take experience from the matches they play. Although Sawamura (aka Bakamura :p) remains the same idiot as ever, he actually does show what he's capable of and gets close to Furuya to become Seido's ace, and that inner battle between the two pitchers was amazing to see as always in the show. Miyuki Kazuya is the new captain of this refreshed Seido side, and we're treated to his super abilities as a captain and a catcher. He's the pillar of Seido which keeps the team intact. Quite a few of rivals and players have stepped up their game too, and we see a new rival for Seido in Yakushi with Raichi the monster-slogger and the cunning Sanada Shunpei, coming to the scene being better than before.
The music for DnA too has never seized to amaze me. One after the other, DnA boasts of exciting new OP and ED songs. It also has a great set of OST's and Background Music that totally ignites the fiery and tense moments in a game. Good consistent voice acting all around, too. The animation is convincing for the fifty one episodes. They've stuck to the basics with little exaggerated movements and it doesn't have any sort of flashy moves or any otherworldly techniques that would be impossible to execute in a real match. The better players realize the situations and play accordingly, occasionally taking inspirations from what their coaches or fellow players might've said in the past. So DnA has had that realistic appeal all the time, something that makes this show all the more enjoyable. It's one of the best long-running sport anime there is. The enjoyment is worthwhile for the huge amount of episodes.
DnA is a very simple show. We follow the dream of aspiring young baseball players and a club to play in the Nationals. It's a roller-coaster ride filled with endless excitement and emotions.
