This isn't a sports anime with over-the-top shounen tropes or hype scenes, but instead this is an anime that takes a more realistic approach to sports and gives viewers a look at what goes on behind-the-scenes of Japan's largest professional sports competition, baseball, and I think this is a pretty unique and fresh take on the genre.
The Story - 7
Gurazeni is a fairly episodic anime. What happened in the last episode most likely won't get much mention in the current episode, like how most episodic shows are. Each self-contained episode brings in a new aspect of professional baseball to expose to the viewer which keeps the series from getting stale. Each episode also brings in new characters, which I will go into more details in a bit. Something I found cool about Gurazeni is that the story isn't focused on a baseball prodigy at all, but instead a near-bottom ranked professional player just trying to get by.
The Art/Animation - 5
There isn't too much to say about this show visually. The art is nothing amazing but it's not like it's bad by any means. Same goes for the animation, it gets the job done and for the most part it. The only bad thing I can think of is the CG pitching animation that they use a few times throughout the show, which feels out of place as a lot of CG animation does in a 2D show, but admittedly it could be a lot worse.
Sound - 5
Gurazeni's sound is for the most part mediocre but I would give it credit for it's upbeat rap OP which I find pretty catchy. The rest of the soundtrack however is very forgettable.
Character - 6
Like I mentioned before, each episode brings in new characters. There are hardly any characters that get reused for episodes, with the exception of course being the main character. Most of the weekly characters aren't particularly interesting by themselves, but become interesting when they interact with Bonda, the MC. The main character doesn't have any noble or honorable goals like you would expect, but instead just wishes to pitch better in order to get a higher contract, and make more money, hence the title.
Enjoyment - 7
Gurazeni has an odd pulling factor. I can realize that there is nothing overly great about this show and yet it for some reason became one of the shows I looked forward to the most each week. I wanted to see Bonda get more money. I wanted to see what goes on in a bottom-ranked pro player's daily life. If I knew this was what I was getting myself into beforehand I probably would've turned away from this show to save myself from boredom, but somehow Gurazeni managed to keep me intrigued.
Overall - 7
If you are looking for a realistic sports anime, or just something to relax and watch every now and then, then I would definitely recommend for you to give Gurazeni a try.
