Story (3/10):
The story follows Minato, a highschool student who suffers from target panic due a incident in middle school. After abandoning the sport, he returns to play archery in his high school's archery club as they aim to win the prefectural tournament. The basic premise is that of your typical sports anime, however i would say this show is lacking in several aspects which is why I’ve gotten bored with it.
Watching Minato overcome his trauma of target panic is the most compelling aspect of the show, however once he’s gotten rid of his anxiety then what? There’s nothing else interesting going on in the story, except if you want to see Minato and Kaachan fighting for Masa senpai to notice me.
There’s a lack of drive from the main characters or massive hype to be invested in the show. To compare it to another sports anime this season, Hinomaru sumo is your typical underdog story, but it manages to be insanely hype introducing or foreshadowing a new antagonist nearly every episode while having our protagonists undergo crazy training ideas to get stronger. There’s a clear objective with Hinomaru wanting to be Yokozuna. The characters are distinct and each of have their own set of personality traits and get character development.
In Tsurune, the story lacks direction and feels like there’s no goal. They want to win a tournament because plot.
Characters (4/10):
If you’ve watched Free then you’ll notice how similar the characters are. Most of them are generic stereotypes for a character driven, slice of life, sports anime such as this e.g. there’s the energetic Ryouhei, yandere Seiya, a self proclaimed pretty boy, tsundere Kaachan and Minato. The girls aren’t worth mentioning because they’re so one dimensional that they have nothing to distinguish themselves apart. They’re pretty much background characters to have some diversity in the club, whilst the main story focuses on the boys. For example, when Masa-san takes over coaching the club the girls introduction are completely skipped as if they don’t exist.
Kaachan is a controversial character where you would either like him or hate his guts. He’s like a less obnoxious version of Bakugou from MHA. I think he’s one of the more interesting characters because I can see some depth behind the bravado. However, that doesn’t change the fact he’s a rude, annoying tsundere most of the time.
Shuu is the main rival from the other school. His rivalry with Minato is refreshing to watch, as he doesn’t seem to harbour any animosity towards Minato. Too bad the writer forgot to give him a personality so his character ends up being “talented kyudo player who’s rival/friends with Minato”. The twins are one note assholes who love antagonising our main cast.
Animation & Sound (7/10):
The opening and OST’s are pretty good. The art is beautiful as expected from KyoAni. In fact, I was more impressed with it than I was emotionally invested in the matches.
Overall (2/10):
I digress, my main flaw with Tsurune is archery is a boring sport. I’ve tried being invested in the sport, but I can’t. Even when they go over the rules, I can’t see anything appealing or how the writer could make it interesting in the long run because it’s just kids shooting arrows at a target. It’s bland and repetitive. Archery’s too one dimensional and limiting to standout from it’s competitors. In other words, the anime was doomed to fail from the beginning.
Enjoyment (2/10):
Tsurune fails to capture what I love about sports anime, which is why I consider it one of the worst sports anime I’ve watched.
