It is always empowering to see a novice make his or her way up to the top of the league and our hero, Tsukamoto Tsukushi, is doing just that. However, what makes him stand out from the crowd packed with inspirational heroes of the past is the motive that drives him. Tsukushi plays soccer because his first ever male friend once asked him to be a substitute player and as it turned out, he enjoyed it. No deep motivation and no pretentiousness, either. Growing up with way too much humility, Tsukushi has no ambitious bone inside him and finally, he doesn't care whether he can be the top scorer or not-- he literally just enjoys running on the field and he wouldn't ask for more. But of course, leave it to your new pals to give you the push you need to take it to the next level.
What is amazing about DAYS is that it is never about talent or gravity-defying kicks. DAYS, with proper amount of 24 episodes as one cour, teaches the audience that at the end of the day, it is all about whether you enjoy what you do or not-- and this message resonates louder for grueling sports such as soccer. Sometimes the role is not 'the role you were born to play', but just any role you can find for yourself and more often than not, it is enough. It is not to say that Tsukushi is a peevish benchwarmer, either. One of the most surprising moments comes during the second half of the cour, in which Tsukushi is not afraid to say what is on his mind and teaches his beloved team that opposition does not necessarily mean hatred-- but actually, love.
Ultimately, DAYS is touching but not at all perfect. Tsukushi is such a compelling character, he makes almost the rest of the characters (even including his wingman Kazama Jin and the over-qualified manager Ubukata) seem unimpressive. Such can be the case for anime that is more character-driven than action-driven. Just like soccer itself, one cannot possibly win at everything as compromise, more often than not, is necessary-- and Tsukushi teaches us just that.
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