Ahh, it's the same combination of things that always marks a bad anime, and it NEVER gets old. And so does the rife when it comes to this show, which bears all the hallmarks of a show that is literally D.O.A from the start:
- The production committee writing the story for this show (which I've mentioned before in a review that this "creative" clash of ideas is always bound to turn up bad) that went nowhere and breaking into "arcs" just because they can easily timeskip the process;
- The sole specified idol studio Lay-duce to produce beautiful looking and young Ikemen (with the exception of the sole female since a single-gender only show would do only do favours to turn it into an idol-fest of sorts);
- The cast of characters that for the most part, only serve to contradict one another in their own personalities and habits, all while being unmemorable, obtuse and even to the point of being annoying to watch (save for some that resonate, but even then not by much);
- The music, which give or take that SawanoHiroyuki is doing the composition for this, and adding the new trend of more "J-Pop and K-Pop" fusion bands, which isn't bad (see Black Clover with Snow Man) but can get repetitive, not to mention boring if you're not a K-Pop song repertoire stan.
It's a shame that Gunjou no Fanfare, even with director Makoto Katou's efforts, is only able to shine in the visual department that borrows many of Yagate Kimi ni Naru's assets to make the show visually appealing, there's no doubt in my mind that Lay-duce did a very good job emanating that feeling of freedom while galloping a horse from the footsteps of being a trainee jockey all the way to becoming professional jockeys, ready to take on the local stage.
But everything wrong with this show is just the same tried-and-true efforts that have been done before but to inducing nauseating effect:
- The popular idol Yu Arimura whom wants out of his idol life to pursue the horse racing dream, with his entire entertainment agency being ready to welcome him back with arms open wide if he misses the mark. being an angsty boy that doesn't want to stay in one place and keep on moving forward;
- The only Ikemen that's worth a shot being likable: the horse "whisperer" Shun Kazanami with his happy-go-lucky personality and one whom often descalates any potential argument to cool it off;
- The foreigner that's a full-on American Grace Amane (which I'm impressed and not that Hanae Natsuki is able to sound like a Gaijin) which can grate on people's nerves for standing out and being outlandlsh.
- Also, I'm kinda glad that the only female Eri Shimotsuki is here, and supposedly because that the "Bloom Into You" director isn't so keen on just having Ikemen that couldn't stand out much, so they had to have her tag along. The most important aspect of her character is that she is not being sexualized and wears the same jockey uniforms as the other boys, even if she is there to break the mold and provide some entertainment that's evident of her lesser-than-usual screentime got.
It would be an understatement to say that this show was fun, and indeed it has moments like that of destress and communion when things hit the fan and everyone bonding to solve problems together for a spirit of camaraderie, that is perfectly fine by me. But there's something about this show that just rubs me the wrong way, and I can only say that I half-appreciated the show for its haphazard story/plot elements with some of the most egregious character development I've seen in a low-key show like this.
Unless you have a reason to watch this show based on the director's influences, then I suggest that you stay far away from this show because there's just nothing interesting about it, other than the fine-line intricacies of raising horses for betting races, and then wash, rinse and repeat.
