Kakeru and Suguru are brothers who both have a flaming passion for soccer. However, while Suguru becomes a rising star in the Japanese youth soccer system, Kakeru decides to take on a managerial role after struggling on the field. But due to a cruel twist of fate, Kakeru ends up reevaluating the role he has chosen.
In hopes of one day being able to enter the World Cup by becoming a member of the national team, Kakeru trains harder than anyone else. He isn’t alone in this quest for glory, though. Kakeru's childhood friend, Nana, is a soccer prodigy of her own, with the wicked nickname “Little Witch”. She is a top-ranked player and is already playing for Nadeshiko Japan, the Japanese women’s national team. Nana's success gives Kakeru the extra push he needs to reach for his goals.
Soccer and adolescent fervor combine for an epic, emotional ride. Check it out for yourself in Area no Kishi!
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Comentários
Ddortp
As a MASSIVE Football/Soccer fan I was thrilled to see that there was a Football/Soccer anime, and to my surprise it was actually very good. - Decent Story - It had a good OP - It had good artwork and animation (My opinion) - Actually followed football rules - Most characters were enjoyable - A good mixture of genres - Serious when it needed to be and fun when it needed to be Whether your a football fan - like me - or not, you should* enjoy this anime*You will most probably enjoy it
Alpharon
Esta review también está en español. Football Chronicles, Chapter 2: Area no Kishi Note: some football animes will be named in this review for the sake of comparison. This is, mostly, to see how the game is faced in each series. Of course, no spoilers. Also, football as the real, english one (aka soccer), not the american one. For a loyal follower of the world's most popular sport like me, there's nothing better than the news of a new football anime Area no Kishi/The Knight in the Area is the more recent bet... what can we expect from it? Let's see... The story of this anime focus in Kakeru Aizawa,a 14 year old kid who loves football, but decided to stop playing, and become manager of his school team and in the not too distant future, be a coach (being the Japan national team his final goal). Although this seems like a very valid dream, Suguru Aizawa, Kakeru's older brother, and one of the best players under 15 in Japan, knows that Kakeru is only running away: he knows that his little brother want to play, but he's afraid of playing cause a few years ago, he injured a rival. But don't worry, Kakeru will eventually overcome his confidence issues and return to the field (I mean... come on, just look at the pic of this very page). Besides the Aisawa brothers, the third protagonist of this story is Nana "Seven" Mishima, a former teammate of Kakeru back in primary school, now returning from the United States to join the team as a manager. Seven's not only beautiful, cheerful and dedicated, she also lacks the usual tsundere traits that most females MC have in this type of anime (like Sanae in CT or Miki in HH). She's almost too perfect to be real... or rather, she's like that typical character in a romantic comedy...
There are also many players relevant to the plot, being the most important (or at least, important enough to be in the opening) Ryuichi Araki (Suguru's companion in the national team, owner of an unbelievable metabolism), Kaoru Matoba (same age as Kakeru, tiny yet skillful), Reo Kurebayashi (libidinous GK, but sadly for him, he lacks the charm and succes of Sakai in Hungry Heart xD), Makoto Hyoudo (nice and inteligent MF), Akito Horikawa (sly DF), and Kota Nakatsuka (defender with interesting offensive traits. One of the sources of humor of the series, and one of Kakeru's best friends).
Usually, spor... football animes (I can't say a lot about the sport genre in general, since I didn't watched that much outside the football realm) don't tend to explore the characters a lot, except for the traditional topics of self-improvement and friendship. That's mostly because the important stuff happens inside the field, not outside. In AnK, however, that’s not exactly the case. I'm not saying that this anime is revolutionary in terms of character development, but some serious stuff tend to happen on the personal level, being the most important characters in this matter Kakeru and Seven. This may be attractive to people who don't like football that much, yet enjoy the sport environment and some character interaction.
The animation is decent. The character design, without being ground breaking, is well done. All the characters are very different from each other, and there isn't any weird hair color, or crazy hairstyles that might disturb Yusei Fudo (someone understands the reference? My references tend to be a bit dark. Sorry n_n). The real problems are in the court. There are times (it varies by episode) that the sport is not well portrayed. Passes, shots and plays tend to be more static than they should. This is very serious, since it's a sport series... it seems that a big chunk of the budget was appointed for teen drama instead of proper gaming (oh, yes I did). Yet, this matter, although important, doesn't ruin the whole experience, or made the games unwatchable. It's just below the expected.
Sound... well, the opening, Higher Ground, is cool and everything, but, the really weird thing is... there's no ending. This may sound silly, but, in this modern day and age, in which series with only 12 ep tends to have 3 or 4 endings, I found it pretty remarkable. As for the voices, there are certainly seiyuus with lots of recent experience: Yuuko Sanpei is Kakeru (Yoko Machi in Bokurano, Selim Bradley in FMA: Brotherhood, Aphrodi in Inazuma Eleven, Sasha in Seikon no Qwaser and many others), Shizuka Itou is Seven (Hildegard in Beelzebub, Nadie in El Cazador de la Bruja, Misa Kakizaki in all the animated Mahou Sensei Negima incarnations, Darri in Gurren Laggan) and best of all, Minoru Shiraishi as Nakatsuka (Taguchi in Hen Zemi, Taniguchi and Kimidori in Haruhi Suzumiya, and obviously, Minoru Shiraishi in Lucky Star). A nice little detail is that foreigner characters speak in their own language, and subtitles appear on screen (that's when talking with someone that can't understand them. When the conversation is between foreigners, the audio is in japanese, but they're speaking in their own language. Understood?). Sadly, the intonation is terrible, with a very marked accent, being terrible obvious that the seiyu don't know crap about english xD. Rather than bad, that last thing's funny (Giant Killing did a best job is this subject, by the way).
But the most important question you should be asking now is: what can we expect of Area no Kishi in the football aspect? Is close to Captain Tsubasa, with endless fields and shots that can destroy nets/fences/walls? It's like Inazuma Eleven, where super powers, time space manipulation and theme fields are the norm? Is like Giant Killing, where everything is hyper-realist, not only the game, but the people and the results too? In the reality scale, I put AnK above Hungry Heart, but under Captain Tsubasa. Why? Let's see:
At first, AnK looked like it was pretty attached to reality, with strong shots, but not that exaggerated, with occasional special effects here and there (like rays and whirlwinds), but didn't affect the game: there were only there for spectacularity. The players become tired after a while, yellow and red cards appear sometimes, and the strategies, although ridiculous at times, were feasible. However, episodes passed, and a few special techniques appeared... some of those tech were some outrageous, that certain dribbling reach the insanity levels of the legendary Aurora Faint! That move was from Stefan Levin, a CT player... and when a series have moves that remind those of Captain Tsubasa (and not a common player... the Sweden captain, for Christ sake), reality goes to hell. Another feature of AnK is that matches tend to be very spoken: the players talk, and talk, and talk... all this with the ball in play, and during the marking! (one of the toughest moments of the game, no less). Lots of series have internal monologues that takes a considerable amount of time (in CT that was fixed with huge fields xD), but in AnK the dialogues are, in fact, between the players, in simply unrealistic periods of time (and while running!). To end the football analysis, I want highlight that, just like Hungry Heart, the female football makes an important appearance. And if I said that the sport was a bit odd with the males, with the females is waaaay beyond that. Remember that the series focus on a teen who want to play in a high school team. But when the series is not centered on him, the focus shift to Nadeshiko Japan (the national fem team under 18)... and there, we meet with some girls who seem to be genetically engineered to play football. How crazy is with the lasses? Let's just say that the best player on the team doesn't even train, and yet, she's a football godess, a fem version of Tsubasa Ozora. One thing is talent, but her skills are so ridiculous that make other (male) players look cripple. The second best player? A girl so skilled that can kick, hit the crossbar, grab the ball (without touching the ground) and push it in a basket... using her heel! And all that, while using her phone... Applaud gentlemen, that's girl power.
There's one more issue I want to mention, and is that Area no Kishi, just like its football peers Captain Tsubasa J and Goal Field Hunter, has an open ending. In a very unpleasant turn of events, the final tournament doesn't finish properly, in fact, the last game we see is a quarter final match (a pretty good match, but not ending material). And like in the main story, lots of subplots remain unresolved... so, the way I see it, there are two ways: death in the oblivion... or a second season. This is only a speculation, but there's a chance that this problem get resolved.
So, despite that last thing, if football's your thing, Area no Kishi is a good choice, although there aren't matches in every episode, and the characters have some inner demons that need to be fixed, the games are fast, changing and exiting. If football is not your favorite sport, but the sport genre appeals to you, then AnK may be an interesting choice, since there is less football than in other animes, and characters have an equal (or higher) importance than the sport.
Oh, and if you are curious, chapter 1 of my Football Chronicles is Goal Field Hunter n_n.
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Crónicas futbolísticas, capitulo 2: Area no Kishi
Nota: varios animes de futbol van a ser nombrados en esta review, para comparar varias cosas. Más que nada, es para ver como encara el juego cada una. No hay ningún tipo de spoilers, y de paso aprenden un poco sobre otras series n_n.
Para un fiel seguidor del deporte más popular del mundo como yo, nunca hay noticia más grata que la de un nuevo anime de futbol. Area no Kishi/The Knight in the Area/El caballero del área es la más reciente apuesta... que es lo que se puede esperar de ella? Veamos...
La historia de este anime es sobre Kakeru Aizawa, un chico de 14 años que ama el futbol, pero que decidió dejar de jugarlo para convertirse en manager del equipo de su escuela y, en un futuro no muy lejano, ser entrenador. Aunque este parece ser un sueño muy válido, Suguru Aizawa, hermano mayor de Kakeru, y futura promesa del futbol japonés, se da cuenta de que Kakeru solo está huyendo: él sabe que su hermano quiere seguir jugando, pero quedo desecho cuando, en un partido de práctica hace unos años, con su pierna menos hábil, lesiono a un rival. Pero no se preocupen, Kakeru eventualmente superara sus problemas de confianza, y retornara al campo de forma activa (o sea, es obvio... solo miren la foto de esta pag). Aparte del los dos hermanos, el tercer protagonista principal es Nana “Seven” Mishima, antigua compañera de equipo de Kakeru en primaria, que ahora regresa de Estados Unidos para unirse al equipo como asistente de campo. Seven no solamente es hermosa, alegre y dedicada, sino que carece de los rasgos tsunderes habituales de la protagonista femenina típica de este tipo de anime (como Sanae en CT o Miki en HH). Es casi demasiado perfecta para ser real... o mejor dicho, parece un personaje de una comedia romántica.
También hay otros muchos jugadores relevantes a la trama, siendo los más importantes (o al menos, lo suficientemente importantes como para ser nombrados durante el opening) Ryuichi Araki (compañero de Suguru en las juveniles de Japón y poseedor de un metabolismo increíble), Kaoru Matoba (chico de la misma edad que Kakeru, muy hábil y de contextura pequeña), Reo Kurebayashi (arquero libidinoso, aunque, tristemente, carece del éxito de Sakai de Hungry Heart xD), Makoto Hyoudo (medio campista inteligente, aunque alegre), Akito Horikawa (defensor risueño) y Kota Nakatsuka (defensor que lucha por ganar una posición, con gran vocación ofensiva. Uno de los generadores de humor de la series, y uno de los mejores amigos de Kakeru).
Usualmente los animes depor... de futbol (no tengo autoridad como para hablar de otros anime que no sean de futbol) no tienden a explorar mucho a los personajes, excepto por los tradicionales tópicos de auto superación y amistad. Y es que lo importante ocurre dentro de las canchas, no afuera. En AnK, sin embargo, la cosa no es tan así. No voy a decir que en este anime hay una revolución y los personajes crecen, maduran y cosas así, pero realmente pasan cosas a nivel personal. Esto puede resultar atrayente para personas que no vean al futbol como un gran deporte, pero que disfruten el ambiente deportivo, el compañerismo y blabla.
La animación es decente. El diseño de personajes es correcto, no muy innovador o increíblemente detallado, pero cumple. Todos los personajes son bien distintos unos de otros, y no hay colores de pelo o peinados locos que puedan molestar a Yusei Fudo (alguien entiende la referencia? Mis referencias tienden a ser un poco oscuras… sepan disculparme n_n). Donde sí hay problemas es cuando la pelota está en juego. Hay veces (varia con el capitulo) que el deporte no está bien retratado. Los pases, los tiros, las jugadas suelen ser más estáticas de lo que deberían ser. Esto es gravísimo, dado que es una serie deportiva… pero por suerte, no pasa siempre, y no evita que se disfrute la dinámica del partido. Así que, si bien está por debajo de lo esperado.
Por el lado del sonido... a modo de curiosidad, no hay ending, algo muy raro en estos tiempos modernos donde series de 12 capítulos llegan a tener hasta tres. El opening, Higher Ground cumple. En cuanto a las voces, se trajeron a varios seiyuus con amplios curriculum, siendo Yuuko Sanpei la voz de Kakeru (Yoko Machi en Bokurano, Selim Bradley en FMA: Brotherhood, Aphrodi en Inazuma Eleven, Sasha en Seikon no Qwaser y muchos más), Shizuka Itou es Seven (Hildegard en Beelzebub, Nadie en el Cazador de la Bruja, Misa Kakizaki en todas las encarnaciones animadas de Mahou Sensei Negima, Darri en Gurren Laggan) y lo mejor de todo, Minoru Shiraishi como Nakatsuka (Taguchi en Hen Zemi, Taniguchi y Kimidori de Haruhi Suzumiya, y obviamente, Minoru Shiraishi en Lucky Star). A modo de detalle, hay que decir que los personajes extranjeros hablan en su idioma, y en pantalla aparecen subtítulos (al menos cuando hablan con alguien japonés. Cuando la charla es entre ellos, el audio esta en japonés, pero se entiende que se suponen que hablan en su idioma), lo que siempre es un punto para el realismo. Desafortunadamente, siempre tienen un acento marcadísimo, notándose a kilómetros que son japoneses hablando ingles xD. Pero bueno, más que algo malo, resulta cómico (hay que decir que esto estaba hecho un poco mejor en Giant Killing).
Pero la pregunta más importante que ustedes, deberían estar haciéndose ahora, es: que podemos esperar de Area no Kishi a nivel futbolístico? Es cercano a Captain Tsubasa, con sus canchas interminables y sus tiros destructores de redes/alambrados/paredes? Se parece a Inazuma Eleven, donde lisa y llanamente hay súper poderes, manipulación tiempo espacio y canchas temáticas? Es como Giant Killing, donde todo es híper real? En la escala realista, ubico a AnK por encima de Hungry Heart, pero por debajo de Captain Tsubasa. Por qué? Veamos:
Al principio, AnK pintaba bastante apegada a la realidad, con tiros fuertes, pero no exagerados, con algún que otro efecto especial por ahí, como rayos de luz o torbellinos, pero que no influían en el juego: estaban ahí solo por una cuestión de espectacularidad. Los jugadores se cansaban después de un tiempo, y aunque muchas de las estrategias utilizadas en algunos de los partidos lucían ridículas, eran factibles. Sin embargo, con el correr de los capítulos, empiezan a aparecer alguna que otra técnica especial, llegando a extremos en que ciertos regates recuerdan a la legendaria Aurora Feint de Stefan Levin! Dicho jugador pertenece a la selección de Suecia, en Captain Tsubasa… y cuando alguien se parece a un jugador de selección de CT, la realidad pasa a un plano secundario. Otra característica de AnK es que los partidos tienden a ser muy hablados: los jugadores hablan, y hablan y hablan... y esto, con la pelota en juego, y durante la marca! En la mayoría de las series suele haber monólogos internos de duración considerable, pero en AnK hay diálogos que de hecho son entre los jugadores, en periodos de tiempo simplemente irreales (sin contar la incomodidad del dialogo durante una corrida xD). Para terminar con el análisis futbolístico, quería marcar que, al igual que Hungry Heart, en AnK el futbol femenino hace acto de presencia. Y si dije que el futbol masculino tenía algún que otro firulete, el femenino se pasa. Al borde de lo ofensivo. Tengamos en cuenta que la serie se enfoca en un chico que quiere ser titular en su equipo de secundaria. Pero cuando la historia no está centrada en él, el foco pasa a la selección japonesa femenina de futbol (sub 18), donde hay varias chicas que parecen diseñadas genéticamente para jugar al futbol. Y lo peor de todo, la mejor de todas es una chica que ni siquiera entrena! Una cosa es el talento, pero sus habilidades son tan ridículas que hacen que los demás parezcan minusválidos. Y la segunda mejor? Una chica con la capacidad de patear y que todos sus tiros se claven en el ángulo, al mismo tiempo que habla por teléfono… y cuando se aburre, hace que el balón impacte en el travesaño, rebote, y sin que toque el piso, lo empuja con el taco al canasto de las pelotas! Aplaudan señores, ese es el poder femenino! xD
El problema final que quisiera mencionar de Area no Kishi es que, al igual que sus compañeros de género Captain Tsubasa J y Goal Field Hunter, la serie termina muy abierta. De forma muy triste, el torneo final no se resuelve, de hecho, la serie concluye en el comienzo de un partido de semifinales (siendo el de cuartos de final un partido interesante, pero no muy distinto de los anteriores… o sea, ni siquiera se calentaron en poner un partido final súper épico a modo de cierre). Ninguno de las historias secundarias llega a resolverse, lo que nos puede llevar a dos cosas: muerte en el olvido… o segunda temporada.
A pesar de esto último, si el futbol es lo tuyo, Area no Kishi es una buena elección (porque tampoco es que haya tanto de donde elegir), aunque no haya partidos en todos los capítulos, y los jugadores tengan algún que otro demonio interno que arreglar, los partidos son vertiginosos, cambiantes y emocionantes. Si el futbol no es tu deporte favorito, pero el género deportivo te atrae, entonces AnK puede ser una buena opción, dado que no hay tanto futbol como en otros animes, y los personajes tienen una importancia igual (o mayor) a la del deporte.
Ah, y si sienten curiosidad, el capítulo 1 de mis crónicas futbolísticas es Goal Field Hunter n_n
jonathanjosephh
Area no Kishi, The Knight in the Area. Note: Football will be referred to as "soccer" for familiarity's sake. -- Story (7) The story starts off with two brothers, one slightly older and significantly better at soccer. At first, it seemed like the story would revolve on the younger brother trying to catch up with his older brother. In a way, that was the case-- but I can't go in-depth without spoiling the anime. However, this anime involved a sports anime cliche.. losing the "main" tournament and winning (not necessarily in this case) the next. I would also like to note that this anime had a lotof loose ends. Although it is worth mentioning that the anime did not finish off the manga.
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Art (8)
Overall, really good. The skill moves looked extremely realistic. Also, there wasn't a fire trailing the ball.. so that was good.
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Sound (8)
There isn't really a lot you can screw up with concerning this anime's sound. Thought that the sound mixing of the characters with the crowd was for the most part, on point.
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Character (9)
Definitely thought that the character development for the main characters were executed really well. The characters each fit a "stereotype" for a soccer player and we really got to see them grow. Also, the background development and the flashbacks were a fine touch. Usually these things would be another cliche, but the flashbacks really did justify the actions of the main characters.
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Enjoyment (8)
Bottom-line: If you enjoy soccer, you'll enjoy this anime. It's simply that "underdog" story that we can all relate to.
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Overall: 8/10
Definitely for soccer fans.. but the anime starts at a basic enough point that those who do not know the sport would not be alienated by the anime.
AnimeFan500
Another Sports anime added to my fave sports anime list !!!!!! It seems i won't see cool special moves like in Eyeshield 21/Prince of Tennis and other sports anime. Anyway on to the story--- Area no Kishi is a soccer anime about Kakeru Aizawa who is the younger brother of Suguru Aizawa. He is the team captain of the soccer club, star player, and popular with the girls : ) Later on we meet Kakeru's chldhood friend Nana Mishima( Seven) who transferred to their school from America.( love interests of Kakeru and possible Suguru : 0 ) She alsoplayed soccer with them when they were kids. Suguru believes Kakeru has potential as a Soccer player( this is my guess-- Maybe to surpass his brother Suguru : 0. I am excited to see future episodes of Area no Kishi. I give this anime a 10
sushiisawesome
--The review contains spoilers-- The sports genre isn't particularly rare in anime, but it's rather surprising how high of a standard there is in the genre. Sports anime tend to develop their characters extensively and provide a stunning amount of depth to them, to the point where it's hard not to cheer for the characters or at least find them likeable in some shape or form. As long as there's good characters, established motivations and a feeling of tension in the story (it doesn't even have to be about them winning a tournament), a truly great sports anime isn't hard to make. Now, this is the trickultimately. Since the sports genre is so reliant on being character centric and character driven, if the characters are unremarkable, their stories exaggerated, their struggles unrelateable and their personalities bland, then you end up with a boring, mediocre and completely average show.
This is exactly what is wrong with Area no Kishi and the show's ultimate crime. There is absolutely nothing exceptional about the show, and there's nothing bad about the show.
The story is to be expected from a sports anime, and especially similar to Cross Game and Touch. Main character loses someone dear to him, has a passion for the sport he isn't being honest about and has a love interest who acts as both a counterpart and a role model of sorts (not to mention romantic interest).
This isn't a bad thing, but Area no Kishi fails because of how human Cross Game and Touch were, while it on the other hand doesn't care about making the viewer care for the characters. They feel as mere archetypes and do not move past them, they spend more times playing sports than practicing for games or interacting for one another and there is a lack of heart throughout the show.
In fact, this is why the first few episodes are much better than the rest of the show; they resemble the first few episodes of the previously mentioned series too much, sure, but there was an attempt, however small it is, at being human, and that effort is not present in the rest of the show.
And hell, I know that sports series all require suspension of disbelief to whatever extent, but for whatever reason I couldn't help but point out in the back of my head that there is no way in the lowest pits of hell someone can be on a national team, youth or otherwise, and manage to conceal their identity for so long. Honestly, I'm not even sure why that twist was even put, literally anything would've made sense other than...that.
The artwork and the animation quality are standard and aren't bad, but aren't good either. The coloring is boring and dull to look at, and the matches don't look different from the few slice of life moments present throughout the show.
It's a boring, uninteresting and dull show that is completely average in every single way. I can only recommend this if you really like the sports genre and have nothing better on your hand (which simply isn't true, you're bound to have something better available to watch).
MyNameSucks
Story. (6/10) Based on the popular soccer manga by, Kibayashi Shin and Tsukiyama Kaya; The Knight in the Area (Area no Kishi) tells the story of a young boy named, Aizawa Kakeru, whose potential is only exceeded by his self doubt. Kakeru must endure misfortune early on in the story, misfortune that only makes him stronger as a person and rekindles his love for the game. The story kicks off when Kakeru joins the Enoshima High School Soccer Club, in which he meets the rest of the cast, whom all share common goals. A sub-plot of the series follows, Mishima Nana (Seven), a childhood friendof Kakeru, who plays on Japan's Women's National Football Team (Nadeshiko Japan). To be honest, the story isn't something I haven't seen before, yet it manages to keep my attention. The way the story is told doesn't sit well with me, looking at it as a critic, I would have changed many things. For what it was, it was fine. The pacing was a slow and fast at the same time, and matches weren't all too exciting, a serious downfall. I feel a lot could have been done but wasn't. I think more episodes would have aided the series immensly.
Art. (8/10)
The anime adaptation is brought to you by, Shin-Ei Animation (Doraemon, Crayon Shin-chan) and directed by Ogura Hirofumi (Black Butler II, Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman). I liked the art style. It suited the series really well. Character designs were good and for the most part, they were distinct from each other. My biggest complaint would be the animation during matches, in which still frames are utilized more than usual and transitions are a bit sluggish. The series is consistent throughout, with little to no lapse in animation quality.
Sound. (8/10)
Let's begin with the opening theme, "Higher Ground" by S.R.S. As the only opening theme of the series I have to say that I liked it a lot. It's truly a good tune, and gives you a good vibe before the start of the show. The series surprisingly didn't have an ending theme, which is a bit dissapointing. I don't know whether is was a personal choice or due to budget issues, nonetheless it was odd to not see one. Now, moving onto the background music of the series. I found most the tracks suitable, if not perfect, to the situations in which they were played. I hardly ever had a bother with the music. I watched the series in the original Japanese dub, and in my opinion it was very good. I felt the voices all matched the characters well, and the voice actors did a great job portraying the various situations throughout the show.
Character. (7/10)
As the main character of the series, Aizawa Kakeru is expected to receive the best development, I don't believe that's the case in this series. I believe his development as a character went stagnant once his personal ordeals were dealt with. His development as a player was extremely dissapointing to me. Other than overcoming a past trauma, some old habits, and learning a fancy trick, he didn't develop much as an overall player. Mishima Nana was the main female character of the series. She is a manager for the Enoshima High Soccer Club, as well as a member of Nadeshiko Japan. She develops slowly, though personal struggles, and a friendly rivalry with Murasaki Mai, a member of Nadeshiko Japan and love interst for Kakeru. Seven and Kakeru share a long and strong bond, and one can't help but get the feeling that they like each other. Their relationship is frustrating, to say the least. Araki Ryuuichi, Enoshima High's ace midfielder, was my personal favorite. Araki is an already proven elite player, and it's showed by the way he conducts himself in matches and by how he strives to make not only himself better but all those around him as well. The rest of the supporting cast is delightful as well, with a variety of personalites and skill sets. I only wish they could have received more screen time and personal episodes.
Enjoyment. (7/10)
As a passionate fan of soccer, I have to say I didn't enjoy this series as much as I thought I would. I was very excited once I heard the announcement of the anime. I suppose my expectations were too high to begin with, but overall I was just disappointed. I ended up liking the series more for its characters rather than the story and soccer matches, which wasn't my intention.
Overall. (7/10)
It's a series that I'm glad I watched, but I don't think I'd watch it again; unless it has a DVD release with an English dub, which is highly unlikely. I think I would have enjoyed the show more if it had only lasted longer. The art and soundtrack were the highlight of the series. Story and character delvelopment were lacking. Overall, I would still recommend the series, just don't expect to be blown away.
Maronise
When I first watched anime based on sport I was consumed by it. I've start to watch different types of sport anime and get more unique types of feelings after watching it. This time soccer anime it is my first time encountered it and watch till end. I have zero knowledge about soccer etc. Don't even watch real soccer in TV , but in sport anime I'm looking for special stuff. Just simply looking at persons who like to train their body and don't give up , make friends and keep fighting for the team , this few things give me shivers on my entire body. Watching this animesometimes it was similar to Kuroko no Basket , in the way of words they was saying in anime .At first few episodes it was boring and hard for me to watch but then KA-Boom ! and can't stop willing to watch more and more . Story was made brilliant it was not a lazy type but the more you watch you get sucked instantly. I enjoyed a lot the characters , the anime would me more popular if they could recruit famous Seiyū just few more.
I'm disappointment in one Seiyū role , I'm myself surprised that there is a male Seiyū that I did not like it. Well to tell you the truth I was disgusted by hearing his voice in anime and this character is Leonardo Silva. I'm definitely don't want to hear this Seiyū in other anime.
In other way the character that changed the point of few this anime was Araki , if not him anime would be dull and 'outworn'.
Once again I've encountered a anime that at beginning was boring but on last episode I was screaming ; Where is more ??
Why they end it on this time ?!
I'm definitely looking forward to see season 2 if they are willing to make it.
playmakerzam
Area no Kishi is a sports anime about soccer. It is an average show, sometimes episodes are entertaining and sometimes they are boring too. Nothing really outstanding but it also has nothing to make it a bad show. Area no Kishi is about our young siblings Kakeru Aizawa and Suguru Aizawa. Suguru Aizawa is the older brother and is an upcoming football star. At age 15 he is already heralded as japan's savior, he also one of japan's U-15 (under 15) representatives. Kakeru, the otouto, on the other hand lacks motivation and eventually quits playing after a game accident involving him and someone getting injured.Instead he aims to be a top football manager. Nana Mishima a.k.a "Seven" is our third protagonist, she is a female football who played in the same team as the Aizawa brothers when they were still young, she eventually moved to America. Suguru and Kakeru trains hard to be a great player and club manager respectively. However, Suguru, being the old brother, knows Kakeru's potential and he wanted Kakeru to someday play with him as national representatives. A "Road Accident" however will change things, which will kick-start the real story of Area no Kishi.
The show revolves around football matches, training and some few other things (Typical sports anime). Some character development (w/c is essential to sports animes) here and there. There are a lot of characters (another obvious thing for sports anime specially football ones). The show alternates it's focus between the Enoshima FC (the main protagonist team) and the Nadeshiko Japan (Japan's National Female Team).
One good thing about Area no Kishi is that it sticks to reality, it never had those special-makes-no-sense-but-looks-cool moves that most Sports anime today possess which i kinda liked. I don't really know a lot of football (I'm a hardcore basketball man like Sakuragi) but i learned some things from the show, some strategies and basic stuff from the sport are shown (though i'd really like more in-depth stuff.) The show also kinda made me wanted to play soccer for a bit. Besides the typical sports anime elements, the jokes (comedy is also an essential for successful sports titles) are at most times not really that funny which makes it a bit less entertaining sometimes. The art is okay, though sometimes it looks bad. Nothing special about the music, it kinda lacked music if you asked me. Overall, it's an average anime, there will be no real sense of completion in watching this anime since nothing really happened big in the ending (sort of needs a season 2). If you love soccer, or sports in general then give it a try.
My Personal Rating:7/10
coolcoachdan
The Knight in the Area! If you are looking for a sporty anime this is a great one to get into. I actually don't enjoy soccer or watching it in real life because honestly it is quite boring. The story is very unique, no spoilers! This anime is all about friendship, winning and of course soccer. Reasons to watch -a ton of characters to like -nice story with a loveable protagonist -humor -if you like team oriented anime -girls are cute! Reasons not to watch-you hate soccer with a passion
-you are a hater
Overall very solid sporty anime. I'll give it a 9/10. Hope there is a season two.
