"Stride"—an extreme sport that combines parkour, free running, relay, and sprinting—is what made first year high school student Nana Sakurai enroll in Honan Academy, after being captivated by the school's stride team. Sharing the mutual intention of joining the team is fellow first year and stride maniac, Takeru Fujiwara, and together they request to join. Much to their dismay, however, the stride club is no longer active due to lack of members, and they are now operating under the shogi club.
In order to revive the stride club, Nana and Takeru recruit first year Riku Yagami—a fast runner who is interested in almost every sport. With this new team, the club now aims high at a new goal: to win the prestigious End of Summer competition, and bring the Honan stride team back to their prime.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
MozillaFennekin
There's no real explanation to it, so let's just assume that "alternative" in the title of Prince of Stride implies that you should watch an alternative show. So, anyone willing to tolerate sports anime thought this would be pretty cool. Running with some parkour elements? Shit, parkour’s awesome, this oughta be good. But instead, we’ve been given a thoughtless, soulless, utterly boring show with no point in watching to completion unless you really, really like sports or writing yaoi fanfics. Fortunately, Stride conveniently makes all of its fuck-ups clear within the first episode, so this doesn’t require a lot of work. Every major character (with the exceptionof a couple that won’t be introduced until later because reasons) gets introduced within the first ten minutes. It’s too much too quickly, like going to your parents’ favorite hangout and having to suffer through all the introductions to their stupid friends who only talk to you to ask about how school is going. But, don’t think about it too hard, look alive because the plot’s coming through!
A school with a famous stride club (whatever that is) is now close to disbanding because they don’t have enough members for official matches because no one likes stride. Wait, what? I thought this was famous? Where did everyone go? That doesn’t matter now, because Riku (whose name I only remember thanks to my fifteen years of playing Kingdom Hearts) joins the club and fills the deficit, and now the almighty Honan Stride Club is ready to go. The whole school sets up a course for the club because they’re all so excited to see stride return that they didn’t even remember the club existed five minutes ago, because no sports anime would be accurate without a bunch of bandwagoners! Go Royals!
Wait, aren’t we forgetting something…………? Oh yeah! WHAT THE FUCK IS STRIDE?
Stride, the sport, is introduced to us after giving an incredibly vague explanation of just a few things about it. You know, it’s not really the audience’s job to put more thought into your own work. We’re expected to figure the rules of the sport out for ourselves because the authors were too lazy to do it themselves. But after a couple episodes, you can see that stride is just some relay racing with parkour with a coordinator from the sidelines, with some specific details that won’t be necessary. See how easy that was?
But some questions still remain. Why do we need the gimmicks? What’s the point in the end? One guy did a run while completely skipping the obstacles and nothing really happened, he still had a great run. If they’re there just to make the runs look flashy, it’d be good if you could actually implement flair into the rules of the sport, even making it part of some score. It’d be even better if the parkour was naturally part of the course and not just some shit they threw in the middle of the road. People racing over rooftops and over fences would be pretty badass. They could at least put more shit in the road. But my point is that I’d like it if the parkour had a bigger focus and speed wouldn’t be the only thing necessary.
Then you have the relationers, who coordinate the runners from the sidelines via headset. One team told their relationer to fuck off and one of the runners did all the work while the actual relationer was there as a formality. If the runners can control things themselves, what’s the point of the relationer in the first place? Shouldn’t this be illegal, at least? Why isn’t anyone even watching this race, like a referee? Does ANYONE care about what’s going on??? WHY AM I ASKING SO MANY QUESTIONS?
Ignoring the dumb sloppiness of the sport itself, we have the actual story. Yes, I care about a story in a sports anime, at least to an extent. It’s a sports anime so you can only expect so much, but as long as you write better than a 10-year-old then I can accept it. But when Stride tries to incorporate some human drama, it just gets idiotic.
Prince of Stride being about some high school sporting event just won’t cut it, so we need some DEEP and COMPLICATED backgrounds or something. The reason why Honan’s stride club was low on members in the beginning is because of an incident that caused most of the team to quit. This incident is one of the most bafflingly brain-dead events ever conceived. To not spoil it specifically, the old relationer got rekt by the other team’s, and that caused the runners to crash and lose the race. The relationer and another member then act like complete fucking idiots and escalate the situation way beyond reason, and the knight in shining armor, the only person with a brain, the one who breaks it up, is then blamed for it without anyone trying to communicate like human beings. I am laughing so hard while writing these very words right now.
The other sort of incident involves the main character not knowing how to get gud and then quitting stride for a while. That’s it, that’s his backstory.
Having some human drama is nice, definitely. I’ll admit that at least the last few episodes had some sort of weight and tension, but all of this is just so stupid, man. But I could at least respect the nerdy guy, he had some actual problems and characterization that wasn’t dumb. Maybe as a token of my appreciation I’ll go look up his name on the database when I’m done.
Beyond that small number of characters and their dumb stories, the rest of the cast is incredibly flat, boring, uninteresting, generic, and other synonyms, no matter how many memes they try to force. Their only chances of being likable come with how many of their stupid, annoying LOLSORANDOMXD jabs they throw at you. Nice try, Dr. Meme. Oh, whoops, that’s a SIGNATURE PHRASE!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111!!1/1?11/1
Shoving away that nonsense, the characters include Leg-lover, who’s the only yaoi bait you’re gonna get, unless you got a kick out of that one guy who had to dress up like a girl. I felt like kicking myself in the nuts just for putting up with this. No one else has anything worth mentioning (except nerdy guy who eventually drops out of relevance anyway) except the girl because she’s a girl and she’s voiced by Hanakanamanahawamawallama, which really isn’t a compliment because she doesn’t have a personality either. The only thing she’s good at is being really worked up over what the other relationer is doing. DO YOUR JOB, IDIOT.
The woman who directed No Game No Life was told she couldn’t make everything purple in this, so instead she used normal colors and brightened them up about a thousand times. Okay, it’s not unbearably bright, but it really isn’t pleasant to look at, even deep into the anime where you’re expected to be used to it by now. The animation itself isn’t that big of a deal, either. In fact, it’s pretty lackluster, especially given that Madhouse used the same budget as One Punch Man. Maybe they spent it all on memes to try and recreate the magic. I dunno. Anyway, doing cool parkour shit is okay. I guess. But the running is often poorly framed--I don’t give a shit about people moving their arms around really really quickly, you run with your L E G S. LEGS, MAN! Some clever angles would’ve made this pretty interesting to watch, but I guess no one cared as usual.
Hey, remember Overlord? That one anime about Mr. Skeltal trying to take over the world? That opening song was incredible, right? Well, the same guys came back to do Stride’s, except not nearly as loud, exciting, cinematic, catchy, or even enjoyable. Which still makes it a decent song because Clattonia was just pure awesome, but the song doesn’t have a lot of punchiness or flair, and it’s marred by some pretty goofy lyrics. The art accompanying it has some style, at least, even if the runs presented look confusing. The rest of the soundtrack has a number of insert songs, which are pretty intelligible when used amongst the action, but I thought the non-inserts were surprisingly good. Not crazy good, but they have a smooth style and presence and are just exciting enough to make you keep your ear out for them without distracting you from what’s on screen. Not a bad ED either. I only listened to it like twice, though, because I wanted to move on as quickly as possible.
The last thing I wanna talk about are the guys, because this show is supposed to be yaoi-bait and I need to make this clear. These fuckboys don’t even look that good. Thanks for reading, everybody, have a great day!
Story - 2/10
Art - 4/10
Sound - 7/10
Characters - 3/10
Enjoyment - 3/10
Yaoi - tryharder/10
Overall - 3/10
Favorite character - Ayumu
Favorite episode - 11
Recommendation level - Very Low
karlstein12
Prince of Stride: Alternative was one of the first new Winter show to be announced just as the new year arrived. It was also among the first ones to be aired in the season, much to the build-up that was added to it. With one of the masters in the industry working behind it, i.e. Studio Madhouse, Prince of Stride: Alternative was well worth the hype it had accumulated thus far, but as the season progressed, it quickly started to fade away. Why? Let's look into it in detail. The show brings no creativity at all to begin with. It has been done countless time insport anime's before. Famous high school club now in ruins and desperate for new members. Atleast try to be a little more creative. The game of Stride does bring a sense of freshness to the show. Basically its a sport where you run all the while competing with the another 'Strider' within your block. It consists of five different members running from start to finish as all the five team members play a part in the whole sequence and give a touch for the next teammate to continue running. One of the problems with the show is that twelve episodes were always not enough to begin with. There are have been countless other similar shows being successful solely based on the fact that they run for a longer time. Time was an important asset to them and they had plenty to utilize it with the execution. This is something Prince of Stride: Alternative lacked big time. On a side note, I cannot understand why there's a 'Alternative' in the title. I've come to light that the source material was a visual game and the show can be taken as a spin-off of that.
The characters on the show do it no good, with all honesty. All of them are like a basic stereotype with nothing to set them apart from any other generic characters. The MC is a light-hearted and silly guy with a dim-wit personality who just likes to run and is aiming to be on as many of the high school clubs as possible. There's the very cold looking teammate who acts as a direct rival for our MC and who doesn't talk much, and of course, does not get together early with our MC. Then there's the only girl in the show who's in fact the very first characters to be showcased and is another main character in focus in every sense who is inspired by the Stride club's achievements in the past and is aiming to be in the team as a manager. She eventually acts as a Relationer in the team who serves as a guide to the running teammates offering guidance with a speaker directly to the Striders. Then there's always a trap in the group along with a nerd who isn't interested being with the club to begin with. Two more senior characters are there in show, one's a cool, handsome looking guy who seems to be a senior worth relying on, and the other, literally having nothing worthy of praising, in my opinion. The manager however, was an interesting characteristic with his regular inspirational proverbs with a traditional discipline to them. Sad that he didn't get called a "King" when someone who only afterwards in the show arrived got to be called one.
The art totally makes the show cool, and the aesthetics are on the positive aspect of this show. The OP/ED sequences with the music, too, do justice for the show but no OST's or background musics or other character songs worthy to be talking about. But all in all they're on the better side of the show. The frequent use of English in the show, as for the club names and the outfits, really make them appealing to the western audience too.
Prince of Stride: Alternative also suffers from the problem of not being able to convey the story properly in my opinion. It could've have become a good show even with the distinguishable flaws it had, if it had put more effort in giving the concept of Stride a little more spotlight. The sport is cool by all means, but for me it fails to properly deliver some important stuff to the viewer. For example, the tournaments the Stride Races take part in are a little difficult to understand. They do time-trials at times but nothing on the opposing team is showcased (And trust me there are some) on how they got so far. This is where as I said the time limit plays a huge part in. Stride races also offers a lot of cool moves and spectacular jumps, if they had put on something like additional points for that, then I think the games would've become a lot more enjoyable.
Prince of Stride: Alternative was never a profound show to begin with, as is the case with most of the sport shows. But what make them great is the reality aspect and the execution for it, that's where Prince of Stride: Alternative won and lost 50-50 for me. With the pacing and time limit the show had been given, I could see the ending being like that from a mile away, still Prince of Stride: Alternative has the little charm that's the beauty of every sport show, even if it was a short anime with just twelve episodes.
Stark700
Prince of Stride, a show based off of an otome game with a bit of sports and competition added in. Advertised as a sports series, yet it’s obvious that the show appeals to the female audience with its cast of pretty boys. What is striding? It’s basically a fictional extreme sport of running similar to that of parkour but with unique obstacles. Produced by Madhouse studio, the show runs pretty fast on its feet, literally. The first episodes introduces the main characters in standard fashion. Nana Sakurai, the main heroine transfers to Honen Academy and quickly becomes the manager of the Stride club, a clubdedicated to striding. The members of the group consists of a variety range of characters and personalities ranging from the cheerful Riku Yagami to the cool Takeru Fujiwara. Each member of the club also possesses individual skills and characteristics that makes them unique on the team. While this is all good and dandy, the show doesn’t capitalize on their traits but instead follows a generic route of competition. Yes, there’s risks and strategy that is adapted into each race. However, the ending result usually is predictable. And that’s honestly something that isn’t so admirable.
The story structure is designed as more carefree although striding is the main course of the plot. Other times, the show feels like it’s taking a breather such as fashion shoots, hot springs, and even the infamous beach episode. In general, the story turns into a mixed affair of comedy and competitiveness. If that makes any sense, the series also takes every advantage of the boys to make them stand out as bishounens. There’s nothing wrong with that except the show focuses perhaps a bit too much on it for the first half of the series. It takes the serious nature of the striding when the boys are presented more as fan service rather than athletes. On the other hand, the show does take its game mechanics seriously. Every relay race is designed aesthetically and never the same. In addition, the show adds commentary to explore the physical aspects of the obstacles, short-cuts, and potential strategies runners can use to their advantage.
However, the story isn’t the main problem with the show. The main problem lies with the characters. It’s hard to feel attached to any of them. Takeru is like a Free clone of Haru but hardly has a strong relationship that can be relatable. Riku adds a bit more of casual atmosphere that people can get used to quickly but it’s hard to accept his character. He’s just too damn carefree. Heath Hasekura, the half-man, half-model is probably Mr. Fan service and there’s little depth about his character at all. Finally, Hozumi Kohinata exposes almost all the weakness of the show with his non-existent characterization, girly face, and weakly timed jokes. Luckily, there’s some characterization and background storytelling through mid-story but the overall execution lacks steam. Don’t expect Honan Academy’s rivals to be memorable either. They have cliché written all over them with easily forgettable characteristics.
If you’re interested in some fun excitement, then Prince of Stride might be a show for you. While the storytelling and characters are easily forgettable, the relay races themselves lives up to the hype on most occasions. Stride is apparently a fictional sport so the rules and risks are a refreshment to any sports fan. It invites speculations on what strategies can work and what may fail. The risk is also realistic as well that includes near fatal injuries. Furthermore, the show does a clever job highlighting the body movements of the athletes. Each episode is choreographed consistently whether it’s jumping across shortcuts, bypassing obstacles, or just running against the wind.
The artwork is like colored rainbows. Bright and flashy are just few of many words that can describe the background visuals. It also has a sense of flamboyant feel as each relay race has a different style unique to each competition. And of course, who can forget about the boys? They are the main stars not just for being athletes but an eye candy for the female audience to see.
Soundtrack is surprising attractive with a good amount of psychology mixed in. There’s good timing during crucial points of each relay race to capture the thrill of competition. It’s also creative enough to be legitmently entertaining to the ears. Character voice mannerism is moderate although I personally find them lacking with the exception of Riku. Meanwhile, the OP and ED theme songs are rather mediocre in respect.
In essence, Prince of Stride is more of a show that seems to appeal to a certain demographic and advertised for the audience to play the game. It isn’t an entirely awful show despite the lackluster story or mild characterization. Rather, it doesn’t deliver with the premise and each episode seems to lack more and more steam as time drags on. I find it hard to also get attached to many of the characters and in the end didn’t really find liking any of them. Blurring the lines of fictional sport and modern man service, this is a show that easily feels like an advertisement.
-Remix-
Introducing Stride: an extreme high-thrilled sport where parkour and endurance running collide together! The rules of Stride are really simple: you form a team of six people and you compete against one other team. Five of you run across the race course as a relay, avoiding obstacles, and staying on track. The fastest team who crosses the finish line first wins. It’s definitely a very interesting concept straight from the get-go. So why can’t I rank this show any higher? Well, for one, whenever you introduce a sport, it is imperative to consider your audience: they have no clue what the sport is about or nevereven heard of anything like it before. Furthermore, sports often incorporate a lot of new terminology that can lose the audience quickly. As a result, the screenwriters must absolutely take the time to explain these terms well.
This is where Prince of Stride begins to crack. In the first few episodes, terms such as “relationer” will be thrown at you and leave you second-guessing until you actually see it in action. Techniques associated with parkour or the relationing process itself, too, are never properly explained. And, most importantly, the rules of Stride are very open, and this is a recipe for disaster. For instance, shortcuts – what exactly constitutes an acceptable shortcut? Couldn’t you technically just “shortcut” an entire leg? Since this rule and others like it are never thoroughly explained, viewers who are making an attempt to understand what is happening are more than often left hanging and utterly confused. And mind you that this is just one rule – there are plenty of others that don't make any sense either.
The other issue is the characters themselves. As you probably know, Prince of Stride centers on the members of the Honan Stride team. The characters on this team had serious potential but were never given ample time on the show to have enough depth. Some characters were given no time at all and honestly were not a significant factor in the show (e.g. Hozumi). They could have been left out from the story and the plot of the entire show would not have changed much (minus the fact that you would have an incomplete team, oops). Others are what I like to call half-baked: some characterization but somewhat forced. A good example of this is Nana. Nana’s true colors begin to show when her father shows up back in Japan, but since her father was never mentioned up to this point, it seems as if his entire purpose was to elicit some emotional response from her. Thus, her actions and thoughts come off as a little unbelievable. I would argue that the only decent characterization was of Riku (see episode 11), since we later learn that he uses Stride as a way to dissociate his own identity from his more talented brother’s.
As for the plot, there isn’t really anything remarkable about it. As with all other sports anime, Prince of Stride: Alternative tries to balance Honan’s training and the tournaments that they participate in. In the first half of the show, there is more training and other trivial things that they do (e.g. obtain a sponsor) than there are actual tournaments, and some of these training sessions do not produce anything fruitful other than heightened, excited emotions. Towards the end of the show, however, the plot finally gets somewhere when the Honan team comes face-to-face against two of their toughest, most challenging rival teams during the End of Summer semi-finals and finals.
For the art, let’s just say it’s different. The color palette that Madhouse chose to use in this show often comes off as overly bright or pale. It’s not oversaturated as in the colors of No Game No Life but will take some time to adjust to. Despite this, the animation and artwork is very consistent. Sound and voice acting are also of high quality, albeit none of it really stood out.
So, just to summarize, I wouldn’t say that this is one of the better sports anime out there. Its premise had a lot of potential but unfortunately the plot does not build off from it at all. If you’re looking for a more balanced story or characters with more depth, you won’t find them here. I felt like too often this show came off as a little dry since nothing is really explored well, and it’s likely that you will think this way too.
Overall rating: C
Author's Disclaimer: Please remember, this is my own personal opinion. I critique anime primarily on how the story is executed and how well-rounded the characters are. This review is not meant to target any other review but was intended to provide a more holistic analysis.
It should also be noted that this is a full-fledged review of the entire season.
BGdealer
Prince of Stride builds upon the fundamentals of sports anime and brings a more dramatic and innovative approach to the genre. Prince of Stride is revolutionary in a lot of ways and I feel it can convert many who don't watch sports anime to give it a try. SPOILER "FREE!" (it's a free anime joke) Story:10 This show goes above and beyond what it would have to do to deserve a great rating for its story. Everyone has a unique story that is connected to at least three other people in the main group of the stride runners. There's not really any backpedaling with flashbacks so it'svery fluid. All the main stories are pretty interesting however a lot of them don't gain momentum until towards the end of the show so hold out if you feel a lack of story in the beginning. While it doesn't come off as one originally, Prince of Stride has great comedic elements that made me KEK so KEKING hard that I KEK'd until my sides hurt.
Art:10
If you've seen any clips from the show or maybe the PV's you'll know what I mean when I say this show is vibrant and beautiful. The color scheme is very pleasant and the animations are smooth throughout the entire show. Not much else to say in this area.
Sound:10
I'm not an expert on what makes a soundtrack great but the songs were catchy and did a great job of expressing the themes that weren't visible.
Character:
All of the characters are pretty interesting in their own ways. The show doesn't feel like it has a lot of forced emotions and the characters stay true to themselves throughout. There's a lot to say but it would spoil the show and I want to make sure this remains spoiler free.
Pros and cons:
Pros
-No fanservice
-Great OSTs
-The fucking KEKs
Cons
-No second season
psychoalchemist
Nana Sakurai is a first-year student at Honan Academy. She decides to attend the school in hopes of managing the Stride Club. Stride is an extreme sport involving running and navigating obstacles on an uneven course. Nana meets two boys named Takeru Fujiwara and Riku Yagami and convinces them to join the club in efforts to compete in the "End of Summer" tournament. Together, they learn that Stride is about so much more than just running; it's about connecting with each other. ...Or so Madhouse would have me believe! As someone who has willingly jumped into [and stayed in] sports anime hell over the pastyear or so, I'd like to think I'm fairly experienced in critiquing sports anime. I've seen all kinds of tropes, some good and some bad, but through it all, I believe the there are a few things all sports anime try to achieve. Whether a sports anime's characters have hyperbolic, unrealistic personalities or are more well-rounded, whether the sports skills resemble stunts you'd see at Hogwarts or actually seem humanly possible, all sports anime have two common goals in my opinion. The first is to teach viewers about the particular sport in question. And the second is to show how the sport in question changes its characters, typically for the better.
Prince of Stride fails to achieve either of these goals.
Stride is never really explained well. We get it, there's running. But why all the tricks and acrobatics? Can you get extra points for jumping all over the place, or are those tricks simply to get fans screaming? And if the latter is true, then why don't acrobatic tricks affect a team's final score? Because they should! In addition, the main characters are never shown to really improve. Aside from Yagami changing his posture, none of the characters evolve in their sport.
Nearly all of the main characters are flat; they embody one-dimensional stereotypes. Yagami is the angsty teenager going through an emo phase. Takeru is the Furuya of PoS; he's good at everything just because, and he doesn't know how to communicate. Sakurai is in the anime simply as a formality, since the anime was adapted from a video game. Kominato and Kadowaki are the comic relief, Heath is the reliable senpai hunk, and Kuga is the strong, silent weirdo who likes to stare at the sky and won't shut the fuck up about the wind. None of these characters have depth, aside from maybe Yagami, if you're willing to qualify his struggles as "depth."
Multiple episodes repeatedly emphasize Yagami's inferiority complex, but each episode "resolves" his issues by the end with no believable sequence of events. Prince of Stride attempts to convince us that Yagami truly loves running deep down, but despite it TELLING us that, it SHOWS us a very different message. Yagami seems to hate Stride. He hates his brother, he hates running, and he hates Takeru. But somehow, every episode ends up with him smiling into the sunset, only for him to repeat the same angsty routine in the next episode.
So here's the problem: Without dynamic, developing characters, and without even a proper education on Stride, what's left in this anime? All that's left are ridiculous amounts of drama, cheap tricks, filler episodes, training montages, the same stupid insert song, and characters on the sidelines yelling "HASHIRE!!!" at the top of their lungs. And oh, so much drama. All of which lead up to a finale that frankly, these characters didn't earn. Unfortunately, none of those things is enough to make an anime compelling. There are many scenes that attempt to hype up the audience, and they do succeed at first. However, those scenes get old without any connection to the characters, and the anime very quickly becomes stale.
The art of Prince of Stride is a little jarring, mostly because of the weird color scheme. The shading and coloring of the anime definitely didn't help promote a "real" feeling to the show. It could have been a strong point, had the plot and characters been up to par. Similarly, the music for this anime was pretty good, but it didn't have nearly the impact it could have because of the plot and characters. What's more, many victory scenes used the same annoying insert song until, again, the effect was lost and the song became an annoyance.
I have always thought very highly of Madhouse, but they kind of missed the mark with this anime. Between the bad character development, misplaced music, and lack of proper exposition, a lot went wrong. I love to joke about being stuck in sports anime hell, but watching this anime was actual hell.
NoonebutMark
I watched this anime series because of Madhouse animating it and that it is based on an otome game, a genre I'm obsessed. But rather I got a lackluster character art, mediocre OP and ED, and did not see romance between the female lead and the other guys. It should be stated that being based on a BL (Boy's Love) game is more appropriate for this anime since the only romantic development in this anime where between the guys. The touching of hands were rather dramatic since it is the theme of the show. Story: If you watched Yowamushi Pedal, the story is like that, wherein the clubcompete on tournaments and beat schools. It is very straightforward. There's also the issue of a backstory between the main leads that came out of nowhere.
Character:
Though I did like the comedy of the show and the antics. The characters are flat though and their opponents beside Gal-Stan and Kakyoin are so flat since they weren't explored properly.
Music:
The OP was upbeat but it wasn't my type. I really couldn't remember the ED.
Art:
I had high expectations since watching Death Note and Chihayafuru that I will get atleast a artistic anime, but what I got were characters who put too much powder in their faces. The character art was so poor but the background and how they executed the stride animations were spectacular though.
Overall, I did enjoy the anime because it was fun and I like sports anime.
YizelTro
What is stride ? Stride is a running sports with parkour. yea... they are running while doing some parkour stuff. tbh, personally, i like the concept of the sports, and even running is one of my fav sports. that is the reason why i got interested in this anime. For the first episode, first impression, to me, it was a really cool, awsome episode. i really really like the way they start the series. looks awsome and cool to me, and i thought it would become a great series, but......a little bit dissapointment to me. A story about a guy who in the past hasquit playing stride because of his brother, but now, in highschool, a girl and a boy invite him or more like force him to join a certain stride club without knowing the fact that he has already quit playing stride.
And that where everything began. but it was a little bit dissapoint me.
Why?
because this show is focused more on the character problems and development more than the action on the sports. and the result; they didn't put much action in the final episode, final race, and that one kinda dissapoint me because i was looking foward to the action. i didn't mean to say the character development and the problems is bad, i like some of them, and some of them i think it was okay to me, but i don't like the fact that they focused more on the character rather than the action. it wasn't balincing in my opinion. AND! the race was too predictable to quess who will win. in sports, that supprosed to be the main problem, the author musn't let any viewer predict or know who will win. because that will the climax. it is pointless if the viewer already know who will win. it's not like i don't like it, it's just okay to me. i just want to say it's a shame, a great looking sports like that is too obvious to see who will win. Basically it lacks of impact.
From the character, they really did a good job in my opinion. they really put their effort to executed the development, problem and conclusion even tho i found their relationship a little bit weird. to me, it wasn't really bother my enjoyment. to me the pacing was okay. i don't see anything wrong nor even bother my enjoyment. just the fact that this show is lack of action is dissapoint me.
The soundtrack was pretty good overall, especially the OP. really like the op. but the ED..... i wish i will never heard it again. well this anime is originally for girls, so obvious some of the song will be something like that. i can't blame the director but still for me, i don't like the ED song at all.
On the other side, good animation for a sports anime. really fit well, especially the soundtrack they used for the action, really good imo. but there is one thing that really pissed me off. some of the character design almost look like a girl and that really pissed me off for some reason. why ? because i almost turn into a gay for a second. it was really a shame, a beautifull character design, the truth is, he is a guy. i really hate that tbh. like i wish that guy is a girl so i can put her in my fav list XD but well, whatever. i don't give a fuck with it anymore XD
Overall, not really enjoy it that much but i still enjoy it. i mean i enjoy it but not really 100% enjoy it. well, like i said, i didn't enjoy it because lack of action. i don't really like the fact that they focused more on the relationship rather than the action. dissapoint me a little bit. so i'm gonna give it a 7/10. probably never watch it again, BUT! i wouldn't mind a second season. at least more action.
I don't know if what your taste is, but if you like sports, try 1 or 2 episode of this series, the sports is really great imo, but it just didn't have that many action, and it was kinda predictable.
Sorry for bad english.
Hope my review can be helpful to you all.
Thanks. Have a nice day
SnowSketch
In one paragraph: It was interesting, had some really golden jokes and even the minor characters had personalities. However, there are a lot of plot holes, they skip a lot of the parts that would be interesting to see and the problems they face have a tendency to be really stupid. They don't really get to any solutions, and there was only one time when we actually saw how they trained. All in all, it's not bad. Continue reading for more details. Story (6): The story begins, like many other sports related anime, with a character introducing themself and explaining that they went to this particularschool because of their team in a certain sport. Turns out that this team has been facing difficulties, and they would have to find more members to get the club working again. The first episodes are really slow and steady, you get the information you need, though probably not all the information you want. Later, the time skips start, so you go from one Stride match to another with a small training segment in between (the training is usually along the lines of running a little and jumping over some stuff and suddenly improving a lot). There are always a lot of details lacking, which I guess can't be helped when every second episode is an actual match, and there are still episodes that seem to serve no purpose to develop the plot at all. When it actually gets down to it, the scenes that are included are really good, and considering the fact that it's from a game, you can't really expect too much thought into backstory and such, since it's literally based on just the running part. The sport itself is really interesting, basically a baton style race one a track with lots of obstacles, bringing in acrobatics as a theme.
Art (7): The art is actually very nice, it's a clean style with no obvious flaws. All the characters look very distinct, with individual eye shapes, noses and body types. It's very detailed in that sense. The way the clothes are drawn on the characters sometimes looks slightly off, though. The backgrounds are slightly over the top sometimes. It catches the feel of the situation, but the colors have a tendency to be extremely bright. Most backgrounds are repetitive, with some exceptions. There are also a lot of sceneries in this show that look absolutely stunning.
Sound (7): The opening and ending themes really fit the show, it's particularly cool that they use the idol group from the show to create a theme. The soundtracks in the show are really good, I don't know what their names are so I'll describe them like the sound, the light sparkly tone is really... Light and sparkly, which makes it perfect for those tensionless middle scenes. The "end of summer" track is really upbeat and tells you something is about to go down... That is, if the scene on the screen wasn't enough.
Characters (8): The characters are all very individual, they all have their own respective facial traits and body types. All the characters also have their own personalities, and rather than the standard "everyone is super friends with everyone" kind of style, there is a very realistic parting in who gets best along with who. The characters also have roles in the story that makes them important, which isn't seen way too often. Of course, it doesn't get a perfect score, mostly because all the characters seem to suffer from being way too emotional about things, to the point where it doesn't make sense. The comic relief characters also get annoying after a while.
Enjoyment (7): It's a really light watch, since it doesn't dig into the past of the characters and the story behind what is happening a lot. It focuses solely on the sport itself, and you won't see any of the problems outside of it. Except for one single character in the main characters' class, there is not a single person not related to Stride that we see more than once. This is probably a great "middle ground" anime, a perfect next step after finishing something that leaves you empty, wondering what you'll do with your life from now.
Overall (7): I personally really like this anime, since it does have a line going through the scenes, even though there are some huge time skips here and there. It definitely kept me from not being bored, so it served it's purpose. The best way to explain it is "interesting enough."
Phantomturtle
Now the story is nothing special. It’s basically Yagami Riku and his fellow classmates re-establish the school's "Stride" team and compete in Stride competitions. I got really hyped especially when reaching the end of each race. I would've liked the series more if they did more with Nana Sakurai because I felt she was one of the best character, also I think they should've done a little more with Yujiro because he didn't really do much in the series Overall, it is definitely a fun watch if you are really into sports theme animes. It has lovable characters and has awesome action moments. Butif you’re looking for an anime that has an in-depth story, this is not the anime for you.
There is also a video Review on my channel if you wish to check out on The Georges
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtdYLd1pSXM
mejo369
ummmm lets start with a talk about this sport called S-T-R-I-D-E So basically its relay running with parkour, the name is pretty dank tbh, like striding sounds so fuken badass and real I thought it was a real sport and i think it fits really well This sport all about the pace,parkour skills and most important of all "connecting emotions", pretty funny concept gotta say, but why nut? connect emotions = good at stride lets continue with the norms Story 7/10: Win this summer tournament called "end of summer(EOS)", simple story, not much to say Art 8/10: Coooooooool,siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick, badddddassssssss, Madhouse(the studio), their overall art are always to the coolside ofthings, colours are to the brighter side of things, when madhouse generally has colours to the dark side of things
Sound 8/10: OP- dank, OST-feels, ED-it was ok(somehow made it into top10 ed for anime trending) VA wise, they all fit their character, Kuga-senpais voice is badass, Riku's brothers voice is gay asf, pretty sure he is gay aswell
Character 8/10: I will comment on a few characters because there are so many characters, you could say all of them are MC's
Fujiwara Takeru(Honan Runner)-Loves the legs, loves his protein, probably the most funniest character in the whole series, he is the most serious person about stride, but he is like dense and does somereally funny stuff
Yagami Riku(Honan Runner)-pretty badass,dyed his hair blonde,he is probably the major MC, towards the end of the anime, its all about how he overcomes his feelings towards his older brother
Sakurai Nana(Honan Relationer)-gotta say pretty impressed how she can connect emotions through a mic, probably the most normal character, nothing special about her
Kuga Kyousuke(Honan Runner)-the man, my favourite character, manly voice, and talks about the "wind" all the time, so cooooool
Dan(coach)-has some sick one liners(idk what they called, quotes maybe? like a few words, but has a deeper/bigger meaning to it), very funny character aswell
Suwa reiji(saisei captain)-hes pretty gay, the typical very feminine guy character that is really nice to everyone
Shizuma Mayuzumi-(saisei relationer)- Reiji's waifu, if not 11/10 waifu material, definitely most feminine character, long pink hair, cooks, cleans etc
Everyone above is a male excpet Sakurai Nana
when i say "gay" i mean it literally
Enjoyment 8/10: watching people connect emotion is SOOOOOOO fun (being sarcastic here), I guess its like watching sport, I spend 8 hours a day watching cricket so watching 20 min of striding is pretty good
overall 8/10: Everything is done pretty well, just the normal sports anime, the anime is pretty predictable towards the end, its probably because its a adaption from a visual novel, if you like sports anime, then its definitely good for you, if not, go watch boku dake ga inai machi, you definitely wont hate it :)
simsimsucks
Prince of Stride is by no means a masterpiece. It is a light-hearted sports series centred around the world of Stride, a fictional parkour/relay race. While Stride is somewhat different to those common sports seen within the genre, it still fits the mould expected. So what does PoS have to offer? The story centers around the Honan Academy Stride team, a once elite stride team, which has dwindled after an incident two years prior. Two first years join the team, expecting to find a thriving Stride team, however they are shocked to find the club only has three members. The basis of the story isn't groundbreakingor revolutionary, but it is a solid, well-crafted plot which is really enhanced by the sport of Stride. What Stride does well however, is create realistic connections between the main cast. Stride definitely isn't a character driven show, hell, most of the side characters aren't memorable, but it's these relationships within the main cast which makes the drive of these characters powerful.
The art of this show is beautiful and it is really one of the highlights. The world of stride, especially in competition, is bright and colourful, which really fits the atmosphere of the show. The character designs, even for one-off rivals, is unique for every character. The action sequences are high quality and one of the best things of Stride. Watching the characters play Stride is nail biting and entertaining, but predictable.
My biggest gripe with this show is the ending (no spoilers ahead). It's abrupt and sudden, which bothers me. It doesn't tie up any loose ends or provide any closure. It's an ending that makes sense, but it could have been so much better.
Character development is there, but not significantly. There isn't enough time to fully explore all of the main cast within the twelve episodes given. It is based off a Otome Game, which I have heard does explore the main cast and even the side characters thoroughly. However it's impossible to condense 60+ hours of gameplay into twelve 20 minute episodes.
Just to reinstate, Prince of Stride is no means a masterpiece, nor is it a revolutionary series. But, it IS a fun series. I binge watched it all in a day. It had me so hooked I couldn't stop watching it. It follows all the same tropes you would expect out of a sports anime, but it follows them well. If you enjoy sports series in general, you will enjoy Prince of Stride.
PvMDream
*Review may contain minor spoilers* Story 4/10 A young prodigy joins the Stride school club to re-obtain its old glory. From here on out they will do training and a few ''matches'' Art 7/10 The art is a little bit on the ''smoother'' style, it is not my cup of tea but it isn't bad either. it stayed consistent throughout the whole anime. There was nothing out of the ordinary or ''unique'' hence only a 7. Sound 5/10 the voice actors weren't to bad, but they definitely could have done a better job throughout the races and duels they did, I didn't get that exiting feel at the star of a raceetc.
Character 3/10
all the characters do have a small story line around them, but you definitely can't feel the bond they are trying to give them together.
Enjoyment 2/10
As a fan of sport anime, it hurts me to watch this, you do not feel the bond between the team mates, the concept of stride is quite cool, but poorly animated, it doesn't feel as epic as it should feel.
Overall 4/10
I would say give a pass on this one.
warptoon
Quick Points -Great OP and ED -Solid art design and use of color -Lack of tension in races, due to a predictable story. -Unable to distance itself from otome game source material Review Before I began to watch Prince of Stride I was cautious in my expectations, both positive and negative. Positive because the director of the series Atsuko Ishizuka, did such a great job with No Game No Life. Which stood out last year for its art design and color palate. However, Stride’s source material originated from an otome game (romance games targeted at women). This fact had me worried that the show would become a clone of a certainswimming show involving men from a commercial.
The art and style of this show is on point. The styling of the races and OP are reminiscent of Air Gear and Persona, using different textures to create a vibrant background involving all of the characters that filled the screen. Anticipation for each race is a result of how clean and polished the environment was. Everything from the obstacles, to the design of the large scaled font on the sides of buildings created some wonderful scenes. Making me yearn for more action in each race.
But that excitement was doused upon by Strides inability to present a race coherently. In early episodes, it was hard to understand the scale of the objects the runners were maneuvering around. Mainly due to the editing and the abundance of tight shots on the runners clearing the objects, the distortion that it created was frustrating. In later episodes this issue is less frequent, but the secondary annoyance is the decision to not provide the audience a layout or map or distance or anything really, to convey basic information about the area where the teams are running. There are quick cuts to a top down map on a screen, but the issue is unresolved because the shot follows the runners instead of pulling out to show them in relation to the map as a whole. The best that Stride can muster is the time difference between each leg of the race as members prepare to relay with their partners, but that information is slightly useless due to the fact that the audience is rarely given overall times or even the average time of each member.
All of that should make it obvious what the show is concerned with. _Stride _is a show that puts the relationships first and the competition second. There is nothing wrong with that focus in a sports themed show. One of the common tropes in sports anime is the childhood promise to win a big tournament, stating that you compete for your friends and not yourself, and the clash of two rookies who end up working well together. Stride hits all of those beats and more, but the balance of the show feels distorted.
It is hard to justify viewing Stride as sports show about running. While there is a framework for that is in place the running and training is just a device used to enable the students to participate in various antics, whether the students are modeling for a sponsor or going on a trip to their rivals -Galaxy Standard- training facility and throwing a beach party. Even though Stride doesn’t seem to fully embrace its otome game origins, it does not shy away from the potential male/male romantic pairings that are occasionally implied. Making the show awkward at times to sit through.
Stride in general is plagued with an attempt of trying to please a wider audience, but wounded itself in the process. There is the generic sports show about running, along with the romance (or “bromance”) created from the winking subtext of the relationships between members of the team. In simpler terms, it’s hard to enjoy the show as a whole if one of these aspects doesn’t appeal to you. Potentially leaving certain members of the audience disheartened when the show is unable to earnestly present enough of a race, or move away from the dreamlike world of male teenage bonding.
It is just fine if you enjoyed the show, I know there will be some individuals out there who did. But the if you are considering whether or not to watch Stride just be ready to come face to face with a lesser version of Free!.
extrananners
Stride. A trail created by relaying trust and connecting emotions. Or, more specifically, a relay race involving five people, combined with parkour and obsactles through various enviroments. Story;3 Strides story is a simple one, three people meet on the first day of high school. Two, with the intention of joining the renowned Honan High Stride club, and one who was forced into joining. These three are our stories main characters, and throughout the 12 episodes of this series, we see them grow as athletes, as people, and as friends. EXTRA emphasis on the friend bit. Advancing this group's friendship is a massive part of the story.as they work to their goal of winning the renown "End Of Summer" tournament. On their journey the race many times, getting just a little bit better every run. now if I made it sound better than I rated it, here's why. Strides story is ONLY what I said, there's not much to it. Race, get rivals, get better, repeat. And every god damn episode they spend half the time talking either about Yagami's (the character who was forced into it) brother who is the king of high school stride, friendship, or running. While all of these plot points are what drive the characters, it gets a bit too repetitive.
Art:7
it looks decent usually, which is 75% of the show. But, when stride kicks in the art gets quite good, not amazing stuff but it took time and effort to make all of those complicated race courses, tracking shots, and a seemingly 3D environment. You can tell that plenty of time was spent animating this show, and none of it spared by CG characters. The character design is, well its good but its very cliche. however, it does fit the character types they set out, and everything looks pretty good so no real complaints here.
Sound:4
The opening was... well it was pretty good and got the tone set for the show well, but the use of English was. Interesting to say the least, and i found it kinda broke the mood of what's actually a pretty good op. Background tracks, none of them really stood out to me, I didn't actually notice them there to be honest, which is a good thing! They blend in well and didn't break immersion. Actions scene tracks, there was one particular one that when listened to actually brings back the emotions of the show with it. which I consider to be a success in a musical sense. The ending track, it had a good groovy feel to it and showcased everyone's favorite rivals, Saisei High. The track had stylish animation to boot, and I would listen to it again.
Characters:3
Like I said previously the characters a VERY cliche. You've got your upbeat comedy relief duo who are more emotional than they show of nerd in glasses and a girly boy. A manly captain who cares more for his team than he lets on. Your long haired mysterious cool guy alumni that talks about the wind constantly. Your overly cheerful girl who always says Ganbare! And tries her best to "keep up." Then your have your two main characters, the competitive rivals that get better because of each other. All very cliche and not much in the unique department is shown here.
Enjoyment:6
Now while I wasn't a fan of most of the stuff this series did, and admittedly, I texted through half of it. But when everyone was running at their best, I'll admit I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. While the concept is unique, everything that was stride was just blah. But if you're into shows that showcase nice animation and rivalries, I actually think its worth a try.
Overall:5
I kinda already did an overall in my enjoyment sections. But I think that I liked this show, even though I hate super cliche shows like this it wasn't THAT bad. give it a shot, but be warned, the show gives off some pretty god damn gay vibes. be careful.
With that i end my review, i hope i helped in some way on whether or not you decide to watch Stride. Thanks for reading if you got down this far and sorry for it being so long!
Yuki-Nezu-Grimms
Okay. Here we go. Story - 3 So to start with the story. If you're a sports anime fan, you're probably used to all the cliches and have seen them a million times in all sorts of different sports anime, well let me tell you, Prince of Stride: Alternative was no different. It uses almost every cliche in the book. Not in an oh-this-is-kinda-refreshing way but in a haven't-I-see-this-a-million-times-? sort of way. Honestly. However, the title doesn't lie when it says 'alternative'. Prince of Stride is an anime centered around a COMPLETELY FICTIONAL and MADE UP sport, throwing any chance of being compared with an anime aboutthe same sport out of the window. Now that's novelty. I personally had high hopes in - only - this aspect of the anime; after all, how often do you get an anime that invents a sport completely for itself? The execution of the races themselves were actually acceptable (I'll go into detail in the enjoyment section) but I think the producers missed a teeny-tiny detail: If you're going to invent a sport, how the hell do you expect the viewers to know what it is?! I just binged all 12 episodes of the anime and I quite frankly still don't know the rules or point system of the sport. Heck, I didn't even know if there was a point system (A character mentioned 'extra points' but I didn't even know there was a point system in the first place! and it was never even mentioned again. Unless they meant it metaphorically but reeeaaallly now). Okay, like I said before, the idea of a completely new sport was what made me watch Stride and I believe that with more time to elaborate (I would suggest between doubling the number of episodes or even doing that and making another season on top of it by splitting the content in the first season up), it could have been a masterpiece and could maybe even have made it all the way up to Kuroko no Basuke and Haikyuu. But unfortunately, that's what they lacked: elaboration. One more new-ish feature in the anime is that it dives straight in to the thick of the plot and you can tell they didn't mean to do it when the timeline was planned out. It starts with the typical fallen club looking for members - the show decided to give less than an episode's worth of screen time to this but that was okay. What I mean is that there's practically no training. Well at least at the start, it plunges straight into the plot because what the hell's practice anyway and instead, puts it's practice into the second half of the plot, instantly killing the albeit forced momentum gathered by the dive at the start. I felt like the halfway point actually killed my excitement for the show. But that's enough of my ranting about the story.
Art - 4
So the art. Nothing special. Looked like a cheap reverse harem anime (sorry!), to be perfectly honest. The style was bland and the characters lacked the realism that sometimes carries appeal (refer to any sports anime where everyone doesn't have idol-group hair). The background art was as plain as can be, especially when they should've had a lot of freedom in developing the settings because of the nature of the sport used in the show. In quite a few ways, the style for the characters reminded me painfully of an extremely washed out version of Free (refer to characters section). To be perfectly honest, I can only say that it didn't stand out as anything special like Doukyuusei, it didn't have amazingly drawn and choreographed action scenes like Haikyuu and it wasn't plain but enjoyable like Kuroko no Basuke. In short: It's bland. Probably like what it feels like to eat a tissue (don't question it). The best part of Stride's art is its action scenes, and even those sometimes don't really hit the spot.
Sound - 4
The voice actors were actually decent although they didn't really strike me as anything special. The soundtrack, like the background art, is just kinda bland. The opening was actually catchy and I quite liked it and the song, along with some of the other soundtracks, fulfilled their purpose of getting the viewer pumped up (I guess). The sound was not at all memorable (I can't remember any of the songs, including the opening) and they don't leave an impression, and there are even parts where I felt that a good OST would have boosted the scene by miles but it just wasn't really like... I don't know... Just kinda mediocre I guess? As a sports anime fan, I love soundtracks that really get your blood pumping as you watch your team score that point; or kick that goal; or shoot that hoop. But this just... I don't know... I was pumped sometimes but I don't give credit to the soundtrack or voices for that.
Characters - 2
Okay. I feel mean but at the same time I just couldn't being myself to rate this section any higher. I, however, don't blame it on the character designs (although I didn't like those too much) but on the lack of time instead. There just simply isn't enough time in the space of 12 measly episodes to make viewers become attached to characters. Of course, this anime just used the usual cliches: the forced crossdresser, the reluctant one, the emotionless genius and the emotionally unstable in the character you'd "least expect" but I was sooo annoyed at some of the characters plainly because I felt like they could've been better. I didn't understand the logic more than half the time and sometimes I even caught myself thinking: "What could possibly possess a person to (insert whatever this rant is about)?!" A bunch of family members do pretty confusing things and the character's reactions sometimes JUST DON'T MAKE SENSE. There's a lot of forced bonding and friendships that only feel that way because they didn't get sufficient time to develop. None of the characters got a satisfactory backstory so in the end, instead of having one or two likable and developed characters, we end up with about 25 odd bland, shallow, uninteresting and unrelatable characters. Now onto character designs in terms of art: they all had weird hair was my first thought. Second thought: Wait... Didn't I just see this character?? But anyways, to be honest, I felt like they ran out of character design ideas because of all the replicas I seemed to see where ever I looked. Actually... Wait a sec... Maybe everyone was a twin... Dun, dun, dun! Oh wait a sec... There was a pair of ACTUAL TWINS. But anyways, like I said, the art was bland and this didn't exactly affect the characters in a good way. In many ways, the characters were quite obviously made in a feeble attempt to appeal to the female audience, with the cute neko boy, the long haired stoic one, the emo kid, the glasses dude. Just generic. for those that enjoy shipping, there really isn't much inspiration and there are technically ships but they feel forced. But yes: lacking develop and design creativity. Any humour also falls so flat I don't even know. I hardly even smiled throughout the whole duration of the series, the jokes weren't bad they were just kinda like: Oh, that was a joke? Okay..?
Enjoyment - 7
Okay, to tell the truth, despite all the technical and story faults in this anime, I did legitimately enjoy it at some point; maybe I wasn't exactly in paradise most of the time, but there were still times when I had liked the show when watching it. This is where I say: I reckon this section of my review would be biased. So basically, I'm in high school and I run in competitive track events - 100 m, 200 m, relay and 3000 m. Do we get it? The thing is, there's a high possibility that my enjoyment of the show stems from having some sports background to connect with the characters. To tell the truth, the reason I enjoyed the show as much as I did were the races. It certainly wasn't a mistake to invent this sport because I was sweating when they were running and I was trembling as well as I heard the 'go' being said. For me, this really reminded me of all the 'ready, set, BAM's I've heard during my own races and I was SO PUMPED UP after watching the races. The show is a majority of tournaments so if that's what you feel like - a show where you don't really pay attention to the characters but it would get your blood pumping like in a real race, then this wouldn't be a bad choice as most sports anime focus on the characters more so that you grow attached to them and because of the characters, it gets you pumping. Other thing with Stride: I didn't have any worries about who would win. I usually always have a team/s but this time, I didn't feel frustrated no matter which team won because I just loved the races themselves (and because I could hardly remember the names of everyone because of the lack of character development). But a warning, the first races will probably be adrenaline full but the novelty of watching a fictional sport soon wears out when they put the training and stuff in the second half. This actually really ruined my enjoyment of the show because the second half was all about fitting in training that they didn't seem to need at the start of the show and character development that couldn't have been more forced, pointless, or fallen more flat. But my enjoyment of the races was still there and I wouldn't say no to re-watching the anime if a friend wants to watch it with me, just so I could feel that rush as I watch the races.
Overall - 4
This anime was... Okay? I guess the characters sucked, the art was mediocre, the soundtrack was anything but outstanding and the story was poor. In the end, I gave this show a 'decent' overall score because of the novelty of the sport and because of my enjoyment of the races.
Recommendation rate - 3
It really depends on who it is. I would love to recommend it to people who have a track background and like sports anime, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who doesn't have a prior connection to elements in Stride. I wouldn't recommend it to modern sports anime fans where the characters really take the main focus of the viewer's attention. So... If you're wanting to watch something 'alternative' and sporty, I guess it wouldn't kill anyone to watch this if you are desperate for a sports anime, but, take it from me, this is no masterpiece. But I definitely recommend watching some clips of the races beforehand (don't watch spoilers!) so you can get an idea of how much you like them (I had previously dropped this anime after not even finishing episode one, which means I didn't get to see a race, but then I watched an AMV and I thought, this looks really good, so I gave it a second try), if you thought, this is really cool! Then watch the anime. If you watched some of the races and thought: meh, this is fine. Then don't watch it. Because again, the races are really the redeeming feature of this show, the characters and the story aren't gonna boost it but actually drag it down so... Yeah.
If you're gonna watch it, have fun! If you decided it's not your thing, well good luck in your pursuit of another good sports anime! Thanks for reading my review ;)
Asylumtraums
First of all I'd like to mention that this is my first review , and since I'm not a native English speaker , I dont know how good I'll be able to review this anime. MAY CONTAIN MINOR SPOILERS So... lets start... Why do u watch anime? I watch it to spend my time and enjoy doing it , What I want in anime is to be interesting enough to keep me going , to be hyped or atleast thrilled about the next episode , Prince of Stride does this job quite well ( Because madhouse always does their job) , If that is your purpose in anime, better start watching!
Story - 7
Its isnt hard to understand what " stride " is , I'll leave it to you , the viewers to watch the anime , and understand what it is.
The story of stride is a generic story used in some other sport animes although it starts differently it comes up to one of the MC's ( since Its a sport anime there are quite a few) having an event in the past that changed their view of the sport , later on they overcome it and lead their team to victory or atleast try doing it , at first the anime seems passive but as u watch you notice tension between protagonists or , other characters...
I'll keep it short , Its a sports anime afterall , overall the story is a solid 7 it keeps u entertained throughout the anime.
Art - 9
As expected of madhouse , in this department the anime beats most of the other sports anime I've seen. ( some of them are madhouse too so cant compare)
The competition scenes are very fun to watch and I think that they couldnt be any better.
Sound - 10
aside from a certain anime *cough cough* K * cough cough* this anime has the best soundtrack ... ever , The background music makes the anime enjoyable and fun to watch especially in competitions and races
Character - 7
Sports anime will stay sports anime , There is character development in this anime , although its kinda' like a 180 but I would'nt give it less than a 7 because its a sport anime, Two of the MC's will experience a big change since the start of the anime , and one of the MC's will stay dull but assist in changing the others , I would'nt have it any other way doe , This anime needs character to be like that , It just has to :)
Enjoyment - 8
As I said at the very beginning whats important is that u enjoy the anime , Show interest in it , I feel that Its worth to watch and you wont be wasting your time , but rather spending it in joy.
Thank you for reading my review ,
Hope you enjoyed it and you will watch the anime!
jayvwrites27
Prince of Stride may be the most appealing anime this 2016 and I actually fell bait for it. Initially I didn't want to watch it but I was kind of forced to and actually enjoyed the first episode but as I was going along with it, then, well, the every hole starts to pop out. Story (6): Fair enough the story of Stride is pretty decent. It's your typical friendship through sports sort of show. Unfortunately, it's trying to show some sort of fanservice, with beautiful men and amazing legs. I dunno. The saving grace of the story would have to be its random bursts ofcomedy and recurring gags. The friendships were cute too but it didn't make me burst to tears or wipe away any snot from my nose. Sports anime should be riveting through its story. This didn't make it happen.
Art (8): The art is definitely the reason why this show makes quite the impact. It's beautiful, colorful with hints of cool tones and how can you not like beautiful bishie boys. The stride animations, the running and the tricks were pretty solid and I think that they pushed to make it at least work in order for it to be appealing to sports fans.
Sound (6): If we're talking voice actors, this show is peppered with all of my favorite seiyuus... Well, I LOOOOVE ALL OF THEM! But it was the only thing that was memorable. I don't remember the background music. SFX didn't seem to be a huge deal and I'd skip the OP and ED, though the OP is kind of nice.
Character (7): The characters of this show are weird. Dedicated to their sport though and bloody entertaining, Ayumu and Kohinata. You know what? The reason I even finished this show was because of these two adorable cuties. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't have survived it. It's either I'll drop it or give it a really low score. But yeah. Like I said, there's so many seiyuus in this and so there are tooooons of characters because teams. you know. but they don't necessarily leave a mark. I'd be screaming when I hear a character speak because their seiyuus are my fave but other than that, I'd be disappointed by how little they actually got to do. They couldn't leave a proper impact.
Enjoyment (6): There were moments were I would enjoy the show and then skip to certain parts. It's such a waste of time to be honest, so just skip some of the parts. I only enjoyed the running parts and the Ayumu x Kohinata duo but more than that, I'd say, it's a pretty shallow show.
Overall (6): I think I've rated this pretty fairly. It was okay. Maybe you'd still like it. Personally, I didn't like it as a whole but there are bits and pieces that worked for me so I survived.
wrenflyingaway
Likes: The art was fantastic. It was my favorite part of the show. With bright colors and more realistic looking characters, you could really see the story in HD. I can't watch animes with odd styles (it distracts me from the story and characters), so this was tailor made for me. I really loved the character design for Riku. On the other hand, Hozumi looked too much like Armin from 'Attack on Titan', and Takeru was practically Haru from 'Free!' If you're trying to prove the likeness to 'Free!', you've got it. Kuga and Heath's story was intriguing. They had a lot of backstory. And I lovedit. Their friendship and determination. The connection between the two. If anything, these two were 'connecting emotions', not anybody else. Throw in Hozumi's distrust and there's a hot pot of backstory.
I described 'Prince of Stride: Alternative' as parkour on crack. Though, it's more like free running. Free running follows a more artistic approach compared to parkour. Parkour's goal is to get around as fast as you can. That's why they have wall climbs and whatnots. It's easier than walking around the wall. This anime has all the basics of parkour or free running with double the running. It's an obstacle course really. The first episode really caught my attention with the jumps and flips the runners did. It was exhilarating. Live vicariously, you know?
Dislikes:
Takeru, Nana, and Riku all knew each other. And all have connections to Stride. But act like they don't. When Nana and Riku meet in episode one, they acted like strangers, but they knew each other. I felt like the creators just threw in the promise at the end to make you feel more for the trio, but all it did was annoy me. It was a subplot that no one cared to expand on. The quick shots of fireworks on the beach meant nothing. If you're adding this in, at least give it some depth.
The plot revolves around the End of Summer games. If you look closely, there is a lot of time between each round. A few days would be fine, but a week or more is insane. You're giving the revived Honan Stride Club too much credit. If they were that good, they'd have practiced before. Anyways, didn't the show start at the beginning of the school year? They had more than enough time to get ready for the End of Summer games. They didn't need all the between EOS games training. I get the emotional block for Riku, but everyone else was in tip-top shape. Or did we skip the training between the beginning of the school year and EOS?
Nana kept saying that Stride is all about 'connecting feelings'. Can I just say that's a bunch of baloney? Stride is about stamina and skill and balance and timing and about everything but connecting feelings. I didn't know why they needed a Relationer anyways. They could have handed off batons or even just high fives each other. Why did they need the Relationer, and by default, Nana? I thought that the creators wanted a female (because all the runners are seemingly male) who didn't run because that would take away the need for Kuga or someone. So the Relationer job was born. Nana was highly useless and didn't even need to be in the anime for the show to go smoothly. If you're trying to add in a girl, do it successfully or not at all.
And if we're talking about useless characters, take a good, long look at Ayumu. The cheerleader. He started out as a runner, but he ended up being a cheerleader and Hozumi's bae. (And that's another parallel to Free! Gay characters. Or, at least, fanon gay characters.) He had no use. I was getting tired of seeing him. Just take him out. Geez, is that so hard?
