Rugby is a sport where anybody can be a star when they hold the ball. The rules are simple: one player has to carry the ball past the goalposts across the field while avoiding the other team, who are allowed to use all their force to knock the enemy down. However, the player can pass to a teammate behind them or kick the ball before they are tackled. Unlike other sports, the game continues even when the person holding the ball is taken down.
Kenji Gion is a short but feisty high school freshman at Kanagawa High School. Right after the school's opening ceremony, he meets the tall and timid Sumiaki Iwashimizu, and the two of them get an invitation to observe the rugby club.
When Gion watches the match, he realizes that even though big and tall guys have an advantage, there are positions for people of all shapes and sizes. Immediately convinced that he has found a sport he can excel at despite his short stature, he signs up, though Iwashimizu declines. Gion is unable to accept Iwashimizu's excuses and drags him back into the sport. Their training becomes intense as they aim to become the champions of Hanazono, the national high school rugby championships.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
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Comentários
dawnangel14
With the rise in popularity of sports anime in the recent years, a lot of shows about different types of sports have been appearing on the last decade, from volleyball and swimming to ping-pong and ice skating. However, All Out!! is the first anime to deal with rugby, a rough sport which has been on the rise in Japan these last couple of years. Having grown up in a house with three brothers who play rugby and a father who played on his youth, I have a basic knowledge of this sport, which was what drew me towards this anime in the first place. And I'mglad i decided to check it out tbh, because it was an amazing watch.
Story: 8/10
Now, let me get one thing clear. The story isn't something extremely wild or out of the box that hasn't been seen before. You have two protagonists who join their high school's rugby team, and the teammates start interacting and becoming friends as they train to reach their ultimate goal: winning the Hanazono, the biggest high school rigby competition.
Having said that, however, I have to admit that even though the plot isn't the most original, it was entertaining enough to keep me watching. The characters were likeable and the cast had good chemistry, which was a huge plus in my book. Also, the story does get really intense at times, just like a rugby match can get at certain points, and at times it gives you a breath by having the characters take a break from training (and using that time to delve into their backgrounds and develop them) so it doesn't get too intense.
Character: 10/10
In my opinion, the characters were one of the strongest points of the anime. The main reason why I think this is that they were the main reason why I kept coming back for more; if the characters were unlikeable, I probably would've dropped this after like five episodes.
While it looks like the protagonists are Gion and Iwashimizu, the truth is that All Out!! is an ensemble show; the anime also gives a lot of focus to Sekizan, Oharano and coach Komori, as well as the rest of their supporting cast. And it does have a really large supporting cast; yet it manages to balance them well and the character interaction are always interesting and fun to watch.
I felt like the majority of the cast was pretty memorable and very enjoyable to watch. It was easy to root for Gion or Sekizan to win because they were just that likeable. And I was surprised with how it manages to develop their characters with only 25 episodes; not only with Gion, Mutsumi or Iwashimizu, but even supporting characters such as Ise, Kifune or Suwa get their time to shine as well… just like in rugby, where not only one player gets to shine, but all 15 of them get their moments of glory.
Art & Animation: 9/10
I personally think that the art can be the most subjective aspect of an anime. I found the art really cool, and beautifully animated; as usual, Madhouse does not disappoint in this aspect. The character designs seemed pretty unique, making it easy to identify which character was which by having certain characteristics that simply made it obvious; you have three blonde characters in Iwashimizu, Oharano and Ebumi, but it wasn't hard to remember who each one of them were despite their initial similarities.
The most outstanding bits of animation that I want to point out, however, is when the action is happening. I was worried about how they were going to animate the rugby matches, but again I was pleasantly surprised; the animation of the matches was fantastic and really dynamic, which was needed for a game as dynamic as rugby.
Sound: 10/10
Let me just say this: the soundtrack for this show is AMAZING. It's mainly composed of rock songs that really fit the series, and when they play it in the background during rugby matches or training scenes (specially when they're about to start) it really gives you the sensation that you're feeling the same excitement that the characters are feeling when they're getting ready to go out there and give it their all.
At the same time, there are some tracks that have a more soft and smooth vibe to them, and that play during less intense scenes. Those are just as memorable, specially the first ending… and while we're at it, the first opening is fantastic. The second one was good too imo, but the first opening, "Flower" by Lenny Code Fiction is thrilling; haven't heard such a fantastic op since SnK's "Guren no Yumiya".
Overall: 10/10
Now, I'm the kind of gal who mostly rates her animes out of the enjoyment that I get out of watching them. If it's boring or a chore to watch, it won't get a high score overall… and this was far from the case. It was enjoyable, and a really fun watch!
Before I end, I just want to say that you don't need a background knowledge of rugby to watch this; because Gion is new to rugby, he serves as a way to introduce the sports and its' many rules to the viewer, so you'll have characters such as Iwashimizu and Umeno teaching you a bit about the sport.
So, to sum up… give this show a chance! Thank you for your time :)
Millawls
All Out is a very mediocre anime and a bad sports anime. If you want to watch this because it's a sports anime, don't bother, but if Rugby is the only premise that is strong enough for you to keep watching, then go for it. That was why i initially started watching. All Out isn't your typical anime. In itself, it's rather mediocre. It has characters, animation, music and voice acting, but besides that, not a whole lot to write home about. The story is as generic you can get away with in a sports anime. The main character begins in high school and wants to join therugby team. He isn't very good at rugby and he is physically not very strong or tall, but through training he very slowly gets better.
The composition of a normal sports anime starts with the main character playing against other teams in training matches, so he (and the viewer) can be taught the rules of the game, what roles there is on the team and who his new team members are and what they are like. The problem with All Out is that it jumps back and forth between in the composition and even skips some of it.
There is no sense of progression of the story in All Out. They keep talking about how they want to go to Hanazono (which is where the high schools compete against each other in a tournament) and how they want to go "all out" but they didn't even reach the starting line. They don't play any qualification matches in order to get to Hanazono. They just keep playing training matches on an empty field, with no spectators apart from the 2 teams that are playing.
Madhouse. The name alone has set a standard for the level of animation you can expect. Hunter x Hunter (2011), One Punch Man, Death Parade. All well-known shows with great animation and a fantastic sense of artistic direction. Seeing that Madhouse was making All Out was a reason in itself to watch it. (Spoiler, it wasn't..)
What we got was a lot of still frames with speed lines dashing on either sides of the screen, few frames of animation with a zoom and a pan over to the person who was catching the spinning ball and a few panning shots that ends with someone stepping forward.
Just look at the first opening if you don't know what i'm talking about. A 20 second slow pan towards the sky with "ALL OUT" written in all capital letters.
The soundtrack is very poor, meaning that there is very little variation. Music is the ultimate mood setter or mood killer, depending on how you use it. But in order to use it properly, you need a repertoire of music that can fit a wide range of moods and themes. All Out doesn't go "all out" on this.
There is no memorable tracks in the show. That is not entirely true. There is maybe 2 or 3 memorable tracks, but they're only memorable because I've heard them so many times throughout the series that it drives me crazy.
There's the track that starts with the guitar, which is shortly after accompanied with the drums and then the bass. That music is used when they train (Which is 70% of the show). Then there's the track where the team gets the ball and the track for when they're goofing off and being high school kids.
There is shockingly little variety.
Remember when i talked about the composition of a typical sports anime? That also applies to the characters. There has to be a generic base level where a character can be build and then later be expanded upon with personality, so you have a unique and interesting character.
Guess what All Out doesn't do.
Some of the characters are purely identified by 2 things. How they look and what generic type of character they are.
There's the aggressive guy with spiky hair, who thinks the entire team is holding him back. Then there's the "kinda happy" guy with hair shaped like 2 small horns. Then there's the manager who is a girl. There is also 3 really fat dudes, who has very similar personalities. So the only way to distinguish them was to do make their faces different.
One has weird eyebrows, another has really floppy chins that constantly points upwards and then there's the third fat guy who has a headband and likes to verbally remind everyone that he really ate a lot and that he reeeeealy likes food a whooooooooooooooole lot!
To give the show credit, there were some unexpected developments with the characters in a good way. One had an abusive brother, another one completely lost all motivation to continue playing rugby, but didn't want to quit in fear of letting his teammates down. But once those developments were brought up, they were dealt with in half an episode and then never mentioned again.
I honestly don't know why i enjoyed the show as much as i did. I was considering dropping it but then episode 9 came along and changed my mind. Then after the hype had died down i was about to drop it one more time, but once again, a really good episode comes on and i just had to find out what happened next episode.
There were something oddly interesting about the show. The second opening really grew on me. The coach really seemed like a monotone guy, but it turned out that he had a good and relatable reason to be their coach.
Overall, the show grew on me. I was interested in seeing how far the boys could go and how they would develop throughout the story.
Too bad that neither the character nor the story got that development.
Ken-K
Having this anime end, it made me realize how much I appreciate this anime for having been animated during a season with mediocre anime. I totally recommend this anime for anyone who like character development, team development, a good amount of sports explanation and a lot of realistic aspect to a high school sports club. This is not a Prince of Tennis or Kuroko no Basket type of simple surreal anime that has one main character and leaves everyone to shit behind with no background development whatsoever. This anime has full great individual character development for each and everyone in the team. By theend you appreciate the team as a whole rather than having only one good character.
The animation was consistent, it did have a few mehs but overall MadHouse did a great job animating. The opening/ending songs weren't the most memorable but they definitely make you feel happy once you listen to them a few times.
Honestly if you like sports anime but feel turned-off by how slow the "action" is then rather than taking it as your "main stream" style sports-anime you should approach it as a rather slice-of-life-sports-anime. Honestly its such a great anime and I definitely hope theres a season two where we actually get into big tournaments and so on.
hesha00
I was really glad when there was another sports anime that was completed. I've been binge watching sports anime since last month. I have watched Eyeshield 21 before which kind of has the same game play but since that was football and this is rugby, there's a difference. I am really choosy with the animation but this one is good and unique. High school students with bulky muscles isn't that common but it kind of made the anime intense. They sometimes have awkward and gay poses which made me laugh my ass off but I did enjoy it. However, the anime had a lot offlashbacks that I think didn't really matter. It makes most out of the episode instead of a game play with strong schools or training. I remember a flashback of a player from another team which kind of confused me because I didn't really care with the other players. Also, the protagonist wasn't given more focus than I am expecting. I was expecting more focus on Gion and how he evolves and learn more about Rugby. Well, that's actually what I am expecting from a sports anime - starting from the beginning when the protagonist joins the team, how he learns more about the sport, how he evolves and improves in playing.
But, I managed to finish the anime and that only means one thing - I enjoyed it. I am looking forward to Season 2, if there's one which I probably think there will be but maybe aired for about a year or so.
After saying all of that, I can say it deserves a chance to be recommended. Well, this is actually the first time commenting on an anime here on MAL so it really is good.
Akuma_X
All out 25/25 episodes At the start I was a bit skeptical about the anime thought it would be bad and most of the time bout friendship and crap.. But it turned out really good and I hope they will make a 2nd seasons so I can see them going to Hanazono,at the start the 1st few episodes I really wasn't sure if it was good to watch,but later when they got the new coach everything start to be better,their training,the fun in the anime,the matches versus other schools..My favorite character is Sekizan the captain of the team ... The matches at the training campwere probably the best of the whole anime,especially the last one :D
Story 7/10
Art Style 6/10
Sound 6/10
Characters Design 7/10
Enjoyment 7/10
All together a good 7/10
It's definitely it worth watching :D
SalarymanRambles
After 7 episodes I thought I had found a great anime. I was intimidatingly disappointed. Gion is established as the out-going, charismatic, yet humble on the account of his limits lead; approximately 8 ep in, the show is not about Gion anymore, but instead it's a backstory of the week on other members of the rugby club, some of which play no part in the story and whose names you can't recall towards the end of the series. Later, Gion takes center stage again for 2 episodes, but is quickly overlooked by the story, and I'm not joking when I say that I think that, outof the last 5 episodes, Gion probably didn't even get 20 minutes of screen-time.
It starts off very well. There are some minor issues, like the obviously low budget this project had; it shows all the symptoms of being under-funded: shots that are overly long and drawn out to fill time; shaky-cam tricks to give the illusion of motion, as well motion and emphasis lines to elude to movement like mangas do...
The other aspect I'd consider a flaw is how every character - except Gion, the coach and a character with yellow eyes and a sweet tooh - is annyoingly effeminate. It doesn't really matter until it's just absurd and irritating.
It's a real let-down, since at the beginning it seemed like it was going to be a particularly good story about overcoming limits, and what it meants to live a life going "all out". This not just in the context of sports or personal goals, but also in terms of duty, since there's a great quote about the role of teachers, "Abandonment doesn't foster independence..." (I'm paraphrasing)...
kevlar20
To me this show never gets boring. I enjoyed how the members of the Jinko's rugby team interact with one another and spend their time alone. I liked how each episode focuses on an issue with a few members of the team. However, I would like to see a bit more chaos with how each members arc conflicts and reinforces one another. Sure some of the issues may be already covered by other great sports anime and may seem as cliche's, but you have to watch this show while appreciating the effort that this show put into making these characters feel real based on howtheir experiences shaped their perceptions. It makes you appreciate that these characters are not treating these issues as cliches but as obstacles they have never thought much of or dealt with before. You have to notice that they are utilizing whatever resources they have at hand to overcome them and that they have to put in effort to notice what resources they have at hand even when it doesn't seem obvious to anyone. Despite being disappointed with how the show was wrapped up in the last episode it was still a moving experience all the way till the end.
Dark_Yagami
As I start of all my reviews: Who will enjoy All Out? - Fans of realistic sports animation and drama. - Fujoshi who are into thick boys. - People who like stories with a deep roster of developed characters. - Anyone who appreciates team dynamics and camaraderie. - Anyone hoping to learn about Rugby. Things I appreciated about All-Out: All Out does an amazing job of explaining not only the rules, but also the strategies involved in Rugby, and fits this naturally into the action without anyawkwardly placed exposition. I came away from this anime with a strong urge to play some Rugby!
The animation (done by one of my faves Studio Madhouse) portrays Rugby surprisingly realistic for an anime. This isn’t Prince of Tennis with outlandish special moves that chracters shout out as they perform them. It’s gritty and brutal, just like the sport in real life. There’s no leveling up. There’s no underdog who becomes the star of the team through sheer determination. It’s just a group of guys, each with their strengths and weaknesses, learning and growing as a team and as individuals. The impacts of the players clashing on the field is palpable. The soundtrack is nothing amazing, but there are couple of tracks that will get your blood pumping every time they start. The only unrealistic aspect to the anime was the lack of injuries.
The cast of characters is really well developed. The character who we assume would normally be the central protagonist doesn’t consume too much of the spotlight. Instead we get a look into the lives of at least a dozen of the team members, each with their own motivations and stumbling blocks to playing rugby. I think anyone who’s ever played in a school sport will be able to find a character they can closely relate to. The character designs are varied and the story’s pacing is such that the viewer is never overwhelmed or confused by the large cast, instead coming to appreciate characters who may have existed more in the background as the story progresses.
This anime has some big gay energy, which is not my cup of tea, but it’s not overt...just very, very heavy handed subtext lol. And if this is something you enjoy in your anime, that’s totally fine too.
ajw215799
Now, I don’t mind a paint by the numbers sports anime. In fact, it’s a pretty decent way to spend a few hours in an afternoon. Plot wise; this is very by the numbers and actually it’s very competent. But, it’s very difficult to get on board with this cast of characters. At the start, we’re introduced to these two main characters; a cowardly tall guy and a short tempered selfish short guy. With these two characters at the lead, it can certainly be very hard to continue watching as pretty much all the characters aren’t very well written. And I have no idea ofthe rules of rugby (I’ve never watched it and I’ve only seen half a dozen American football games) but this show definitely gives the impression that rugby is a very violent game with lax rules that is not suitable for children to play. This definitely seems like a one season anime destined to fade into obscurity.
DonnaArcher
This was a really good show! I hope another season is made! The storyline was absolutely perfect, and I learned a little about rugby; the show demonstrated good sportsmanship, and it showed so much resilience between the characters and their goal to go to nationals! I really LOVED Taku and Kenji's (GION) attitude; they are so passionate about learning and improving their weaknesses; I really loved the show! Thank you! The storyline was really exceptional; I don't want to crate any fillers; but this is my opinion of the show; the artwork is also exceptional as well. Boy were the charactersripped! Even the obese people had muscles! I was really surprised by that, but it demonstrated what happens when you workout in only certain areas of your body; it's a good show.
If you decide to watch this, I can assure you that you definitely will not regret it; it will get you so emotional and motivated about working on yourself and improving your lifestyle! Check it out!
Lord_Valzin
The story was good. It shows how some characters have to train to get there style and or over there fears.....well the two mains. The teams have to learn to get in sync, when an old coach (trains teams to the become the best), he teaches the team a whole lot where they are starting to compete against some of the best. Background on the team they don't have a coach, the captain led them to how they were and basically kept the team together, when they were first years they all learned everything from books, they have books all in the storage room withstrategies and all in them.
Art is very good and some very good details of drawing of the muscle
Sound op is very good and some good ost
Character is good, how the captain shows his emotions was nice
Enjoyment binge watch very good and every week also, but if you put it on hold for too long not very good.
Story-7
Art-8
Sound-8
Character-7
Enjoyment-7
Overall-7
squashem
So I have just finished this series and would have to say it was an interesting ride. You can argue the story doesn't progress far in terms of the show's goals but I would say it was a nice ride and if anything gains interest in the manga. To talk on the reviewed points. The story starts following somewhat of a main character, his interest of rugby... or if anything interest of tackling. The story then slowly expands on the members of the team instead of the small few and them bettering themselves and growing in foals and skills. A review made a clear pointto say you see the build up to the start of the challenges (in terms of competitions) but still a fulfilling story.
The art took a few episodes to adjust to, the variety of buff builds was weird but eventually it grew on me. Animation in my opinion was good, but they really put a great deal of work into clashes and tackles.
The characters, how to say. As mentioned before it starts focus on a small group mainly 4 or 5 characters but as episodes go on you see the focus on the team and you get to learn some things about the other members, while not fully fleshed out you get some nice side stories and interactions. Sure only a few characters are memorable by name mentioned alone, but you do feel you get to understand them all working together if not some of their personal lives, stories or hangups.
I would say this show was very enjoyable. It starts a bit slow at first and not that interesting but as the team starts to train and develop themselves the show starts to take on a much more enjoyable feel and as you get more and more character development. I started the show with almost no knowledge of rugby and while I finished with some VERY basic knowledge of the rules I think this was still an enjoyable anime and worht watch to try a new sports anime, maybe not the most dedicated rugby fan might love it but I am sure all can find some value in it.
COGirl1985
All Out!!! was like a mecha anime but the human bodies as the machine. I initially gave this anime a 6 but since then have rewatched this one twice and always find new reasons to watch it. For a sports anime, its entertaining and I actually learned a lot about rugby; a sport I seem to always end up watching on the weekends but never fully understood until now. Besides being educational, the characters and their interactions were entertaining. It kept with a common anime theme of overcoming insecurities and difficulties then yelling "I got this!" or "I won't give up!". Therugby playing scenes were also intense and fun to watch. I always wanted to go train or hit something afterwards.
As a woman, I also found it refreshing to have a break from busty girls. Besides a few slice of life animes, there always seems to be that one girl overflowing with boob. Finally, an anime for chicks where the men are tall and muscular (except for one of the main characters who is short but stalky). No skinny jean wearing characters or long haired pansies in this show. Just big guys with big muscles and even larger dreams.
Poisen-paradise
"I really do think everyone should give it a proper chance... I feel like you would be making a mistake to just disregard it..." I Just finished ALL OUT !! and I genuinely have a lot to say about it. Also, even though I gave it a pretty high score I'm going to try my best to be 100% critical about the Anime - and leave out any bias until the end. I loved the show. I have to admit the first thing that stuck out to me was the unique art style. You know that one very bough character thats in almost every show? Yea well imagineall of those characters you can think of jammed into one anime. That'll give you an idea of the art style this Anime tends to lean on. It's also one of the first animes I've personally seen who really takes emphasis on the "Bara" Genre.
Moving onto the story.
I can understand why some people might not like the anime solely because of the story.
I will Admit ALL OUT !! lacks character development. Or... at least they don't execute it to the potential it deserves. While watching the anime in my opinion there are really only a few memorable characters. For example in the team there are about 15-20 players - Out of those 15-20 we really only get familiar with about 8 of the players. There were times where I forgot a few players were even on the team.
I feel like the people working on the anime (or Manga) noticed this too, just maybe a little too late. Characters I didn't even know existed or I "Saw that one time in that one episode" were given a little story to maybe have the viewers know who they are. The only problem is... they weren't really done.... great. All of them were too short and maybe only focused on for one episode, sometimes not even that much.
For example theres a character in the team that I'm going to be honest I never knew he was there. I thought at first it was a new character we were going to be introduced to, only to find out hes been on the team all along. He ends up talking with one of the more known characters and its revealed that he has a lot of major insecurities about his position in the team. Rather than focusing more on who this guy is as a character it felt like the only reason he was there was to give a slight bit more information about the other more known character (due to the more known character connecting the lesser known characters problems with what he had to deal with with his brother.)
Or even another example - Theres a character in the anime where hes given an entire episode about his backstory. And actually its a pretty deep one too, something in my opinion a lot of people would be interested in learning more about. Granted unlike some of the other characters he was actually given an entire episode. But even this ONE episode felt like it was just too short. It felt like as soon as we were about to get really into the drama it was cut short and the problem he was facing seemed to be "fixed" at the end of it.
In a way you kind of feel cheated. Because your'e given a character that has the potential to becoming your favorite and then the show doesn't even properly expand on him. This is done with a lot of the characters, and I understand people who don't want to watch it and eventually drop it midway. The only way to get a grasp of who at least 95% of the players on the team are, is if you completely watch it all the way to the end.
It's hard because a lot of the side characters aren't really that distinguishable from each other. Especially when they have their hats/helmets on. Usually people can distinguish anime characters by their hair (if they don't have any other striking features about them) but when the hats are on you aren't even given that much, you're left trying to think harder on who's on the screen. There were times where I got lost and thought to myself "Okay so he got the ball!... but... who is he again?"
This is just my opinion but I feel like the people who were creating the anime didn't think it would be picked up for a second season therefore in the 25 episodes limit they were given, they tried making sure majority of the story was fit into that space. In which case some elements the story needed was cut short and squished together.
Still don't let what I have just told you discourage you or make you turn away from watching this anime.
Weirdly theres something about this show that keeps you interested. And I feel like it only works BECAUSE its a sports anime. If it was any other Action, Fantasy, Romance driven anime I think generally everyone would hate it. But because its a sports anime, theres a trait to the show that not a lot of animes have.
When I was watching the show there wasnt an episode where I was bored or wanted to skip. Every episode was generally interesting in its own way. Though some side characters are hard to remember, the main characters (those 8 I talked about earlier) keep you grounded into wanting to see more of the show. This coming from a person who knew nothing about rugby before watching it - other than that its a sport that you're allowed to tackle someone in.
I think it's because (and again this is just my opinion) this show drips with potential. It has the potential to be even greater than what it is. This is a show that a lot of people can hop onto if done just a smidge more differently.
I feel like for some if you watch the entire anime - afterwords you'll be given an answer to what the show is kind of about. You'll be left with "Ohhh, this is the type of show it is" even if you don't know what direction its going in while watching it.
This is where my bias starts to come in. I can agree universally it isnt "The Best" Anime out there - however it is a darn good one. It has its flaws but it isnt so prominent where its distracting. It kind of just goes with it's own flow - and I think thats exactly how you should watch this anime. See it's flow and then try to follow along with it.
If you're not too.... "critically moved" when watching stuff - meaning for example: Theres a flaw within the show so that means I should just drop it. Or, Ehh this show sucks in this particular area so I guess I won't watch it anymore. If you stick with a show even when noticing a flaw in it - I think You'll like this Anime. And agree somewhat with me.
I really do think everyone should give it a proper chance. Overall in its entirety it is a really good show. I feel like you would be making a mistake to just disregard it and move onto something else.
Oona_Shea
I just finished this anime and decided it was worthy of a review. I have not read the manga yet and I will try and make this as spoiler free as possible. I am a fan of sports anime and decided to give this one a try and am glad I did. As far as sports anime go this one followed my rules as in making it easy to follow the sport (rugby) and room for character growth. I personally love it when background characters have their time to shine and this one does that and then some. The art was great the characters are very well rounded.You won't see five guys with the same face/build here. the uniqueness in character design really shines as well.
It was a very enjoyable ride with this new team trying to make a name for themselves.
The season ended with so many more stories to be told that I'd be shocked (and disappointed) if there isn't more seasons to follow.
If you enjoy sports anime then I highly recommend this one. Even if you are not familiar with rugby you will learn the basics and the lovable characters will draw you in. Madhouse did a great job with the aesthetic and I was really surprised that it hasn't gotten much recognition.
Give it a go! you may find yourself pleasantly surprised.
Yemi_Hikari
When the narrative actually tells said viewer the story can’t be bothered to introduce the players on the team because of pacing issues, something is probably wrong. In the case of All Out, that was the first sign that this particular sports Anime wouldn’t tick all of the boxes of what makes a good sports Anime, but if I didn’t actually know this series came out as a Manga in 2012 and was later adapted to an Anime in 2016 I would have mistaken this for an older sports Anime series from the 90s or earlier – a time when the formula was still being figuredout.
One of the things a good sports Anime does is create a narrative which even a person who’s not a hard-core fan of the sport can follow. In narratives where one of the focal characters has never played before, this is achieved by having the reader learn the rules as the player goes, but there are other ways of achieving this.
This is often complimented by another thing a good sports Anime does and that is show the actual game play motion as realistically as possible so the viewer can follow what is actually going on, almost as if it were a real game, but in slow motion when needed. In fact, one of the joys of watching sports Anime is the action sequences and how well the artist can capture this.
All Out fails majorly in both of these regards, but is the pacing issue just the Anime, or does it extend to the Manga as well? Major moments end up skipped over, almost as if things felt cut from the original work. On the other hand, this sports series utilizes an older style for the characters which over exaggerates muscle structure to the point said style seems like the main focus if not the selling point.
Another thing a good sports Anime has is well rounded characters. What sets each sports Anime apart lies in the characters and how the narrative unfolds from the way the characters interact. On top of this, well rounded characters add to the team dynamic and how the characters work together both on and off the court.
The characters for All Out are unfortunately all over the place. There is no way to tell how they fit together as a team. The main character the series follows has a rather grating personality. While the character arcs do touch upon some mature concepts which are interesting, the Anime pummels through them to quickly, but they end up quickly forgotten and not touched upon again.
VivavideoUser2x
All Out!! has the most male ass shots I have seen in an anime so far, so if that's your thing, knock yourself out. But when it comes to everything else, its just a mixed bag of things. I don't know why this story is over 25 episodes when it barely goes anywhere. Every character on that friking rugby team has at least one annoying character trait, and from episode one to the final episode, they do not change in a good way, they develop a little in that cliche feel good family way, but they still keep their annoying ass traits. Doesn'thelp the fact that so many of them pop up here and there.
What I was not digging at all was its sense of humor, this anime is one of those anime that thinks being super loud and annoying is funny, and we all know the best sport shows are just nothing but har har tharsdays. But meandering the story to be funny is really a no go for me. The main character yells basically every sentence ever and is just overall not that enjoyable to watch.What little charm he had at first wore off later because throughout the rest of the season he was just a dumbass who barely did any of that crap in the opening sequence.
This is a bit of a weird compliment to the show, but it gets like super cringey at times, but its that type of cringe you see in real life. I have played sports before, and seeing a teammate who start to yell at another one thinking they are like some movie character while everyone else is just staring awkwardly is super uncomfortable, and this show captures that uncomfortable feeling many times.IT's not pulled off in a sincere way like Haikyuu because the characters suck ass.
But credit where credit is due, some of the rugby games were very fun to watch and just super over the top at points.The coach was the best character in the show who had very compelling backstory and developed really well.
Also the show decides to make things like domestic abuse a funny funny haha moment and i was just impressed on how terrible they handled a sensitive topic like that.The animation is good but the character designs are just straight up whack.Reminded me a lot of Eiken club where the design were so weird but I just couldn't stop looking away. For some reason the thighs, legs,and butts on these guys were so well drawn, and then you look at the ripped duct tape eyebrows on the main character and its like whiplash. Pretty much the show in a nutshell, it's "ALL OUT WHIPLASH" I don't love it, but I don't regret it either.
Overall-6
Selinea
I love sports animes. With a complex web of character relationships across a large cast, anime-fied take on tactics (actually more enjoyable when you don't know the sport, and in this case, I didn't know rugby), and ability to vicariously live the simple up and down emotions of winning and losing, the basic hallmarks of a sports anime is an easy well-worn track for All Out!! to follow. Beyond the blueprint, however, All Out!! does a few things very well and one thing not so well. Starting with the pros: 1. All Out is very self-aware. When the main character Gion first joins the team, the showrealizes an alphabet soup of names is not going to be helpful for the audience, and realistically not helpful to someone meeting a gigantic group for the first time. So they tell Gion and by extension, the viewer, oh well, you'll pick it up as we go. And it follows through with mostly organic introductions and interactions, rather than strictly regimenting meeting one or two new side characters per episode.
(Also, rather than having a character seem suspiciously too similar to Hiruma from Eyeshield-21, the show instead goes full homage complete with the "ya-ha")
2. Characters do not remain boxed in cliques. Everyone interacts with everyone else. The dynamics within the third years and between the second years and third years, and between people in the same grade across different schools flourish independently of their relation to the main character.
3. The adults interact with each other and offer viewpoints beyond the X's and O's of the game. It's difficult to elaborate without spoilers, but the adult characters in All Out are more fully realized than other shows that have mouthpieces for training techniques and game tactics.
And now the con:
All Out does not sustain drama. Main character Gion's issue is that he's short, but it's quickly evident that the people who recruited him weren't lying, plenty of rugby players in this show are of similar height. His bigger issue to being new to rugby, which also isn't really an issue unique to him at all. Also, while some themes are carried through the show (club was not competitive when the current third-years were first-years), the heaviest drama is reserved for sudden punches of serious issues with little foreshadowing and little follow-up.
So in conclusion, if you like sports anime, realistic feeling group dynamics, or just a total blank slate looking for the basic flow of a rugby game, you should watch All Out!!
Art: 8 (some very...unique character designs can be hit or miss, animation-wise, there were a few places were stills were noticeable, but overall the rugby movements and character expressions are well done)
Sound: 6 (I rarely notice voice acting unless it's particularly amazing or atrocious. All Out's VAs were fine, and the first OP/ED were decent. The second OP/ED were not my cup of tea, but All Out mostly loses points due to its lackluster background music.)
CBMiura
All Out!! it's really good in the beginning and little by little starts to fall. It's a decent sport anime centered around rugby. It's refreshing to see something different. About the characters, even though they've put some effort developing them, still lacking in some points. The story itself begin really good with a good pace, but after a few episodes you can see the narrative changing and becoming kinda a preparation(?)... It looks like they're doing this for a possible sequel or for make the viewer read the original material. It didn't work that well to be honest. The animation it's pretty solid, there's nothing major topoint. It's a decent job.
I'm a huge sport anime fan, so in the end I've watched and enjoyed. I would recommend this only if you like the genre.
