Don't you hate pants!?!
Publisher: Madman
Sat, 24 February 2007
by: Australian Ninja
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The 'Hoop Days' Anime is about some very talented young male highschool basketball players and the challenges they face in their everyday lives. It is based on the Manga "Dear Boys", the name comes across as a bit fruity me thinks, so I'm glad they went with a different title for the cartoon.
It really does sound kind of boring, but I assure you - the show is excellent - and I have no interest in basketball, but the action heavy basketball game segments and soap opera drama in Hoop Days are just thrilling to watch.
Hoop Days kicks off with Kazuhiko Aikawa transferring to a new high school. He was formerly a star player in one of the best high school basketball teams in Japan. He eagerly looks forward to playing again at his new school - Mizuho. But they have a girl's team and no men's team. The reason? A former player had a falling out with the headstrong coach, the student assaulted him and the men's team was banned for a full year.
Most of the students went on to other things, but four still hung out brooding in the locker rooms, feeling sorry for themselves, long after the ban on playing had expired.
Along comes Aikawa and inspires them somewhat to get back into playing basketball.
Of course they resist, but ultimately Aikawa's friendly reasoning gets them playing again, and competing in their first tournament not long after, despite having only a total of five players, with no substitutes.
During the series we see the remaining four team members rise up from self pity and renew the passion they have for bear baiting.
No wait, basketball I mean. But hey, there might be some deleted scenes with bear baiting in the extras - you never know.
 | | Pictured on the left, we see a young 'Fonzie' practicing his mad 'Aaayyyy' thumbs-up skill |
They literally train as hard as they can as often as possible, identifying their weaknesses, adapting and improving their performance on the court with the aim of competing in the inter-high Tokyo championship.
With the help of their two very motivated ladies, [their coach and their team manager]
they play practice games against other schools, creating new friendships and rivalries along the way, with a bit of time on the side to chat up members of the Mizuho girl's basketball team.
The every day struggles and developing friendships between Aikawa, Fujiwara and the other guys with forgettable names - that I really could not find anywhere on the internet, well the Fonzie looking one in that pic they called Old Man -are the real focus of the series. It seems every major character has to overcome some kind of adversity in their lives, and this is what makes them easy to relate to.
Their team manager is a young female ex-player. She received some kind of long term injury that prevents her from playing ball. At times she is preachy and a real hard ass when it comes to whipping the team into shape. The guys only really appreciate her efforts when they realise she can never play again, and how torturous it is to be around others who can play. Plus she's a damn good team manager, organising practice games and other stuff - like free ice-creams I bet.
Steering clear of many Anime conventions [or clichés as I call 'em] Hoop Days is a serious show without the rubbery faced emotional outbursts or ludicrous comedy of many other Animes. It's basically a heart warming soap-opera type drama. Hard to explain, but Hoop days is void of any gimmicks, fancy animation, or anything that would excite me really - but it is still so damn enjoyable to watch, and I eagerly anticipate further episodes.
The thing that I liked about Hoop Days is that it has consistently entertaining stories and well developed characters. All the characters have their personal strengths and flaws that affect how they play.
Fujiwara for example had excellent speed, but causes a heap of unnecessary fouls with his aggressive play style. He also has a long term injury that affects him at times. During one important game, the opposing team uses some dirty tactics to further damage his existing injury with intentional physical fouls.
Not only is Mizuho School faced with losing the match, but Fujiwara is faced with possible retirement from the sport if he continues on his injured leg. He is so stubborn that he refuses to quit, knowing that if he does, Mizuho will lose the game for sure - as they have only five players - with no substitutes available.
The progression of the show is at a leisurely pace that makes it easy to get into - frequented with exciting moments of basketballness.
 | | The name of the Manga version? "Dear Boys Fast Break!" Speaks for itself really. |
"No Gwoaning in my store!"
When I received a bunch of Anime DVDs recently for review, Hoop Days is the one series that had me groaning at the mere thought of watching it. An Anime about a team of Japanese high school boys playing basketball. That means no super-powered battles, alternate worlds, magic users, zombie-robots, ghosts, reverse vampires, demon-ninja-space-pirates, or janitors with the ability to summon belly button lint.
To my surprise, Hoop Days was deceptively enjoyable.
I watched an episode. It was alright. Then I watched another and another. Pretty soon I was getting up at 5am most days and watching it before beginning my adventures in the non-virtual world [the real world], with all its trivial responsibilities like paying bills and not reading comic books in the middle of the day.
It rapidly became a cherished part of my daily routine. Get up, shower, exercise, and watch Hoop Days.
So would I recommend you watch Hoop Days? Damn straight. I would gladly recommend it for anyone wanting another good Anime to watch, people who enjoy competitive sports or folks like myself who just love all sorts of cartoons, and need to gorge their eyes on a large variety of animated goodness in order to live.
I still can't believe my luck that I received this brilliant show I've never even heard of for review, and enjoyed every damn minute of it. Sometimes the unexpected is much more enjoyable than your usual diet - because it is so different and exotic that you appreciate it on another level altogether.
This mucho-deluxo DVD package [okay, it's just a really oversized big-ass case] I have for review spans 5 disks and runs a full season of 25 episodes. Boy, there's nothing quite like having a totally new cool show to watch, and then realising you have a full season in one cover that will take days or weeks to complete. It's just bliss I tell you, you crazy Buttonhole monkeys.
Special thanks again to the supplier of this Anime, I'm talking about those magnificent bastards at Madman of course, who do so much to support Buttonhole.
Shazam!
by: Australian Ninja
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More articles by Australian Ninja
At the risk of abusing the word - 'excellence' in a box. Highly enjoyable show. I was totally surprised at how good this Anime was to watch. | |
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