The “stone-face” coach predicted the future of Aoi, and according to him, it is bleak at the very best in the soccer department. Why is the coach declaring so before the training’s first match? With big dreams on his shoulders, Aoi has just arrived in the dormitories of the club. Will these words have any effect on him? Let’s find out more in this review!
Aoashi Episode 7 Overview
Aoashi, also referred to as Ao Ashi, is a sports anime based on a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yūgo Kobayashi. It has been serialised in Shogakukan’s seinen manga magazine Weekly Big Comic Spirits since January 2015. It is being produced by Production I.G, who have great hits such as Guilty Crown, Psycho-Pass, Kuroko’s Basketball, Haikyuu!!, Psycho-Pass 3 and Moriarty the Patriot.
Ao Ashi follows the story of a third-year middle school student Ashito Aoi living in Ehime prefecture, a backwater town in Japan. Ashito seems to possess talent but has a very straightforward personality. Because of this, other players dislike playing with him. Finally, he was able to join an average team where he felt accepted and came into the eyes of the coach of the youth team, Tatsuya Fukuya. Aoashi proceeds to showcase his journey from here.
The anime is being directed by Akira Satou, who worked on previous projects such as Deadman Wonderland and Release the Spyce, with scripts written by Masahiro Yokotani, and Nakatake and Yamaguchi also serving as chief animation directors. This episode of the show is also known as Ao Ashi Episode 7.
– Ao Ashi Episode 7 Review does not contain any spoilers –
Aoashi Episode 7 Review- Ceaseless Talks And No Play
The previous episode of Ao Ashi introduced many openings for new plots and characters. Aoi’s roommate, Togashi, seems like a delinquent character at first glance, but his scouting proves he must possess some crazy skills. He seems to get along with Aoi well in their first meeting, but keeping in mind the somewhat egoistic persona Aoi takes upon when on the field, these two could be very well headed for rivalry.
Read More- Deaimon Episode 7 Review: Melting the Cold Shell, Step-by-Step
Another interesting addition to notice would be one of the coach’s bold declaration of Aoi’s chances of making it to pro-levels is none. While we know Aoi has a great instinct and grit while on the field, Hana’s support for him also makes us believe in him unconditionally. But the coach is at his position in Tokyo City Esperion FC. He has talent and years of experience under his belt and is not someone to be taken lightly.
Aoashi Episode 7 gives a little insight into Hana’s overenthusiastic support for our main character- and it might be more of an emotional one than you would like. Aoi had already proved his great instinct in the series so far- but is that his limit? A good soccer player possesses not just skills and strength but great instincts and the ability to adapt on the field. Aoi seems to lack awareness in multiple departments- is all hope lost here?
Any sports anime has great animations and fluidity in the play as one of its most important hooks to keep the viewers engaged. And sadly, this episode of Aoashi was disappointing in terms of animation. Even though the pressure of the game was built from the previous episode, we got to see very little of the actual match. More time was spent on the analysis of characters both on and off the ground. This is making the series seem much slower than it is actually progressing.
From what we have understood from the past episodes, the new players are “inferior” to the old ones. Well, that is granted, and with Ao Ashi Episode 7, I expected to see some directions from the coach to help the new players improve their play. This might be one of those “drastic anime moments” when a character realises his shortfallings on his own, but it seems the inferiority point is being rubbed in the viewers’ faces repeatedly.
Despite underwhelming animations and the bare plot progresses, the characters seem to be going strong. Using real-life football players to deliver the message with a punch might be a double-edged sword, as not all the viewers might know about them. There is an actual match in progress, it does not get much spotlight. Despite all this, the tension is all built to witness what will Aoi do next, and we can not wait for it!
Prognosis
Aoashi Episode 7 presented an overall plot that is tantalisingly slow, accompanied by underwhelming animations and “all talk and no play” scenes. The only good thing left is the characters, and hopefully, they are utilised better.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!