Anime Review: Giant Killing (Spring 2010)

Giant Killing  7.72 - Users 18,629
Episodes: 26
Studios: Studio Deen
Genres: Drama, Seinen, Sports
Duration: 23 min. per ep.
Rating:  PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Synopsis

East Tokyo United, ETU, has been struggling in Japan's top football league for a few years. It has taken everything they have just to avoid relegation. To make matters even worse, the fans are starting to abandon the team.

In an effort to improve their performance, ETU has hired a new coach, the slightly eccentric Tatsumi Takeshi. Tatsumi, who was considered a great football player when he was younger, abandoned the team years before but has proven himself as the manager of one of England's lower division amateur teams. The task won't be easy, the teams East Tokyo United is pitted against have bigger budgets and better players. However, Tatsumi is an expert at Giant Killing.

Review

This series are a good football anime with 26 episodes. As The Knight in the Area (another football anime)  I thought they both missed something. This one focus on a coach that is the best at winning points to big teams. In football there are always team that are called Giant Killers but never contenders to titles.  

This story focus on a couple of characters. The first is Takeshi Tatsumi a former player of the team that left to a bigger club (money) and from that moment on the team fell and even w

as relegated. With time and the new captain the team rose to the first team but always small team. After training in England a team and winning bigger teams he return to Japan to train ETU (East Tokyo United) but of course the team is not the same it was and much supporters have left and most players (including the captain) is against the new coach.

Much episodes we are following Takeshi training schedule and his odd appearance and ways. He is undoubtly the main protagonist along with Tsubaki Daisuke a new player that his fast as lightning.  We also follows the supporters (the old supporters and the new more "ultra" supporters, capable of violence and the ones making threats and such)

My problem with this anime is that is rather short. With 26 episodes we see ETU change from a small team to a team who can defeat opponents. As a guy who watches football most things we see him do in the team are highly unlikable to happen in real football and that disappointed me. I hope for a more realistic feel I guess...

Another thing I didn't like was the way it ended. I hoped for more episodes to see where this team was going... but at the same time I understood. This was never about winning the championship but the change...

But nevertheless I enjoy one thing. The same team can play a lot better or worse depending on the manager. He sure is important. My own football team (Sporting Clube Portugal) changed a lot with this new coach. Same team and one year with didn't even compete to win the championship (like previous years) and the next year we were playing for the title becoming second 2 points behind.

A much watch to anyone who enjoys football.