The Fall 2016 Anime Preview Guide

ALL OUT!!

High school first-years Iwashimizu and Gion are polar opposites. Iwashimizu is tall and intimidating, but he hates confrontations and wouldn't hurt a fly. Gion is a small fry, but he's got a huge chip on his shoulder and is more than happy to get into a fight. The upperclassmen on their school's rugby club want to recruit both of them, but Gion has no experience, and Iwashimizu is harboring regrets from an incident on his middle school team. Can the two of them keep up in a sport where whoever holds the ball can become the star player? ALL OUT!! is based on a manga and can be found streaming on Crunchyroll, Thursdays at 12:30 PM EST.

Theron Martin

Rating: 3

Not sure what it says about a series when its sharpest animation is in its opener. The more limited animation of the actual episode content is probably the biggest knock against the series at this point, though, as otherwise it's off to a respectable start as sports series go.

Not that it is doing anything blazing fresh or new to accomplish that. The base story is a fairly typical one: a brash newcomer helps convince a jaded veteran that the sport he once played and apparently enjoyed is still something he should be doing. In this case the sport is rugby, one of the most rough-and-tumble standardized sports you'll find anywhere (I've known a few rugby players who insists that it's more rugged than American football since rugby players don't wear pads), and the rough-and-tumble aspect is part of the problem: the jaded veteran badly injured someone once before and is terrified of doing it again. Gion's determination to break him out of that funk, as well as prove that his size won't prevent him from being effective, provides the emotional core of the episode, though he's pretty much a hothead otherwise. By the end of the episode his efforts seem to be working, though I didn't particularly care for the story insisting that being involved in a book club (especially one which includes a lot of cute girls) wasn't manly enough. It might not have said that directly, but boy, the implication sure was there!

The personality types in play so far are a mixed bag. Gion is well-suited to the brash novice role, and his energy and attitude manifest a certain degree of charm which helps carry the first episode. Iwashimizu, on the other hand, is wishy-washy to the point of being annoyingly pathetic; he doesn't have to become a tough guy, but I do hope he toughens up at least a little, as the way he is right now I could see him driving viewers away. (He's the #1 reason I won't be watching anymore.) The two named club members so far both have their distinct quirks and should provide good posts for Gion to bounce off of.

So far the series is able to carry itself on the spirit of competitiveness and enthusiasm displayed by Gion, but how long will that last? Still, if your tastes in fan service run more towards beefcake than pretty boys, or you're at all interest in rugby, then this one holds at least some promise.

Nick Creamer

Rating: 2.5

You know, I was frankly expecting a bit more fanservice from this show. All of ALL OUT's marketing material prominently featured its heroes' well-toned butts, but the only full on butt-shot from this episode came at the beginning of the opening. Maybe I'm just tuned to higher butt densities from having just watched Keijo!!!!!!!!, but I have to say, the butt supplies here were worryingly low.

Butts aside, ALL OUT's premiere was mostly just a fairly conventional sports show. We were introduced to our two first-year rugby contenders Gion and Iwashimizu, Iwashimizu was convinced to join the team through some bonding tackles with Gion, and that was that. The most noteworthy thing about this episode was likely its character designs - unlike the generally lithe designs you tend to see for sports shows aimed at female audiences, ALL OUT's stars are stocky and fully muscled. They actually look like the kind of people who play a lot of rugby, which was a nice change of pace.

Those designs were unfortunately one of the only interesting things about this episode. ALL OUT wastes a lot of time on rambling, ostensibly funny conversations between Gion and Iwashimizu, where the joke is generally either “Gion is short” or “Gion gets mad about getting called short and hits someone.” It takes nearly half an episode for the show to even get to rugby in the first place, and when it does, we don't actually see any real action. There's no clear hook here beyond “this is a sports show” - no immediate rivalries, no long-term stakes, and no demonstration of why rugby is something the audience should care about watching. Even the animation was quite limited, and when a show's premiere is lacking in animation, you can't really expect that situation to improve.

Still, there were moments of inspired direction here and there, and I liked how the show had established a solid friendship between the two leads by its conclusion. ALL OUT doesn't look like it'll be able to compete with big-leaguers like Haikyuu!!, but if you're in the market for a more slow-burning sports show, it's a reasonably competent offering.

Rebecca Silverman

Rating: 2.5

I'm tempted to declare today Ass Day, because All Out!! marks the second show in a row to open with a shot of someone's behind. Of course, last time it was a woman in a bathing suit and this time it's a muscular man in tight rugby shorts. Don't let that fool you, however – All Out!! doesn't appear to have designs on the fujoshi market. This is a much grittier sports story than many recent series about high school sports, and that's largely because of the specific game it focuses on: rugby.

The story itself feels fairly cookie-cutter at heart: high school first-years Gion and Iwashimizu are total opposites in both looks and personality, with Gion being short and loud and Iwashimizu a tall fellow who's been reading a lot of romance novels lately. They have a run in with bullies at the shoe lockers soon after the start of school and end up thrown together, especially since Hachioji, a member of the school's rugby team, is desperate to get the enormous Iwashimizu to join. Gion goes along for the ride, but naturally ends up being the one entranced by a sport that relies more on muscles than height – if he can tackle a guy, he can be good at it, no matter how short he is. It's pretty easy to see where this is going to go from this point: the two will become best friends, Iwashimizu will get over his middle school rugby trauma and join the team, etc. etc. If it's the formula of sports shows that you enjoy, this is setting up to follow it precisely.

If, on the other hand, you prefer your stories character driven, this may not be the way to go. While this is only the first episode, neither Gion nor Iwashimizu come off as particularly likable or memorable, with Gion actually falling into the category of outright obnoxious. When he forced Iwashimizu out of the Literary Club, where he was clearly comfortable and enjoying himself, to make him hold the tackle bag, I wished Iwashimizu would stand up for himself, or at least turn around and leave. Just as Gion won't accept that he can't do certain things because he's not tall, Iwashimizu doesn't need to do certain things because he is tall. While it isn't part of his character yet (and it very well may become part of it as the show goes on), that he can't stand up for himself bothered me and made Gion's behavior smack of mild bullying. Likewise Gion's own hypocrisy in the matter detracted from my enjoyment.

That character interaction aside, there really isn't much to set All Out!! apart from the rest of the pack. At this point it hasn't given a great explanation for why we should be interested in rugby apart from the fact that “tackling looks like fun” and it's so basic in its formula, right down to one player having a tragic past in the game, that without setting the sport itself up as a reason to watch this and not another sports series it doesn't have much to offer outside of its genre. It may improve vastly as it gets going, so it'll probably be worth another episode or two to see, but as far as premiers go, this failed to hook me.

Paul Jensen

Rating: 3

All Out!! is about as by-the-book as a sports anime can get. It's got two main characters who just so happen to be total opposites in terms of appearance and personality. It's got both the “passionate newcomer” and the “redemption for past defeat” storylines covered, and the first episode introduces the show's sport of choice through a practice game. If you're looking for a series that follows the rules of the genre to the letter, your search has come to an end. A manly, muddy, in-your-face end, to be precise.

As the main characters who will inevitably become best friends, Iwashimizu and Gion are more or less par for the course. Gion is arguably the more charismatic of the two in the early going, and his immediate enthusiasm for playing rugby is the force that drives the story forward. Iwashimizu initially comes across as a little too mopey for his own good, but the episode is at least quick to explain why he's so intent on avoiding the sport. Genre fans will immediately recognize their personality archetypes: Gion is every angry short guy ever, and Iwashimizu is the big softie. There's not much new about them, but they're likable enough to carry the show until it can start developing the rest of the team. From what little we've seen of the supporting cast, it looks like we should have a fairly lively group on our hands, which is encouraging.

Using rugby as the sport of the day lends All Out!! a slightly tougher vibe than many of its contemporaries. Rather than trading menacing glares and skillful trick shots, rival characters in this series look like they'll be able to settle their grudges by literally beating the snot out of one another. Even if you're somewhat averse to contact sports in real life, it should make for some satisfyingly direct exchanges later on in the season. As far as presentation goes, the show looks more or less average at the moment. The practice game offers a mix of meaty animation and cheaper-looking still frames, and the overall effect is passable if unspectacular. As is often the case, any long-term success will depend on whether or not All Out!! can show us what makes rugby exciting.

Aside from its tougher, scrappier tone, there's not much to distinguish All Out!! from the competition at the moment. The good news is that it seems to have a solid grasp of the basics, and it could conceivably use that standard foundation to build a fun series. If you've always wished that your favorite sports anime involved more big dudes tackling one another, All Out!! may just be the chosen one. If not, it looks entertaining enough to be worth a try anyway.