Ao Ashi

At first, I thought it was just like any other sports anime-until I watched it. From family struggles to character development to crafting a story that feels real, everything was spot on. I'm still confused as to why such a great anime has a low number of ratings.

The main character, Aoi, is bound to become your favorite. A first-year student on his journey to becoming a professional football player, he goes through incredible growth. There are many scenes in this anime that will make you feel emotionally connected, and that's what I love the most about it.

Whether you're a sports fan or not, you're going to love this anime. It's a must-watch!

As people tend to watch a lot of sports anime, some of the story become as cliché as it can get. They follow the same route like many others such as, a kid, with or without any special abilities, meet friends, training, enter competition and the story end with a high note (usually the team that MC plays for win the competition).

But, Ao Ashi, while it seems to follow the generic road, it does not lead to the same conclusion, the story itself is about a kid from Ehime, enter a youth team for an existing club (in the anime not real life) and began to know what soccer is all about. His brain and knowledge on the game change from a Sunday League IQ into a professional player mind during the course of the story, The story itself is just a summary of how a kid enter a youth team in order to become a professional. While there are few exaggerate element , this is the most real as it can get.

There is no super power like Captain Tsubasa or Inazuma Eleven or there is no illogical skills which can be seen in Blue Lock. All the training and tactics seems to be more lean towards realism and while others soccer storyline have either a broken MC who superb all the way from the start to finish or a weak MC who gradually become the best, Ao Ashi tend to push for a different route. The MC have major flaws that cannot be changes(physical) and he only have his tenacity to learn and his inborn talent of bird eye view.

For people who want a fast bombastic and crazy stunt, this anime is not for you. The anime is very slow pace in term of character development. Hence, while it does have a good storyline, the anime might not be your cup of tea if you don't like anime with slow build up.

ENG Ao Ashi tells an inspiring story through the eyes of Ashito, a passionate young football player chasing his dream. The matches are intense and often come down to the wire, which keeps the excitement alive. The animation is solid, and the art style gives off a vibe similar to My Hero Academia.

Ashito's character development is one of the anime's strongest points. Watching him grow from a reckless, solo-minded player into a more strategic and team-focused one is satisfying. However, one major flaw is how almost every character seems overly fixated on Ashito, which hurts the depth and realism of the supporting cast.

Overall, it's an enjoyable and motivating sports anime, though it struggles with balance at times.

Rating: 8/10.

The story is good. I think what it lacks is the intensity and thrill that other sports anime gives. It has the potential to be one of the best only if they could make the matches more nail biting.

Ao Ashi is the first 24-episode anime I watched while airing, which means I watched this weekly for 6 months. And I loved it. I won't deny that I did not enjoy some episodes in the 1st half as much, but the 13th episode completely surprised me and turned the story on it's head. It seemed like I knew exactly where the story was going in the first half but that completely changes in the 2nd half, and it made sense later why the first half was slow and why they created a certain environment before going in the 2nd act. This anime did a great job in showing the mental struggles of an athlete and that things won't always go as you want in this profession. You have to adapt according to your skills. And, as you would expect from a sports anime, there are plenty of cheer-worthy moments as well.