Eyeshield 21 - YA-HA!

Eyeshield 21 is a pretty enjoyable series. Even though it's not one of my favorite sports series, it certainly has enough humor and action to keep me entertained throughout most of the 145 episodes.

Plot: (7/10) – Fairly Good
The story is simple. It’s about American Football and how a High School team (Deimon Devil Bats) and its ordinary players go against all odds by overcoming teams with stronger players to win the right to play in Christmas Bowl.

Though I like underdog story, I do find Eyeshield 21 too unrealistic. At the beginning of the series, I was rooting for Deimon Devil Bats. However, towards the middle of the series, I started to hate the team as I find the way it won against stronger and more talented teams very unrealistic.

Characters: (9/10) – Great
The characters are the only thing I really like about Eyeshield 21. I love the side characters much much more than the main characters. The truth is, I dislike all the players in Deimon Devil Bats, except for Hiruma (YA-HA!!), Juumonji (the coolest in the team) and pets (a crazy dog and a cute pig). I find the main character, Sena, really lame and a bore to watch. Once in a blue moon, he shows his cool side, but most of the time, he’s weak and he loves to whine. I hate the fact that he’s always lacking in confidence and needs others to give him the confidence boost. Another main character, Monta aka Monkey, is too noisy and annoying, and it really gets on my nerves.

The team I like the most is Oujou White Knights. It’s the coolest team, it has the coolest mascot (White Knight!) and the coolest players. ♥ The players I like the most are Shin and Sakuraba. Shin, a hardworking genius, is certainly the best player in the series and he’s coolness personified! As for Sakuraba, initially, I thought he’s just a good-looking, useless and arrogant (due to his idol status) player. The truth is he’s indeed good-looking and quite useless at first, but he’s definitely not arrogant. He’s actually a humble and very hardworking player.

Other players I like are Kakei from Kyoshin Poseidon, and Akaba from Bando Spiders. They have very little appearances but I find them really cool!

Art/Animation: (8/10) – Good
The art is exaggerated but it certainly makes Eyeshield 21 stand out among the others. I like how they incorporate the unique identity of each individual team and player into the game. For example, whenever Shin tackles Sena, the image of a spear will appear. This certainly makes the games and series more exciting and entertaining.

Sound/Music: (8/10) – Good
This series uses sound effects to heighten each game. I like how they give each team their own sound effect, which fits their individual identity very well. As for the Opening and Ending themes, I like those by Back-On: ‘Blaze Line’, ‘Flower’ and ‘A day dreaming’.

Enjoyment: (8/10) – Good
It has a good mix humor and action. Even if you know nuts about American Football (I have never watched a full game before!), I believe you will still find this series quite enjoyable to watch.

Overall: (8/10) – Good
The side characters are great and the games are always full of intense action. The only disappointment I have is with the main characters.