Giant Killing - Glory East Tokyo United!~

Giant Killing has ended I thought that the anime will cover at least the first half of the football season but I was wrong. I was so looking forward to the match against Kawasaki as it's interesting to see how ETU play without Murakoshi (suspension) and Gino (tired). I was also looking forward to the rematch between ETU and Tokyo Victory, and the history of Tatsumi. Though I've read the manga and I already know the plot ahead, I still hope that there will be a second season.

Story: (9/10) – Very Good
It's really interesting to look at sports from the manager's point of view as most of the other series look at sports from the players' point of view. The story is great and I think the way Giant Killing portrays the J-League is very realistic. However, the anime has one major problem - pacing! There were too many unnecessary slow motions and recaps and that really hurt the anime. But well, I think that the curry party is a pretty good point to end the anime. It shows how a club should be like and how much Tatsumi loves ETU.

Characters: (9/10) – Very Good
It's difficult not to like a team with different personalities and an unique manager. I like how Giant Killing not only focused on Tatsumi and his unique management skills, but also focused on the development of the players. Giant Killing also has many other interesting characters from the other football clubs.

Here are some characters I like:

Tatsumi - I love the arc about his past and it's too bad that the anime did not cover that at all. He has a very fun personality and I admire his love and devotion to ETU.

Tsubaki - Normally, he's quite a klutz but his actions are so cute! He also looks really cool whenever he makes his dazzling runs on the pitch.

Gino aka Prince - He certainly lives up to his nickname Prince!

Kuroda - The way he gets pissed off easily and the way he pisses other players off are too funny!

Art/Animation: (8/10) – Good
I find the art style pretty unique and I quite like it. I think the animators did a pretty good job animating the matches but I think they overused slow motions and bright effects.

Music: (9/10) – Very Good
The themes fit Giant Killing very nicely! I also love the ending theme in the last episode. I think it comes from a Man United chant that goes "Glory Glory Man Utd, Glory Glory Man Utd, Glory Glory Man Utd, And the reds go marching on on on.. " I think the lyrics for the ETU version goes "Glory East Tokyo Utd, Glory East Tokyo Utd, Glory East Tokyo Utd, And ETU goes marching on on on.. "

Enjoyment: (9/10) – Very Good
I enjoy the manga much more than the anime! As for the anime, I enjoy the first half much more than the second half as the pacing in the second half was simply too slow.

Overall: (9/10) – Very Good
I've watched 3 football anime so far (Whistle!, Hungry Heart Wild Striker, and Giant Killing). Personally, I like Giant Killing the best. It's also one of the more interesting sports anime around.