Common Name: Tsurune
Alternative Names: Tsurune: Kazemai Koukou Kyuudoubu; Tsurune: Kazemai High School's Archery Club
Score: 8/10, 4/5
Length: 13 Episodes
Genre: Drama, Sports, School Life, Yaoi
Summary: Ever since middle school, Narumiya Minato has been avoiding the sport he's loved as a small child, traditional archery, otherwise known as Kyuudou. Do to a number of factors, since no one thing is the cause of this, he has developed target panic, making it even harder for him to just pick up a bow again. Now in high school, though, all of Minato's friends have started pushing him to join the archery club with them, thinking that just getting back on the range might help him get better. Yet it isn't until Minato meets a strange, melancholic old man who has fully immersed himself in archery that his passion for the sport starts to reignite. Though he's mostly over it now, this older man, Takigawa Masaki, has also been suffering from target panic for a number of years, giving Minato the courage to get better as well. Now, with his band of friends both old and new, Minato has given Kazemai High School an archery club that might just be able to win at nationals under the watchful guidance of their new coach, Takigawa.
Review: There's always some level of disappointment that can be expected from a show that is very clearly not given the time it really needs to show what it's got to offer. There is, of course, the inverse in which you can expect problems to crop up when a show runs too long. Yet, it's just a bit more tragic when you can tell that a title has a lot of potential going for it as an adaptation but see it cut off before it can prove itself. Tsurune is one such show. Much like Free! before it, this is a drama built on the backs of its characters as a new high school setting and a shared passion force them to work past the stumbling blocks present in every new friendship and overcome the walls and hurtles born of their own personal problems getting in the way of true friendship. Over the course of the show, we are given a good idea of who these characters are and are similarly given the chance to fall in love with them. As you might expect of a KyoAni title, there isn't a single flat or dull character to be found in this stunning work of art. Some characters are more equal than others though. Due to the show's 13 episode runtime, almost three-fourths of the cast isn't given the same level of dedication as the three front runners of Tsurune: Narumiya Minato, Takehaya Seiya, and Takigawa Masaki. Though the rest of the cast is quality in their own rights, they are never really given the chance to shine like these three are and that is due, mainly, to the fact that this is ultimately Minato's story. Though he might be friends with everyone on his team, not all of them move him and shake up his life like Seiya and Takigawa. Considering what that main story has to offer, though, I can't say I'm at all disappointed with how things turned out.
If anything, the level of quality seen in the main story makes me disappointed that we'll likely never get
a second season that gives the rest of the cast that same level of love and attention.
This being Minato's story, though, he is ultimately the best place to start when it comes to summarizing the events of the show. After all, the entirety of these thirteen episodes is to follow Minato as he works to overcome the psychological barrier that has kept him away from archery since middle school. A form of psychological trauma with a near-infinite number of causes predominantly found in people who engage in shooting sports, target panic essentially makes the simple act of aiming a bow or gun induce a panic attack. Though the origins of Minato's target panic mostly remain a mystery, it is safe to assume that it is the result of a great many things taking their toll on his mental state. From his mother's death to the stress of failing his teammates during the middle school championships, a lot of things can be labeled as the event that broke him but the result is still the same no matter the origin--Minato cannot bring himself to pick up a bow again. In spite of that, though, all of Minato's friends have simply been waiting with bated breath for him to get over his problem and return to being the archer he once was. His best friend and neighbor, Takehaya Seiya, in particular, has been working to push Minato back into the sport now that they're in high school. All the more so now that his efforts are bolstered by the naive encouragement of their old classmate and newcomer to the world of archery, Yamanouchi Ryouhei.
Together, they are the most adorable trio of nerds you ever did see.
In spite of their two-front attacks to get him back into archery, though, Minato is insistent that they are better off without him. In his own mind, he's broken beyond repair and next to worthless on the firing range now. Yet, as he quickly learns, target panic is something that can be overcome. All it takes is the will and determination to learn from repeated failures. What spurs Minato forward, though, isn't the encouragement of his friends but, rather, simply catching sight of a man practicing archery in the moonlight. This man, Takigawa Masaki, quickly becomes something of a mentor to Minato as he explains how he's learned to excel in archery in spite of having target panic. Based on his experience, it's merely a matter of keeping at it until the symptoms begin to subside, allowing for gradual improvement over time.
Considering how good he is, it's kinda hard to argue with that advice.
Yet things still aren't necessarily sunshine and roses for Takigawa even if he's gotten better. In his mind, he's still not completely cured of his target panic and is just about to give up on archery altogether because of that. After all, he's spent years honing his craft and trying to improve but can still feel it limiting him in little ways. Anyone would cave under that amount of frustration and hopelessness. Seeing Takigawa as proof that he can still shoot in spite of his target panic, though, Minato desperately pleads that he keep shooting. Swayed by Minato's desperation and amused by a minor misunderstanding Minato had about Takigawa's situation, he eventually concedes. Together, they swear to continue archery and overcome their shared burden. Takigawa promises he'll continue to shoot and Minato will join the archery club with Seiya and Ryouhei since they'll undoubtedly work to keep him on his path to improvement.
Just like that, the torch is passed and the plot really starts to kick into gear.
From this point on, the show starts to pan out a little and focuses less on Minato and more on the rest of the archery club as he begins to form a bond of friendship with them and improve. This doesn't mean that the show is done with Minato; not by a long shot. Rather, the show has stopped being just about him. Instead, we're introduced to the rest of the main cast and get to board the KyoAni roller coaster of emotions as the cast's personal issues, personality quirks, and interpersonal relationships bolster and block their progress as archers. Most common among these are the issues born from Onogi Kaito's generally disagreeable personality. Pegged as the fickle feline tsundere of the show, Onogi simply struggles with talking to people without making an utter ass of himself. Characterized by a generally mean look and an attitude to match it, he basically ends up picking fights with a lot of the cast over the littlest things thanks to his easily bruised pride. As his more amicable and sociable cousin, Kisaragi Nanao, points out, though, Onogi quickly grows to like people once they've proven themselves to him personally or competitively. Meanwhile, Nanao, for his part, is very much the opposite of his cousin in that he's a veritable social butterfly who comes off as bit fake but legitimately just wants the people around him, Onogi especially, to be happy. In comparison to the rest of the cast, he's by far the most socially aware and conscious of when he needs to be serious and butt into other people's problems.
It's kinda heartwarming but also a little creepy how most shots with these two have Nanao
just off in the background, keeping a watching eye on his bullheaded cousin.
Once everyone is given their moment of bonding with either the awkward Minato, the scheming Seiya, or the towering ball of joy that is Ryouhei, the archery team starts to come together. But before the team is it's totally complete, however, there is one last addition to the remember. Unfortunately, no, it's not the girls on the team who are relegated to being afterthoughts for the entire series. No, the final member of the archery team is its brand-new coach, Takigawa, who comes with a goal for the new archery team to be good enough to compete in high school nationals. In other words, on top of the main cast dealing with all their personal drama, they've also been asked to step up and compete in a tournament with a very set deadline. What this also means, however, is the introduction of yet more drama as other teams are worked into the mix. Most notably, Kirisaki High's team adds a lot due to Minato's shared past with their ace, the unstoppable Prince of archery, Fujiwara Shuu.
Enter the threatening but well-meaning rival.
Now, with the full picture painted, I have to say that I really like what Tsurune does with its cast. As I've said, they're all fairly well-fleshed-out characters with a lot going on, both individually and together. With their working toward the competition always lurking in the background, the show turns their struggles and failures to improve and rivalries into perfect ways to force them into conflicts that get their grievances aired in the process. What's more, the entire cast goes through a really fascinating arc in which everyone is asked why they're pursuing archery in the first place. Unlike Minato and Takigawa, who are in it simply because it's their passion, everyone else has ulterior motives or goals that might very easily get in the way or fall apart when put under stress. Though never directly stated, Onogi seems like archery because he thinks it looks cool. Ryouhei simply wants something he can bond over with Seiya and Minato. Nanao is simply looking after Onogi while also mulling over what it is he really wants out of life. For Seiya, though, it's a little more complex. Dragged into it by Minato when they were young, Seiya seems, at first, to just be soldiering on as he carries his torch for Minato. While that explanation isn't necessarily wrong, though, it ignores Minato's own involvement in it. Though he might love archery and have an obsession with the noise the bowstring makes when fired (the "tsurune"), he isn't strong enough to continue on his own. After a rough arc in which Seiya's feelings of inadequacy are dredged to the surface, it's revealed that he's in it because Minato supports him in the same way he supports and eggs on Minato. Together, they hold each other up so that they can both pursue the things they love and compete with self-sustaining champions like Shuu.
Though it's really hard to watch Seiya being passive aggressive and pissy during this entire arc,
that lesson, growth, and pay off more than make up for his shitty attitude.
In the end, Tsurune is, like any KyoAni title, a deeply personal and resonant story of friendship and finding oneself through the friends they make. For a sports anime, it is easily one of the better ones I've seen over the years. Though that label still means it trips over issues like power spiking and ill-defined rivalries typical of that genre, those issues feel more like nitpicks next to everything else this show does so well. On the same note, the complications born of the show's more homoerotic overtones are similarly easy to overlook. Namely, while Minato is inexplicably surrounded by characters that could easily turn into romances for him (i.e. Seiya, Shuu, and Takigawa), the show never really delves deep into that territory and leaves it mostly up to fan interpretation. In fact, the show actively seems to present that there is only one option here, thanks to that same moment of revelation and camaraderie between Minato and Seiya. Unnecessary romances aside, though, I can only really say that I adore this show. It was a rare gem that a very nearly overlooked because of its weird release schedule but the delayed start and odd haitus toward the end made it worth the wait. In terms of sheer execution, Tsurune gets perfect marks across the board. From the music to the art, animation and the sheer level of detail put into the little things to make this world come alive, it's exactly what you'd expect of a KyoAni drama. While the product might not be perfect as a whole due to it failing to really give the rest of the cast their time in the sun despite their integral to the overall story, I think it is an overall great series. So much so, in fact, that I'm a little tempted to see if I can get my hands on the original light novels.