AlAlexPaulLEWZ
September 2, 2023
Recommended
I'm going to ask you a question. French for "a flash of lightning," this chocolate-topped dessert that got its name because it is eaten quickly is called what? The answer would be "eclair." However, for characters of this anime, the moment the consonant cluster "fl" for "flash" is pronounced, they have already pressed the buzzer and gotten the correct answer. Okay, one more. The three great festivals of Kyoto are Gion Festival, Aoi Festival, and what? The correct answer would be "Jidai Festival," and you might have already guessed that once the "A" part of "Aoi" was spoken, the correct answerwould already have been determined. Okay, last one. Jumping flea in Hawaiian is the name origin of what instrument? The correct answer would be "ukulele," and some of the best competitors would have already known the answer when the word "flea" was spoken.
Growing up, I have always been fascinated with random trivia questions from a wide variety of subjects, and even now, if you tell me a totally random trivia fact and ask me "Did you know?" questions, I will always, and I mean ALWAYS be interested. So of course, when I found an anime that focuses on trivia quizzes, and leveled it up into an intense competition, it became an instant favorite.
Nana Maru San Batsu, or in English, Fastest Fingers First, or to be more accurate, 7 Correct Answers and 3 Mistakes—but I guess that wouldn't be a popular title—is a school anime centering on Shiki Koshiyama, a bookworm who somehow finds himself participating in a mini quiz bee competition at his school after being chosen at random. Shiki ends up being able to answer only one question, but that question was actually the hardest one. He gets the attention of his classmate, Mari Fukami, who is an experienced quizzer and was one of the participants that voluntarily joined the same quiz, but was not fast enough to answer that particular question. Seeing his potential, Mari invites Shiki to join the quiz club, where Shiki finds a new hobby in competitive quizzes where his knowledge on difficult topics stemming from his habits as a bookworm will prove to be extremely useful.
The story is very niche as I can't recall any anime that's so focused on academic competitions aside from Baka to Test, but even the premise of that anime is significantly different from Fastest Fingers First, so that's beside the point. This distinction alone, I believe, makes this anime's story deservedly unique and arguably, there should be more anime like this. Not only that, but it also capitalizes on the brains part of school competitions, which is already rare by itself as these types of anime usually focuses on sports, and by extension, the physical body. This appeals to me especially because I used to take part in these types of competitions all the time when I was in elementary and high school. The feelings of nostalgia make me yearn to be a part of those contests again. Sadly, I can't do that as a student anymore, but since I am studying to become a teacher, then I can guide my future students toward the same path, but I digress.
One more thing I want to point out is that this anime has that kind of story that is better to be watched again for some reason. It's like, I first watched this anime when I was 18 years old, and I rewatched it for the sake of this review, three years later that I'm now 21. For some reason, the story becomes more appealing as you grow up, so I'd recommend that you watch this anime, enjoy it, then wait some years after you've gained more worldly knowledge and experiences, then rewatch this anime. Better if you don't actively think about it.
Now, let's talk about the characters. Our main character, Koshiyama, is a fresh look at the so-called "overpowered main character" trope. Why do I say he's overpowered? His knowledge base alone is the overpowered thing about him, but the nature of the quiz bee suppresses the power his knowledge brings him. If he hears the entire question, he would be amazing, period. But since competitive quiz bees rely on competitors answering questions even before the halfpoint of the questions, even if you know the answer, it would not be so much of an advantage. This quality also makes Koshiyama a fresh look at the so-called "super rookie" trope because even though he catches attention later on, the anime still gives us an actual character development that portrays delayed gratification. These two points make Koshiyama a good character who's not rushed into glory, but instead, we are given a protagonist who gradually improves, and once again, is a fresh breath of air in this anime period where everyone is overpowered from the get-go.
For the next main character, my impressions of Mari Fukami are similar to Going Home Club's Sakura Doumyouji. Yes, I also thought that her voice was perfectly average, or in other words, perfectly portraying the average Japanese person in my opinion because that's how I feel it even though I do not know what the average is because I am not a Japanese person, to the point that I once thought that the two had the same voice actresses. Similar to Sakura's VA's situation, Mari's VA, Umika Kawashima, only had one role as a main character, before stopping for some reason. As such, I think it's a waste for these talents not to be nurtured for them to perfect their craft. I don't know if this is the case, but I think that many people would disagree with me and instead call these types of voices bad voice acting. They may have a point, but these voices appeal to me, and once again, and I hope that by some miracle, both Umika Kawashima and Miharu Kobayashi (Sakura Doumyouji's VA) or someone with a voice caliber similar to theirs would come again to the voice acting scene once more. Aside from her voice, Mari is also a character I'd consider good, but sadly, I was busy simping for another character whose name I won't say, but I believe you'd like her the instant you will see her.
Lastly, a quick comment on Chisato Mikuriya, who you could treat as the antagonist of the series due to his adeptness not only in knowledge but also in speed. He's literally me frfr, in the sense that I also feel a sense of rivalry quite intensely, and I always want to compete with people in terms of academics, knowledge, and things similar to those. My school life would've been complete if I was involved in a rivalry similar to Mikuriya and Koshiyama's. Sigh, such a shame.
Now, the music, especially the opening theme, because that's the one thing that stood out to me—"On My MiND" by Mrs. Green Apple. Yes, the same ones who sang Fire Force's iconic opening theme, "Inferno." It's so sad to think that such a different hype to an anime and the time they were released makes this much of a difference. Sure, Fire Force had 15x more audience than Fastest Fingers First, and that means by extension, Inferno has had more reach, and that's why it's iconic. However, in terms of catchiness, I believe that On My MiND is equally catchy and I hope more people will listen to it.
This anime is a dream come true for trivia nerds like me out there. Overall, such an amazing concept: interesting niche, characters with good development, a character who's literally me frfr, but not so sluggish on everything else. It focuses on its main premise on point without much derailment, which makes the interest of those watching it constantly glued to what they're watching. Now if we can get more people who are interested in quiz bowl to watch this anime, or if we can get people who watch this anime to become interested in quiz bowl, that would be nice.
Last question before I end, coming from the French word "revoir" which means "to see again," what do you call a long article that is a critical evaluation of something you experienced? Indeed, it is a review. And by that, I say au revoir, and I'll see you again soon.
