

Fastest Finger First
ナナマル サンバツ
As soon as he entered high school, the first year student Koshiyama Shiki was invited to the mysterious Quiz Study Group led by his senpai. What will Shiki run into when being dragged along by his class mate Mari into the dazzling world of competitive quizzes?! (Source: Comic Walker)
As soon as he entered high school, the first year student Koshiyama Shiki was invited to the mysterious Quiz Study Group led by his senpai. What will Shiki run into when being dragged along by his class mate Mari into the dazzling world of competitive quizzes?! (Source: Comic Walker)
Main
Main
Main
Main
Main
Supporting
Supporting
Supporting
Supporting
Supporting
Supporting
TzKal-Zuk
September 19, 2017
Quick review: Do you guys like competitive "sports?" Do you get excited about seeing people compete with different ideologies and aspirations? Well look no further, you may or may not find that in Nana Maru San Batsu (which I will now call FFF)! It depends on what kind of taste you have. I personally would compare it to Chihayafuru because the concept of being the fastest in both respective sports is reflexes and finger speed. FFF surprised me with how well executed the journey is and how interesting a quiz bowl could be. I personally wouldn't do this at all, but I can see it beinga really competitive thing and that's what matters. What FFF does right is constantly developing the main character Koushiyama. Since he is the main character we are following, it is important that he doesn't get overshadowed by other characters, who are admittedly plot devices with no real development on their own. It's challenging to fit engaging characters throughout the whole run time due to the 12 episode constraint as well as obligatory rule explanations. However, FFF does it to a pretty good degree, putting characters in the limelight here and there and really showing their personalities. Koushiyama is undoubtedly the most developed of the cast, albeit perhaps a little too one dimensional. He has tremendous upside in the quiz bowl because he is a nerd to begin with. So naturally, he is rather decent at Quiz Bowl, but watching him develop into an above average player felt satisfying because the competitors all had more intense motivations and clashing ideologies about the sport. It made for an engaging narrative since there are implications like: do what you love and screw what other people say, move forward, relentlessly etc. It was really impressive for something that doesn't have a synopsis that'd pull much viewers. The animation is okay, it sometimes used it to its advantage and visually show us the inner working of people's minds with decent symbolism. Other then that, nothing really stood out to me and the OST is likewise forgettable. Heck, I can't remember any track playing. All in all, I came in with no expectations (as i usually do) and finished wanting more. It truly has potential and a longer run time would exponentially improve the development of characters. I really appreciate the passion displayed by these athletes, since I know the feeling of doing something nobody respected. Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life folks.
Supporting
Pipe
September 20, 2017
Quizzes and more quizzes. They could be fun if the watchers feel the same interest in both the questions and the participants. If you don't like quizzes shows, then you immediately will consider Nana Maru San Batsu (Fastest Finger First) as a total waste of time, and the only fastest finger that you will end seeing is yours when you "change" for other show. I had been thinking how to rate this anime. Should I evaluate the questions, should I rate the quizzes modules, should I rate the characters? After a lot of thinking, I considered there is nothing to measure here. The story is the typical"nerd" with his glasses and every detail (Koshiyama). The destiny gave him the possibility to talk with a group of persons and ended joining the quizzes club from the school because Mari Fukami asked him. Then the story focuses on the game meetings against other schools, where Koshiyama finds a rival (Mikuriya). The climax appears when Koshiyama can't press the button faster, the inability to answer a certain group of questions, and when he challenges Mikuriya. So they spend a couple of minutes when Koshiyama starts analyzing the problems and figures a possible answer. That's all the story, nothing more. There are some unconcluded parts, for example, Mari's brother. The characters are the typical members of a school club with nothing special on them. They are in that club because they like it and will participate in the events because why not? The background of most of the characters they like quizzes, they study them, they need faster fingers, and ¡hey I found a rival!. The art and the music are what I consider standard nothing impressive here and nothing to complain about it. Finally, the characters do a little monologue when they try to figure an answer. It is the same repetition from question to question so you could end tired even if you like quizzes. Will I recommend this show to you? Maybe but you will consider it tedious.
AlexPaulLEWZ
September 2, 2023
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.
Denisecvo
September 23, 2017
I personally love the concept of discovering something you love and truly being passionate about it. This show is exactly that. Story: Good story, I love seeing characters strive to become better. The idea pf animating something like quiz bowl is definitely unique. There are certain stories are not concluded which I find annoying. 7/10 Character: KOSHIYAMA: An intersting character, like i said I love seeing pasionate characters so I really liked him FUKAMI: Honestly I didn't care much for her. She was really only there for the main female character appeal and her brother's backstory SASAJIMA: Calm cool and collected, there could be more back story to him MIKURIYA: His rivalrywith Koshiyama was interesting but he's literally just another kid who likes quiz bowl,there could be some expansion on his character 6/10 Art: I liked the character design and everyone is distinguishable. There are a few parts where the art is not so amazing but I can overlook that. 7/10 Sound: Loveee the OP and ED! So catchy! Voice acting was good except for Fukami. Her voice actor isn't necessarily bad but her voice doesn't give a young high school student vibe like it should. 7/10 Other stuff: The subtitles kind of ruin the curiosity of wondering when they will press their button. It would be interesting to see this dubbed.
PixEFit
September 24, 2017
Fastest finger first is over. Finally, it was pretty bad. The concept at the beginning was cool. I don't know much about quiz bowl or even heard of the subject of it. Which is the premise of the show by the way. And I was semi excited to learn more about it through this anime. And from the anime's view on quiz bowl presented to me. It wasn't very exiting. It was about these trivia super geniuses that can answer a question without hearing the entire answer through various techniques. And apparently that is realistic to the actual thing.I think that's what ruined it for me. I couldn't project anyone onto any of the characters in the series. Also, the characters are very stereotypical and bland. Even the voice actors got bored or at least weren't casted well. So Fastest Finger First, I give it a 3 being generous. Just not a very appealing anime to watch. I wouldn't recommend to anyone. This has been ur spoiler not spoiler review on Fastest Finger First
Rank
#6691
Popularity
#2746
Members
79,112
Favorites
75
Episodes
12