Basquash!

This is my first review, and as much as I will try to stay biased for the reader, I can only write with the mood I am feeling at the time I was watching the episodes. Basquash: Well what can I say? What started as a brilliant roller-coaster formula to an inventive sports recipe of basketball, ended up collapsing midway and failing to meet the viewers expectation to what could have been a great shonén series. Story: 5/10 I've given the story side of Basquash a 5 due to that, there is none. It's your typical shonén anime with sports and mecha(called Big Foots) combined to give youan unorthodox game of what's called Big Foot Basketball(BFB for short). Like all sports anime, there is a hint of romance but not enough for a follow through, and like every mecha, there's upgrades although in this show the upgrades are just the shoes(which NIKE have blatantly smeared all over the series as they pretend to sponsor the team). Well I'd be lying to say there is no story as there is one, but due to the lack of pacing and the inconsistencies the series provides, it can easily confuse the viewer to what they're really watching....and Dan's character is no help either. Art: 8/10 The art in itself is spectacular, if not at times, over the top. From the anime studio(Satelight) who gave us Macross Frontier, Heat Guy J, Noein and Guin Saga, be expected to be breath taken by the variety of the background colors to the combination of CG. There has not been a moment I have been disappointed and although the character designs aren't very realistic, you learn to grow with it as you may have if you've seen anime like TTGL or Soul Eater. Sound: 10/10 This is the part I may start to be a little biased, but all with good reason. The OST of Basquash is amazing! From the OP to the ED, to the BGM in between, the music of Basquash is what sets it apart from all the mecha/sports genre out there. Since the release of Eclipse's(who happened to be idols in the series) album, my partner has not failed to play their song once a day on her ipod! Whether it be an opening for the main character(with 'No Limit' by Eclipse) or a tear jerking scene of 2 would be lovers saying their goodbyes('Running On' also by Eclipse), each and every song, will draw and captivate the crowd! For the most part, I'm guessing this department is what really draws a crowd in as Basquash is like one long drawn out AMV for me. Characters: 5/10 The reason why I've given its characters a 5 is due to its lack of. You are first introduced to a motley crew of kids lead by Dan(main character a.k.a Dunk Mask). Now at first episode I had liked Dan for being wild and out of control, and his actions is what lead me to ask for more(specially at the end). Pretty much like Kamina of TTGL or Black Starr of Soul Eater, all brawn and no brain. But as the show carries on, you start to at times, loathe his ignorance and stupidity. The supporting cast, is Dan's saving grace. You have Dan's sister who gives us the back story, Dan's team mates Sela and Iceman(who are a mix of cool and sexy), Dan's childhood friends(Bel & Ganz) and childhood sweetheart(Miyuki), and Dan's manager Haruka Gracia(who is the also the main fan-service with her Lunar Busts). Add in idols Eclipse and you pretty much get a cast that's watchable. Oh, and I almost forgot Spanky, who is Dan's sidekick and mascot. A little pet(if you could call it that), who talks crudely and provides the humor for the show. Enjoyment: 7/10 Basqash's saving grace is its chemistry. As I had mentioned earlier, Basquash is a roller-coaster of an anime with its ups and down, but due to the chemistry of its music, art and characters, it does make you want to keep your eyes glued for the next episode. Overall: 6/10 Overall I have given this show a 6 out of 10 for its inventiveness. If your looking to watch an anime where you need to use your head like a mystery series, then this is not for you, but if your looking for something fresh with good music and eye-candy, I can guarantee Basquash will deliver.

The idea of the whole anime may sound ridiculous, but it is exactly the fact that they managed to recreate it in an interesting way that makes the series really intriguing. How many people would watch this after a describtion such as this one: "Guys playing basketball in giant robots; sometimes in THE SPACE." I doubt there would be many anticipating to watch something like that. But what never ceased to amaze me throughout the whole series was that I didn't even once feel like I was watching something dumb and not well-thought. An idea that seems stupid, stereotypical and clichè may actually surprise youby representing an overall satisfying story. The whole plot was in general really nicely planned, I noticed they managed to squeeze in something like a mini-culmination in every single episode. There was no episode with just talk and no action and vice versa. So these two things were somewhat in balance all the time. On a sad note, I was left unsatisfied by the way things concluded. Towards the end the anime became too messed up with all sorts of fanatsy elements. A little bit too much, in my opinion, considering that the main thing in this anime is basketball. The art was good in its own way. I suppose it would be simply out of place if it was too beautiful and graceful. I am content with the looks of the characters, despite the fact that from time to time I found them drawn too childish. The sound effects, the acting skills of the voice actors and the songs were absolutely and undoubtetly perfectly selected for this anime. I have absolutely nothing negative to say. The characters were fun, colourful and nicely developed. Some of them were however simply not deep enough. Too superficial and stereotypical at times, but just a few of them and only rarely. I also liked the fact that there were plenty of female characters, unlike in other sports and action anime. I didn't feel any lack of female presence, which somehow gave a certain sense of colourfulness and completion to the whole story. The enjoyment I got from watching this anime, unlike most people would predict from its describtion, was great. I had mostly fun and laughed like crazy at some ridiculous scenes. I liked the way basketball matches were recreated and it was a real joy to observe such a fine animation. Overall, this anime is worth watching, regardless of if you are into basketball or sports as a whole or not. I had a great time watching it, but I do not think I shall ever re-watch it. It is exciting and makes you wait with anticipation for the next episode, but missing the element of surprise, it's just not the same. Whoever hasn't watched this anime yet, I recommend it from the bottom of my heart.

the enjoyment of watching Basquash depends on your taste for animes, some people get really disappointed and others enjoyed this series very much. i'm not really a fan of sports animes but this anime sure has some uniqueness to it. as we know, most sports anime will start off in school and later compete with other school then to the nationals and so on... but this anime combines the theme of adventure together with sports, and the characters travel around the world and even to outer space. there's also a pinch of romance and haremwhich makes it even more interesting. when i first read the synopsis, i was thinking, ''why did they need to make a story about robots playing basketballs?'' but later when i watch it, i understand that they were trying to make a story where there are obstacles in the court of a basketball game and that the story is not just about sports but about sports that could save humans from the end of the world, the funny thing is that this anime is when it is promoting the Nike brand and could get really funny, because every now and then the robots need to change their shoes and sometimes, during climax, you could see the logo. SOUND: the second op and background music during fights were great but the ending songs is below everage. CHARACTER: Some of the characters have a cliche feeling to them except for the princess which is a quite interesting to watch at, very cute and modest at the same time. ART: the art when the robots play basketball was great in the beginning but starts to get worse because later on, you'll get boring as the ball bounce from building to building and suddenly scores. it's like watching a pinball game. OVERALL: a great sports anime with adventures, love and action all the way through

Basquash is like that first date you have with an interesting person. You are not to sure what to expect and approach it with an open mind. A few minutes into the date and you hit things of and you tell yourself this could be the start of something special. Sadly, as the night progresses you realize you had the wrong impression all along as the date gets worse and worse till you feel like pretending to be sick so you can leave early. Art: Pretty amazing for the first 10 episodes or so. Very nice blend using computer generated graphics for the bigfoot and regular2d art for the characters. The backgrounds and environment all looks lively and the action scenes are very fluid. Sadly the quality starts to deteriorate past episode 10. Action scenes start having pieces of slideshows in them, computer graphics look less outstanding. Character art looks lacking. In the final episodes it did pick back up but not to the quality it had from from the first few episodes. Story: You don't expect much from an anime about playing basketball in giant robots. I wish they had just stick to that instead of it turning into something way too serious half way through the series that came out of no where Sound: First opening and ending are pretty damn good. During the first half there will also be some enjoyable instances where they tie the opening song to the idols performing it live before a big game which i thought was a creative concept. Second opening was also good, though not as good as the first. I did not care for the second ending song much. The singing in the second half was also poor compared to the first. Characters: This is one of the stronger points of this anime in my opinion. The cast for the most part is pretty likable. Dan and his pet Spanky have some of the most humorous moments I can remember and i always enjoyed the banter between the two throughout the story. I always get excited when Iceman was on the screen shouting out "Destroy!" Each of the 3 main characters all get a mini arc that focuses on them and gives a bit of back story. I do however feel like there were certain characters in the show that really didn't serve much purpose in regards to the progression of the story. Enjoyment: The first half was one of the most enjoyable moments I've had watching anime recently. Sadly, it pains me to say it gets pretty boring half way through to the point where I was forcing myself to continue hoping things would pick back up. The last couple episodes were decent enough but no where close to how amazing the first part of the series was. Overall I'd give Basquash a 5/10. The first half itself scores a 8/10 in my book but things really went downhill. The ending though decent didn't have the fireworks I was expecting when I first started watching the series.

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