Ace wo Nerae! (1979)

Look, the story in this movie is trash. The entire thing is an irrational, emotionally (and at times physically) abusive male coach unreasonably projecting his desires onto a teenage girl, working her until she throws up. You are not told what his motivations are for the majority of the movie, and when it's finally revealed it is some of the most insultingly inappropriate drivel I have ever had narratively pushed on me in film. The movie has the audacity to have the main character be grateful to this man for his abuse. This may even be realistic, I do not know how people react inthese situations. Realistic or not, it is disgusting for this to be portrayed as sweet, endearing, motivational, or inspirational narratively. The coach is a piece of trash, and truly how dare this film spend even a nanosecond portraying him as anything else. I understand that the context was different for the demographic at the time. A 70s shoujo manga about a hot older man taking a passionate interest in you above and beyond the other girls, feverishly driving you to be the best version of yourself because of his dark, traumatic past. Were I a japanese teen girl 35 years ago, no doubt this is would be quite captivating to me. Judge it in those terms if you wish, but for me, as an adult in 2021, this is absolute garbaaaage. Putting those issues aside, the pacing is poor and while some of the scenes are quite nice (Osamu Dezaki really shines in certain moments) overall the production is nothing to rave about. So take some pretty good direction, modest animation, and a fun enough main character and mix that with poor pacing and an absolutely garbage story and you get a 3/10

Aim for the Ace! is the shortened movie version of the '73 series of the same name. Most notable for its part in the boom of tennis in japan and inspiring Gunbuster, Dezaki creates another sports anime rife with melodrama and sparkling eyes. I highly recommend viewing this movie if you are not interested in the original anime as the production quality leaves a bit to be desired. The movie adaption is truly a masterpiece of 70's anime as we lose the art of manual animation. With rich colors, great framing, varied shots, it truly is eye candy for anyone a fan of 70’sanime, and a fan of Dezaki. High Schooler Oka has one goal: to play tennis. Especially with the much more beautiful and mature Madame Butterfly. A tennis queen unmatched in elegance and power. Among her peers she is just like the rest of the newcomers. Unskilled and clumsy. So it is much to all's surprise when new coach Munakata choses Oka to play as a regular in an upcoming tournament rather than her seniors. The story grows as we see the main characters get ready for the final match between Madame Butterfly and Oka Hiromi. A coach with a harsh training style, a tennis newcomer who will do anything to achieve her dreams, and her bitter rival bent on defeating her through skill alone. While nothing extremely deep (no, tennis does not reach to far into the psyche) Aim for the Ace offers a glimpse into what we all felt when we were younger, that our passions define our life.

Per my rating, I have mixed feelings on recommending this. I watched it hours after finishing the tv series. Starting off with the pros, the high budget is clear with beautiful shots and no off-model moments for characters (or at least I didn't notice any) In the 6 year gap between the series and the movie, Dezaki's directing became so much more refined and distinctly HIS style from the pastel still frames, the shots of birds taking flight, unique camera angles, and color palette changes in intense moments. It very much made the movie for me. Onto why I am mixed about this, the movie ispretty much a recap of the series, with new content being at the very end. While some moments are changed slightly, the end result is pretty much the same. Some really important character arcs and moments are cut out too, like Kyoko Otowa's development and a lot of how Reika and Hiromi's bond grew and changed over the course of the plot along with Hiromi's improvement being less gradual, only shown through short training montages. I understand the reason being time constraints, but it still does hurt the film. Overall, if you're watching it for new content, it isn't really needed. However, if you are a Dezaki fan like me and enjoy his directing style, the film is eye candy and a nice watch. TL;DR: Probably not going to enjoy it if you aren't a fan of recaps, if you want to watch it because it's a Dezaki work and to see his style in motion, go for it.

I do think the movie is great as a standalone. If you don't want to watch the first season,.due to having too many episodes and being a touch too old, I do recommend this series. A nice summary with a bit more information than the actual series. Namely, the coach's backstory. However, as someone who has watched the original series, it's inferior to it. They cut a lot of stuff out, and it feels rushed in certain areas. Still, it's an overall summary of the first season, so it's good if you're on a time crunch. It's goodif you don't want to dedicate too much time watching the series.

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