This Week in Anime

Fanfare of Adolescence Trips at the Starting Line

Nicky
You're right, Nick. Maybe it's about time we pony up and get these horses to the races, huh?

And with the help of some boys!!

Also, not to be mistaken from that one weird dating sim phone game with a hot guy's face slapped onto a horse's body. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The horse boys, as I calls 'em, starts off with our main character Yu deciding he wants to get out of the idol industry to go to horse racing school. This, of course, creates a big public upset. Before he even can get inaugurated, he is hounded by press media, fans, and his former company alike for trading his lead singer lifestyle to muck some stables for a few years. But, knowing how brutal the JP idol industry is, I personally can't blame him for picking literal horseshit over that.

I don't dislike it as a point of drama, but his company is an ever-present part of the show. His former company head even sent a girl to document him and everyone on video (with the school's permission) and bets on the idea that Yu will eventually quit and return to being a star so they can go back to lining their pockets with his talents.

But, you're right in that it's one of the ways the show leans more drama-heavy than sports-heavy. I think even Dance Dance Danseur leans into its sports genre tropes more than this show.

I think even without going into other characters, there's many people that will be disappointed in this show's execution right off the bat. I was actually looking forward to this show based on the trailer before it aired but quickly fell flat when I realized that no animator nowadays in the current crunch-heavy climate wants to hand draw goddamn horses.

Horses are notoriously one of the hardest animals to draw and animate. I learned this myself at an early age when I used to obsessively watch the "How to Draw" feature on Dreamwork's Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and failed miserably (I still can't do it.) They're giant awkward uncanny muscle beasts on four legs that have a specific rhythm of motion so most of the horses in the show are CG.

And it's not like I'm inherently against CG. There's very many times where it would be impossible to do some shots with 2D while trying to capture the same dynamics of speed and camera movement. The movement animation and the direction are overall solid and ambitious enough where I can forgive it when they do it well during the big set pieces. Some of the more fantastical sequences are gorgeous. But most of the average ones feel underwhelming when you notice how badly shaded or ugly the model is. I think their tails and manes suffer the worst of it, which most people would consider to be the prettiest part of a horse.

I enjoy the setup of Yu's counterpart Shun as a bonified natural horse whisperer. He's a sensitive boy that is pretty much only in the sport for the heart of it. It had me hoping we'd have more about learning to get in touch with animals feelings in tandem with the feelings of others. Anyone who has seen or read any trademarked "Horse Girl" media would know that horses are needy and fickle creatures with big personalities that have to be understood, and this makes forming companionship with them both challenging and rewarding, not unlike dealing with other people.

But the show just kind of talks around the horses on that part even if it tries to sell their importance. A very big loss for Equestrian Appreciators out there. Tbh, I think Silver Spoon sold that kind of animal husbandry aspect waaay better and even included a few horse competitions, and that's only one aspect of that series about overall farm life.

People who treat this as a boys doing things show will probably get more out of it, and I expect that's more of what the show is trying to go for. This shot from the OP is basically just an idol line-up. Oh yeah, I should mention that while the appeal of the show is boys, one of the jockeys, Eri, is actually the only female jockey in the whole school. I appreciated that she got to be in a rival position and not a manager like most female characters in sports shows.

The character designs are done by Hiro Kanzaki, the character designer for Oreimo and Eromanga sensei. I think they're pretty clean but also couldn't imagine them moving merch as much as something like Free!

I suspect that this is part of why no one in Sk8 The Infinity ever wears helmets but at least they had different outfits.

Natsuki Hanae's unintentionally hilarious use of English was the most I laughed through the whole show. Though, I like the instructor's weird ass English, too. It's just guaranteed to make me giggle.

But yeah it was very weird to introduce us to an ensemble and then introduce a new stuck-up transfer student rival from a foreign country who doesn't want to be there, even if he's one of the more entertaining ones.

Yeah, it's unintentionally funny. There's a few other gags that are more intentional like attention-seeking Soujiro who I at least appreciate for being one of the few members of the cast to initially stick out as ambitious.

He's much funnier when you find out he wants Yu to step on him. But these are little bits. I enjoy the overall shenanigans, like trying to get everyone back in the dorms before curfew or having fun at the beach. They do contribute to some character stuff but I feel like the show moves fast between points of drama, mostly involving Yu.

Especially when...we barely see any horse racing...

And just before this, Natsuki Hanae's character Amane Grace (which is a name Tomino would be proud of) tried to snipe Yu's boyfriend Shun. It doesn't have a lot of build up because it was only episode 3 and not enough to establish the threat having another rival would bring. Like really just trying to cram material here.

And I think one character, Kouta gets like, one spoken joke throughout the entire 10 episodes? And it's just about how he dislikes being forced to be responsible and in the background.

Horse jockeying means you can't be too heavy or you'll drag the horse but Hosho looks to be one of the skinniest boys in the whole cast so it's a bit strange. On top of that, the other instructor is his dad. Hosho gets classic "develop an eating disorder and overwork myself like a self-destructive idiot" arc.

It's also normal for your weight to fluctuate as a growing boy, it's probs worse to put on more muscle.

It's still very much playing into clichés that might not be everyone's taste and we get little else about the character, though I attest that anime succeeds when it leans into melodrama and does it well, but we get more time on that before we get the biggest cliché of all: literally falling off the horse.

I'll also note that I do think the overall show's visual direction is good even if I find some of the writing to be questionable. It's directed by Makoto Katou, who also did a lovely adaption of one of my fav yuri manga, Bloom into You.

Again, one of the most notable horse clichés is an injury plot because falling off a horse can be dangerous and fatal. But it felt especially weird getting this at episode six when we've barely seen Yu get much ride time at all and now he won't be able to train for the big test. He's convinced his horse career is finished even though he's only been at it for a few months. I mentioned the visual direction pulling weight because there's some neat motifs that help ease an otherwise pretty shitty attempt to raise the stakes that isn't really necessary.

Something like this is usually when you're trying to end a series. It's really weird having it smack-dab in the middle.

This almost makes Yu give up all hope, until his boyfriend comes in with the save and the MPV MP3 hand-off via wall-climbing into a third-floor hospital room window. They deserve so much better. I would love to see a show that is actually about their relationship because moments like this are sweet and full of heart-pounding potential.

She basically acts like his MOM. Where are Yu's actual parents? Shouldn't they have a say in their son's future and be able to protect him from a corporate entity trying to harass him. That's some shit worthy of a restraining order.

Oh yeah, I haven't even gotten to the best part of this show is actually its OST by goddamn Hiroyuki Sawano. I don't like every part of the show but man does his score really sell every moment of it. Seeing Yu take the leap to the highs of the orchestra really got me, along with AN ACTUAL DRAWN HORSE. And then the show follows it with THAT.

It's so unfair. The ED, also by Sawano, is also a total bop.

The pacing of this show is so goddamn weird. And it's the 2nd sports show this season to get a weird stakes reboot after Birdie Wing.

Eight episodes in and we finally get some sort of focus for Shun. Who is an extremely good boy and really, really deserves better. But it's also like the first time the show takes the horse part of it's premise seriously? It's just a completely different show. Shun is now in his second year working at a real stable. It's really weird 'cause I honestly wouldn't mind if this was the actual starting point of the show and have the rest be background.

It also goes from being very little about horses to almost all about them and the politics of raising them and taking care of them. Including all the politics and drama involved. It's such a weird tone shift. Being at different stables also means less time with Shun and Yu together but Yu still gets some screen time as he quarrels with an older jockey introduced earlier named Kuji.

It's also a much better paced overall. But all of that just emphasizes how most people would drop the show before they get to this point and the earlier parts of the show don't add too much to this part.

But that's still doesn't change the struggles of the first half of the show and how I wish it were better, more streamlined, and more horse-focused. Even though the general premise of the show is better there's not really any telling if the writing will stay good or if it'll fall into similar bad drama tendencies as before and I could already kind of see it happening. Honestly, I feel like there's enough better yet underrated sports dramas with good boys that it's hard to sell Fanfare of Adolescence's appeal unless you really like horses and want to see them animated. Otherwise, I'm still waiting for everyone to check out Backflip!!, which hits pretty much all the beats I wanted from this anime and more.

That stuffs good. For me, I tend to feel more disappointment when I know a show can reach better and higher potential knowing parts of it are wasted. It hurts my heart when I sincerely want to see a piece of art be the best version of itself. Fanfare of Adolescence isn't by any means unpleasant, but it often fails to clear the bar about what about it can truly be special. Like how can you make a show centered around "Hiroyuki Sawano Insert Song over Horse Races" fail?!

Well then, I think it's better that we don't go about beating a dead horse and end this column, partner. What do ya say?