Mar 23, 2023
While this kind of series, I mean a series with no superfluous actions or fierce events and no exaggerated characters, may be boring and bland to many, I find this a very beautiful series in every aspect. Beautiful music, beautiful characters, beatiful interactions between characters, beautiful mindset. Actually none of these, I mean neither the characters, nor the sound, or the animation, etc., nothing is outstanding. But each aspect is consistent in such a way that in total they present a coherent and wholesome experience. Each has repetitive patterns, just like kyudo, and actually this is kind of healing when especially you realize the differing
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details and growth in these repetitions. Although it is a school and sports series that is compared to other series in this category like Free!, compared to those shallow series I found Tsurune naive but mature. Finishing the series didn’t change my life or whatsoever but it feels like a nice fresh breath.
Although Tsurune series is not my most favorite series so far, this is the first time I wanted to write a review due to my impression of how underrated and overlooked series this is. After knowing the characters better, in this season everything gets better. Being a person with no kyudo / archery backgound, for me it is very interesting how watching people just shooting arrows, I mean doing that one same series of movements (and come on, there are only 5 movements or so in total) over and over again, can be this exciting. Actually, while practitioners do the same movement over and over, each time it feels fresh in the series. The animation is very beatiful in depicting shooting details. At each shot the feeling changes: the sound of ‘tsurune’, the sound of the shot when it lands, the speed of the arrow, the arc of the arrow, the perspective, the details on the characters during shooting, and of course how each shot is linked to the emotional state of charecters etc. (Yes I know this is what sports anime is about anyway.)
The growth of characters is depicted in parallel with kyudo and sometimes with its philosophical aspects. However, it is so subtle in conveying the philosophy of kyudo that, it never gets overphilosophizing or cringe the slightest bit. As an example, how the mindset of Shu and Minato differs at their shots at the end of episode 12, (I wont give the details so as not to spoil) and how it effects the result was very subtle and deep that it made me cry. And the motto behind Shu’s mind, one that he had written as a wish, was not translated properly into English. Unfortunately in the series there are some subtle expressions like that might be lost in translation.
***spoiler***
It is hard to explain but 一射絶命 in the wish piece literally means “one shot last breath”. What he says before pulling the string is something like, this moment is this shooting and it is shot as if one gives their final breath, at the moment of death.
***end of spoiler****
So this is an anime with some philosophical fan service :) And there is no other kind of fan service. Half-naked -and especially long haired- Masaki shooting was very sexy though, I wish we could have seen it more. But yay to normal high school girls - though sparse.
In summary, Tsurune is a sports anime that is focused mostly on the characters, their subtle interactions and dialogues, and growth within the perspective and pratice of kyudo -and a bit (zen ?) philosophy. (I must have used the word 'subtle' like 50 times in this review). Naive yet mature. It has a slice of life feeling, sometimes funny but mostly soothing and emotional, yet gets very exciting at some points (like tournaments are all about holding breaths anyway). Kyudo both as a sport and as a 'way' seems to be depicted very much in detail and beautifully. The series doesn't shake or shock you, but finding growth and healing in repetitive patterns, it's a nice break. I recommend it to those that this resonates.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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