Name: Eyeshield 21
Genre: School Life, Sports
Year: 2005
Rating: Recommended
Sena Kobayakawa is a boy who has been bullied by others all his life. On top of the bullying he has constantly relied on his older sister figure Mamori Anezaki to protect him. Now that he is entering into his high school years he wants to change however as he is entering Deimon High School the same place where Mamori is attending it becomes obvious that he will find it hard to change when being around an overprotective childhood friend. Sena is remarkably weak however he has an amazing running speed and dodging techniques. For Yoichi Hiruma and Ryokan Kurita it is their last year to compete for the Christmas Bowl. They are apart of a American Football club aiming to win the tournament however they have always lacked talent. After seeing Sena’s speed Hiruma decides to force him to becomes the teams running back. Sena’s talent is beyond an average high school boy so it is likely that other schools would want to have him on their team. To hide Sena’s identity from other schools as well as to keep Mamori calm, Sena wears an eye shield to hide his face. Soon the name of Eyeshield 21 spreads across the region and Sena becomes a key player in Hiruma’s team the Deimon Devil Bats.
There have been many sports based anime serials made but only some are good and this is one of them. Similar to the famed Hajime no Ippo there are numerous exciting moments in this series. When it comes to shounen anime I find that the plots are very similar. Its generally a boy who was once weak becoming strong through determination and will power. I have seen many of these types of serials however I don’t tire of them. There has been an anime about most of the major sports but American football never really came to mind. The series teaches you allot about the sport and its rules but whats great is that each character has their own unique personalities. Its something that should be seen by all sports genre lovers out there as its one of the better sport themed serials available. You may be thinking that you have no interest at all in American football however I think that its less about the actual sport featured and more about the overall enjoyment of the characters and how they progress through the story.
