Spring 2022 First Impressions – Fanfare of Adolescence

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 13

Source: Original

Episode Summary: Yu Arimura is a member of a popular idol group, but after seeing horse racing for the first time he becomes fixated on the idea of becoming a jockey. After gaining entrance into an extremely competitive jockey-training high school, Yu’s fans and the media immediately begin questioning his motivations. Why not just continue to live the life of a famous idol like his fans obviously want? But Yu is committed to this new endeavor in spite of their protests.

On the day of the entrance ceremony, Yu’s convictions are put to the test. Not only are members of the media ready and waiting to hassle him, a mishap outside the building causes two horses to get loose, leaving the students to try to wrangle them. Yu feels in over his head, until one late-arriving student named Shun, who appears to have a gift for interacting with the animals, comes to the rescue. Shun shows Yu the view from atop a horse, and Yu realizes that he really is in the right place after all.

Impressions: I have my own method of deciding which premiere episodes to tackle in what order (roughly chronological, but there are other factors at play as well), and I find it interesting how often examples of similar genres end up grouped together simply by chance. This can be both good or bad depending on the series themselves; watching an okay episode after a great one doesn’t do the latter any favors, but watching something unique following an episode that’s simply ho-hum really helps bring into focus the things that help make a premiere successful.

Not to bag on Love All Play, which was decent in its own right, but one criticism I had of it was that it didn’t utilize its premiere episode to draw in the viewer as successfully as it could have. Sports anime is about character drama, sure, but part of the appeal of the genre is its subject matter and how the characters’ lives interact with it. I’m not a big real-life sports fan, but I do like learning about new things and sports anime (especially those focused on more obscure sports) gives me insight into the sheer number of activities human beings do for fun and competition. Horse racing is fairly simple on its face; while there’s definitely some racing strategy involved, the horse and rider who cross the finish line first are the winners of the race. The excitement is all about not knowing the outcome ahead of time, and, when the story is shown from the rider’s point-of-view, it becomes about the feeling of exhilaration of riding atop a huge animal with all the windswept speed that comes along with it.

While the characters don’t technically participate in any official races in this episode (nor are they likely to in the immediate future, since they’re just new students at the outset of the story), the plot contrivances end up with Yu taking his first ride as part of the episode’s climax. I have no desire to ride a horse, ever (when I was younger my sister and mother nearly got trampled by an out-of-control horse at a parade and I’ve never really trusted the animals since), but the episode does a great job of demonstrating the core appeal of the activity. Coupled with the romanticism of Yu making a new “friend” (and possibly more?) in Shun, this episode hits some real high notes.

This premiere episode is a real charmer. It’s not especially unique (which is never a requirement but the brain’s desire for novelty is ever-present) but it is very pretty and comfortable and has the feel of something self-assured. which sets it apart.

Pros: While stories about people giving up careers to follow their passions aren’t anything new, I like that this episode makes an attempt to address the “burden” that fame can bring down upon a person just trying to live their life. While I’m not particularly sympathetic to people who are all “boo hoo” about having wealth, I do know that being famous comes with it a lack of privacy and sometimes a lack of personal choice (especially in the music/idol industry). Yu trying to live out the years of his adolescence while constantly hassled by reporters and paparazzi is a struggle I definitely wouldn’t wish for.

Cons: I’m a bit torn over how Yu’s introduction to Shun is handled here. While I’m firmly in the camp of “there’s no possible heterosexual explanation for this,” I’m always skeptical of fiction that seems to be playing with tropes meant to directly appeal to that aspect of anime fandom – primarily because there’s not a guarantee that it will follow-through.

Content Warnings: Out-of-control animals. Paparazzi and reporters invading characters’ personal space.

Would I Watch More? – I think this episode represents a solid start for what seems like a very fun series. I haven’t really landed on whether I want to keep up with it from week-to-week, simply because as I’ve mentioned previously this is a “big” season with a lot of potential avenues. But I’d definitely say that, at this point, it’s on the positive side of the bell curve.