DAYS

Episode 7

So this is the new episode of DAYS, right? Not last week's episode? Because we're starting to get a lot of repetition here. People tend to react in one of two ways to Tsukushi—awe at his determination, or anger and frustration followed by awe. It leads to patterns in his interactions that I'm beginning to recognize more quickly and with less enthusiasm. Of course, what keeps this anime worth watching is Tsukushi himself, a charming and extremely human protagonist who makes it easy to forgive the anime's sloppy storytelling and rough edges.

This episode is divided into two uneven halves. This is a trend that's been occurring for several episodes now, and this lack of cohesive half-hour storylines seems to be a side effect of this property's adaptation from manga. But if I had to pick out the consistent thread between the two, it'd be “Tsukushi surprising people,” which is pretty much the consistent promise of the entire anime so far. The first story lauds Tsukushi's tenacity, featuring his insistence on running laps even on the team's designated day off. It's a lesson for Kazama, who at first considers, “Should I tell him that having fun is the most important part?” and then, through a vague series of flashbacks that I guess make more sense to manga readers, realizes that he has a lot to learn from Tsukushi's work ethic. On the one hand, I love how it's Kazama who learns so much from his friend, rather than the obvious other way around. It brings home the core values of teamwork and friendship that make up the backbone of sports anime. On the other hand, it's a little repetitive. It's nothing new for people who previously underestimated Tsukushi to be awed at his beat-up cleats and rain-or-shine runs.

Same goes for the second story of the episode. But first, the abrupt setting: it's suddenly the semi-finals, even though we haven't played more than one official match on-screen. The referee forgot to bring any red or yellow cards today, so the terrible opposing team is kicking and grabbing Seiseki members left and right with zero consequences. So of course when Coach puts Tsukushi in (a move he seems to make specifically to mess with everyone's head), the bad guys smell weakness and decide to focus on him. Even so, Tsukushi has a soccer breakthrough, almost makes the big goal, but doesn't. Again. Sound familiar? The saving grace is that even though Tsukushi has whiffed several key plays now, right when we frustratingly thought success was in the bag, he always fails in interesting new ways. This one looks especially painful too, thanks in part to Tsukushi's always relatable expressions. There's something to be said for stability. His opponents' and teammates' reactions and the outcomes of each play may be irritatingly consistent, but so is Tsukushi's sunny disposition, and I definitely don't want to lose that constant.

I definitely noticed some imperfections in this episode's animation, like awkward athletic movement and some background faces that didn't quite come together. But the main characters' faces were always expressive and human, especially in the case of Tsukushi. The story is considerably more repetitive than I'd prefer, and the soccer a bit underwhelming, but characters like determined Tsukushi, laid-back Kazama, and serious-dorky Mizuki are instantly recognizable and wholly worth the watch. I just wish the success of this show wasn't dependent on just a few likable people. Let's get that plot going!

Rating: C+

DAYS is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Lauren writes about geek careers at Otaku Journalist