Keijo!!!!!!!!

Episodes 1-2

Keijo!!!!!!!! will never be one of the best shows of the season, but if the first two episodes are any indication, it could definitely be amongst the most fun shows of the season.

The basic concept – young women duking it out in a sport where only butts and boobs can be used to make contact with opponents to force them off of a floating ring – practically screams “fanservice vehicle,” and the series makes no pretense of being anything else. Characters spend a significant amount of time in swimsuits (albeit mostly tasteful one-pieces), camera shots frequently linger on butts and jiggling chests, and swimsuits even get destroyed by a powerful move at the end of episode 2. Despite all this, the fanservice rarely feels quite as lurid as in more hard-core fanservice shows out there. I suspect this might be due to the camera not acting like it's surreptitiously ogling its subjects, handling shots more matter-of-factly than as pure sex appeal voyeurism. As a result, the series might be more palatable to those normally turned off by fanservice shows.

There's another big factor involved here too. While the series is a fanservice vehicle, it's just as much a dedicated sports series, if not moreso. Sure, the sport is patently ridiculous, but it's actually not that far removed from sumo wrestling underneath the surface. The competitors take their sport seriously, and the whole business about using your butt to attack an opponent is more genuinely exciting (and less sexy) in execution than you might expect. Sadly, the animation is not sufficiently fluid enough to show us the moves in detail, but just like any traditional sports series, there are all sorts of specially named maneuvers and faux power-ups and a genuine spirit of competition to hold our interest. Rigorous training regimens, development of camaraderie, and solid teamwork are focal points, and there are both privileged elite and baseline contenders, so learning to take advantage of the hidden talents of compatriots is a major key to success, as in any other shonen battle show. In spirit and attitude, this is not one ounce less a sports series than something like All Out!! or Haikyu!!

Keijo!!!!!!!!'s true entertainment value comes through in how the fan service and sports elements combine to create situations so absurd that it's hard not to giggle on a regular basis. Some of the exercises that the trainees are shown doing to strengthen their butts in episode 2 are sputter-worthy, with classes like Asstronomy and Boobology being taken to strengthen their assets. (The Asstronomy class delivers an interesting-if-true bit of trivia that rear ends tend to sit lower on East Asian bodies than on Westerners due to a slightly different angling of the pelvis.) One philosophical standard for the sport translates as “know not thy rump, never shalt thou triumph” and one special ultimate attack form that heroine Nozomi accidentally discovers is called the Vacuum Butt Cannon. Just try calling that out with a straight face!

A surprisingly engaging cast also doesn't hurt. Nozomi might be the typical brash, excitable optimist, but she isn't dumb or clueless. The way she picked up on the behavior of one roommate during a team exercise, using it not only to her advantage but also to entice that roommate out of her shell, was very slick and satisfying. Coming into the sport from a gymnast's background also makes sense for the heroine, since maintaining balance is a crucial part of the sport. It's hard to say much about the rest of the cast yet, but having a capable lead is a good start.

The main disappointment of the series at this point is that the technical merits aren't stronger. This is a middle-of-the-road series in terms of artistic and animation quality, and the latter especially is holding this one back more than other series this season. Still, director Hideya Takahashi (who is making his TV series directing debut) and his XEBEC animation team have still made something that shows a lot more promise than its premise would lead you to expect.

Rating: B

The English dub for episode 1 is also now available on Funimation's site. Overall, it sounds quite promising. Amber Lee Connors and Felecia Angelle are well-cast as Nozomi and Sayaki respectively, with the former quite capably embodying the unrestrained enthusiasm of Nozomi, and the latter infusing Sayaki's more sardonic tone with just the right amount of snark. I didn't hear even a mediocre casting choice or performance in the bunch, as the ladies of Funimation have clearly taken to heart exactly what this series is and are rolling with it. (The eventual audio commentaries should be quite entertaining.) They have even done a fair job of handling the accents of various characters so far, so I hear nothing to be concerned about.

Keijo!!!!!!!! is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.