Backflip!!

Bakuten!! is a solid 7/10. A good watch covering a niche sport. It's not very deep and follows a lot of common tropes and stereotypes, but it follows them well and overall this anime is enjoyable to watch. For more detail, please keep reading and see my recommendations at the end. When starting Bakuten I was expecting very little but ended up pleasantly surprised. The overall level of this anime ranges from average to good with very little in the way of any major negative points. At most a few personal nitpicks which I will cover. For me the biggest draw is the overall enjoyment.Call me a bit of a sucker, but I do like the stereotypical sports anime. MC is your average (usually teen) Joe Blogs, he sees or encounters a sport that he has never seen before and is blown away by the experience, and the anime follows his journey in learning about and developing his skills for said sport. The story itself is interspersed with supporting characters, a rival character / team and some small personal side stories for said side characters. Bakutenn!! doesn't deviate far if at all from this. Again, I am a bit of a sucker for this formula. The MC being brand new means you get to learn alongside them as they do, so you do not feel completely left out when they start talking about sports terminologies. As a badminton player I can relate as I've had similar experiences and met people with similar experiences within the sport. Some people may not enjoy it as much due to how generic the formula can be, but that is completely understandable. The characters themselves are enjoyable but generic. The MC being a blank slate, so you get to insert yourself into their situation. On the team there's the muscle jock, the calm and quiet guy, the nerdy happy-go-lucky guy, the brooding guy, the aloof guy etc. It doesn't push the boat out and if you've watched other sports anime you'll see the similarities (and also recognize the voice actors), but as mentioned earlier while it does not push the boat out in both story or characters it uses them well, and they are enjoyable to watch. It's because the story is a bit generic that I feel safe in writing an early review, as I don't think it will hinge on the story. A major plus for me was just how positive this anime was. The overall level of positivity was refreshing. Maybe it's been other recent anime I've seen, or maybe lockdown is finally getting to me, but the positivity in this anime was infectious. I liked seeing the characters help each other through their situations, and their enjoyment rubbed off on me as I was watching them. There's no major dramatics or dark twists. It kept things nice, simple and upbeat. A good change of pace for myself. The only negatives I could mention, and I'd say they are more personal, would be the sound and art. The sound in terms of the OP and ED and BGM is good, if a bit forgettable. I won't remember it down the line, but I didn't mind hearing it. I will say the sounds of the gymnastics floors and crash mats is rather well done in this anime. The art is the only thing I have a gripe and it comes down to the use of 3D. I don't hate 3D but I like consistency. For the big gymnastic performances it will switch to 3D to show them off. It makes the movement more fluid with longer, continuous scenes, which makes a lot of sense, but I found the change from 2D to 3D a little off-putting myself. Not a major negative and one I was happy to overlook, but just something to keep in mind. In summary; I gave Bakutenn!! A solid 7/10. It's not genre defining, but I think it fits within the genre of niche sports anime very well. An overall enjoying watch and time sink. For a further recommendation if you liked Bakutenn!! I have to point you in the direction of Ballroom e Youkoso. Another niche sports anime following ballroom dancing. Following a similar formula as the one I mentioned above but with 24 episodes allowing the characters and story to be a bit more fleshed out. Personally one I prefer more to Bakuten!! in terms of overall quality. For a slightly different second recommendation, I will go with Kono Oto Tomare! While this anime is a music focused anime, I find sports anime and music anime hit a lot of the same notes (hah) with their formula. With Kono having 2 seasons, and a similar number of episodes to Ballroom, it's a bit more fleshed out. Similar to Bakutenn I enjoyed its positive approach and it was also very fun to watch. Thanks for reading my review.

Having heard the show was about rhythmic gymnastics, I was a bit sceptical on how it would go. I didn't have any expectations entering the show and was left feeling pretty light hearted. I hate to admit it, but Bakuten is just a ball of sport anime tropes and stereotypes. It has everything you can imagine, from the situations right down to the typical characters. That's not to say it's not enjoyable, just that it's not anything new. The only difference is that it tackles a totally different sport. A "fruity" one as some would say. The animation is really nice, solid 8, maybe even9. I didn't notice anything weird about the movements when they're performing, but maybe that's just because I'm not good at spotting things like that. The soundtrack is also an 8, I love the OP and ED. The story itself is pretty generic, but still heart-warming. Filled with inspiring moments, competition that have mirror-like personalities to the main cast, injuries etc. it's what you'd expect of a sports anime. The MC is also quite generic compared to most MC's of sports animes. He's really nothing special, and pretty average, actually. Then you have the genius best friend, who's obviously been doing this his whole life. An aggressive/scary teammate, one who's calm and keeps the captain in check, a competitive captain and another member obsessed with a particular idol(?). No one really sticks out. (Though pretty interesting that some of these personality types were interested in gymnastics, I never would've guessed. They're what you'd expect of other sports teams though) But I still enjoyed it. It's nothing special, hence the 6. I wouldn't watch it again, but if you're a fan of the sports genre, I'd recommend this after listing off other sports animes. It's a change of pace from other sports, that's for sure. The animation is insane sometimes, and I love the theme of "soaring" and "flying" that they associate with gymnastics. Bakuten definitely has its moments, and for a rhythmic gymnastics anime, it's not too bad. Overall, I didn't find this a waste of time and I found myself thoroughly enjoying some parts :)

THIS ANIME IS SOOOOO GOOD 10/10 recommend. To the storyline and to the friendships this anime is amazing. the storyline of the anime is amazing and its also enjoyable and wholesome. It kinda gives my haikyuu vibes. At first I wasn't a big fan of the 3d animation, but honesty has grown on me. The soundtrack is good aswell.One thing that I really liked about Bakuten was the character development and just the characters in general. Each character has their own unique personality. And its funny how they all have conflicting personalities yet their bond is so strong. Overall I would give this anime a1000000000000000000/10

Overall: 6 I really enjoyed this show, but it's nothing special. If you're looking for a nice 'lie down and mindlessly watch' kinda anime, I'd really recommend this one. It's visually appealing and not hard to follow. The reason for my average score is because that's what it is, average. Let me explain. Story: 4 The story is exactly what the synopsis says, and the same overused trope in anime. Student stumbles upon a club, becomes fascinated in it, and joins the club to try to do what they do. They don't really add much to that basic plot, which makes it repetitive. It's not inherently bad, butit does nothing special, nor tries to. At least not in the story. Art: 8 The art style itself is also very average. However, it is nicely animated, bringing life into the movement. Typically, the shots show the main group talking to each other, but they're not animated with one movement. They're all animated separately with their own seperate actions, which I find nice. The animation really shines when they're performing. 3D programs are used for the wider shots, but it's split with 2D animation when character expressions are important. When animated, It's very fluid for the budget it was probably given as a seasonal anime. Sound: 8 I am a huge fan of the op and ed of this show. The op was made by the same band who made much of Given's music, and I love all of their music. This is no exception. The music perfectly shows the audience how the characters feel when they're performing. The ed is also very calm and reminds you that this is just a simple, relaxing show. Character: 3 They introduce too many characters. The main 6 characters are necessary, even though some of them have little personality. the coach and manager are nice background characters with enough individuality to make you like them. The characters in their rival team are mostly completely unnecessary, with the exception of Mashiro, who has a connection with another character. The entire rival team is just reflections of the main cast, and it's hard to keep track of everyone. The only characters who are really expanded upon are Futaba and Misato, who have a sweet relationship. The four others in the main team all have one thing (object or activity) that is their personality. It's extremely flat and unoriginal. Enjoyment: 7 Regardless of the criticism, I enjoyed watching this anime every week. It was a nice way to just lie down and mindlessly watch. Overall: 6 This anime, as I have stated before, is very average and unoriginal. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I am excited to see how the newly announced movie turns out.