At long last it’s the unveiling of Reika Mark II. This reveal certainly has to go down as one of the worst-kept secrets in Ginga e Kickoff – along with Aoto and Tagi joining the Predators – as it’s been teased in the OP since the very first episode.  Still, […] Read more

They’re gonna have to invent some new kinds of awesome for sports anime, because the 11 kinds they have just weren’t enough for how good this episode of Ginga e Kickoff was. Pretty much a perfect episode of a sports anime this week, one of the best of an already […] Read more

Myself and the other 11 people in the English-speaking world actually watching Ginga e Kickoff were treated to another stellar episode. It’s a measure of how invested I’ve become in the characters here that when they show signs of real growth, I sometimes feel as proud of them as if […] Read more

That’s quite a character turnaround for Kota in the last couple of episodes. I think Masaru-chan-san may just be one of the most interesting coach characters in sports anime (and it certainly doesn’t hurt that he’s voiced by a stalwart like Koyama Rikiya).  He’s a complicated person rather than a […] Read more

Shaka, when the walls fell. As a template for series about sports and series about kids, it would be hard to top Ginga e Kickoff. There was advancement for just about every character in the series over these two eps, the first of which covered the second half of the […] Read more

A wild fansubber appeared. It had to happen sooner or later, with a show this good – it’s in the bloodstream, like a virus.  We have a second subbing group at last, Reika – and like Oyatsu, their work is high-quality.  So feel confident in grabbing these new episodes – […] Read more

There were some very important firsts in this episode of Ginga, but all the good stuff that’s been a constant since day one didn’t take the week off. I’ll admit the payoff of this episode wasn’t a huge surprise, given the title of the ep – “First Goal”.  But that doesn’t lessen the impact […] Read more

It doesn’t matter how few people are listening, I’m going to keep saying it – Ginga e Kickoff is a great anime that stubbornly refuses to put a foot wrong. I don’t keep calling Ginga e Kickoff the best sports anime about kids since the first season of Major just […] Read more

I’ve really, really missed Ginga e Kickoff.  Five weeks away is much too long. I feel sorry for anyone who’s either too cynical or too prejudiced against any anime about kids to enjoy this show, because they’re missing out an something really enjoyable.  As much as I love darker and […] Read more