All Out!!

I live in a city where rugby has been the number one sport for decades. The main reason for this is that although we have two football teams, they both play in some sort of district or county championship, so there is not much to get really excited about. In contrast, rugby has an incredible tradition in my town; we regularly play in the Czech “Extra League” (Extraliga) and even won a few country-wide championships. There have even been a few matches played by the Czech national team at my local stadium. My father played rugby and I still have some keepsakes, several medals at home. Given the reasons mentioned above, I should have a very positive attitude towards rugby, although to be honest, I personally never really enjoyed it. It seems to just be a game for some tough guys who need to be at a certain fitness level to avoid potential injuries, which happen quite often. Frankly speaking, when you are lying on the ground, with a mullet-headed redneck underneath you, and several other guys on top of you trying to grab that damn rugby ball off of you, anything can happen. Plus, rugby often seems like it is just some intermittent scrums featuring a mass of muscles in a weird game of chase with occasional great escapes, interplay, and the occasional kick. I am even happier that this anime series demonstrates the different aspects of the game quite well and tries to convince us that knocking someone down is actually a cool experience. A couple of my friends who used to play this not-so-appealing sport attempted to explain that rugby is a challenging and hard-won sport, and this show gives that impression. Well, I have come to believe that because of this show. I have also enjoyed watching all the characters score a try. Plus, there are some interesting characters, among which the show’s coach and the team captain win out for me. The animation and soundtrack are respectable, even though it is hardly surprising if the MADHOUSE animation studio is behind it. So All Out!! is a slightly above-average anime series, which makes rugby look quite a respectable sport and I found it to be even tolerable and easy to watch. I would rather watch another episode of this show than my friends dragging me to another local rugby game. 7/10. (14.10.2016)