Based on a manga by Shiori Amase, this 2016 sports anime is a nicely produced but rather formulaic genre entry in which the featured sport is rugby. All Out!! begins with the meeting of two mismatched freshman at Jinko High School: Kenji Gion, a short but volatile kid who wants to play because he loves the thought of tackling other players, and tall but shy Sumiaki Iwashimizu, who has rugby experience but is disinclined to try out for the team because he injured a friend while playing in middle school. Both end up joining the squad captained by severe Takuya Sekizan, only to be outclassed by their rivals in practice sessions. That leads Gion to lobby for the recruitment of an experienced but demanding coach, Shingo Komori, who like The Karate Kid‘s Mr. Miyagi uses unorthodox methods in rigorous training sessions. As the series progresses, it digresses from the main characters to focus briefly on personal troubles facing other members of the team, including portly Mutsumi Hachiōji. The narrative trajectory of All Out!! is extremely familiar, but the animation is colorful, the characterizations are intriguing, and the on-the-field action is energetic. Presenting the first 13 episodes from 2016 in a dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated TV-14, this is a strong optional purchase. [Note: All Out!! Part 2 is slated for release on May 15.] (F. Swietek)
All Out!! Part 1
(2016) 4 discs. 325 min. Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $64.98. Funimation (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 3
All Out!! Part 1
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