Basquash!
Have you ever come across an anime that involves sci-fi as well as sports? Well, it does sound weird, but we have Basquash with us today, which has incorporated both elements. The sports genre is pretty popular people also love to watch sci-fi, but what happens when both the genres are blended? We’ll talk more about that in our in-depth review of the anime Basquash. Did it successfully merge the two concepts without looking weird? Let’s find out!
Mooneyes is a lunar city where technology has advanced beyond one’s imagination. Planet Earthdash’s infrastructure is crumbling, and people are desperate to leave Mooneyes. Dan is a young boy who wishes to take his disabled sister to the Moon to get her treatment done. However, in the society where Dan lives, only those who are elite can leave the planet.
Dan has a single ray of hope to participate in a game of Bigfoot Basketball where people are supposed to play basketball with giant robots. Dan ends up making the game more complex and competitive and, in turn, gains a lot of fame. However, he still can’t travel to the moon and must fight his way to the top while solving a mystery that could prove fatal to the safety of their planet. Will Dan be able to do it?
We tried to get used to the concept of playing basketball with the help of giant robots, but unfortunately, it’s hard to wrap our heads around it. The whole idea is quite ridiculous, and it would’ve been better off with an ordinary boy playing the standard kind of basketball and having a wish to go to the moon for her sister’s treatment.
It’s hard to explain what’s happening inside the anime as it is all over the place. Two characters should’ve been in the limelight throughout the series, basically, the relationship between Dan and Coco. However, the whole focus shifted on Dan and made him a hero. Coco was left in the dark.
The story is not a deep one but a simple one. The creators tried their best to combine the concept of sports and mecha, but it ended up being something else. Just like every sports anime, the series did have a bit of a romance. However, the writers did it lazily. On the mecha side, we have minor upgrades. The upgrades are seen only with the shoes. It’s funny how they’ve involved Nike in the series and that they are apparently pretending to sponsor the team.
What we liked about this series was the balance. Each episode featured some talking as well as action. There was not a single episode that went by without some action. This is rare in the world of anime. So, we do commend the series for creating a perfect balance in each episode.
Overall, the plot did not make much sense to us. We now know which two genres must never be combined as they could lead to nothing but disaster! The concept was just too much for us to digest.
We’re introduced to a bunch of kids who Dan, our main character, leads. Dan is the kind of guy who gets out of control and is pretty wild. We really liked this about him at first. However, as the series progresses, we can’t help but hate the way he does things and his rash behavior. His stupidity really is beyond us sometimes.
The rest of the supporting characters seem generic at first. But we do see some kind of character development with them, and they do not feel generic anymore by the end of the series. We’ve been told the backstories of all the characters to explain their personalities. We start sympathizing with all the characters, and they become very likable for us, not instantly, but gradually. We enjoyed the hilarious and lighthearted interactions between the characters.
Overall, the creators did a great job in creating the characters. The characters are the most vital point in this anime. So, it gets a high score from us!
We were completely awestruck with the quality of animation for at least the first ten episodes. The action scenes are pretty fluid and smooth. There is pretty heavy detailing everywhere. There is CGI done with the robots, but it does not look out of place. It blends perfectly well with the 2D elements of the series.
We really enjoyed watching the basketball matches because of the high-quality animation. However, the quality of the animation quickly drops after ten episodes. The edges look rough, and there is no fluidity or smoothness anymore. This ruins the overall experience because we didn’t enjoy watching the ending. However, we do commend the animators for creating beautiful art in the first ten episodes.
Starting with the background music first, it blew our minds. It involves a lot of electric guitar and techno combined, which creates inspiring music. It’s just perfect! It is so pumping and makes us excited about the matches.
Talking about the first opening soundtrack didn’t excite us. However, the second one did the job perfectly. The first ending soundtrack is a hip-hop one, so it hooks you up. The second one was quite generic, so we’re not a fan of it.
The only way to enjoy Banquash is not to take it too seriously. Yes. It is ridiculous, but if we don’t overthink, we’d be able to enjoy it much more. So, if you’re bored of the generic stuff, we have a recommendation for you!
