Turkey! Time to Strike
“Bowling in Feudal Japan”
“Failures are the pillars of success” is a famous quote we have heard many times that has always remained true. We may see pros doing incredible feats and think, “I’m never going to be that good," but we need to be reminded that we are comparing our own chapter 01 to another person’s chapter 100. Those amazing people we look up to may have lost or been defeated hundreds of times, and those falls were an important reason why they kept standing up again to grind until they reached their dreams. So every time you fail, remember that it is but one step in the process of becoming something greater.
“Turkey! Time to Strike," also known as simply “Turkey!”, is a 12-episode TV anime series that aired from the 9th of July till the 24th of September in summer 2025. It was produced by Tatsunoko Production, Pony Canyon, Nippon Television Network, BS NTV, Sonilude, and Television Shinshu Enterprise, and brought to life by Studio Bakken Record. The main staff behind it includes Kinoshita Tetsuya, Watanabe Toshiyuki, Miyata Kazuya, and Iwasa Naoki as producers. Featuring the sports genre alongside historical and time-travel themes, this is an anime original with 22-minute episodes that earned a PG-13 rating for teenagers 13 years or older.
The story centers on the co-protagonists Mai Otonashi, Rina Godai, Nozomi Mitaka, Sayuri Ichinose, and Nanase Nikaidou, all of whom are members of their high school's bowling club. Mai is the captain of the group and can effortlessly execute what they call a "turkey," which is essentially three whole strikes in a row, but comes at the cost of the next move ruining her game. She is not the only one, though; each of these girls struggles with the sport in her own way, but none of that stopped them from having fun while playing. For Rina, however, enjoyment is not enough, and she is infuriated about the team’s disregard for their failures. So, despite being the newest member, she starts an argument and even decides to quit the club; Mai doesn’t let her go, though, and they end up playing a match to decide whether Rina stays. This is when something strange happens right after Mai's turkey: the girls get sent to the past! The next thing the girls know, they are right in the middle of a battlefield during the historical Sengoku period. After some time, they realize they must recreate the Mai versus Rina match to return home. Even so, the happy-go-lucky group decides to enjoy themselves in this unfamiliar time, while Mai must be ready to score the life-changing turkey when it matters most.
Starting off, there’s no denying the story and premise are quite original; I don’t think I’ve heard of a narrative in which a group of bowling girls is sent to feudal Japan and must navigate the era while attempting to return. Also, this is not a Cute-Girls-Doing-Cute-Things series, because while the girls are pretty cute, what happens to them is certainly not. So you can expect a lot of tone shifts in this series, going from happy-go-lucky comedy to heavy drama pretty fast, making it tougher to enjoy in a laid-back way. There are also some thriller and historical vibes thrown in that all revert to comedy somehow, and the constant switching can get tiring. But what surprised me most was the horror elements, because I could never tell what they would throw at me next.
They make sure to capture the terrors and despair of the war-torn Sengoku period, drenched in all the dread it carries. My advice is not to get too invested in any of the characters, which is tough, because you’ll never know which episode would drag them down to hell, on top of having no source material to lean on either. I would tell myself, “Aw, they’re definitely going to be okay, right? They’ll be saved, right?” while the anxiety just builds up. There is no guaranteed happy ending; you can just cross your fingers and hope or straight-up not care. When it comes to the plot devices that move things forward, those can be quite convoluted, no matter how open-minded you are; the best example is the time-travel "device," which is a lane sweeper in a bowling alley! This is just one way they try to integrate bowling into the whole narrative, done willy-nilly, resulting in a series with neither intriguing time travel nor bowling as a sport. Finally, the plot twist at the conclusion is a tough pill to swallow, and they tried to tie it to the overall themes, but it went about as well as the rest. But then again, it’s much less about logic and more about character dynamics in these unique situations, and once I stopped to think about it, life can be the same on occasion.
As stated earlier, the main focus here is the characters and their journey. These five girls are hurled into a situation alien to them, devoid of any clear explanations, and alongside them are a group of sisters from the historical era. Every one of these girls is unique with their own little quirks and explored in depth without missing a beat. At the same time, the first 4-5 episodes focus mainly on the core conflict between Mai and Rina, with Rina as the only member left in the club after the others graduate and move on with their lives. The other members get development as well, and so do the sisters, who start by helping the girls, but it ends up coming back to haunt them. I found the majority of the cast to be cute and endearing in their own distinctive ways, with well-defined personalities and joyous on-screen. I did find Rina a little irritating, though, as she spends a good half of the series being uptight, moody, whiny, preachy, and unpleasant in general.
The art and animation department is pretty standard, and there’s nothing that particularly stood out to me. I have seen this art style and color palette; it’s just a tried-and-tested visual style, which isn’t necessarily bad either. The art and art style (and character design) are simple, but effective. Color coding works wonders. The animation is better handled; I found it rather smooth. They even played it smart with the background characters, which most shows just ignore. They enjoyed the sports animations too, not glaring on the eyes and easy to digest in a laidback mood. But I won't call the animation consistent, though, as it is quite jumpy and you can clearly notice how it looks amazing at one moment and lazy at another. They also tend to employ some poses and postures way too often, resorting to only the mouths moving at times.
The Sounds and Music department is just as standard as the visuals. The opening theme is "Hyakunichisou" by Nagano Prefectural Ikkokukan High School Bowling Club, followed by the same piece by Tokura-ka no Hime-tachi only in episode 09. The ending themes, on the other hand, are highly varied: "Moshimo” by Taiyou to Odore and Tsukiyo ni Utae, "Flashback" by Q.I.S., "Sincerity Flower" by Yuuki Aira, "Strike Freedom!" by Azami, and "Natsu no Sumika" by Nagi Yanagi. I watched all of these pieces at least once, but they have low replay value. The OSTs really stand out, though, as unique pieces that blend well with the anime's concurrent events and specific scenes. Finally, the voice acting is also pretty standard; everyone did their job, but props for nailing the fun, engaging character interactions.
Before ending the review, I want to touch upon the bowling aspect some more. Even if they try to make it look very important, it just isn’t; at best, it is the seasoning on top of the historical yet comedic tale where character dynamics reign supreme. Sometimes I wondered if they had to use bowling in particular, because any sport would have achieved the same thing…. Honestly, it needn’t even be a sport to begin with! It’s like bowling bait for a very odd audience, which somehow manages to deliver something entirely different. Also, there is little to no fan service, and I respect that decision; there’ll be some cultured angles at best.
I cannot easily recommend this to everyone because the problems and mysteries plaguing the cast often get cheap solutions and reasoning, like lazy "power of friendship" moments, magical MacGuffin devices, and happy endings for characters who either did not earn them or logically cannot have them. Beyond-ridiculous situations arise just because, and they get resolved in equally ludicrous ways, while the ending can appear to be utter nonsense depending on the viewer. It’s like the whole series is a massive roundabout journey that forces the characters to bond and resolve the interpersonal issues that hold them back from succeeding at bowling. There is enjoyment to be had, and most episodes end without you even realizing it, but it isn’t for everyone, and most definitely should not be labeled PG-13.
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