Story & Characters
Eyeshield 21 concentrates on a reluctant running-back, Sena, as he is blackmailed into playing for the Deimon Devilbats,
a football team with a losing streak but have big dreams to go to the National Championships. If this sounds familiar,
it is. Eyeshield 21 follows the exact same formula of any sports story: The losing team puts their heart out and
successfully advances to the finals. The plot is nothing original. The idea of an underdog team consisting of high
school misfits going to the big game is by no means new or unpredictable. It uses a repetitive formula, the Devilbats
winning each game in some way. However, as cliche as the genre might be, Eyeshield 21 has unique sense of style keeps it
fresh and enjoyable. This is because the anime utilizes two important elements: over the top and fast-paced action and
slow, powerful character development.
The characters fall into the familiar stock of the sports genre: the bashful prodigy, the senior who knows everything,
the gentle giant and the reformed delinquent. However unoriginal the cast might be, Eyeshield 21 manages to create
character depth. This is because the players on the team consist of an outer personality shown in public and a brilliant
inner heart rarely seen. Juumonji, for instance, shows amazing growth throughout the series. In the beginning, he filled
the role of schoolyard bully and source of antagonism for the team. In fact, the only reason he joined the team was
because the quarterback blackmailed him and his friends with embarrassing photos. However, after a run in with a rival
team, Juumonji starts to get angry and develops a sense of pride due to how he is being handled. After being called
trash for so long, he gains a sense of honor. He even gets angry when a magazine writer calls his friends Kuroki and
Togano trash even though Juumonji is praised. He still retains an outer vicious manner but with a prideful attitude. He
has many faces rather than just showing his emotions in an obvious way. He does not radically transform into a good
samaritan, but rather grows into a sympathetic character. It is deep character development like this that makes the
series shine.
Rating: 7
Art
Eyeshield 21 uses visual flair whether with exaggerated images on the field or still, human moments with a single
character. Whenever a game is taking place, a sort of metaphor appears giving each match a different tone. Each team
represents a characteristic and each encounter Sena has with a linebacker resembles an emotional experience on the
field. For example, the Oujo White Knights act in a very strict and disciplined manner, similar to actual knights with
their sense of respect. Oujo's linebacker, Shin acts the most disciplined of the team. Each time Shin tackles Sena,
the image of a spear appears. Even against a team that is a symbol of the ocean, the imagery still adds to the work.
When Sena dives above the line in hopes to land a touchdown, a football player pulls him down, showing the running back
sinking like a dead anchor. The visual sense of emotion Sena feels each time he is tackled brings a familiar feeling and
sets an exhilarating tone. Likewise, slower moments add to the sentiment of the work. When he loses his first game, a
beautiful still image is brought up on his face with tears running down. Rather than make it completely a cartoon as
they do during the games, the animators make slow moments to show a human factor to a fictional character. Outrageous
character design can distract an audience from taking a character seriously. This anime does not make that mistake.
While it is true that the characters do have the tall hair and simple faces anime is so fond of, the animators use
proper shadowing to create this portrait of a human face, raw with human feelings. No character looks too ridiculous to
avoid calling human. Even with the visual elements, Eyeshield 21 creates a sense of awe, mixing human emotion and
exaggerated images.
Rating: 8
Sound
Eyeshield 21 delivers a cast of professional Japanese voice actors as well as an amazing soundtrack and sound effects,
giving the audience a real treat. Voice actors make the series into something either to be enjoyed or something to be
avoided. Luckily, the anime cast consists of well trained voice actors able to pull off comedy, tension and drama. Miyu
Irino as Sena carries the series as the reluctant hero who, though often clumsy, always steps up to the occasion. Hiruma
played by Atsushi Tamura creates a character that is partially psychotic but realistic. I have nothing but praise for
Monta's voice actor, Yamaguchi Keppei. At one point, he acts like a monkey as everyone characterizes Monta on the
show. However, in the next scene, he is able to pull off tears that sound realistic. After doing voices such as Ussop
from One Piece and L from Death Note, he makes the character human, yet able to pull off comedy.
The opening and ending songs range from fast paced pop songs, such as the energetic chorus "Breakthrough" to
slow, sentimental songs for thought and reflection, like the slow singing in "Innocence". Each song carries
some sort of football metaphor in its lyrics. In the opening song, "Blaze Line," the lyrics make its subject
clear, "Clash and dash, clash and dash, I lock the next target like the guerrilla. Watch out, watch out, I'm
about to touchdown." However, they also carry a sort of deep message in each lyric. "No matter what the
situation is, I will support you when you're there." These lyrics not only reflect on football action, but
convey a message of friendship and of trust. With that combination, it creates great songs fitting to the show.
The real energy comes from the sounds of the stadium. As with the visual style, the anime uses sound effects to heighten
each game. The audience hears sounds such as running chariots, whistling locomotives and firing lasers in each game.
Since each team comes with their identity as well as their own sound effect. The Bando-Spiders have a guitar riff each
time a tackle is made on their side. Alternatively, the Seibu Wild-gunmen have the sounds of firing pistols and horses
neighing for their side. The most profound use of audio is during the silent moments which climax into huge payoffs. In
one game, Sena is on the field as the stadium is dead silent. Then, a cheerleader calls out his name, echoing through
the stands. A low rumbling builds up as he looks up. He hears his name being chanted as well as cheers crying out. Using
those basic sounds, it gives the illusion that the whole stadium is cheering for him. Sounds like these that make up one
part of a great anime.
Rating: 9
Presentation
Eyeshield 21 presents itself as a ridiculous, exaggerated anime. But if you look closer, you will realize there is a
surprising amount of depth underneath each character. An anime that is intended to promote football becomes something
much more significant, a story revolving around lifelike characters.
Eyeshield 21 uses all of its elements to create a fascinating blend of two components: fast paced action contrasting
against slow thoughtful moments. Each piece has a proper, powerful contrast. The outer personality blends with the inner
heart. The powerful imagery and metaphors contrast with the human faces of the characters. The sound of vanishing ghosts
and rushing trains work with the tense moments of silence. These two elements make up the shounen genre: a genre of
exaggeration and humanity. The shounen genre has succeeded because it not only has fast action but slow drama. Without
one or the other, you would have an incomplete story. If everything were just fast paced action, the series would be
brainless, heartless and even tasteless. In contrast, a show with only slow emotion and character development would be a
bore and slowly turn into quiet melodrama for the sake of interest. However, the shounen genre takes the two best
elements and combines them into a sometimes successful series. This is one of the successes. Eyeshield 21 is not only a
shounen anime, but one that is executed excellently.
Rating: 9
Final Verdict
8.1667 (good)
Reviewed by Burnouts3s3, Sep 26, 2008
