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 Welcome to the Ballroom, original title Ballroom E Youkoso, is the new anime produced by Production IG, after making Haikyuu, this is their big bet in another sports shonen series, as it's going to be directly a 2-cour series (24 episodes). It features the same character designer of Haikyuu, which in fact gives it a similar look. As you may suspect, the story is about Ballroom dancing. But not any Ballroom dancing, but competitive ballroom dancing, with hardened athletes competing. Because yeah, this is a sports series and despite how original or unusual ballroom dancing seems at first, we have here something actually kind of traditional with training arcs, a main character a straight-laced and clueless boy but with an iron will, duels between opponents, championships, inner conflict between teammates, intense 'plays', etc. Hell, the beginning reminded a bit of Hajime no Ippo. This may sound actually as too traditional sports series. Like, why bother for just another sports series?? Well, you are going to trust me in this. The concept may be traditional, but the execution is not. If it progresses anything like the manga, then we are set. It's easily in the top 3 manga sports, imo. It's gets to be SUPER INTENSE and have TOTALLY HYPE moments, it's beautiful, features very attractive people for both sexes but there is no overt fanservice (well, there is still a bit), it's funny, it knows how to create sexual tension with just a few looks, and the characters feature a decent amount of depth, though we won't see that until the second part of the 2-cour. Also, Production IG should be able to do good, spectacular animation for the important dances. Staff: Studio: Production I.G. Director: Yoshimi Itazu (Pigtails) Character Design: Takahiro Kishida (Haikyu!!, Puella Magica Madoka) Composer: Yuki Hayashi (Haikyu!!, My Hero Academia) Characters in the first half:  Gifs     Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGGwyb0d0Y8 Q&A Where can I watch it (legally) ?: Amazon Prime Video, though an Anime strike subscription is needed in NA. What is the schedule?: It started on July 8. It airs on Saturday midnight in Japan at MBS channel, after that it's released in Amazon, in theory. Where can I buy the manga? : There are ebooks in Amazon (kindle) and Comixiology. There is also a paperback edition, published by Kodansha. Can we talk of the manga? : Oh, it's my intention to eventually turn the thread into a manga thread, when the anime finishes. For now let's focus on the anime, although manga comparison comments are allowed if properly tagged with spoiler tags and labeled as such. Are their necks a bit too much? : Yeah, they are in a few scenes. It seems a stylistic choice done by Production IG. See you in the Ballroom. 
Turin Turambar fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Jul 21, 2017 |
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Jul 21, 2017 21:47
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Jul 21, 2017 22:25
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This anime loving owns and I love all the characters and want them to succeed. The structure is classic sports anime but that's only on a very shallow level, it's doing very interesting things under all that and I'm so in.
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Jul 21, 2017 22:27
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an actual dog posted:This anime loving owns and I love all the characters and want them to succeed. The structure is classic sports anime but that's only on a very shallow level, it's doing very interesting things under all that and I'm so in. If I had to describe the true structure of the series it's about a blank slate character coming to deeply understand people and their history and motivations, sometimes even more than they themselves do, but through dance. It's hecka cool.
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Jul 21, 2017 23:10
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I mean, there is just so much neck
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Jul 22, 2017 00:21
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The default Transmission "ding!" played right as the bird stuck its neck out and I am so happy right now you have no idea.
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Jul 22, 2017 01:43
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AnacondaHL posted:I mean, there should be more neck
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Jul 22, 2017 07:47
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Neeecks. They are so long. But seriously: Welcome to the Ballroom 3 I think this was the first good episode. The previous two were decent, even better than average, but here it all starts to work together, first the attitude of other dancers to Kiyoharu, the dance, the music, the tenseness of the situation, how it reaches to a climax once he finds his own resolve, Kiyoharu's fire burning up finally, etc.   Somehow, seeing latin dance in an anime feels even weirder than ballroom classic dance: 
Turin Turambar fucked around with this message at 20:06 on Jul 22, 2017 |
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Jul 22, 2017 19:44
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I'm glad things went mostly okay for their first not-imagined dance together  This has been a pretty fun show so far and that OP is real catchy
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Jul 23, 2017 03:52
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I think this show is my favorite of the season so far, especially after episode 3.an actual dog posted:This anime loving owns and I love all the characters and want them to succeed.
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Jul 23, 2017 04:41
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This was some Eva poo poo, I love it.
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Jul 23, 2017 04:54
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I actually had this confused with Sesuji wo Pin until I started watching it and now I'm just confused how there can be more than one shounen manga about competitive ballroom dance.
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Jul 23, 2017 10:03
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Pitch posted:I actually had this confused with Sesuji wo Pin until I started watching it and now I'm just confused how there can be more than one shounen manga about competitive ballroom dance. Sesuji ended already I think. Which is a shame because I liked it. Overall Ballroom e Yookoso is a better ballroom dancing manga, but Sesuji had its own charm when it came to the characters/setting.
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Jul 23, 2017 10:22
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Pitch posted:I actually had this confused with Sesuji wo Pin until I started watching it and now I'm just confused how there can be more than one shounen manga about competitive ballroom dance. There are a few more mangas with the same theme, but they aren't translated, or they are mostly josei, or even yaoi (10 Dance). For me Sesuji wo Pin was pretty meh, even not comparing it with Ballroom e Youkoso. --- BTW, I checked the manga, and the anime is advancing at good pace. Around 70-75 pages per episode! It's going to cover all the existing manga at this pace. Turin Turambar fucked around with this message at 12:57 on Jul 23, 2017 |
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Jul 23, 2017 11:27
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His free instructors do not get nearly enough love. Right! Left! Right!
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Jul 23, 2017 16:39
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 they do a lot of smart cuts and directing during the dance scenes, but i wish they would just animate one entire dance without stills or cuts hiding half of the people. can't do that on a tv budget though i suppose, maybe for the big climactic dance?
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Jul 23, 2017 21:53
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Yeah, I wish the same. Let's see what they do when Tatara start competing for real, dancing several rounds in a row.
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Jul 23, 2017 22:26
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Something keeps bothering me and I can't tell if it is a spoiler or not. Is the girl he hard stares at at the start of the OP supposed to be Shizuku? I know the theme is transformations, but she never has that hair style in the show and those ain't her glasses. I guess just yes or no would be fine if ya'lls know.
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Jul 23, 2017 22:43
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Apparently this is the show of the season that made me go read the manga it's based on. It's good.
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Jul 23, 2017 22:51
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kater posted:Something keeps bothering me and I can't tell if it is a spoiler or not. Is the girl he hard stares at at the start of the OP supposed to be Shizuku? I know the theme is transformations, but she never has that hair style in the show and those ain't her glasses. No. In fact I would say he isn't staring at her, but at his own reflection in the window. Maybe they should have done the typical anime thing of putting the MC next to the window row lol.
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Jul 23, 2017 22:52
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Haha. Okay.
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Jul 23, 2017 23:13
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This is the first anime I've watched that doesn't feature magic or robots.
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Jul 24, 2017 13:21
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The Warthog posted:This is the first anime I've watched that doesn't feature magic or robots. What, the magic of dancing doesn't count?  If you are serious, you should watch more varied anime. Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjou, Ping Pong, Steins Gate, House of Five Leaves, Moyashimon...
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Jul 24, 2017 13:47
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Turin Turambar posted:What, the magic of dancing doesn't count? Yeah, more or less serious. I can't think of an anime I've watched that didn't have some sort of supernatural/sci-fi aspect to it. This is me trying to broaden my horizons and see the medium as more than just a delivery vehicle for genre fiction. I was immediately hooked and watched all three episodes back to back. I'll have to look into some of those recommendations, thank you.
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Jul 24, 2017 16:14
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So did (ep 3) Gorilla dude actually push Hyodo down the stairs, or was it an accident? Maybe it was intentionally unclear and I should just wait and see.The Warthog posted:This is the first anime I've watched that doesn't feature magic or robots. Watch Chihayafuru. Also, everything Turin recommended is good, especially Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju. Stein's Gate is certainly sci-fi though. Mentat Radnor fucked around with this message at 16:20 on Jul 24, 2017 |
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Jul 24, 2017 16:17
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The Warthog posted:This is the first anime I've watched that doesn't feature magic or robots. welcome to good anime
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Jul 24, 2017 16:50
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Also, if you like this, watch Haikyuu!! as well. It's by the same studio and is very good sports time.
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Jul 24, 2017 17:31
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Mentat Radnor posted:So did (ep 3) Gorilla dude actually push Hyodo down the stairs, or was it an accident? Maybe it was intentionally unclear and I should just wait and see. I thought it was an accident. They made a point of showing that Hyodo was dancing injured (the athletic tape). Maybe his leg gave out on the stairs? Big guy witnessed it and was pleased as punch. The Warthog fucked around with this message at 18:15 on Jul 24, 2017 |
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Jul 24, 2017 18:12
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Mentat Radnor posted:So did (ep 3) Gorilla dude actually push Hyodo down the stairs, or was it an accident? Maybe it was intentionally unclear and I should just wait and see. If you really want spoilers that will be revealed next episode just an accident. In fact I could swear they slightly altered the original scene from the manga so it would be more cliffhanger-y here, in the anime it really gives the impression Gorilla-kun pushed him, because he said to his couple to go ahead when he saw Hyodou who was climbing up the stairs in that moment)
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Jul 24, 2017 18:50
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ANN interview with Welcome to the Ballroom producers
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Jul 25, 2017 19:17
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So next week they are going to have a sports event, therefore they won't air episode 5. Instead, they did air it today! Episode 4  It's over 9000! Yes, in the end, this is being a very decent adaption of the manga, but the manga still reigns king. The manga 'works' because it cheats, if you think about it. The 'cheat' I am talking about is the magic of comic fiction, in truth, how panels create the illusion of something isn't truly there, you only see the full scene in your head. They don't really show the dancing, only a posture here and there, and their intense faces, and the comments of the audience, and when they say they are doing great, you believe it (even if you truly didn't see it). In an anime, they actually have to show the dancing, so it can happen you see them dancing more or less normally, with just a few intense faces in the middle, and when the audience shouts 'oh so good!' you are left with a strange impression because it wasn't that great in your eyes. You can compare with a real tango in youtube and it isn't the same. In the end, it's a tv series and they don't have the budget to animate lasciviously every dance scene.  The OST is being pretty good, in the other hand. And the emotive scenes, like for example the Tatara's talk with Gorilla was good, and in the end that matters more than the dance. You can feel his guiltiness because he truly enjoyed dancing, the applause, everything, which is the same act that provoked the disqualification and worsened Hyoudou's injury.
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Jul 29, 2017 19:48
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Dear god, please don't make a "it's not as good as the manga" post every week. Yes, they are taking shortcuts to fit into an anime schedule. Every anime does! And really this already looks better than like 95% of anime. To put it in perspective: if they really went 100% on this adaptation we'd end up with Yuri on Ice, which was only 12 episodes long and fell off a cliff after the third episode. Hopefully they'll make a movie at some point and go all out but as is it kicks rear end.
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Jul 29, 2017 20:10
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an actual dog posted:Dear god, please don't make a "it's not as good as the manga" post every week. Yes, they are taking shortcuts to fit into an anime schedule. Every anime does! And really this already looks better than like 95% of anime. I wanted to make more a comment about the nature of comic itself as a medium. I think they are still doing a good job in the anime. Turin Turambar fucked around with this message at 21:09 on Jul 29, 2017 |
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Jul 29, 2017 20:14
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Episode 5 Not a lot to say here, it's the start of a new Arc so it's all setup. Well done setup, though. This is arc is very good, so I am hyped. New characters, Shizuku's fed up with Hyodou, the truth of Sengoku's plans, Mako being cute as hell. The adaption from the manga was basically 1:1 in plot, script, characters, etc. Although, now we are talking of anime vs manga, actually I liked the end scene better here. The colors of the sunset, the music, it all make it more dramatic and how he read Mako felt more special. 
Turin Turambar fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Jul 30, 2017 |
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Jul 29, 2017 20:27
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Tatara has some serious Goku hair in episode 5 in the park, it's about 3 seconds from turning golden.
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Jul 30, 2017 18:46
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Tatara is partnered with Mako in the ED now
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Jul 31, 2017 01:13
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I liked PASSIONATE HYODO but I do hope Shizuku gets some more spotlight soon. So far it's been all Tatara and Hyodo so it kind of makes it feel like they're just swinging her around as a prop even though she's supposed to be pretty good herself. Though it could be inevitable due to the lead-and-follow nature of ballroom dance to focus on the leader, I'd still like a little more.
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Aug 3, 2017 15:12
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Making a bit of reflection on the anime. At first it didn't seem to be as good as the manga, like many other adaptions,, but this two last episodes have shown the same level, imo. It's a very good adaption. In fact it was the typical case of misremembering the original work, in truth the manga also starts more normal-ish, and it's around this part where Mako appears when it starts being really good, so it's just following the same path of the manga. Also, I think the anime community is making a gross oversimplification in relation to this series. People like the TL,DR of everything, so I've seen lots of people summarize it with 'it's the Yuri on Ice of this season, but hetero'. And it isn't really the case. Yuri on Ice had on focus on the performances in the competition with the romance in the background. Here there isn't really romance, so one would think it's focused on the sports, so how they dance and who wins, maybe like Haykuu... but kind of not really? In that regard, it shows it's a series done by a female author, and the dance theme here is the motivation, almost the excuse, to focus on the 'emotional drama' (for a sports series): some characters want the respect of others and be recognized, others want to improve to not be left behind, some have problems coming from childhood to resolve, or discover what they truly lack, in understanding the partner, etc. Of course every sports series try to do the same, and tell more than just a match of whatever sports, but the secret of Ballroom is how it succeeds in that regard.
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Aug 3, 2017 20:05
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Sakuga Blog writes about the series last episodes. And new character 
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Aug 6, 2017 21:29
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I really like this show, especially after ep 6. Glad I finally decided to check it out last week. Something about Tatara's enthusiasm just makes it lot of fun. I think Tatara's voice actor is great and it's his first major role too, though some people on MAL seem to hate on him for that reason.
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Aug 13, 2017 19:29
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