Taisou Samurai

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Year 2002. Japan's gymnastics world was once strong. Former Japanese representative Shoutarou Aragaki (29), who devoted his time to gymnastics, was unable to perform as expected. Even so, after training on a daily basis, his coach Amakusa recommends Shoutarou to retire. However, the fate of the Aragaki family will change significantly due to a certain "encounter.

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Episode 1 and 2:

This is my favorite new anime of the season now. Wow, I liked almost everything about it. Only thing I disliked was the bad rap-like music in a few scenes. But the story, the characters, it all feels so nice and un-cheap compared to the majority of this season. Also a relatively older main character, that's fresh.

I wonder if the ninja becomes a team member of the gymnastics team, too. Would be cool, considering they're already a trio in the opening.

Want to watch it as soon as I get my new TV, should be by end of the week. I wonder why many sites have it as "Zamurai"... when you go to the official page, everything says "Samurai" even their Twitter handle. So not sure where the "Zamurai" comes from.

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Originally Posted by Munsu

Want to watch it as soon as I get my new TV, should be by end of the week. I wonder why many sites have it as "Zamurai"... when you go to the official page, everything says "Samurai" even their Twitter handle. So not sure where the "Zamurai" comes from.

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I assume it's because it's written as one "word" in Japanese: 体操ザムライ

That's, iirc, a rendaku-word, where the first syllable of the following word changes slightly. Similar examples:

Sato = hometown; Kokoro = heart; => Satogokoro = Homesick
ko = small; sara = plate; => kozara = small plate
ude = arm; tokei = watch/clock; => udedokei = wrist watch

Seeing western outlets just keept the Rendaku for just "Samurai" is indeed weird.

Just watched the first 2 episodes and liked them. I wish the introduction of the ninja wasn't so nonsensical, but he seemed to hint that they had a connection in the past.

episode 3:

What I find weird is how the ninja guy doesthe training as well, if not better, than Jo, but nobody says a thing. You'd expect the coach to say "hey, you're good, join our olympics team" or something. Just 100% ignoring. Weird.

We already know Leon is flexible, fast, has good core strength and has good moves. Does not make him a gymnast though.
The core strength excercises were basic/level 1 stuff for young athletic guys.

But it's true I can't really see how everything meshes together.
For the moment it feels like a patchwork of anime tropes/fanservice stuff packed with no apparent coherence. A way to try and keep some audience when the core subject feels not enough.
Because the end of carreer of a gymnast from the early 2000 does not feel very attractive for an anime audience.

episode 4:

I have to say, that ninja, Leo, ruins this anime for me. Not entirely, yet, but man. Everything about him is bad, like really bad:

- behaves like he's lobotomized
- gets to stay at completely stranger people, because ... BECAUSE.
- interacts an awful lot with a 4th grade school girl
- sneaks into an elementary school

Add to that how the anime ignores that Leo is showing even more athleticism while the samurai is forced to put hard effort into everything, it's just ... bad.

Some freak wearing a Naruto-headband, that's just ... "we need some standout element in our anime, because we don't believe enough people are interested in only the gymnastics- and father/daughter parts" :/