blaZofgold

I'm somewhat perplexed by the number of 6's and 7's this anime is receiving. I was initially reluctant to watch this anime because of the score, but I'm glad I committed in the end. Ro-kyu-bu is a loli/sports anime with a barebones plot and relatively static characters. While some might consider this points to criticize the anime on, I would like to point to the genre of the piece and remind everyone why we are watching this anime. To learn more about basketball? I should hope not. Sports anime is almost always a terrible representation of the actual sport itself. I will smack anyone who daresto say that Prince of Tennis accurately portrays realistic tennis matches and strategies with my Wilson K-Blade Team. Ro-kyu-bu is all about the girls. Loli anime is meant to be plain and simple, focusing more on cute art and high-pitched voice acting to attract fans rather than any depth of content. For a loli anime, Ro-kyu-bu sets a pretty high standard. Story (7/10) Art (8/10) Sound (9/10) Character (6/10) Enjoyment (8/10) The story revolves around Hasegawa Subaru, a 1st year (sophomore equivalent) high schooler who's also a basketball star. However, the high school basketball team/club gets disbanded because the team captain gets caught in a scandal with some elementary schoolgirls. So, what's the most obvious thing that Subaru can do? I'm sure the author was aware of what irony is. The driving force behind the initial plot is the Subaru's refusal of playing basketball once the team was disbanded. Which is stupid. What kind of basketball player gives up basketball just because a school team is disbanded? Out of all the possible motivations that the author could have used, this was quite a poor choice, one that ultimately makes the message of the anime (Don't give up on what you love) weak and frivolous. The actual plotline with regards to the basketball team is, surprisingly, not bad. The girls don't win every single game they play, and success is compounded with failures. While some episodes introduce filler characters, each episode contributes to the plot or characters substantially. Regardless, plot is merely secondary to art in a loli anime. Ro-kyu-bu has a unique art style that fits quite nicely with the overall feel of the anime. This art style focuses a lot on the eyes and hair - even Subaru's hair is done quite detailed. Unfortunately, the same can't be said about their faces. Some of the angled scenes in the anime result in awkwardly derpy faces, especially for the protagonist. Besides those rare moments, however, the art remains top-notch and well done. How in the world did they get such an all-star voice crew? Hanazawa, Ogura, Itou, Iguchi, Hikasa - a seiyuu dream team. Needless to say, the girls sound amazing: Maho with fiery zest, Saki with icy tone, and Hinata with breezy pitch. The OP and ED are nicely done. Usually, songs that are sung by all the main seiyuus of the anime end up with better quality. The OST of the anime is not particularly amazing, which hinders the perfect 10. I mentioned static characters in the introduction. Besides Subaru, every character in the anime is static and fits quite neatly into stereotypical and preassigned roles. Maho is the loud prankster, Airi is the clumsy well-endowed, Saki is the glasses girl, etc. Natsuhi is the boy rival of Tomoka (meaning they will inevitably be paired together in some way shape or form), Aoi will be tsundere until S2E13, and Miho-sensei joins the ranks of multitudes of teachers who act and look just like students. Character molds are not a completely negative thing. After all, dynamic characters take more time and effort to prepare, and are likely to be misinterpreted or distracting. However, it would be a nice touch to make at least one of the girls a dynamic character. On a whole, this anime is freaking cute. And genius. That "small forward" segment has got to be one of the greatest scenes in all of loli anime. I honestly enjoyed watching the characters interact with each other in their various ways, their various personalities and characters complementing each other. Overall (8/10) Ro-kyu-bu is not supposed to be some great action story like SAO or have deep philosophical insight like Ergo Proxy or be filled with heartwrenching scenes like After Story or all of the above (Angel Beats). In fact, none of the anime I just mentioned comes even close to Ro-kyu-bu in terms of pure loli goodness. Whether you are a full-blown lolicon or just an average anime watcher, Ro-kyu-bu will satisfy your cute needs for quite a long time. At least until season 2 comes out.

AquaHaze

When lolis and basketball are combined, the result isn't as bad as one might expect. Although it's far from great Ro-Kyu-Bu is a charming series. If you are looking an anime that is heavily focused on basketball then you are looking in the wrong place. Basketball is simply the activity which brings everyone together. However the series does lack a solid plot because the focus is on the characters themselves making it feel like a slice of life some of the time. The series is character driven and the majority of this anime is spent developing the characters, which is okay but it makes it hardto comment on a plot that's hardly there. Nevertheless how each character develops combined with the "practice" and games are fun to watch. The art is good but it isn't anything spectacular, the characters designs, the backgrounds and animations are all decent. But there is nothing really special. The sound is solid. The opening and ending are really catchy and they really fit the anime. The voice actors did a great job too, they all fit the personality of the character they were playing. The characters is where the series excelled. The variety of personalities work well together and you can feel the bond that the characters have and develop with each other. Each character undergoes a significant amount of development and by the end each character has overcome something that has been holding them down. The series is driven by these characters if you took out any character the series just wouldn't be the same. Ro-Kyu-Bu is very lighthearted which could make for a very fun watch. It is not a bad way to pass the time but it's not something everyone can enjoy. Some people aren't just into this kind of thing and sometimes the series does get a bit corny. Ro-Kyu-Bu is a pretty entertaining series (if you are into this kind of anime). It's not a must watch but if you are bored, watching this isn't a bad way to pass the time. Also this series just shows how lolis+basketball does not equal disaster.