Another WSJ sports fail
Embers
(Kei Kurumazaki / Sotaro Nishii)
February 2025 to June 2025
20 Chapters
What I Liked
- Haitani and the teacher’s relationship
Where I Think Things Went Wrong
- Haitani and Takami never real built a teammate or rival relationship
- Not enough focus on the other teammates
- The highschool girl coach felt too unbelievable
- Lack of skill or teamworking building and too much emphasis on willpower
- Overuse of the ‘predator’ metaphor
Conclusion
I thought this series was ok but it was obvious it was never gonna succeed because it was all about Haitani and not the team. Like, I can’t name any other team member outside of Haitani, Takami and Bugai. And the rest of the team mates had one weird personality schitck but not a position or skill based one?
So I get that WSJ series need to not ‘waste’ their first couple of chapters, but this went too fast it was forgettable. Unfortunately a good sports series needs that slow build up so you actually get to know and care about the different members, their strengths and weaknesses, so you can cheer their growth on. At least Harukaze Mound (with only 2 chapters so far) seems to understand this.
Categories: Simulpub Review
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