Dear Boys - Why I'm not a Fan

Just a quick post, somewhat review style, looking at the anime Dear Boys.
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Well, I finally finished watching all 26 episodes of Dear Boys. I think I started it back in the summer. Clearly, it wasn't my favorite anime. I seriously considered dropping it several times, too.

I love sports anime (despite not caring much for sports in real life). So when I first noticed Dear Boys, a series about a basketball team, I thought I'd go for it. Looking back, it probably wasn't worth my time.

The animation did its job - and that's it. It was nothing special to look at. Not even close. And there were two characters that looked very much alike - something that bothered me whenever they both appeared in the same episode.

The sound did its job, too. I like the voice actor they picked for the key character, Aikawa. He made Aikawa sound young, optimistic, and unique from his teammates.

The plot was pretty good, I suppose. But the presentation bored me. There were some episodes where I imagined explosions to make it more exciting - or to kill all the characters and end the anime so I could get on with my life.

The characters were okay. Development was attempted. But, like the plot, they failed to move me. The main character, Aikawa, stood out as the only one whose story I really cared about.

Sure, there were a couple of episodes that I liked, or even enjoyed to an extent, especially near the end. And I liked how the series ended. It was different. Of course, the presentation fell short, but at least the general story ending was good.

Would I recommend Dear Boys? Not really. Fans of Slam Dunk may enjoy it, though I've only watched four episodes of that one myself, so I can't be sure.