×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
EP. REVIEW: Welcome to the Ballroom


Goto page   Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Engineering Nerd



Joined: 24 Apr 2008
Posts: 897
Location: Southern California
PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 5:29 pm Reply with quote
I am VERY curious now, since now I reside in USA, how different is US's ballroom culture comparing to the one shown in the anime?


I've been to the ballroom in China and Japan, gotta say the show's portrayal of Asian (again, no idea how western ones work) ballroom is pretty spot-on, of course, minus the idealistic beauties of anime characters Wink


Last edited by Engineering Nerd on Tue Jul 18, 2017 6:30 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ICO44



Joined: 28 Aug 2015
Posts: 103
PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 6:15 pm Reply with quote
am I the only one that really likes the characters design for this show? maybe because love how character looks in Haikyu.

Last edited by ICO44 on Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:45 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Princess_Irene
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 16 Dec 2008
Posts: 2599
Location: The castle beyond the Goblin City
PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 6:20 pm Reply with quote
Engineering Nerd wrote:
I am VERY curious now, since now I reside in USA, how different is US's ballroom culture comparing to the one shown in the anime?


I been to the ballroom in China and Japan, gotta say the show's portrayal of Asian (again, no idea how western ones work) ballroom is pretty dead-on, of course, minus the idealistic beauties of anime characters Wink


It's pretty close in my experience, but keep in mind that it's been a while - my youngest sister is the ballroom dancer; my area of dance is Modern. Have you ever seen the movie "Strictly Ballroom?" Combine that with this and I think you've got a good approximation. Very Happy
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 6:55 pm Reply with quote
I don't know about Sengoku being an asshole, he's not getting paid after all...

Otherwise the show is fine, the direction make up for the awkward character design and the story and character are fun if a bit predictable. I would like it if they introduce another girl to be Tatara dance partner, ideally another newbie. Having Shizuku just be his "destined one" is a bit boring and doesn't make much sense storywise. But I really doubt that'll happen (I don't see any other girl in any of the promotional stuff), so I'm guessing it'll follow the usual shonen thing were Tatara will just become somehow professional level and able to dance with Shizuku in the next 5-6 episodes (one part that I absolutely loved of Yuri on Ice was that the main character was already an expert). At that point Sengoku will have a lot more reason to be annoyed at Tatara, he'll somehow have done what took him several years in a few months.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5406
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:18 pm Reply with quote
This show is up to a good start. The characters seem well written, and Tatara is a likable character. I am not sure where the story is going, but it has more than enough episodes left to figure it out. And I don't really mind the character designs (especially Shizuku, who is beautiful and fanservicy), but the spaghetti dancing animation is definitely off putting.

I would give these two episodes a B+. To me Welcome to the Ballroom, alongside Made in Abyss and Princess Principal are so far the best 3 shows from this young season.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Samiamiam



Joined: 31 Jan 2017
Posts: 227
PostPosted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:53 pm Reply with quote
The fact that the characters are spoon people can get distracting at times.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Merida



Joined: 21 Feb 2012
Posts: 1945
PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 12:41 am Reply with quote
So far this looks like pretty standard sports anime material, it's by no means bad but doesn't really justify all the hype. I don't mind the character design, but i could do without the "fear of touching girls" or the impending "love triangle"...

Also, Sengoku is my favorite, closely followed by Hyoudou. Wink
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Mojave



Joined: 07 May 2017
Posts: 178
PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 7:48 am Reply with quote
Engineering Nerd wrote:
I am VERY curious now, since now I reside in USA, how different is US's ballroom culture comparing to the one shown in the anime?


I've been to the ballroom in China and Japan, gotta say the show's portrayal of Asian (again, no idea how western ones work) ballroom is pretty spot-on, of course, minus the idealistic beauties of anime characters Wink


It's a bit difficult to tell so far, because we haven't gotten a real deep look at ballroom culture in the series yet, as it's focused much more on Tatara personally. The tone surrounding the one competition we've seen so far seemed to be identical to how it is at an American competition.

The way Tatara is treated as a beginner is quite different from how beginners are treated in the US, as there's a mean-spiritedness and almost-oppressive seriousness to how he's being treated (and not just by Sengoku) that is completely opposite of how beginners are treated in the US. However, it's tough to tell if this discrepancy is just because of the tone the series is trying to establish as a shonen series, or if it's indicative of a major difference in ballroom culture in Japan.

The only other major discrepancy I noticed from what I'm used to as an American ballroom dancer is when Shizuku mentioned that she had been told that she was lucky to have Hyodo as her leader, as you would never refer to a dancer's longtime partner as her leader. Men do lead in ballroom dance, but especially at the level Hyodo and Shizuku are at leading does not equal unilateral decision making or control. It felt like it was putting the female dancer in a submissive role to her male partner, and that does not exist in US ballroom dance culture. I have never once heard a male dancer referred to as his partner's leader. Once again though, I'm not sure if this is indicative of a difference in ballroom dance culture between the US and Japan, or if it's just a product of the show's tone as a shonen series.

Other than those two things though, the way the show has presented ballroom dance is overall pretty similar to what I'm used to. Well, besides just a few small errors the show has made about technical aspects of ballroom dance, like Tatara doing the box step all night (his knees and possibly hips and ankles would have given out long before that point). Overall though, I am fairly pleased with the show's depiction of ballroom dance, as it's already more accurate than a lot of sports anime are with their respective sports. I am curious to see how accurate that depiction stays as we get further into the series and the show fleshes out its take on ballroom dance, and on the culture surrounding it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
GoldCrusader



Joined: 25 Apr 2017
Posts: 1021
PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 7:48 am Reply with quote
I.G is just acing the adaptation so far. Ballroom is a show where the art is so strong that it's the type that requires no speaking has a single tells so much stuff. AND so far damn did they get this right. If episode 2 is any indication of what's too come this will be easily AOTY material.

Also I really like the artstyle. Its eccentric and fits the theme of the show so well.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
AksaraKishou



Joined: 16 May 2015
Posts: 1410
Location: End of the World
PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 8:04 am Reply with quote
meiam wrote:
But I really doubt that'll happen (I don't see any other girl in any of the promotional stuff),


Yes you do. :3

animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2017-06-23/welcome-to-the-ballroom-anime-reveals-4th-key-visual/.117929

Best girl right there.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
meiam



Joined: 23 Jun 2013
Posts: 3442
PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 8:35 am Reply with quote
AksaraKishou wrote:
meiam wrote:
But I really doubt that'll happen (I don't see any other girl in any of the promotional stuff),


Yes you do. :3

animenewsnetwork.com/daily-briefs/2017-06-23/welcome-to-the-ballroom-anime-reveals-4th-key-visual/.117929

Best girl right there.


Oh there is, the picture I kept seeing is the one that's use for this review series with only the four character so far in a line. Well then I eagerly await her introduction.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
chaccide



Joined: 16 Aug 2016
Posts: 295
PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:26 pm Reply with quote
The women in this off look like the women and American comics who have absurdly unrealistic spinal curvatures that would normally put you in a body cast. I can't stand looking at them. But I would if I found the rest of the anime intriguing, but I'm not intrigued by a sports anime that uses so many stills. Do they ever actually show, oh I don't know, couples moving while they dance?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
GoldCrusader



Joined: 25 Apr 2017
Posts: 1021
PostPosted: Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:36 pm Reply with quote
chaccide wrote:
The women in this off look like the women and American comics who have absurdly unrealistic spinal curvatures that would normally put you in a body cast. I can't stand looking at them. But I would if I found the rest of the anime intriguing, but I'm not intrigued by a sports anime that uses so many stills. Do they ever actually show, oh I don't know, couples moving while they dance?

Did you watch the show or are you complaining before checking it out? Because even if it did have some stills, some of the best animation moments of this season (sakuga) so far have been in this show. Episode 2 had a beautiful sakuga moment that sadly caused the death of its animator(overwork).

So yes they do. Watch it and maybe you would actually see them?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
vonPeterhof



Joined: 10 Nov 2014
Posts: 729
PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 12:14 am Reply with quote
GoldCrusader wrote:
Episode 2 had a beautiful sakuga moment that sadly caused the death of its animator(overwork).
Kazunori Mizuno didn't animate anything personally in the episode (or at least, he wasn't credited for any key animation that time); he was working in the capacity of episode director while, apparently, also working on Naruto Shippuden. Since most if not all episode directors are former or current animators this isn't quite as jarring as when the death of an A-1 Pictures production assistant was reported by some as the "death of an animator", but still inaccurate, especially since there doesn't seem to be any evidence to blame any specific sequence in the episode. No news of Takashi Mukouda or Yoshimi Itazu having passed away either.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
CrowLia



Joined: 24 Feb 2012
Posts: 5500
Location: Mexico
PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2017 1:03 am Reply with quote
GoldCrusader wrote:
chaccide wrote:
The women in this off look like the women and American comics who have absurdly unrealistic spinal curvatures that would normally put you in a body cast. I can't stand looking at them. But I would if I found the rest of the anime intriguing, but I'm not intrigued by a sports anime that uses so many stills. Do they ever actually show, oh I don't know, couples moving while they dance?

Did you watch the show or are you complaining before checking it out? Because even if it did have some stills, some of the best animation moments of this season (sakuga) so far have been in this show. Episode 2 had a beautiful sakuga moment that sadly caused the death of its animator(overwork).

So yes they do. Watch it and maybe you would actually see them?


I actually timed the amount of effective dancing animation during the competition sequence because I too am feeling dissatisfied by the lack of you know, animation vs stills and came at not more than 13 seconds of real movement. Like Rebecca, I feel that if I wanted to look at still shots of people dancing, I'd rather read the manga. It's hard to be impressed by Hyodo and Shizuku's dancing prowess when we barely see them dancing at all. (Hyodo's solo practice if of course brilliant, but chaccide asked about couples dancing)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page   Next
Page 1 of 19

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group