Turkey!-Time to Strike-

Episode 12

Where to even begin? As far as finales go, this one checked off just about all the boxes. Absolutely fantastic episode from start to finish, and a great way to close off one of this season's most underrated hits.

I guess we'll begin at the beginning. I know plenty of sports anime like going completely over-the-top from time to time—my personal favorite such moment being the dinosaurs being wiped out by a tennis ball. And this whole episode, but the first half especially, fits that mold perfectly. The girls all being tied up like bowling pins in a way that's somewhat reminiscent of the Pokémon gym leaders being crucified, the drama of Rina's throw, Sayuri and Suguri coming within an inch of death, the Is-That-How-Physics-Work of it all of Mai's throw, how this is all happening while it's pouring rain and the light of the torches burns on in the backdrop—bowling simply doesn't get any better than this, folks.

Speaking of, you couldn't ask for a better venue to put your bowling anime finale. Something needs to be said about how relentlessly cool—how unabashedly metal—that whole set up was, and how the imagery of pouring rain meets burning fire just thematically works so well in Turkey!. This anime knows a thing or two about how to build up drama and hype. I was at the edge of my seat waiting to see if that last pin would drop, because it truly felt like a 50-50 whether this anime would let everyone live, or if it was going to kill one profoundly unlucky character. It was down to Suguri and Sayuri, the latter of whom had a whole episode about confronting the fragility of human life, so it wouldn't have felt completely out of place.

Time and time again, this anime has made it a key feature of itself that it likes to go for the unexpected, so when I say it felt like a 50-50, I mean that wholeheartedly. The sheer level of unpredictability in Turkey! is simply unmatched, and makes it a perfect watch for someone who thinks they've seen it all—especially when it comes to either sports anime, or historical anime. Which, themselves, are two genres of anime I never thought I'd see blended together in general, let alone so well. It doesn't work out every time an anime tries to mix two genres that don't usually go together (Delico's Nursery, which is a vampire parenthood anime that I reviewed for ANN some time ago, springs to mind) but Turkey! is absolutely one of the brighter success stories.

And then of course, there's the second half of the episode, which ties the story up: this whole thing was predetermined from the start, the glowing object that more or less caused this in the first place was Mai's bowling ball, the girls sans-Rina are all graduating, Sayuri is joining her family business and the others are going to Tokyo for college, and Haru has been an amnesiac Sumomo all along. The whole Haru being Sumomo thing, I think fits Turkey! perfectly. Does it feel a bit canned, and perhaps a bit too on-the-nose? Totally. But I think that in itself is the appeal. Turkey! isn't an anime for subtlety or playing things gently; it's bold, it's loud, and not afraid to throw things at you at 100 mph. So sure, Haru is Sumomo, and for some reason got thrown just a few years ahead of the rest of the squad. Why not? Love it.

It's funny too that despite Nanase's paranoia around the whole thing, butterfly effects don't seem to apply given that the whole thing had “already happened.” It's a clean and overly convenient way to deal with that, but again: I think it suits this anime. Although admittedly, I think it could've been really fun to watch one come to pass.

As far as overall thoughts for the series go, as mentioned earlier: in a season that was full of heavy-hitters, this was absolutely one of the biggest sleeper hits. We've seen it run the full emotional gamut, and bring a whole new meaning to the phrase tonal whiplash. This is to say nothing of how wildly unique it is—prior to word getting out about the premiere, who among us could've hoped to predict a time travel bowling anime? Sure, InuYasha's good, nostalgic fun, and the obvious thing to compare this to, but even it has several key differences from Turkey!—to say nothing of the obvious: there's no bowling.

Turkey! has taken all these ingredients, and made it core to its identity and appeal—leaned fully into just how equal parts wacky and dramatic it is. And I think that's awesome. More than most series, it's easy to understand how this one certainly won't be everyone's cup of tea. But if you have a taste for the equally-absurd-and-heartfelt, or if you just want to watch something that's truly unlike anything else you've ever seen, Turkey! should be considered a must-watch.

Rating:

Turkey!-Time to Strike- is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.