The popular basketball manga "Ahiru no Sora" has finally been adapted into an anime. I can't wait for it to air. This time, I would like to introduce the appeal of this work "Ahiru no Sora" in preparation for its anime adaptation.
1. A story depicting failure and growth
The biggest feature of "Ahiru no Sora" is the story of the failure and growth of the protagonists, set in a high school basketball club. In a typical sports manga, the story is about the team continuing to win with the protagonist at the center, but the Kuzuryu High School boys' basketball club, which is the center of "Ahiru no Sora", just loses. In terms of the manga, they don't win until volume 10. They just keep losing. However, the way the characters grow as people and overcome past failures as they suffer these repeated defeats is a unique and interesting aspect of "Ahiru no Sora" that is rarely depicted in other manga. Anyway, as time goes by, the characters grow by overcoming their weaknesses, deepening their bonds with their team, becoming independent, and so on.
2. The protagonist has a complex
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
The protagonist of "Ahiru no Sora", Kurumatani Sora, is a basketball player but is only about 150 cm tall. In basketball, where height is an advantage, players this small are rare, and Sora himself had a complex about his small stature. However, as he fights with his teammates, he acquires strength that makes such complexes disappear, and he competes with players bigger than him. It is touching to see Sora's attitude of not giving in to his complex but looking forward without giving in. There are many different characters in "Ahiru no Sora," but each one has some kind of problem. The core of this work is the growth of characters who confront such problems and overcome them, and Kurumatani Sora is a character that symbolizes this.
3. Characters who excel in one skill
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
The players of Kuzuryu High School basketball team, to which Sora and his friends belong, have weaknesses, but they all excel in one skill, which makes them attractive. For example, Kurumatani Sora is small but skilled at making accurate three-point shots. Hanazono Momoharu, who is not good at shooting, has incredible jumping ability and is unrivaled under the basket. Hanazono Chiaki lacks speed and agility, but has excellent basketball sense and game-making ability, and plays an active role as a playmaker. Natsume Kenji lacks cooperation, but his basketball sense is outstanding and he is unrivaled in one-on-one battles. Mogyoshi Kaname does not have much stamina, but he is good at hook shots that make the most of his height of 198 cm. In this way, the players of Kuzuryu High School's basketball club have their own unique weapon, and they aim to become a strong team by combining them.
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha/"Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
4. Carefully depicting the "losers"
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha/"Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
In works set in sports, the spotlight is often on the winners. However, in "Ahiru no Sora," the existence of the losers who lost the game is depicted very carefully. Of course, in the beginning there is the Kuzuryu High School basketball team, who keep losing their matches, but the sight of Kitasumiyoshi High School and Shinmaruko High School, who lost to Yokohama Daiei High School in the prefectural Inter-High preliminaries, was also striking. After losing the match, the key players of each team are left in tears of frustration, but the story leading up to that point conveys their feelings about the Inter-High, which is very moving. Of course, where there are winners there will also be losers, but I think what makes this work interesting is how it clearly depicts the existence of these losers.
5. Typical everyday life of high school students
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha/"Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
"Ahiru no Sora" is interesting in that it depicts the real lives of high school students, focusing on the high school basketball club. Sports manga often focus on club activities, with all the athletes practicing their hardest, but "Ahiru no Sora" weaves in everyday scenes throughout the story to portray high school students in a realistic way. As you'd expect, most high school students sometimes find club activities annoying and sometimes struggle with tests. You can really get a feel for the world of the work just by watching the characters casually walking home from school or chatting in the classroom.
6. There are many touching quotes
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha/"Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
When reading "Ahiru no Sora", there are many touching quotes. This may be the intention of the author Takeshi Hinata to convey the real feelings of the characters to the reader. Some readers may find it too poetic to be a good read, but many are touched by the words that appear in the story.
7. Kuzu High members who dropped out
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha/Ahiru no Sora Production Committee
Each member of the Kuzuryu High School boys' basketball team has dropped out in the past. For example, when Hanazono Chiaki played against a strong opponent in his junior high school basketball club, he couldn't stand the crushing defeat and ran away from the game, leaving the game. In the case of Hanazono Momoharu, he quit basketball after he was substituted in the middle of a game in junior high school because he couldn't make a single shot. Although Mokichi Kaname was tall and had high hopes for him in junior high school, he couldn't live up to the expectations and couldn't stand the pressure, so he quit basketball. Natsume Kenji was uncooperative and often got into trouble with his teammates, so he played basketball alone. In this way, the Kuzuryu High School basketball club is also a story of players who once dropped out of basketball coming together and trying to rise again. Elements such as quitting something you've been continuing and the things you can only understand by quitting give depth to the characters.
8. A drama about the growth of beginners
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata/Kodansha/"Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
In the Kuzuryu High School basketball club, three beginners, Yasuhara, Nabeshima, and Chaki, who started playing basketball in high school, appear. The story of how these three grow is also one of the charms of this work. Yasuhara is the most motivated of the three, and improves quickly, and grows to a level where he can easily compete with experienced players, using his natural athletic ability as a weapon. Nabeshima, feeling impatient with the growth of those around him, also worked hard to master the three-point shot, and thanks to his efforts he has now become a valuable outside player at Kuzuryu High School. Chaki was known for his defense, but he quit the basketball club because he was impatient with the growth of the other two and could not find a role for himself on the team. One of the highlights of this work is how these three beginners develop in their own way.
9. Colorful love stories
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
"Ahiru no Sora" is a manga that mainly depicts basketball and has few romantic elements, but even within it, colorful love stories appear. For example, Kurumatani Sora admires Yabuuchi Madoka, who has feelings for Momoharu. As the story progresses, Madoka and Momoharu develop a good relationship. Meanwhile, Nao Nanao, who is the manager of the basketball club, seems to have feelings for Sora. It will be interesting to see how these love stories develop in the future.
10. The adults surrounding the high school students are fascinating
Source: Ahiru no Sora © Hinata Takeshi, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
In "Ahiru no Sora," not only the high school students who appear are fascinating, but also the adults involved with them. Another highlight is how the adults surrounding the basketball club members, such as the club's advisor, Ms. Satsuki, the team manager, Mr. Sakata, Sora's father, Tomohisa, and the other teachers at school, change.
Summary
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / Ahiru no Sora Production Committee
Ahiru no Sora may seem like a typical basketball manga, but it actually contains many elements that are unique to Ahiru no Sora. It's a manga that is full of various charms, such as the real feelings of high school students and the words that express them, so please give it a read.
