Fall 2018 Anime: Tsurune

Synopsis

Minato Narumiya used to practice archery since elementary school after seeing an archery tournament with his late mother. Now entering high school, his school just happen to be about to revive its archery team. However, something that happened in the past made Minato feels unconfident and reluctant to do archery again.

Comments

Halimun Muhammad (The Indonesian Anime Times)

Adding to the variety of shows airing in this season is Kyoto Animation’s series about traditional Japanese archery (kyuudo). Given the subject, I think the important and interesting question is to look into how the series can convey what makes archery beautiful. The title “Tsurune” itself draws the focus on the sound of the bowstring (tsuru) as it releases the arrow as a key point in the beauty of archery. That puts the use of sounds as a crucial component of the series in addition to meticulous use of animation to depict the motion of the archer, the bow and the arrow. It’s a more nuanced element, but listening closely, it’s possible to notice the subtle distinctions of the bowstring sounds.

This show is also a teenage drama, and the main conflict revolves around Minato’s reluctance to take part in archery again over something that happened in the past and is yet to be explained in detail. And here, Kyoani’s team shows again how well they can portray fragile boys through delicate animation of gestures and body language, along with subtle use of colouring and lighting to support the mood of a given scene. How well can Minato’s struggle with his conflict can be woven into narrating the beauty of archery and not just be any other sports drama, though, remains to be seen as the show goes on. And hopefully, the other boys can have enough time of their own too to delve into their respective relationships with archery.

Facts and Figures

Screenshots and Trailer

The Indonesian Anime Times