The Aoashi anime series has released a new key visual of Ahito Aoi with a crow flying above him. NHK has posted the same image on their Twitter, along with extra information about Aoashi Part 2.
Aoashi Episode 13: Turn is coming out on July 2, 2022. So now is the perfect time to look at this anime and see what’s new.
What do we know about Aoashi Part 2?
The opening, ending songs, and cast information are here! Superfly’s latest song, Presence, will be the opening, and God Doesn’t Roll Dice created Color Lily’s Love Letter for the ending. In addition, Ashito’s newest and greatest rivals in the 2nd cour have been unveiled.
They are the Tokyo Musashino Kickball Team Youth! Takuya Eguchi is Akinori Kaneda. Kaneda is a first-year high school student and the ace striker.
Kotaro Nishiyama voices Nakano Junnosuke, another first-year and is a defender. ONO Tomoki plays Chiaki Muto, the captain, and a mid-fielder.
Maeno Tomoaki is Koji Satake, the coach, and is 29. Kei Mado is Miyako Tachibana, twin sister of Soichiro, and plays on the Tokyo Musashino Kick Team Ladies.
What makes Aoashi different from other sports anime/manga?
Sports anime/manga has been around for years and is going strong, but it’s still considered a niche genre, especially if you’re not into sports or understand them outside of gym class. Most sports anime/manga follow one of two patterns.
A gifted person either voluntarily or is forced to join a horrible team and is responsible for improving them. Or a complete newbie with tons of passion knows the rules and various facts about different players but has little to no skill.
Aoashi fits both of these categories. Some sports anime make you feel like you’re watching a fantasy or superpower show instead of a regular sport.
There’s nothing wrong with that, but Aoashi is a breath of fresh air because it focuses on tactics. Ashito’s eyes change color, and we see a crow whenever his instincts kick in, but intuition isn’t enough to win.
Not only do you have to understand the rules, but you must know and respect your teammates. You must know everything about how your teammates play, so you won’t have to worry about them in the heat of the game.
Aoashi beautifully shows this with Ashito’s growth. He goes from keeping his insights to himself and trying to score alone to communicating and trusting his teammates to score for and with him.
I don’t watch many sports anime, but I’ll keep an eye out for Aoashi when I’m hunting for my next anime binge.