Never have I EVER✧･ﾟ:✧~

1. The protagonist is constantly blushing. Like it’s literally part of his character model.

2. It’s one of the those sports animes where your beautiful protagonist doesn’t realize that THEIR TEAM IS THE VILLAIN TEAM (see: Haikyuu!!). It’s your teammates that are the terrifying af crazy-eyes in all black tracksuits scaring the shit out of the other feel-good teams at the joint training camps and inter-highs. In the front of which is this sprinting, blue-eyed happy-go-lucky main character that is just delighted that he gets to play on such a wonderful team.

3. You know those characters that communicate their sports and life logic only through shitty sound effects? (see: Hinata Shouyo & Kotaro Bokuto) In DAYS, that’s your terror of a team captain. He’s a stoic, cold-hearted, tunnel-visioned leader that makes other regional teams’ captains weep bitterly into their pillows at night whose only advice during training is “your foot has to go ‘boof’ more”

4. There is constantly great shit going on in the background. Like, cool side characters are nice, but cool side characters madly scaling a chain link fence in the background of a regular conversation in a desperate bid to reign in their injured sports-hungry captain is even better. Important monologue happening? Better have a high school girl soundlessly shouting at you behind that window.

5. Speaking of, you know the stuck-up prodigy character that all sports animes have to contrast against the main character’s inept, bumbling, warm-hearted approach to the game? In DAYS, the prodigy is that blonde lady killer that looks like a Pantene ad loafing around in all the promo art. And he loves the main character. Not in a tsundere, reluctant admiration way, but he genuinely beats the shit out of people for being mean to the protagonist and laments to himself at how bad a friend he is and thinks of ways he can apologize. He’s ornery and lazy and a bit of a jerk, but he’s not socially incompetent or a clueless asshole, and frankly that’s refreshing. Also he has inexplicably nice hair.

6. The token female manager that’s always such a tragically unfulfilled character? She’s amazing. She’s aggressive, polished and social with realistic philosophical problems, and she’s incredibly intelligent in general and loves literature and writing. Her internal monologues are some of the most profound discussions in the whole show. She also bullies the hell out of the protagonist, and takes absolutely no shit from anyone because why should she? She’s beautiful and already has friends and you’re in her way. Move.

7. Finally, the animation of the whole show is shockingly well done. When I first ran into DAYS I avoided the hell out of it, because there have been a wealth of shoddily-adapted sports animes these last few summers after Free! and KuroBasu’s success. But even the opening sequence is nice, the art is clean and pleasing, and the camera angles and details (both literal and in content) are just enjoyable.

Sokka + Art