ナナマルサンバツ

NANA MARU SAN BATSU

ANIME

STATUS
COMPLETE
EPISODES
12
RELEASE
September 20, 2017
LENGTH
23 min

DESCRIPTION

Bunzou High School is welcoming its new first-year students. One of them, Koshiyama Shiki, is chosen to participate against his will in an impromptu fast-buzzing quiz meet by the president of the Quiz Bowl Circle. As a quiet boy who loves reading and doesn't want to stand out, Shiki is overwhelmed, but his classmate, Fukami Mari, is able to hit the buzzer and answer questions before the full question is given. As he watches her, Shiki realizes that there's a point in each question where the answer becomes certain.

(Source: Crunchyroll)

CAST

Mari Fukami
Umika Kawashima
Shiki Koshiyama
Shun Horie
Chisato Mikuriya
Kaito Ishikawa
Gakuto Sasajima
Takuya Satou
Daisuke Inoue
Tasuku Hatanaka
Akira Sonohara
Takuma Nagatsuka
Jinko Sasajima
Satsumi Matsuda
Hajime Sasaki
Yoshitaka Yamaya
Yuki Koudzuki
Mao Ichimichi
Takumi Niina
Tatsuhisa Suzuki
Chiaki Sonohara
Ayane Sakura
Yousuke Ashiya
Wataru Hatano

EPISODES

Dubbed

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RELATED TO NANA MARU SAN BATSU

MANGA Nana Maru San Batsu

REVIEWS

bate098
80/100
Jeopardy x Sports Anime
TLDR;
If the quiz competition concept sounds interesting and/or you want a glimpse into the cultural "canon" of Japan, I would suggest you give this show a shot! It's not a masterpiece, but it's simple and fun.

As a preface:
This show is very niche, and I happen to be exactly in that niche. I've played a decent amount of quiz bowl in highschool and college so I really like the competition in general. That's a pretty big factor in how much I enjoy this show, so take my review with a grain of salt.

Meat and Potatoes:
This show mainly thrives on its concept. The plot and characters are competent for the type of show this is trying to be, it doesn't have the length necessary to really flesh out the characters that much when a big chunk of the airtime is taken up by the competition aspect (a problem most sports anime have). The main conflict of the show is handled well, and it's something that is very relatable to anyone who's taken any "game" seriously. If you've ever tried to convince a person to join a club, it's the focus of early episodes and I especially related to this aspect since I've been in the exact same spot back when I was in high school.

Some of the dialogue/hijinks can be a little bit cringe-worthy at times, but mostly endearing so. The show has that simple happy shoujo energy. The female lead's voice is quite dividing, I enjoyed it, whether or not it rubs you the wrong way will affect how much you enjoy the show. Don't expect any deep character writing or complicated plots, it's a simple and well-focused show on the unique factor it brings.

If you're worried about the formula getting old, they pull out a variety of game formats that keeps the competition fresh. That was a part that I especially enjoyed.

The opening is pretty good!

If the idea of learning a little bit more through osmosis of the general cultural/historical canon of Japan interests you, the show sprinkles a lot of that in through the format of the competition. If the flavor of cultural relevance interests you, sort of like how Bungo Stray Dogs has literature-inspired "flavor" in the names of characters and abilities, you would probably enjoy this show as well.

Another way you could enjoy the show, if learning new stuff is interesting to you, is to note down things/names that are brought up and pull up their Wikipedia pages. This is how I watched the show, it's in the spirit of quizbowl to always be trying to pick up new tidbits of information that could help you in the future. It's always good fun as well to pause and see if you know the correct answer as well (though the questions can be quite hard at times).

Overall, it's another one of those niche anime that puts all its eggs into the concept being fresh enough to draw an audience. The writing and characters are quite average, but I feel the story has a good theme and heart to it that can really endear you to the characters. It's a cool and fun glimpse into what Japanese people feel are culturally relevant/things you should/could know.

PS:
I rewrote this review almost a year later (5-16) so you get less of my fanboying over the sport and a more fair review of the show as it is. I could barely read what I had written before... damn really shows reviewing something right after you watch it can skew your perspective really hard.
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