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Review*Eyeshield 21
by Joe Di Benedetto (Spike Spiegel)

Animation by NAS
Creator: Riichiro Inagaki & Yusuke Murata
Eyeshield 21 is a sports anime based on the manga from Shonen Jump. The show follows high school freshman Kobayakawa Sena. Sena is a little guy who has always been picked on and beat up by bullies at school. The years of running errands for the bullies helped Sena develop strong leg muscles and excellent running speed. One day, Hiruma Youichi, the captain of the school’s American Football (Amefuto) team, catches a glimpse of Sena’s blazing speed and tries to recruit him. Though Sena doesn’t know anything about the sport, he joins the team under a new guise. Hiruma doesn’t want the identity of their new star player to be known, otherwise other sport clubs would try to recruit Sena. So, Hiruma makes Sena wear an Amefuto helmet and visor, and Eyeshield 21 is born. The show deals with school life and sports with some comedy thrown in as well. Every commercial break, there is a question and answer session dealing with the rules of American Football. I think this is a great idea for the children in Japan since American Football and its rules are not too well known outside of the US. I think this show is geared towards a younger crowd, because I really am not too crazy about it. I’m not positive if the reason for my dislike is the kind of kiddie, cliché characters or the fact that the show is about American Football. The sports scenes are kind of ridiculous as it seems that Eyeshield 21 runs for miles on every play, but that could just be me nitpicking since I am a huge fan of the sport. Though I am not a fan of the show, I do know plenty of people that have fallen in love with it. So, if this sounds like the kind of anime series that you might like, give it a try and watch a few episodes.