Have you ever heard of Kabaddi before? Well, at first I was at a loss for what it was because I never heard of this sport until I watched this anime. To give you a small background of what it is, Kabaddi is a combative sport with seven players on each side; played for a period of 40 minutes with a 5 minute break (20-5-20). A player from each team will take turns raiding the other team's court, touching as many defense players as they can until they can no longer chant and go back to their court. That one player who charges needs to repeatedly chant "Kabaddi, Kabaddi, Kabaddi" while he is on his opponent's court.
Of 'course the team that will be raided will be on defense, and as much as possible they should avoid getting touched, or if they're touched, they should find a way to prevent the raider from coming back to his home court. It's basically a match of one versus seven players; the one is the raider (attacker/offense), while the seven are the antis (defense). Once the antis get touched by the raider, they will be considered out. However, they can still participate in taking down the raider, and if they can take down the raider before he can go back to his home court, then they can still play. But if they fail to take down the raider, then they will be officially called out and thrown out of the court. They can only go back to their court when their team scores points against their opponent team during their raiding turn or if the remaining players succeed in catching the opponent’s raider.
It's a highly physical sport, and watching it really gets me excited. It's like watching a hunter catch prey, which was partly true because Kabbadi was derived from that prehistoric way of hunting where early humans didn't use tools to hunt—only their bodies. Reflexes were really crucial at that time, both for self-defense and hunting, and it's also the same in Kabaddi because you really need sharp reflexes to avoid being tackled down by the antis. I'm not really new to full contact events because I've participated in sports that require attacking your opponent's body, but it's certainly the first time I've watched a sport with no equipment used.
So enough with the introductions, let's now take a peek at how the mc discovered and loved this sport in his amusing journey in Shakunetsu Kabaddi.
About the Anime
Shakunetsu Kabaddi (Burning Kabaddi) is a sports anime that premiered in the spring of 2021. It aired from April 3, 2021, to June 19, 2021, and it was animated by TMS Entertainment. Its genres are obviously sports with a little bit of comedy. Like most of the sports anime, its main theme revolves around school and team sports. This anime has 12 episodes in total, and it's an adaptation of a manga written by Hajime Mushashino.
Now entering his first year at Noukin High School, Yoigoshi Tatsuya took this an opportunity to start a new life far away from the sports he now really hates. He was once a nationally renowned soccer player, but apparently he got fed up with the toxicities he had faced while playing sports, so now in his highschool year, he decided to be someone else. He wanted to be a famous livestreamer online. However, since he's really popular, there's still offers for him to join sports, which he adamantly turns down. But it seems that sportsmen are really after him, because just as he's in the middle of livestreaming, a strange man appeared in his doorway.
The man introduced himself as Azemichi Souma, a first-year on the Kabaddi team, and persistently asked Yoigoshi to join their team. Even if he turned him down, Azemichi still persisted. Realizing that Azemichi isn't like the other sportsmen who tried recruiting him, he was left with no choice but to agree to him so that he can peacefully resume his livestreaming later. But that invitation was bound to change his plans because, despite his apparent dislike with the rules of that game, Yoigoshi finds the game challenging and somehow exciting. He was stunned with the intensity he felt while playing that sport, but of 'course that didn't make him immediately like sports again—he was just simply fascinated about it. Yet after being tempted and slightly blackmailed by the team's cunning vice captain, he then agreed to a bet that's bound to draw him into an empty-handed team sport—Kabaddi!
I don't really have much expectation for this anime because I'm not really familiar with how Kabaddi is played, but honestly, I really enjoyed watching it. It was a refreshing experience for me to watch a sports anime that's about an unfamiliar sport. The plot progressed slowly, but I didn't get really bored because of its comedic gags. The first episodes really did a good job in introducing the rules in Kabaddi—especially for me, who's not really familiar with it. For me, the way they explained those rules was definitely understandable. It's really just similar with those of the contact sports I've seen before—it's either you're in charge of the attack or you're the one who'll get attacked.
However, like the usual sports anime, it's riddled with cliches, such as random flashbacks that really disrupt the momentum of the plot. I'm not saying that it's annoying because yeah—I've encountered a lot of it from the sports anime I've watched before, so I'm pretty much used to it, but I somehow hoped that this anime wouldn't have this cliche flashbacks—which apparently it had. Also, the plot is pretty generic, and it's more like a fusion of the famous sports anime I've watched before, and as for the characters, this anime also had the usual sport anime character archetypes. As usual, the mc was a beginner and genius, and he also has a weird bunch of teammates. His captain is also very much dedicated to their sport, and the vice captain is also a megane! I know you're probably thinking of a certain old anime, but anyway, this anime has its own endearing quirks.
On the other hand, its art style was fine—it's not great nor bad at all. However, I expected that this anime would have a nice animation with smooth execution of movements, but that's where my expectations fall short. The animation of movements was quite choppy, and yeah—the usual slow motion was there. Also, the motion during those parts looks too still and dull, but fortunately not all scenes are like that. Although there are poorly animated and executed scenes, I really enjoyed watching the matches. The animation may not be top-tier, but they still did a good job animating those gripping Kabaddi matches, which I really enjoyed.
Its upbeat and catchy soundtrack did really suit well with the anime's vibes. Also, the voice actors did a good job in portraying their characters. Further, I really like the opening song, which has a Kabaddi chant at the end, because it really added to my hype and excitement! The ending song was also nice and catchy. There are some parts where the background music somehow goes overboard and slightly overpowers the voices, but nevertheless it did match and even enhance the mood of those scenes.
Overall, my personal rating for this anime is 7/10. Despite all the cliches it had, I'm really amazed at how they're able to successfully make a decent depiction of how Kabaddi is played. Unlike other sports anime, Kabbadi was sure an underrated sport, and despite it's flaws, I think this anime deserves praise for adapting such a not-so-known sport. The comedy and the matches really entertained me, and it's fun to learn about this sport! It's definitely worth watching, and yeah, I'm really hoping for a second season because I admit that I also wanted to see how the other members of the Noukin's Kabaddi team progressed (especially Yuuki!). So if you're up for an underrated sports anime that's not from the usual sports anime demographic, then you really need to try watching Shakunetsu Kabaddi!
Before I end this review, I gladly share with you its trailer, so—
Have you watched this anime before? Or is this your first time seeing it? Feel free to leave a comment if Kabaddi piques your interest. That's all for today, minna-san! I hoped you enjoyed reading my review.
Arigatou and tanoshinde ne~
The pictures that didn't have source were screenshots from the anime while the last picture was edited in Canva.