Review of Giant Killing

As an action sports anime, Giant Killing failed miserably. There's simply not enough animated action for it to be super enjoyable and entertaining. They barely show the ball. The animations is subpar and the pacing is all over the place. Its without question a poor adaptation. Many dialogues should've been cut and replaced with on the pitch action but knowing the studio its not surprising at all they're incapable of doing something creative. The only things DEEN did right were the art style and music. Very uplifting and energetic OST & OP. Despite all that Giant Killing wasn't all bad. It succeeded in portraying whatclub football is all about. This is due to the writer's excellent understanding of the sport. From the fans, hooligans, players, staffs, to the managing board they're all just shown as passionate. How a team reacts to defeats, setbacks, bad dressing room is pretty believable. In football, struggling teams don't magically find their form back after winning a single game. There has to be consistency. Players psychological struggles, the hardship of being a competitive professional footballer... Giant Killing nailed it all. Many football anime rarely succedeed on these aspects. So from a football fan myself I think Giant Killing deserved a praise for trying a semi realistic approach on a football anime. Imagine if it had a better studio.