Dear Boys (2003) — Story, Release Date, Rating

Synopsis:

Seeking a fresh challenge, former star player Aikawa Kazuhiko transfers to Mizuho High, a school with a basketball program long since abandoned. He finds the team in disrepair, but his unwavering dedication and skill spark a renewed sense of purpose within its members. The story follows Aikawa and his teammates – Fujiwara, Ishii, Dobashi, and Miura – as they navigate the challenges of rebuilding the basketball team from the ground up.

The series emphasizes the development of these young athletes, their evolving camaraderie, and the pursuit of a common goal: competing in the national tournaments. It portrays a grounded narrative centered around teamwork, perseverance, and the transformative power of passion in overcoming adversity, offering a realistic portrayal of high school sports and personal growth.

Streaming Platforms:

Crunchyroll

Episodes:

Episode 1: An Intriguing Transfer Student
Episode 2: The Revival of the Boys' Basketball Team
Episode 3: The Practice Game Opponents Are...
Episode 4: Winning Spirit
Episode 5: The Crippled Comeback!
... and 21 more episodes

Characters:

Aikawa, Kazuhiko (Main) - Voice Actors: Kiyasu, Kouhei, Rollo, Alfredo, Pyo, Yeong Jae, Serrano, Ezequiel, Gatha, Mark
Anzaki, Satomi (Main) - Voice Actors: Noto, Mamiko, Bullara, Fernanda, Soyeon, Bachynski, Lori, Chacón, Lileana
Dobashi, Kenji (Main) - Voice Actors: Konishi, Katsuyuki, Gilbertson, Lucas, O, In Seong, Villalonga, Fábio
Fujiwara, Takumi (Main) - Voice Actors: Matsukaze, Masaya, Corsetti, Sérgio, Cole, Ethan
Ishii, Tsutomu (Main) - Voice Actors: Suzuki, Tatsuhisa, Hunter, Brendan, Lee, Ju Chang, Rufino, Sérgio, Belisario, Ledner
Miura, Ranmaru (Main) - Voice Actors: Takeuchi, Ken, Giraldi, Silvio, Díaz, Víctor, Roberts, Scott
Aizawa, Naoki (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Kobayashi, Takashika
Akiyoshi, Mutsumi (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Day, Carol-Anne, Yoshino, Miki, Kim, Seo Yeong, Di Castro, Leila, Barboza, Jhaidy
Fuse, Ayumi (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Sugita, Tomokazu
Himuro, Kyoko (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Tanaka, Atsuko, Araújo, Alessandra, Taylor-Parry, Meredith
Hoshina, Yuito (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Chiba, Susumu, Longo, Thiago
Kusano, Katsumi (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Kurita, Kei
Moritaka, Mai (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Keplmair, Tatiane, Kawase, Akiko, Davies, Leda, González, Marycel
Nozomi (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Nidekawa, Yuki
Okumura, Hisashi (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Iizuka, Shuntarou
Takashina, Touya (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Kondo, Takashi

Staff:

Abe, Shoujirou (Producer)
Kudou, Susumu (Director)
Geshi, Yasuhiro (Episode Director)
Kimura, Hiroshi (Episode Director, Storyboard)
Kobayashi, Tomoki (Episode Director, Storyboard)
Miyake, Yuuichirou (Episode Director)
Okajima, Kunitoshi (Episode Director)
Okazaki, Yukio (Episode Director)
Ueno, Fumihiro (Episode Director)
Yamauchi, Tomio (Episode Director)
Yoshioka, Takao (Script)
Kikuchi, Kazuhito (Storyboard)
Yoshizawa, Takao (Storyboard)
Aisaka, Naoki (Animation Director)
Amemiya, Hideo (Animation Director)
Aoki, Takashi (Director of Photography)
Fujiwara, Akito (Key Animation)
Fukuyama, Eiji (Key Animation)
Fukuyo, Takaaki (Key Animation)
Gotou, Takahiro (Key Animation)
Hasegawa, Kazuo (Key Animation)
Hino, Takafumi (Animation Director, Key Animation)
Ikai, Kazuyuki (Animation Director)
Ishii, Kumi (Animation Director)
Iwasaki, Mitsuhiro (Key Animation)
Kano, Akira (Character Design)
Kawasaki, Miho (Key Animation)
Kim, Myoung-gun (Key Animation)
Kim, Hyeon-ok (Animation Director)
Kimura, Kunihiko (Key Animation)
Kohara, Makoto (Animation Director)
Kokaji, Shinya (Key Animation)
Maruoka, Kouji (Key Animation)
Matsubara, Rie (Editing)
Matsukawa, Tetsuya (Key Animation)
Matsushita, Kiyoshi (Animation Director)
Miyamae, Shinichi (Animation Director, Key Animation)
Miyamoto, Toshiyuki (Special Effects)
Miyanishi, Tamako (Key Animation)
Nishida, Miyako (Key Animation)
Rodgers, Dave (Inserted Song Performance)
Rollo, Alfredo (ADR Director)
Sakamaki, Sadahiko (Animation Director)
Seyama, Takeshi (Editing)
Sugiyama, Nobuhiro (Key Animation)
Suzuki, Haruka (In-Between Animation)
Suzuki, Rumiko (Color Design)
Takanori, Youko (Key Animation, Animation Director)
Tano, Mitsuo (Key Animation)
Yagami, Hiroki (Original Creator)

Reviews:

User Bladeknight (Score: 6/10):
Animation: The animation was acceptable, but got worse towards the end. Eyes that didn’t match, weird or wrong faces (and why did the girls look so much like boys with long hair?). The background was plain. The basketball actions weren’t drawn very well, sometimes making you wonder what they were doing and half of the time you didn’t really get how they got past their defenders. As for the OP and ED, they were pretty bad. Sound: This was very well done. Most (not all) of the voices were really good and were nicely complementing their personalities. The sounds were what you would expect, not extraordinarybut not horrible either, just average. The music during episodes was also very good, the music you needed during the scene was used, and I was enjoying it. But again, the OP and ED were bad (that&rsquo;s a matter of taste though).nnStory: nThe typical high-school sports story: Trying to win the nationals. It wasn&rsquo;t really astonishing, but there was a little originality in the story. There was no basketball team to begin with (it was suspended from the tournament for one year). Because of that all the senpais quit the team and only 4 players remained. Then one extra player (Aikawa), a transfer student, came and the team was reborn. nnCharacter: nThe five main characters were nice, but nothing special. You&rsquo;ll see a little about their background, about what happened to the former basketball team or why Aikawa transferred to their school, but it wasn&rsquo;t anything impressive. Only three of them made real development, trying to get a little closer to Aikawa, while the other two (Aikawa and Taku) made almost no progress.nnThe other, less important (or not important at all) characters weren&rsquo;t very good. The girls, from the girls basketball team, were more of a support for the five (main) boys than that they hade a real personality. The opponents weren&rsquo;t good either. They were almost the same as the five main boys, except for the team aces and captains. The only difference was their look.nnA couple of the characters started, or made progress with, their relationship with each other. The friendly relationships between the team players (from both the main team as well as their opponents) were pretty nice to see and made the basketball games more enjoyable, while the romantic relationships hade nothing to do with the story and weren&rsquo;t really good.nnEnjoyment: nI watched this series for the basketball, but I didn&rsquo;t enjoy it. Mostly because of how the action was animated. During some games you finally got to see some real basketball, but it wasn&rsquo;t much. Most of the time it was just seeing point after point (not much action) and when Mizuho (the main basketball team) was losing, Aikawa would speak to the rest of the team and Mizuho would get fired up, finally starting to play real basketball.nnOverall: nDespite it&rsquo;s flaws (bad animation & a little below-average characters), it had some strong points (very good sound & some nice…
User LonetoDeath (Score: 7/10):
Apparently dear boys is a pretty good basketball show. But in terms of its animation, it is rather bad, especially when the boys bounces the basketball, it looks kinda out and fake. A short story but could be more detailed like slam dunk. There is said to be a season 2 but no exact release date about it.
User Sapphire86 (Score: 8/10):
Dear Boys focuses on the main characters and their emotions encompassed around the game of basketball. Hints of comedy and romance are noticed through out the anime. Watching this anime made me realize and appreciate how much more there is to basketball and in fact any team sport in terms of tactics, team spirit and abilities and a mere win or loss in a competition is the end result (though not necessarily a reflection of) after a long journey of physical and emotional challenge within the players. The characters are well developed and each serves their purpose within the story. The animation though wasa let down but after a while you get a hang of it and end up so engulfed in the plot-line helped with intense background music that complaining about the animation takes a back seat. nnDear Boys is an inspirational anime on the trials and tribulations of the sports world; expect a lot of hard work and sweat as winning is never easy but so worth it in the end!
... and 2 more reviews

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Related Anime/Manga:

Dear Boys (manga - Adaptation)

Genres: Drama, Shounen, Sports, Team Sports
Themes: Team Sports
Demographics: Shounen
Studios: A.C.G.T.
Producers: OB Planning
Licensors: Bandai Entertainment
Rating: 6.76 / 10
Rank: #5680
Popularity: #4964
Users Listed: 23,308
Users Scored: 10,695
NSFW: No
Last Updated: 03/19/2022
Aired: April 7, 2003 – September 29, 2003 (Spring)
Type: tv
Source: manga
Age Rating: PG 13
Episodes: 26
Broadcast: Monday at 01:00 (JST)

Dear Boys