Summer 2017 Anime: Dive!!

Synopsis

When he was a young boy, Tomoki Sakai met Yoichi Fujitani, a diver who is three years older in Muzuki Diving Club (MDC)’s clubhouse. Impressed with Yoichi’s performance, Tomoki became interested in sport of diving. Years later, in his second year of middle school, his diving club was on the verge of being disbanded because the main sponsor wasn’t interested in diving anymore. At that time, a new coach named Kayoko Asaki joined MDC. To attract the sponsor’s attention, she made a proposal to MDC’s member: They have to make it through the Tokyo Olympics. Can Yoichi, Tomoki, and other club members reach that target?

Comments

While their character design looks really appealing to female audience, that doesn’t mean Dive!! has no cute female character. The first episode of Dive!! already introduced two major female characters, the coach Kayoko and Miu Nomura, Tomoki’s girldfriend, which means male audience who are looking for cute characters still can enjoy this anime.

Storywise, the first episode of Dive!! still feels stale, but it introduces many potential conflicts to be developed. From the pressure Yoichi gets as the ace of MDC, the conflict of MDC’s members to met coach Kayoko’s high target, and internal competition between MDC’s members. In a different side, the conflict between Tomoki and his girlfriend also looks interesting because both of them aren’t getting along nicely.

As a sport, diving probably isn’t as intense as other sports like football or basketball. But fortunately, Dive!! chooses to focus the conflict not on the sport itself, but to the personal conflicts between the characters. The character design will probably elicit mixed reactions from viewers, but if you are looking for a sport anime with potential character drama, this anime is worth trying.

Facts and Figures

Screenshots and Trailer

The Indonesian Anime Times | by Dany Muhammad