To remain or to re-main
It's summer season, so it's a great time for some water ball, I mean water polo. Sport movies/series genre in general are about underdog story. It's almost impossible to deviate from this trope. Because of this, many sport anime become predictable. RE-MAIN didn't stray away from this trope, but to my surprise I actually enjoyed this anime more than I expected.
The reason for this is the character. The dementia aspect helped making our main character interesting and conflicting, not just within himself with also in other people around him. Although his character transition near the end was a bit rushed due to the runtime, I was invested and felt satisfied at the outcome. Other characters also have decent backstories, although they are more generic than the main character's.
It took me 5 episodes to realize that RE-MAIN was animated by MAPPA. The characters have less texture than compared to other MAPPA's works that I have watched like AOT and Jujutsu Kaisen. Still, the coloring was refreshing. Each member of the underdog water polo team has a distinct color that reflected their personality.
The animation for the water polo games was on point. I could see the field clearly and aware of the positions of the players. Each game only took one episode, but they were pretty intense and entertaining.
The opening of this anime gave me good vibe. The song and the vibrant colors of the characters and the swimming pool made me feel refreshed and calm whenever I start a new episode.
Overall, a great and different sport anime with a twist in the character arc. 8/10.
