English Dub Review: Salaryman’s Club “Assignment”

Overview

Badminton player Shiratori Mikoto is kicked off the powerful corporate team Mitsuhoshi Bank. He gets a job at Sunlight Beverage in order to make a comeback, but he finds waiting for him unfamiliar office work and a small weak team. On top of that, he’s forced to play doubles with the boorish and over-familiar Miyazumi Tatsuru…?

Our Take

For an anime devoted to a specific sport, this doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. Unless you count the team being adults instead of high-schoolers and attempt to be different since “Prince of Tennis” already exists to fill that particular void. So I guess they’re going or a sport that’s in a nutshell pseudo-tennis?

So far, the main selling point is the animation quality as well as the vibrant colorful art despite this being about business dudes playing pseudo-tennis. But it also seems to excel in pathos as it’s doing a good job showing hints of trauma. As Shiratori gets flashbacks of hurting his teammate after crossing a certain point, he freezes completely. And consequently, seems very much against working in pairs. I hope they handle this part with care, and not just as a plot tool…

Overall, I was expecting more mature vibes from this, since the characters are supposed to be grown, effeminate-looking business dudes. But as of right now, this feels just like any other high school sports show. Maybe because of the rival team’s aspect most sports storylines have. But hopefully, as the show goes on, it’ll set itself apart and feel more like you are watching adults live their adult lives while playing Badminton.