English Dub Review: Aoashi “First Fan”

Overview: Reuniting with Ohtomo (Christopher Llewyn Ramirez) and Tachibana (Clifford Chapin), Aoi (Ciaran Strange) and the boys begin to get to know their other teammates and navigate their new life at Esperion. 

Our Take: Aoi arrives at the Esperion Youth Club. He meets up with his new friends from tryouts, who also passed, Ohtomo and Tachibana. They have a fun camaraderie that sets the stage for their friendship well in Aoi being wooed over Tachibana’s genuine personality with Ohtomo’s coyness. They meet their new teammates on the youth team, Yuma, Kanpei, and Marchis. With the boys realizing that the players were just filling in for the practice Esperion game and are actually their teammates it creates the precedent for how talented their teammates are and how much room for improvement there is for them moving forward. They also get to know the facility that is furnished with all the fancy amenities that show the legitimacy and prestige behind Esperion 

Aoi and the team have a meeting with the coaches and press. Togashi, Aoi’s roommate and only scouted member, is introduced and hits it off with him. He comes off as the valiant hearted bad boy type character and teases some potential conflict with his possible animosity towards those who were J-youth members previously. The way he is viewed by others will no doubt play a role and it will be interesting how much detailed complexity lies there, if any at all.

Moments before Aoi and the team’s first practice game, he overhears a meeting between the head coach, Nozomi, as well as Tatsuya and Hana. Hana’s arrival begins to paint a picture of the rough family ties between her stepbrother, Tatsuya and their overall step family. Nozomi, not seeing any potential in Aoi, believes he will be Tatsuya’s first failure as a recruit and won’t make the main team, no matter how much he tries. Hana points out how premature Nozomi’s assessment is, but more than that, very clearly establishes herself as a major support system for Aoi as well as a cute potential love interest with her believing in him and declares herself his first fan.