The Series:
Bandai has previous released Dandoh in three double disc sets,
and now they've collected the whole series in one six-disc 'brick' case
under their Anime Legends banner. The only thing that is legendary
about this series however is how inane it can be. The plot twists
and golf shots are so implausible as to be laugh-out-loud funny.
Aimed at young boys, this show has aims to teach fair play and the value
of friendship. Unfortunately the program doesn't have the charm of
shows like Princess Nine and Fighting Spirit. There
isn't much drama and the plots are a little too simple for older viewers.
Tadamichi Aoba, or Dandoh as his friends all call him, loves to play
baseball. One afternoon after breaking the principle's bonsai plant,
the administrator extolls the virtues of golf to the young kid. Dandoh
isn't that interested in the game until he learns that golf pros can make
millions of dollars. At that moment he decides to become the best
golfer in Japan. He wants the money so that he can locate his mother,
who he's never seen.
Along
with his two best friends Yuka and Kohei, Dandoh starts practicing even
though his father is violently opposed to the boy playing golf. Be
a fortunate accident, Dandoh and company bump into Shinjo. He's was
a very gifted golf player who had to quit the game after a car accident,
and agrees to coach the trio.
Soon after starting lessons though, Dandoh and his friends are teased
by a bully. In Dandoh's anger, he agrees to enroll in the Kumamoto
Junior Championships in order to prove that he has a talented coach.
There's only two weeks until the tournament though, so they trio practices
as much as they can.
In each tournament Dandoh enters the same pattern is followed:
people cheat but Dandoh keeps a cheerful spirit. In the Juniors Tachi
Suon is his rival. This kid taunts Dandoh by calling him "little
brother" and cheats on every hole. He puts grease on his clubs to
make the ball roll farther and steps on Dandoh's ball while no one is looking.
Even with Tachi's condescending manner though, Dandoh act like they're
the best of friends. He tries to encourage Tachi to do better, but
that only makes him cheat even more. Even though Dandoh has had his
clubs tampered with and gets some unlucky breaks, he continues to be happy
and cheerful while making some amazing, and incredibly unrealistic, shots.
In the end, Dandoh's rivals often become his biggest fans and renounce
their evil ways.
This set up is basically repeated in every tournament and match that
the young prodigy plays. Not only does this make the series predicable
and a bit boring, but it makes Dandoh seem like he's a bit touched in the
head.
I enjoy sports anime in general but this one left me flat. Dandoh
is really different from other shows in the genre. Most others spend
a lot of time discussing the rules, strategy and problems associated with
the sport, which in turn makes the show worth watching. Dandoh doesn't
do this and really fails to make the sport interesting. The strategy
and tactics that go into golf are glossed over. They don't define
a lot of terms, explain the use of the clubs, or even list a lot of the
rules. I don't play golf, and so I was confused in parts, especially
when someone switched a ball in Dandoh's bag. You can't switch ball
brands in the middle of a game?
Also, Dandoh isn't playing the game because he loves it, it's because
he wants a lot of money. Granted he has a good reason for this, but
it does seem a little mercenary of him. The show also wants to establish
that he has a lot of talent, mainly by having people say "Wow, that kid
sure has a lot of talent", but he ends up relying on luck most of the time.
The wind will blow his ball into the cup or across a ravine. The
first time you can let it go, but by the third time it gets a little hard
to swallow.
Instead
of making golf look like a fun game, the show makes it look like the sport
of idiots. Dandoh not only holds his own, but does incredibly well
after only a couple of weeks of practice. So do his two friends!
This is the first time they have EVER played a real game (Dan Don has admits
at one point that he's never held a driver), they make some really dumb
choices at various time, and they all get incredibly low scores.
(Yuka gets an 82 on her first two games.) They make it look like
any dolt can play well if they would only draw a smiley face on their balls.
I might be able to overlook that but through out the series stupid plays
and unreal setups are the norm. This show has player, playing in
a tournament mind you, taking shots while standing in trees or in water
hazards. There are several laughably bad moments too. In one
case, a player launches the ball with a superhuman amount of force and
hits the flag. His ball then spins around and around the pole, spiraling
up and flying up into the air. It then drops straight down into the
hole. Apparently the laws of physics don't apply in this show.
The worst part about this show is that they totally dropped the overriding
plots and didn't resolve them. *spoiler*
Dandoh's mother does notice him playing on TV, travels to where he is a
few days later, and then never talks to him. What?! That's
the whole reason Dandoh starting playing golf was so he could see his mother!
The plot with his father not wanting him to play golf was never resolved
either. Those were one of the few things that made the show slightly
interesting and to have them never be resolved takes away what little appeal
this show had. *end spoilers*
Even though there are many flaws with this show, it's not all bad.
Dandoh, though he's a flat two dimensional character, is likeable enough
and they manage to eek out a little drama over the course of the show.
The program comes across as light entertainment and if you don't think
about it too much it can be enjoyable.
Oh yeah, be sure to watch the end of the "next episode" bits.
At the very end of each episode they have a golf ball with a character's
face on it and a voice over. Some of these are so bizarre that they
are humorous.
The DVD:
This 26-episode series is contained on six discs that come in a 'brick'
case with pages for the DVDs.
Audio:
Viewers have the choice of watching this show in the original Japanese
or an English dub, both in stereo. I alternated between tracks as
I watched the show and both sounded good, though I preferred the original
soundtrack slightly. The English actors did a good job and their
voices fit the characters well. There weren't any obnoxious phoney
accents either, something that I was glad to hear. Both tracks were
free from distortion and other audio defects. There are also optional
English subtitles, or sign only subs.
Video:
The full frame video also looked good. The lines were tight and
the colors were solid. The image was a little jerky when it came
to pans across static images, but not distractingly so. Digital defects
are very minimal with even aliasing being very minor. Overall a good
looking show.
Extras:
The only extras that are included in this set are clean opening and
closings.
Final Thoughts:
Well, after watching all 26 episodes, I can't really think of anything
good to say about this series, even when you take into account that it's
aimed at younger viewers. It's not as mind-bogglingly bad as Saint
Seiya, but it is close. The characters are dumb, the plots are simplistic
and, worst of all the laws of physics are bent and broken whenever it's
convenient. At first I could enjoy the show for its innocent charm,
but that wore off way before the series ended. Even die hard golf
fans will be disappointed in this anime. Skip it.
