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Love All Play (Japanese: ラブオールプレー, Hepburn: Rabu Ōru Purē) is a Japanese badminton-themed novel series written by Asami Koseki. Poplar Publishing have published four volumes between May 2011 and March 2014 under their Poplar Bunko Pureful imprint. An anime television series adaptation by Nippon Animation and OLM aired from April to September 2022. A manga adaptation with art by Dam Miyata was serialized online via Shueisha's Tonari no Young Jump manga website from April to October of the same year.
| Love All Play | |
 First novel volume cover | |
| ラブオールプレー (Rabu Ōru Purē) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sports |
| Novel series | |
| Written by | Asami Koseki |
| Published by | Poplar Publishing |
| Imprint | Poplar Bunko Pureful |
| Original run | May 7, 2011 – March 5, 2014 |
| Volumes | 4 |
| Anime television series | |
| Directed by | Hiroshi Takeuchi |
| Written by | Tomoko Konparu |
| Music by | Yuki Hayashi |
| Studio |
|
| Licensed by | Crunchyroll |
| Original network | NNS (ytv, NTV) |
| Original run | April 2, 2022 – September 24, 2022 |
| Episodes | 24 |
| Manga | |
| Illustrated by | Dam Miyata |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| Magazine | Tonari no Young Jump |
| Demographic | Seinen |
| Original run | April 8, 2022 – October 28, 2022 |
| Volumes | 3 |
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- Ryō Mizushima (水嶋 亮, Mizushima Ryō)
- Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae[1]
- Kento Yusa (遊佐 賢人, Yusa Kento)
- Voiced by: Kishō Taniyama[2]
- Shōhei Sakaki (榊 翔平, Sakaki Shōhei)
- Voiced by: Yōhei Azakami[3]
- Kōki Matsuda (松田 航輝, Matsuda Kōki)
- Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa[3]
- Taichi Higashiyama (東山 太一, Higashiyama Taichi)
- Voiced by: Kensho Ono[3]
- Yōji Higashiyama (東山 陽次, Higashiyama Yōji)
- Voiced by: Tetsuya Kakihara[3]
- Akira Uchida (内田 輝, Uchida Akira)
- Voiced by: Yuki Kaji[3]
- Rika Mizushima (水嶋 里佳, Mizushima Rika)
- Voiced by: Minako Kotobuki[3]
- Jin Ebihara (海老原 仁, Ebihara Jin)
- Voiced by: Kazuya Nakai[3]
- Yūta Watanabe (水嶋 亮, Watanabe Yūta)
- Voiced by: Yuta Watanabe[4]
- Arisa Higashino (東野 有紗, Higashino Arisa)
- Voiced by: Arisa Higashino[4]
- Shizuo Nakano (中野 静雄, Nakano Shizuo)
- Voiced by: Masaya Matsukaze[5]
- Hiroto Kadota (門田 博人, Kadota Hiroto)
- Voiced by: Shimba Tsuchiya[5]
- Yūsuke Yokokawa (横川 祐介, Yokokawa Yūsuke)
- Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi[2]
- Shōji Okazaki (岡崎 章二, Okazaki Shōji)
- Voiced by: Hiroyuki Yoshino[6]
- Tetsuya Arimura (有村 哲也, Arimura Tetsuya)
- Voiced by: Masamu Ono[6]
- Haruomi Date (伊達 晴臣, Date Haruomi)
- Voiced by: Kohsuke Toriumi[7]
- Ren Miyagi (宮城 蓮, Miyagi Ren)
- Voiced by: Yūki Tai[7]
- Hana Sakurai (櫻井 花, Sakurai Hana)
- Voiced by: Mikako Komatsu[8]
- Shōgo Misaki (岬 省吾, Misaki Shōgo)
- Voiced by: Toshiyuki Toyonaga[9]
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Novels
| No. | Release date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 7, 2011[10] | 978-4591122686 |
| 2 | March 6, 2012[11] | 978-4591128886 |
| 3 | May 1, 2013[12] | 978-4591134641 |
| 4 | March 5, 2014[13] | 978-4591139356 |
Anime
An anime television series adaptation was announced on August 7, 2021. The series is animated by Nippon Animation and OLM and directed by Hiroshi Takeuchi, with Tomoko Konparu handling series' composition, Riko Kaneda designing the characters, and Yuki Hayashi composing the series' music. It aired from April 2 to September 24, 2022, on ytv, NTV, and other channels.[14][3] The first opening theme song is "Haru Tsubame" (春玄鳥, "Spring Swallow") by Hey! Say! JUMP, while the ending theme song is "Lyra" (ライラ, Raira) by Longman.[15][16] The second opening theme song is "Sandersonia" (サンダーソニア, Sandāsonia) by Hey! Say! JUMP, while the second ending theme song is "Kaze no Naka" (風の中, "In the Wind") by Rei Yasuda.[17][18] Crunchyroll has licensed the series outside of Asia.[19] Medialink licensed the series in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Oceania minus Australia and New Zealand.[20]
Episode list
| No. | Title [21][22] | Directed by [a] | Written by [a] | Storyboarded by [a] | Original air date [23] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "A Fair Wind" Transliteration: "Junpū" (Japanese: 順風) | Hiroshi Takeuchi, Kanako Watanabe, Kunpei Maeda | Tomoko Konparu | Hiroshi Takeuchi | April 2, 2022 |
| 2 | "The Journey Begins" Transliteration: "Tabidachi" (Japanese: 旅立ち) | Kunpei Maeda | Tomoko Konparu | Tebineri-gumi, Jun Kamiya, Kunpei Maeda | April 9, 2022 |
| 3 | "Entering School" Transliteration: "Nyūgaku" (Japanese: 入学) | Ken'ichi Nishida | Shingo Irie | Tomoko Akiyama | April 16, 2022 |
| 4 | "Ranking Match" Transliteration: "Rankingu-sen" (Japanese: ランキング戦) | Takahiro Hirata | Miharu Hirami | Jōji Shimura | April 23, 2022 |
| 5 | "Two" Transliteration: "Futari" (Japanese: ふたり) | Masanori Miyata | Miharu Hirami | Kunihisa Sugishima | April 30, 2022 |
| 6 | "Twins" Transliteration: "Tsuinzu" (Japanese: ツインズ) | Mayu Numayama | Masayuki Tanaka | Norio Nitta | May 7, 2022 |
| 7 | "Willpower" Transliteration: "Iji" (Japanese: 意地) | Jinya Ichimura | Shingo Irie | Tebineri-gumi, Jun Kamiya, Kunpei Maeda, Jinya Ichimura | May 14, 2022 |
| 8 | "Summer Breeze" Transliteration: "Natsukaze" (Japanese: 夏風) | Yūki Morita | Yūichi Orikasa | Ken'ichi Nishida | May 21, 2022 |
| 9 | "Training Camp" Transliteration: "Gasshuku" (Japanese: 合宿) | Kanako Watanabe | Motoko Takahashi | Jun Kamiya | May 28, 2022 |
| 10 | "1+1" | Sayaka Yamai | Arata Kanoh | Sayaka Yamai | June 4, 2022 |
| 11 | "Fireworks" Transliteration: "Hanabi" (Japanese: 花火) | Shigeki Awai | Arata Kanoh | Yō★Nakano | June 11, 2022 |
| 12 | "Gale" Transliteration: "Hayate" (Japanese: 疾風) | Ken'ichi Nishida | Arata Kanoh | Jōji Shimura, Sayaka Yamai | June 18, 2022 |
| 13 | "Promise" Transliteration: "Yasoku" (Japanese: 約束) | Jinya Ichimura | Yūichi Orikasa | Hideki Tonokatsu | June 25, 2022 |
| 14 | "Discord" Transliteration: "Namikaze" (Japanese: 波風) | Hideaki Ōba | Motoko Takahashi | Hideaki Ōba | July 9, 2022 |
| 15 | "Seniors" Transliteration: "Senpai" (Japanese: 先輩) | Kōki Uchinomiya, Yūki Kusakabe, Keizō Shimizu | Motoko Takahashi | Takashi Iida | July 16, 2022 |
| 16 | "Hamburg Steak Revolution" Transliteration: "Hanbāgu Kakumei" (Japanese: ハンバーグ革命) | Hiroshi Kimura | Masako Imai | Ken'ichi Nishida | July 23, 2022 |
| 17 | "Lull" Transliteration: "Nagi" (Japanese: 凪) | Yasuhiro Noda | Arata Kanoh | Masayoshi Nishida | July 30, 2022 |
| 18 | "How the Wind Blows" Transliteration: "Kumoyuki" (Japanese: 雲行) | Sayaka Yamai | Ayako Katō | Jōji Shimura | August 6, 2022 |
| 19 | "Light Breeze" Transliteration: "Kunpū" (Japanese: 薫風) | Shigeki Awai | Motoko Takahashi | Yoshiaki Okumura | August 13, 2022 |
| 20 | "Departure" Transliteration: "Shuttatsu" (Japanese: 出立) | Ken'ichi Nishida | Yūichi Orikasa | Ken'ichi Nishida | August 20, 2022 |
| 21 | "Whirlwind" Transliteration: "Senpū" (Japanese: 旋風) | Jinya Ichimura | Arata Kanoh | Satoshi Nishimura | September 3, 2022 |
| 22 | "Push Forward" Transliteration: "Yūō Maishin" (Japanese: 勇往邁進) | Sayaka Yamai | Ayako Katō | Jōji Shimura | September 10, 2022 |
| 23 | "Favorable Wind" Transliteration: "Tokitsukaze" (Japanese: 時つ風) | Hiroshi Kimura | Arata Kanoh | Ken'ichi Nishida | September 17, 2022 |
| 24 | "Love All Play" Transliteration: "Rabu Ōru Purē" (Japanese: ラブオールプレー) | Kanako Watanabe | Motoko Takahashi | Masayoshi Nishida, Hiroshi Takeuchi | September 24, 2022 |
Manga
A manga adaptation with art by Dam Miyata was serialized online via Shueisha's Tonari no Young Jump website from April 8, 2022,[24] to October 28, 2022.[25] It was collected in three tankōbon volumes.
| No. | Japanese release date | Japanese ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | June 17, 2022[26] | 978-4-08-892323-9 |
| 2 | September 16, 2022[27] | 978-4-08-892437-3 |
| 3 | January 19, 2023[28] | 978-4-08-892541-7 |
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Previews
Anime News Network had five editors review the first episode of the anime:[29] Caitlin Moore was positive towards the "smooth and glossy" animation having lifelike detail but was critical of the grounded storytelling that utilized a slow pace and less badminton scenes; Richard Eisenbeis praised the "solid human drama" surrounding Ryo's young adult life but felt the "bog-standard" ending with the cliché teammates lowered his excitement; James Beckett critiqued that the episode had nothing for casual viewers outside of its given sport, criticizing Ryo's introductory arc for being boring and utilizing a "chintzy soundtrack" to emphasize forced dramatics throughout the story; Nicholas Dupree observed that it followed the "average high-school sports show" formula but came across as "an uncomfortably stiff and empty start" to the show with dull character interactions and badminton scenes, concluding that he would "rather watch a match than sit through another episode of Love All Play going through the motions." The fifth reviewer, Rebecca Silverman, praised the episode for highlighting Ryo's interactions with his friends and family about his sport recommendation but noted that the "introductory nature" will require viewers to watch another episode or two to see how much they will enjoy it, concluding that "there's nothing overtly wrong with this episode even if there's nothing overtly right either, and if you're hankering for some boys playing sports in shorts, this very well might fit the bill."[29]
Series reception
Silverman reviewed the first half of the series and gave it a B− grade.[30] She praised the cast's "facial expressions" for making them distinct from each other (singling out identical twins Taichi and Youji), their interactions in and out of the sport and Ebihara being an "attentive coach", but found the overall plot "fairly cookie-cutter" with "rushed and choppy" pacing during its tournaments and a lack of focus on badminton, concluding that: "While it may not be the hot-blooded sports action some viewers are looking for, it is a perfectly decent series, and certainly one that's good enough to hang on to for a second cour."[30] Silverman chose Love All Play as her pick for the Worst Anime of 2022, writing: "It seemed oddly reluctant for a sports show to actually show, you know, sports. It had its moments, but not enough of them, and it's one of the few times I have thought I would really like to get back the hours I invested."[31]
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