The Fall 2014 Anime Preview Guide

Tribe Cool Crew

Bamboo Dong

Rating: 2.5 (out of 5)

Objectively speaking, Tribe Cool Crew is pretty neat and kind of cool. It's bright and vibrant, both in its color palette and its quasi-hip hop/DDR-esque stylings, and it has a soundtrack that makes you want to bob your head. Whether or not you'll actively enjoy it, however, may depend on a few outside factors, such as age, your excitement over the phrase "dance anime," and your enthusiasm for kids busting out rotoscoped dance sequences.

One can't deny how immediately eye-catching it is. With its off-beat character designs and flat colors, it may even remind some of Western cartoons—the opening sequence is reminiscent of Bart Simpson skateboarding through town. Only instead of meeting his family back at home, the protagonist of Tribe Cool Crew is heading to a local history museum, where the proprietor allows him to practice his dance moves in front of a reflective window out back. Our pint-sized hero is Haneru, a seventh-grader who loves to dance, and who is enamored with a performer named Jey El. However, he's not the only fan with aspirations of dancing—along the way, he meets a shy, but lovely girl named Kanon. While on the outside she appears to be poised and perfect, it turns out, she has an online persona named Rhythm where she shows off her Jey El dance moves (because, as dance movie/show logic goes, fans of hip hop cannot be poised and perfect, and vice versa).

By the end of the episode, a few things are certain. There will be a lot of dancing this season (so far, we've already seen 2.5 dance sequences, one of which involved floating neon shapes, glowing auras, and the cosmos), Haneru and Kanon will probably become friends, and the former will likely help the latter to find herself, or break out of her mold, or whatever. The last two certainties are not terribly groundbreaking, but the first one certainly is. There have been a lot of idol series made in the past several years, but this is probably one of the first that showcases music and dancing of this nature. That alone makes it unique and worth at least putting on your radar.

Again, though, this show isn't for everyone. It definitely skews towards a younger demographic. Those of us who are a little more on the cynical side might also have a more difficult time keeping a straight face throughout the many dance sequences, all of which feel like cut scenes from Konami rhythm games. Nevertheless, it seems fun and different, so if you want something a little unexpected, check it out.

Tribe Cool Crew is available streaming at Crunchyroll.

Rebecca Silverman

Rating: 3 (out of 5)

Haneru is a seventh grade boy who loves to dance. He idolizes foreign hip hop star Jey El and with his friend drank untold gallons of Rocket Cider in order to collect enough points to get tickets to his Japanese show. In the meantime, Haneru dances everywhere, bopping and hopping from place to place before going to his favorite spot to work on his choreography. That's where he unknowingly meets Kanon, a girl who has been secretly coming to the same place to do the same thing – only she posts videos of her moves online under the name “Rhythm.” When the two finally meet up, it turns out that they've been influencing each other's choreography, and you can guess that they're going to start working together.

Tribe Cool Crew presents itself as a kiddy show with insane colors and wacky character designs (to be honest, Kanon kind of scares me), but it's the kind of kiddy show that could easily get adult followers. Yes, the music sounds like it came from an old game's midi soundtrack and the dancing is pretty basic hip hop, but the fun of the story and the dancing is infectious. As someone who was a dancer (modern) before she was sidelined by a severely broken ankle, this show really speaks to the way dancing can seize hold of you to the point where you catch yourself tour jêtéing down the street. If you've ever felt that way about movement, you'll understand why Haneru keeps embarrassing his buddy by bopping around outside of restaurants.

Unfortunately the show's animation isn't spectacular, with several scenes reused several times (most notably Haneru tugging on his glove) and the usual clumsy 3D animation for the more serious dance scenes. Fingers look particularly odd, with the tips colored rather than having fingernails drawn on so that it looks like everyone has just been finger-painting. All of this could prove to be a drag as the series progresses, and probably it will do best with dancers or those of us who adored the movie “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” when we were little. (As an added draw to those with dance backgrounds, we actually see the characters stretch!) But if you're looking for something high energy and kind of zany in a happy way, give Tribe Cool Crew a chance to get your feet tapping.

Tribe Cool Crew is available streaming on Crunchyroll.

Rating: 3

I was kind of surprised by how much I enjoyed this episode. Tribe Cool Crew is unabashedly a kids’ show, and its structure reflects that - this first episode introduced our dance-loving protagonists, established their idol as some kind of long-term goal, and ended with our hero Haneru proposing they establish a dance team. But there's a very endearing energy to this show, and it's perfectly happy to be a solid articulation of what it is.

The show's very appropriate techno soundtrack is a good place to start - it lends the show a distinctive mood, and works perfectly well both for dance sequences and everyday stuff. The buoyant visual pacing also helps, along with the occasional visual flourishes. And though the dancing is all CG, it's fairly graceful CG, which I'm guessing is reflective of the very well-chosen character designs. The designs are distinctive and eye-popping without any unnecessary complexity, meaning the show is good at naturally transitioning into and out of its CG sequences. And the dances themselves are nicely choreographed as well.

This first episode's clear highlight was the moment when Kanon, our heroine, ended up joining Haneru in his dance through the glass wall of her practice space. These characters fit into very simple archetypes, but the show sells their enthusiasm and chemistry quite well. It's just too earnest of a show not to like - it's got plenty of stock footage and is about as obvious of a narrative as they come, but in every way that actually matters for a show like this, Tribe Cool Crew keeps it together. It's an earnest little Saturday morning cartoon.

Tribe Cool Crew is available streaming at Crunchyroll.