First Ace wo Nerae has many features that distinguish it from other anime. Its simple story of an awkward goofy girl raised by a harsh coach to become Japans greatest tennis player takes on interesting context when the sports pretentiousness is reduced and the focus shifts from pop cultures beloved story of overcoming to the characters themselves. Its more like Dance Subaru than Prince of Tennis or Battle Athletess an emotionally poignant story about extraordinary individuals and their relationships rather than a motivational poster presented as a sports drama. The characters motivations go beyond the banal desire to boost their egos through sports and teenagers interests arent limited to sports. Unlike many other anime of this kind it is very pleasant and unexpected that tennis is an optional activity here not a compulsory one for everyonewhat the characters keep repeating to the MC coach when he pushes his students too hard. The most interesting part of Ace wo Nerae is the characters. They are stereotypical but charming and have obvious personalities yet their actions are not banal. The protagonist and her friend are believable cute fourteenyearold girls. Her rivals are not bitchy antagonists theyre just rivals in a sport. The coach is one of the best characters in the movie although somewhat controversial. The secondary male characters lack of development is a bit frustrating but not too much: after all the story is about the womens team so it makes sense that the boys have much less screen time. Perhaps the main problem with Ace wo Nerae is its weak animation not very expressive art and controversial angles. Osamu Dezaki is a great director as many would agree but animation has always been the weakest aspect of his works. Sure its not Speed Racer but its disappointing when the dynamism of the athletic performances is dulled or lost due to poor animation. While its redeemed somewhat by good directing these scenes still feel underwhelming and drawn out at times. And the angles... Oh those angles Of course anime is a very conventional art form with a specific stylization but the characters bodies and faces are cut mercilessly. This causes emotional scenes to lose their impact because its impossible not to laugh at the characters funny facial expressions or bodies turned inside out. Conversely its rare to see a fulllength anime retelling of a series that doesnt look like a dry unemotional synopsis of the original. Thats very cool. Its doubly impressive in that its a rare example of a complete work that doesnt fall apart into a hundred formally connected storylines not every modern project manages to do that. After all its a fairly cheap feature movie from the late 70s.