The Gymnastics Samurai

The finale delivers a beautiful and emotional climax that resonates with Jotaro's journey as an athlete. We see that age and physical limitations shouldn’t be a factor in stopping you from loving your craft

The competition kicks off, and we learn that motivation comes from competing against yourself rather than pressure from external expectations.

In this episode we get into a vital turning point of the series as we finally get to dive deep into Leo's backstory. We get to see flashbacks of Jotaros gymnastics career and how it has inspired a young Leo

This episode gives us a slice-of-life atmosphere as we see Kitty Zhang and Rei on a summer shopping spree and Leo helping Jotaro push his physical limits. It's an overall refreshing episode which builds meaningful connections before the final competitive arc.

The joint training camp leads to a high-intensity event with the Chinese national team. Liu Shenrong a world-class teenage gymnastic prodigy from China, turns the facility into an inferno for the Japanese athletes

This episode focuses on the emotional sacrifices made sports families as we see Jotaro’s highly independent daughter Rei who feels emotionally isolated as Jotaro is consumed in intense massive joint training camp with China.

In this episode we see a six-month time skip as we focus on the NHK Cup. The episode mainly focuses on Tetsumo Minamino instead of Jotaro, even though we don’t see Jotaro that much, but the announcers reveal that he was able to steadily climb from 15th place to 6th place.

This episode focuses on Leonardo, a foreign ballet dancer who calls himself a ninja. We get to learn that he escaped his life as a professional ballet dancer out of high pressure and burnout

Jotaro deals with competition as a young, talented gymnast named Tetsuo Minamino challenges him. This is a high-tension episode as we see a rookie and a veteran go head to head.

We see Jotaro face challenges on how to continue with his gymnastics career. We see Jotaro earn the nickname “Rock-Bottom Samurai" as he resorts to training on a public playground. We see realistic character development between him and his coach Amakusa.

In this episode we are introduced to an aging athlete with eccentric humor. The episode's stunning animation leaves a memorable good impression. We also get to see the heartwarming relationship between Jotaro and his daughter

I thought it was a really good ending (the highlight of the anime) and quite moving, rather than just focusing on the typical resolution you’d expect from a sports anime. I really liked the gymnasts’ performances, and you also get to see a sentimental side to Minamino that we hadn’t seen before. Perhaps the only slight criticism is that they didn’t make two episodes so as not to cram everything that happens in so tightly.

Well, here we’re back in the thick of the gymnastics competition, where you can see some really fluid performances and pick up a few tips if you enjoy the sport. At the same time, Leo is grappling with internal conflicts about what he wants to do, and the ending feels a bit sad.

I really like Leo as a character and the psychological struggles he faces due to his fear of failing to live up to the expectations placed on him. Here, Jotaro is a bit more active than in other episodes when it comes to his friendship with Leo.

Once again, we’re set in a training scenario ahead of a tournament, although only the first half focuses on that. The other half centres on Rei and her friendship with Kitty, which directly influences Rei’s motivation in life.

I like that this episode focuses a bit more on developing other characters, such as the rest of the gymnasts, rather than Jotaro, and we find out a bit more about Leo’s past and the sadness he feels at times.

This is where Rei takes centre stage, and at times it’s quite sad to see the loneliness she experiences, so it’s possible that anyone who’s watched the episode might not like Jotaro’s character. I think the ending is moving and lovely too.

We’re fully focused on the NHK gymnastics competition, and this is where the animation really shines in the various disciplines on display — although I would have liked to see more performances from the competitors spread over two episodes rather than crammed into just one.

Now we get to know the characters better—especially Rei and his relationship with Jotaro—and learn a bit about Jotaro’s past, though there isn’t much focus on the gymnastics tournament itself. Honestly, it doesn’t feel boring, and it’s a bit heartwarming and emotional at times.

This episode feels more like a typical sports anime, setting the stage for a competition and showing the protagonist’s intensive training—though I think the montage is a bit short.