Review of "Eternal Boys": A rediscovery of youth and an emotional journey

Eternal Boys - A touching and funny story about an old man idol

"Eternal Boys," which aired from October 11, 2022 to March 28, 2023, is an anime series that depicts a new idol project in which Manpuku Entertainment Productions is trying to make a comeback. The series depicts six middle-aged men who have experienced success and failure while being tossed around by the waves of society, overcoming the barriers of age and physical strength to become idols, providing viewers with emotion and laughter, and capturing the hearts of many people.

■ Story

"Old Man Idol Project" is a new idol project launched by Manpuku Entertainment Productions in an attempt to make a comeback. It is the story of six middle-aged men who have experienced success and failure while being tossed about by the waves of society, overcoming the barriers of age and physical strength in their quest to become idols. These six middle-aged men, who have been pushed to the brink, now rise up to prove that it is possible to take on new challenges and to shine at any time. They may be in their 40s, but they are eternal boys at heart! Their name is Eternal Boys!

■Broadcast information

"Eternal Boys" aired a total of 24 episodes from October 11, 2022 to March 28, 2023. It was broadcast on Fuji TV and BS Fuji every Tuesday from 2:20 to 2:35 a.m. It was also broadcast on Animax every Saturday from 10:30 to 10:45 p.m., and on BS Fuji every Wednesday from 12:30 to 12:45 a.m. For online distribution, it was exclusively distributed in advance on FOD from September 26, 2022, and was also continuously distributed on d Anime Store, U-NEXT, Animehodai, J:COM On Demand, milplus, DMM TV, etc.

■Cast

The cast of this work is impressive, with Daisuke Hirakawa as Kentaro Sanada, Katsuyuki Konishi as Naoki Ishida, Jun Fukuyama as Yu Asai, Daisuke Namikawa as Tsuyoshi Imagawa, Toshiyuki Morikawa as Daisuke Yamanaka, Hiroki Tochi as Nikolai Asakura, Yuko Noichi as Fukuko Manda, the president of Manpuku Entertainment Production, Haruka Chisuga as Pepe-chan, a popular cat talent belonging to Manpuku Entertainment Production, and Yumiri Hanamori as Ren Ukita, a popular child actor. In addition, the cast includes many talented voice actors, such as Sasaki Nozomu as Kakizaki Makoto, Morikubo Shoutarou as Sawao Sawata, Terashima Takuma as Aizen Etsuro, Kasama Jun as Ii Renji, KENN as Hakosaka Hajime, Kobayashi Chiaki as Azuma Souki, Nakamura Sougo as Takanashi Kento, Kawamoto Keisuke as Odagiri Nobunaga, Horie Shun as Kagurazaka Sakura, Ishiya Haruki as Higashijujo Tomoka, and Lounsbery Arthur as Lin Junjie.

■ Main staff

The original work of this work is by Manpuku Entertainment Production, the director is migmi, the series composition is by Ueno Kimiko, the character concept is by ma2, the character design is by Asai Seiko, the sound director is Tanaka Ryo, the music is by Hashimoto Yukari, the animation is by LIDEN FILMS, and it is produced by Eikyu Shonen Project.

■ Main Characters

The main characters of this work are six middle-aged men called the "Eikyuu Boys." Kentaro Sanada is 40 years old and worked as a sales manager at an advertising agency for 17 years, but the company went bankrupt. He is looking for a new job but has been rejected many times, and his unemployment insurance will soon expire. Naoki Ishida is 39 years old and a former middle-school teacher who now works part-time as a cram school instructor. He is a perfectionist who doesn't do anything he can't do, and is a troublesome middle-aged man who doesn't want to fail but also doesn't want to regret. Yu Asai is 35 years old and a former professional soccer player. After graduating from high school, he was active as a soccer player, but was notified that he was no longer needed due to an injury. He is a competitive middle-aged man who easily gets carried away. Tsuyoshi Imagawa is 37 years old and a former child actor who is now an enka singer. He made his debut as a child actor at the age of 3, and became popular after appearing in a commercial at the age of 5, but his work dramatically decreased after he entered middle school. He is an old man who can't give up on his dreams now. Daisuke Yamanaka is 45 years old and heads the management department at Manpuku Entertainment Productions. He was popular as a model when he was young, but his bad behavior led to him being kicked out of the industry. He is a man with a strong sense of duty and humanity. Nikolai Asakura is 38 years old and self-employed. Born to a Danish-Russian father and a Korean-Australian mother, he moved around Japan a lot during his childhood. He is a wandering man searching for his place in the world.

Other important characters who appear in the series include Manda Fukuko, the president of Manpuku Entertainment Productions; Pepe-chan, a popular cat talent belonging to Manpuku Entertainment Productions; popular child actor Ukita Ren; and Kakizaki Makoto, who was active as Eikyu Shonen but left to focus on producing.

■Subtitle

The subtitles for each episode are different. Episode 1 is "Re-employment", Episode 2 is "Company Housing", Episode 3 is "Starting Work", Episode 4 is "The Sanada Kentaro", Episode 5 is "MV", Episode 6 is "Kakizaki Makoto Special", Episode 7 is "First Live", Episode 8 is "CD Debut", Episode 9 is "Ishida Naoki's Dawn", Episode 10 is "Idol Festival", Episode 11 is "Yamanaka Daisuke's Style", Episode 12 is "Day Off", and Episode 13 is "Quitting Work". Episode 14 is "Mid-career recruitment exam", Episode 15 is "The passionate continent of Imagawa Tsuyoshi", Episode 16 is "Local sales", Episode 17 is "The history of Asai Yu", Episode 18 is "Scandal", Episode 19 is "Commercial", Episode 20 is "Poor business performance", Episode 21 is "From Nikolai Asakura's train window", Episode 22 is "Album", Episode 23 is "Budokan", and Episode 24 is "Eternal Boy".

■ Related works

A related work to this one is "Eternal Boys NEXT STAGE." This work depicts the next stage of Eternal Boys, and you can enjoy a deeper story and character growth.

■ Theme songs and music

The theme songs and music used in this work are many great songs. The opening theme "Dreamy Life" is sung by Gentlemen (Sawao Souda, Etsuro Aizen, Renji Ii, Hajime Kosaka). The lyrics are by Soma Genda, and the music and arrangement are by Mitsu.J. The opening theme "My Way" is sung by Eikyu Shonen (Kentaro Sanada, Naoki Ishida, Yu Asai, Tsuyoshi Imagawa, Daisuke Yamanaka, Nikolai Asakura). The lyrics, music and arrangement are by SHOW. The ending theme "FRIENDS" is sung by Story of Love (Soki Azuma, Kento Takanashi, Nobunaga Odagiri, Sakura Kagurazaka, Tomoka Higashijujo, Lin Junjie). The lyrics are by Amon Hayashi, the music is by Erde, Daniel Durn and Katrine "Neya" Klith, and the arrangement is by Erde. The ending theme "Story of Love" is also sung by Story of Love. The lyrics are by Amon Hayashi, the music is by ALYSA and Alfred Chan, and the arrangement is by ALYSA. The ending theme "Eternal" is sung by Eikyu Shonen. The lyrics are by SHOW, the music is by SHOW and C.ON, and the arrangement is by C.ON and Mitsu.J. The insert song "Tsuyoshi's Mellow Man Way" is sung by Imagawa Tsuyoshi (Namikawa Daisuke). The lyrics are by eNu, and the music is by Shitara Tetsuya. The insert song "Shall We Dance?" is sung by Gentlemen. The lyrics are by Masaki Tanami, and the music and arrangement are by Mitsu.J. The insert song "Eternal" is also sung by Eikyu Shonen. The lyrics were written by SHOW, the music was composed by SHOW and C.ON, and the arrangement was done by C.ON and Mitsu.J. The insert song "GENTLEMEN" is sung by Gentlemen. The lyrics were written by Soma Genda and Tada Shinya, the music was composed by AKJaneway and Tada Shinya, and the arrangement was done by AKJaneway. The insert song "Forever..." is sung by Eien Shounen. The lyrics were written by Ueno Kimiko, and the music and arrangement were done by SHOW. The insert song "My Way" is also sung by Eien Shounen. The lyrics, music and arrangement were done by SHOW. The insert song "Again" is also sung by Eien Shounen. The lyrics were written by SHOW, and the music and arrangement were done by Wolf Kid and SHOW.

■ Evaluation and impressions

"Eternal Boys" is a wonderful work filled with emotion and laughter. The story of six old men aiming to become idols gives courage and hope to the viewers. Their story of growth and friendship, as well as setbacks and recovery, has captured the hearts of many people. The high quality of the production by the gorgeous cast and staff has also been praised. In particular, the individuality of each character is well-drawn, making it easy for viewers to empathize with them. Furthermore, the theme song and insert songs are also excellent, drawing the hearts of viewers.

This film teaches us the courage to overcome the barriers of age and physical strength and take on new challenges. They may be around 40, but they are eternal boys at heart! Their name is Eternal Boys! I hope many people will see this film.

■Recommendation

"Eternal Boys" is a wonderful work filled with emotion and laughter. The story of six old men aiming to become idols gives courage and hope to the viewers. Their story of growth and friendship, as well as setbacks and recovery, has captured the hearts of many people. The high quality of the production by the gorgeous cast and staff has also been praised. In particular, the individuality of each character is well-drawn, making it easy for viewers to empathize with them. Furthermore, the theme song and insert songs are also excellent, drawing the hearts of viewers.

This film teaches us the courage to overcome the barriers of age and physical strength and take on new challenges. They may be around 40, but their hearts are eternal boys! Their name is Eternal Boys! I hope many people will see this film. It is especially recommended for people who like idols and music, and for people who like moving stories. It is also a must-see for people who are at a turning point in their lives and who want to take on new challenges.