Tsurune is an onomatopoeic rendering of the hum of a bowstring. Based on Kotoko Ayano’s book, the animated TV series titled Tsurune was produced by Kyoto Animation and first aired on NHK in the fall of 2018. The feature film version premiered in August of 2022 and a second season of the show followed in January of 2023.
The series centers on kyūdō, Japanese archery, which uses an exceptionally long bow (six feet seven inches) that requires years of practice and training to master. Although it’s little known in the U.S., the sport can be traced back to the 12th century.
An Underdog’s Beginning
The main character of the show is Minato Narumiya, who’s thrilled by the tsurune as a little boy. When he asks to learn the sport, his mother promises to cheer for him at every meet. He shows exceptional talent in middle school: His only rival is his friend Shu. But in their final tournament, he loses focus and fails to land his shots. He can no longer hear the precious tsurune and he quits archery.
As they enter high school, his patient friend Seiya eventually persuades Minato to join the team, with him, exuberant Ryouhei, flirtatious Nanao and perpetually grouchy Kaito. Kazemai High doesn’t have a strong program: The team consists of three girls and the five boys. (Kyūdō is practiced by men and women; Minato and Shu were mentored as children by Saionji-sensei, a wise female champion.) Their coach, Misaki-sensei, is a Shintō priest whose polished skill inspires Minato when he watches him practice at a nearby shrine.
All Japanese martial arts have spiritual underpinnings: Kyūdō archers strive for self-discipline, focus and an ability to act without conscious decision-making. Only by attaining these qualities can an archer go beyond mere technical skill to reach the true beauty and meaning of the sport. As he takes his stance in the final round of the first big tournament, Minato has an epiphany that enables him to see the strengths of his teammates and how they form a unit that surpasses their individual abilities: The revelation restores his ability to hit the target.
Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot (2022, on HIDIVE), which had a theatrical release in the U.S. in April, is comprised of recut footage from the series. The film focuses more tightly on Minato’s journey and the final tournament. Flashbacks give the viewer insights into Minato’s childhood friendships with Shu and Seiya; his bond with his mother, who was killed in an accident when he was a boy; and Misaki’s troubled relationship with the stern grandfather who coached him. The subtitles in the film sometimes provide better translations: In the series, Minato’s problem is called “target panic;” in the film, it’s hayake, a term for releasing the arrow too early.
Tsurune: The Linking Shot (2023, also on HIDIVE) is not a sequel, but a second season that picks up where the first series left off. As the new series was made by the same director, Takuya Yamamura, and many of the same artists at Kyoto Animation, working from Kotoko Ayano’s novels, the transition feels seamless despite the four-year gap.
Having won a place in the Regionals, Minato and his eager teammates can’t keep their hands off their bows, even when they’re supposed to be concentrating on school activities. Of course, the new school year brings new challenges, new problems and new rivals, as well as the all-important rematch with Shu and his highly-ranked team.
It also offers new insights and the opportunity for new growth. His teammates are surprised to learn that Ryouhei was a champion at kendo (Japanese fencing) in middle school. He gave up the sport for kyūdō because he doesn’t want to receive or inflict pain. Ryouhei’s story leads the boys and girls to reflect that the essence of kyūdō is not crushing an opponent but striving to perfect themselves. Minato realizes that each shot he takes links him not only to his teammates, but to his mother’s spirit, to his teachers and to his teacher’s teachers: He begins to find his place in an ongoing tradition that reaches back more than 1,000 years.
Like most anime sports shows, Tsurune is the story of an underdog’s upset victory. But Yamamura and his crew give the tale a satisfying depth by focusing on the emotional/spiritual journey of Minato and his teammates, rather than their physical prowess.
- Tsurune: Season 1 (Available on Crunchyroll and Amazon Prime Video)
- Tsurune: The Movie – The First Shot (HDIVE)
- Tsurune: The Linking Shot (HDIVE)
