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Commentary about [Backflip!!] by Japanese RG champion (episode1)

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Hello!!
I'm Wataru, I'm an acrobat at Cirque Du Soleil in Florida.
I've done men's rhythmic gymnastics for almost 20 years.

This article is a my commentary about Backflip!! [bakuten!!] which is a Japanese anime television series about men's rhythmic gymnastics💁‍♂️✨
I wrote this article in Japanese at first, and translated it into English, because I wanted to share this wonderful anime with people from other countries!! 
Please read it, and enjoy watching men's RG!!

Japanese version of this post↓

Before you read this, please watch this video↓
<Original TV animation [bakuten!!] story1 Aoko's routine(four-people version)>

Amazing motion capture technology!!

This anime’s routine scenes were awesome!!
The characters’ movements are so fluid, I felt like I was watching it in person. 
It’s because motion capture technology was used for this anime!! 

Of course, the actors of this motion capture are men’s rhythmic gymnasts!! “BLUE TOKYO”(which is a professional men’s RG performance group), college gymnasts and high school gymnasts all participated in the motion capture filming, and their movements were turned into animation. 

If you are interested in learning more about these performers and gymnasts, check these links out!!↓

BLUE TOKYO official web site
BLUE Athlete official web site
Kokushikan University YouTube channel
Aomori Yamada High School YouTube channel

Next, I’m going to explain about “What is interesting about motion capture??” 

The most interesting thing is that we can see the difference in each gymnast's body tendencies clearly. (Even if it’s a bad tendency…😂)
For example, the slight differences in how much their bodies bend when they raise their arms straight (it’s called “Zyokyo”).

In order to do Zyokyo well, gymnasts have to achieve enough flexibility in their shoulders and chest. That’s why gymnasts who have enough flexibility can do Zyokyo beautifully, but for those who don’t, it looks a little bit ugly…
So maybe the gymnasts who handled the motion capture wanted the characters to do more beautiful moves, but it captured their own movements and tendencies as well. (it’s already beautiful enough though😏)

In addition, the uniqueness each performer's movements was reproduced faithfully, like the body shape of their tumbling and how much they point their toes, I really felt like I was watching it in person.
(I even found a mistake where everyone’s splits were not parallel, which would be a deduction in competition!) 

By the way, the tower that the four-people did at the start of the routine is called “Nebuta”.
The name and the tower’s shape came from the Nebuta Festival, which is Aomori prefecture’s traditional festival.

8 interesting things that even hardcore fans can get excited about

1: spring floor sound effects

Many people talked about it on Twitter!!
The sounds of the gymnastics floor that everyone who has watched RG in person has heard are captured accurately.
Actually, the sound was recorded at a rhythmic gymnastics club in Tokyo,
When I heard it, I even felt nervous, because It reminded me of when I’m performing an RG routine at a competition.
The sound effects of the spring floor seem to reflect what gymnasts hear on the floor during routine rather than from the viewpoint of the audience in the stands.

2: breath timing

Maybe, only gymnasts can understand what this means.
Basically, we hold our breath while tumbling.
But in the latter half of the routine, we cannot hold our breath any longer, because the RG routine is so difficult and we're getting winded while doing it.
Sometimes, gymnasts become out of breath.

Surprisingly, it’s accurately depicted in the routine scene.
You can hear their breathlessness in the sequence of end of the routine,

3: the atmosphere of the competition venue

Many people online also commented on it.
Atmosphere of the competition venue was so realistic, like the view on entering the venue, lights, the spring floor, the entrance aisle to the spring floor, and the warm-up area.

4: leotards

I can’t say for sure, but I think there was <SASAKI>  logo on the leotards.
SASAKI is a company that makes RG products, like apparatus, leotards and apparel.

(I checked it after I wrote this article, SASAKI was an official sponsor of Backflip!!)

5: bunk beds

In the opening sequence , Shotaro gets up and falls from a bunk bed.
It looked like the bed that I used when I was a university student, and it brought back memory!!

If you live in the student dormitory, your bed is the only place that you can be alone.
That’s why everyone has a curtain to create a private space.

6: training

In the training scenes at school, they were doing active isolated stretching  and shoulder stretches.
Active isolated stretching came from dance exercises.
The purpose of this exercise is to increase flexibility and know how to move each body part in isolation.

By the way, the shoulder stretch is unique, even though it’s nothing special for gymnasts.
Isn’t it surprising to see a teammate sit on the person who is lying face down and pull back on their arms??

These exercises are really done by gymnasts actually, so it also felt very realistic.

7: team manager

The team manager Kurikoma was always holding a tablet device and filming their training.That’s an important thing in RG.

If you're not constantly filming, gymnasts can’t check their movements when they want to, like a great move that happened spontaneously or succeeding in tumbling for the first time.
So the person who films it like Kurikoma also plays an important role on the team.

8: soundtrack

This anime’s soundtrack  is composed by Yuki Hayashi, who is a famous composer in Japan, and he was also a men’s rhythmic gymnasts!!

The song for Aoko’s routine is so cool, isn’t it??
I especially like the ascending melody line of the song's climax.

By the way, did you recognize that the song from Aomori University's 2014 routine was played for a moment?
If you didn’t, please check it out here!!

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Thank you for coming and reading my article!!
If you like it, please click the heart button on the right side below🙇‍♂️

I post my acrobatic videos on my Instagram, and also tweet on Twitter!!
Please check it out and follow me!! (link bilow)

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Wataru Ito
Cirque du Soleil 「Drawn to Life」at Disney Springs
🤸‍♀️Men's Rhythmic Gymnastics Artist
🏆Champion of Inter-High School Competition
🏆4 times in a row champion of All Japan Rhythmic Gymnastics Competition

Wataru Ito official web site
YouTube：WATARUN VLOG

Twitter：@wataru_cirque

Instagram：@wataru_cirque


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