Everyone believed that Natsusa Yuzuki would one day become the ace on his college rugby team, the Doshisha University team. Alas, his seemingly meteoric rise is cut short by a traffic accident that forces him to go on hiatus for half a year. Unfortunately, even then, the damage he suffers is just too much for him to ever play on the team again.
Natsusa still intends to lead his team to victory. Not as a player on field, but as the team menager. However, some members don't seem to be as motivated as before...
number24 is an anime produced by PRA and directed by Shigeru Kimiya. It aired on Tokyo MX from January to April 2020.
Tropes:
- Animal Motifs: Cats for Natsusa. He is stubborn, does as he pleases, and generally gets his way despite of being smaller than his chiseled peers. Natsusa also often makes a Playful Cat Smile. One of his hoodies even has a cat's eyes motif.
- Anti-Hero: Natsusa is very stubborn, often manipulative even, and no matter what kind of quirk or any other reason obstructs the Doshisha team, Natsusa will trample over it and overcome it, be it by hook or by crook.
- Big Brother Instinct: The 3rd years and 4th years towards the 1st years and 2nd years. Ren Tamashiro, while incredibly narcissistic is also the one to most often shown to display this.
- Bit Character: The cast is large, but most of the characters have very little screen time, as well as very few lines. This means that most of them recieve no development.
- Brains and Brawn: After the accident, Seiichiro becomes the brawn to Natsusa's brains.
- Career-Ending Injury: Natsusa suffers this six months before the start of the story.
- Cast Full of Pretty Boys: Lots of handsome or cute, usually athletic lads, and not a single Gonk, or even a Butter Face in sight.
- Childhood Friends: Natsusa had a long and close relationship with Seiichiro, which is detailed in the ending theme. Ibuki joined them a little later.
- Cute Sports Club Manager: Natsusa resorts to becoming a Rare Male Example, since he can no longer directly contribute on the field.
- Dude Looks Like a Lady: Yuu is so androgynous that when he meets them in episode 9, Yasunari's family mistakes him to be Yasunari's girlfriend.
- Female Gaze: Nearly every single scene has this.
- Foreign Fanservice: Several members of the Doshisha team are of overseas origin.
- Pongsaklek Yunu is Thai and just as much of a handsome beefcake as his Japanese teammates.
- Li Hongbin appears to be Korean.
- Ethan Taylor is confirmed to have been born and raised in the United States.
- Geek Physiques: Played with Yuuki Koreeda, a 4th year senior. He is indeed an otaku, as he’s seen getting worked up over a body pillow of "Moka-chan" when questioned upon it, and often collects pins and other merch of her. The paradox comes from the fact that while he has the stereotypical shyness and pale skin of the archetype, he is still just as much of a beefcake as his fellow 4th year teammates.
- Genius Bruiser: Zig-Zagged. Some of the players are clearly Dumb Muscle, but others are shown to be either an Academic Athlete, or at least The Strategist. Or simply of average intelligence.
- Hunk: Almost every single guy qualifies. Natsusa is also implied to have been one before his accident.
- Manipulative Bastard: While he is no longer as physically imposing as he was at his peak, Natsusa is very good at manipulation.
- Muscles Are Meaningful: All the active rugby players are muscular. Active being the operative word, as Natsusa's traffic accident left him injured and his muscles atrophied, preventing him from playing professionally.
- Off-Model: Sporadically. Seems like it was a time/budget issue.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: Subverted with Natsusa. He has pinkish orange hair, but sneakily uses flattery to get what he wants and is willing to use any other dirty trick if necessary.
- Sad Clown: Deep down, Natsusa is despodent over his situation. His antiheroic behaviour is ultimately more of a coping mechanism.
- Shameless Fanservice Guy:
- Ibuki is perfectly willing to make use of his muscles for flirting with the ladies.
- The fourth year Ren Tamashiro, who is quite proud of his sculpted physique, frequently takes off his shirt to flex. He actually seems to believe that they have a healing effect.
- Stout Strength: Fuuga Saitou, the resident Fat Comic Relief, is the sole example in the show.
- Stronger with Age: The 3rd and 4th year players are all much more muscular than most of the 1st and 2nd years.
- Survivor Guilt: Downplayed Trope. Ibuki and Natsusa both survived the same traffic accident, but whereas Ibuki suffered mild injuries and can still play in the present, Natsusa suffered a life-long Career-Ending Injury. Despite loving the sport, Ibuki decided to abandon rugby in an effort to make amends. Natsusa would have none of it, and ultimately succeeds in getting Ibuki back in the team.
- Team Dad: The team captain Gakuto Zaitsu is this for the Daishisha team, even having a stubble and being described as a natural leader.
- Team Mom: The vice-captain Ikuto Yufu, who unlike the Team Dad Gakuto, has an Almighty Mom demeanor (though even he can't do much about Natsusa's shenanigans).
- True Companions: The 4th years, while quirky and close to graduation, are fairly close-knit. Best demonstrated when they collectively decide that ensuring Yuuki has employment after graduating is something that they need to do before they all go to one last excursion together.
- The Un-Reveal: It is never shown how muscular Natsusa's body looked like before the accident, but he is repeatedly implied to have been significantly more muscular than in the present.
- Vicariously Ambitious: Arguably the whole plot boils down to Natsusa trying to do this after his Career-Ending Injury.
- World of Muscle Men: The anime has a large cast, consisting mostly of buff rugby players. The few exceptions can be counted on one hand.