DAYS Episode 1.
At this point, I'm not quite sure if DAYS is going to be a story about people playing football or if it'll be a story about people who play football (and those around them). The first episode has some football being played but it's more of a backdrop to the character development. There's almost no time spent on explaining rules, strategies or much of what's actually going on in the game, the show seems far more focussed on the thoughts and feelings of it's characters. Whether that continues to be the case in future episodes remains to be seen.
The first episode mostly focusses on apparent main characters Tsukushi and Jin. Both characters could probably be compared to standard archetypes but it feels like there's something more to them that helps them to stand out and feel a little more real. I'd say we see a little more of this with Jin, it'd be easy to assume he'd just be the standard cool and distant naturally talented character but he also reveals his caring side pretty quickly and a few other details make him seem like more of a fully rounded person. Tsukushi does also benefit by showing an awareness of how others might treat him and how they might interpret his lack of ability rather than just being ignorantly positive.
The episode does a good job of introducing the characters and it also hints at some potential for future storylines. Jin would seem to have had some difficulty making/keeping close friends in the past and Tsukushi's home situation is likely to be part of a story at some point. It should be interesting to see if/how the show handles potential relationships as well, there are several potential romances and friendship is already something of a major theme in the show.
It feels like this show could go in a few different directions at the moment, though it probably wouldn't be able to do everything and if it tried then there's a good chance it could end up a lesser show for it. I think I'd prefer if it stuck to developing it's characters and focussing on their personal stories rather than moved into being about sport and competition. I have to admit, I got a slightly "Space Brothers" like feel from the show (perhaps partly because it seems to use music in a similar way) and that's both a compliment to the show and a high standard for it to pursue. There's a very good chance that the sport aspect will be taking over at some point, so I'll try to control my expectations but I was quite impressed with the first episode and I'll at least keep watching for now.