Ranked #94

Major S6

It's impossible to describe this show with one word, but the closest would be.

Masterpiece.

And im not just talking about this season, but the show as a whole. It starts of with a bang, like these kind of animes usually do. With a tragedy that leads a talented individual to pursue his dream. In this case, to be the best baseball pitcher in the world. But most of all, just play baseball.

You follow Goro Shigeno/Honda through some rough years of his life. Battling with both injuries, tragedies and strong opponents. And they always get stronger, and the wall to climb always gets higher. And it's truly, an epic journey. There are some rough paths from little league to major league. But you quickly learn that there is no shortcut to success.

So, this anime follows a storyline pattern that is proven successful by many shows before. And then it's no suprise when i tell you, i think its brilliant. They start of with a little kid idolizing his father. But when his father falls victim to a freak accident, he starts to rely on himself. And grows to be, the very talented, hotheaded and cocky main character. With one goal, to get stronger.

The main character is very important in this series, more so than some of the other animes i have watched. Of course, all animes revolves around 1 or more main characters, but this series i feel is a little bit different. I can't put my finger on it, but they way they have done the "storytelling", makes me care more for this character than in any other anime. Maybe with the exception of Hajime no Ippo. Which is the only show i can compare it with, mainly because of the storytelling and the colorful characters.

So, i have followed Goro though fire and ice, thick and thin, blood and sweat.
And i have to be honest, i love him. I love his sincerity, his innocence and childish but cocky behaviour. His humour, his guts, his talent, his heart and his soul. And that's basically what this show is about.

What more do you need?


STORY-10-
Pretty original, some signs of the shounen pattern, but still. It have turned it up a notch and spiced it further than anyone before them.

ART-10-
The first two seasons were decent. But from there the quality got alot better along the lines, and the last season is magnificent.

SOUND-10-
Realistic sound, alot of variation in the different scenarios. It's impressive in every way, and i can't recall that i have every noticed a flaw.

CHARACTER-10-
This show gets top score on character, but not just because of the main character. You meet alot of interesting characters when you follow Goro, and each and one of them are unique. Of course, some of them are similar to characters in other animes. But if you add all the characters up, they deserve top score. No doubt.

ENJOYMENT-10-
This show captures the nervous moment when you can decide a game, with one throw/pitch. And does it brilliantly. But the humour, the characters and the story are marvelous. I almost cried when i was finished with the last episode, and it left me with that empty hole in your heart. The feeling you usually get when you miss something and you want more.
That means i enjoyed it alot, and it deserves full score

OVERALL-10-
No suprise here.
When you get that empty feeling like i just wrote about. That's a pretty good indication that this anime was superb.


So, what can i say. It's been almost three months since i finished this anime, and the emptiness in my heart is still there.

You want any more reasons to watch this? read more

“The final course”

The Story…

Continuing the momentum from the beginning of this anime, S6 became the pinnacle of all the seasons. This is where being as a professional took place and done, a stage where honor and passion given away to fight over to be the only one on the top. Ambition, passion, and spirit like the preceding season never fade away as new encounters and obstacles being added to give some twist and tale to tell for a whole new season. With a whole new story to come up, this series gives the same essence like before while a new bunch of characters that will gather around not only for Goro but also with the situations and obstacles that he’ll face.

While the past season is all about competitiveness and perseverance of two or more person, this time it gives a different perception on the series; for how it will turn to be in a professional league, the mechanics into it, and having strengths and weaknesses being on a team. A series where there are different tales about some characters that will be involved. Similar for what the past seasons have, it contains different emotions that will bring out the drama and spirit of a player.

The flow of the story seems a bit off from what it has before because it focuses and maintains a balance feature of drama and sports action. Having a setting like that will not be boring to watch as it takes different emotions and scenes to consider. Even though, it still has the same competitive aspects but less impact as a whole.

Art & Animation…

It has the same method and style like before, but they focus more on scenery designs and effects of a particular scene. Having a refreshing and vibrant art gives more impact not only to the story but also to the characters involved. Both OP and ED theme have their own art and animation that is beautiful and touching as it depicts the meaning of the story. The characters are drawn in such fitted manner connecting to their appearance and attitudes in which we can easily tell the uniqueness among them. Also the animations here are just right for each actions and reactions on a particular scene. As a baseball park or even outside of it, we cannot disregard the minor details like the great lightings which help to maintain the clarity of a picture, and the people cheering and other extras that been sighted to be entertaining. All of them have a big role to the series for it to become more attractive, as it serves an additional factor of excitement and thrill.

Sound…

At the start of the series, hearing the song “Kokoro e” is quite reminiscing where they already used it as an OP song before. Hearing a song like that will surely come up to your senses, which from the start of the anime until now, you vividly followed the series. Although the rhythm of the ”Kokoro e” today was new, it never drops the essence of it to the story, and gradually helps to maintain a calm and catchy OP.

In the ending, “Twilight Star” have a fast beat and energetic tune which is perfect because the series contains such thrill, excitement, and tension among players, while "For Years..." have a slow beat and harmonic tune which is also rhyme to the series because for years, remembering those moments, this is the time where all of those are being granted, thus, it adds an effect to the flow of the story. Having these OP and ED songs completely adds impact to the series

The BGM and sounds inside and outside the field surely brings tension and thrill, for each of them will sway your emotions and excitement on what will happen next. Excitingly the cheering, reactions, and emotions being fired away was way above than the past couple of seasons, which this time, it totally adds a great impact to the story as well.

Characters…

New season means there are also new characters to be seen. Looking for the main protagonist of the story, which is Goro, with his stubbornness that always brings excitement and suspense to the show seems like to become quite a thinker and been more obedient. But one thing that still hasn’t gone into his trait is being aggressive all the time, always in a high spirit; giving all he got and never give up, and being a sportsman to its fellow player.

On the side note that Goro is now in a professional baseball team, there are some of his teammates have done quite remarkable in the series. Murdoch has a fierce personality in physical and mental state; Watts, a senior and proved to be a leader of the team; Keane, a past teammate, and have been quite observant to the surroundings; nevertheless, the other teammates have done a great job supporting the team. With all of these characters, working alone with Goro’s instinct isn’t suitable for his current team, while all his teammates also achieving its only goal.

By adding new characters that blends to the story and situations turns more like a true scenario which they adopt, but the fiery ambition around it seems to be reduced while keeping it balanced with the drama instead. Now that Goro proves that he can outmatch any batter, it looks like most of his rivals might fade away, which may affect on the heat towards the series.

With such characters in the series, it creates a mixture of different personalities as the focus will be varied on the situation. In the end, the essence still remains while maintaining a balanced and exciting feature.

Overall & Enjoyment…

This season becomes more established by stabilizing the sports action, drama, and its essence. This might be not as fiery as its preceding, but it’s more like having a variation of emotions and actions of different characters involved. Along with a mixture of elements such as sounds and art, it makes a big contribution, which affects and energizes the whole situation or events within the series. Having all this elements balanced out, Goro still makes a persistent attitude that will enchant most of the viewers. All in all the series may give a different level of excitement along with the effects and animation towards its story.

**Watch the prequels to maximize the enjoyment and understanding about the story. Hope it helps =) read more