Ookiku Furikabutte: Natsu no Taikai-hen

This may be the best sports anime of all time. I can't say, because I've never watched another one. And even if it is, that might not be a fair assessment because while this anime is about baseball—and it is dedicated; detailing every action of the top and bottom of every inning, even when nothing important happens—the thing that really makes its stand out is how meticulous and careful it is with its character development.

I found it particularly poignant how often the boys' internal monologue showed their desire to say something, but they were afraid to actually say it because they feared being seen ... as weak, ineffectual or just not man enough. They constantly worried they'd be misunderstood. They agonized over how they'd be perceived.

Out of every anime I've ever watched, the people in this one feel the most real and authentic. These feel like kids I knew when I was young, and remind me of my own experiences growing up many years ago. It would be great to have had more seasons to see them grow more, but I'm glad this show was made and glad I stumbled across it.

This will go over the series as a whole.

Coming off of Diamond no Ace, I really didn't have too much expectation in this show after seeing how jank the animation was half the time, especially with how the movement was choreographed. How do I say this? Balls just felt fast in Diamond no Ace because of how the trajectory was mapped and the angles that the ball went through. When a ball hit the outfield, you had a clear indication of how the ball falls. When a runner gets onto base, it feels like he's running fast. The framing, choreography, and movement in Diamond no ... ace just perfectly capture the essence of the baseball plays.

There's not too much of that in this show. In a way, this disparity seems to be apparent in the other departments of this show. In this show, the pitcher throws 100 km/hr balls, and 120 km/hr balls are his limits. The team is full of freshmen, and some of the team members are not very good since they're complete newbies. Their batting lineup is alright, but they only have one all-star batter. The catcher's great, but still has lots of room for improvement. The practice fields and training facilities are what you expect from a public school's all-freshmen team: they're sharing the field with other teams, and don't have exclusive batting facilities or arrangements. This show is like the antithesis to Diamond no Ace, which is just a lot flashier, with great players being scouted across the nation, exclusive facilities, a controlled diet, and dorms just for baseball players. The team in Diamond no Ace is renowned, and the senior players are also great. Yet, if you take a look at the performances between the two teams, it's not too far.

In the end, Big Windup is a story about a grassroots team. The David that slays the goliath. They're underestimated. Their players aren't scouted. Their school isn't ranked. Yet, they try and succeed at playing well in baseball. And the show does a good job of portraying it.

For a baseball show, there aren't too many characters. There are only one or two characters that are actually relevant outside of the actual baseball team. Of the baseball team, I only remember Abe, Izumi, Hanai, Tajima, and Mihashi. Well, because of the smaller character cast, you do definitely get to get to know them better. Mihashi's obviously the most developed, the show having a lot of focus on his personal journey as a person as much as a pitcher. He's shy, lacks confidence due to past experiences, and can't string words together. He backs away from confrontation and tries to resolve the issue by sidestepping it. He's overly conscious of other people's opinions of him, and he always thinks of the worst situation. Surprisingly enough, there's a basic psychoanalysis of him that was done on him by another player, and I think it's quite apt. Abe's a great catcher but had bad experiences with an arrogant, but good pitcher. He initially plans on controlling Mihashi for his own desires but realizes that a battery is more of a two-way street than anything else. Tajima's the all-star player that probably could have been on any team, and acts as Mihashi's friend and somewhat of a "guardian" of sorts. He's hyperactive and talented but also cares for the rest of the team, especially Mihashi since he needs it the most. I would go over the rest of the characters, but I think you get the idea. The characters that do matter or get screen time have depth, and you get to see a lot more monologuing from them since there are not too many characters that get a lot of focus. You won't be disappointed with the cast, and Mihashi certainly isn't a generic protagonist-type main character which is a very welcome surprise.

You won't see the scale of Diamond no Ace, where there's a bunch of characters that you know from rival teams that have their own personalities. There are not too many side characters in this show, but when they show up, they matter and aren't just thrown away. There are so few side characters that half the matches, even the official ones, don't get any screen time in Big Windup, so the games that the show decides to feature are quite long. Games usually last 5 or 6 episodes, and the play-by-play in these games is quite entertaining to watch. Each game is done in-depth, and you get to see the thought processes and monologues of each player present. You barely get to know any of the rival teams' players too well, but you usually get to know one or two in-depth in terms of their personality monologuing. And well, despite the animation not being amazing like Diamond no Ace, the plays do feel like you can see the movement, and it's not all that bad. The animation isn't so stiff that it's a detriment, and you get to see how the plays turn out in a satisfying manner.

I like how Big Windup tries to do something a bit different, despite how unrealistic some of it is. Like how an all-freshmen team is this good, but it's a good change of pace, and the characters and games are fun to watch.

Its a great seinen sports anime. You'll somehow learn about the rules or techniques playing baseball. The characters hardworks and efforts. The opponents perspective too. You'll learn how baseball works and how the players plays and reacts to various counter attacks. It's an interesting show. It made me realize baseball is interesting game.

I don't play baseball but watching the character's everyday life as baseball players is heartwarming. Doing their best in the games.

The characters are great too and funny. Even if it's serious there's comedy.

And i cried a lot.

The seiyuus are great too. The music everything is great. I love the art ... style too is great.

It's a 9/10 for me.