English Dubbed
I will stagger a guess. i believe one of your thoughts is why an 8? Why not lower or better yet higher?
Art wise this work is wonderful. The characters along with the scenery is rich in color. Animations are smooth.
Sound- crisp and clear
Characters- individualistic and ripe with personal aspects.
Nice information but hasn't answered the question. At least not yet...
Story is what makes a show and why my eight. If you were blessed and saw the original show you saw many things. The most notable is the fact is it is about baseball. Well, why that is true there is more to that than the eye can see. You can forget the sport and its name for what matters is the team. Without a team you have nothing but individualists who wouldn't truly care about anything or anyone else.
Although, like in life it isn't that simple. Luckily this anime produces a nice additional element called wisdom. The more you know the better right? This couldn't be any truer. Life is riddled in issues from fear of quitting to personal. Having a good friend, hell a whole team of them in your life to provide comfort and reassurance through examples is the best. But with wisdom that is one's life net. Don't believe me? Think of it this way. Say you are a wealthy person with tons of friends. However, you are all stranded somewhere. The idea of help is unlikely. What is your plan? Stay still? Ha-ha-ha... Sorry, you were serious? No, chances are you would move at least a little. If you had certain insight knowledge better know as wisdom like what plants to eat or how to stay safe. I would say your odds of seeing tomorrow sky rocketed in comparison to the opposite.
In regards to this anime while there is some knowledge (wisdom) to take that is the problem. It is only some and it is mostly in relation to a character's backstory. While one can jazz this episode (special) with all the most futuristic aspects it won't change a damn thing. For it will remain one sided. Unlike here but seen in the original show you had a lot of going on. More than enough to keep you busy. Because of the multiple characters and drama they bring. Which is why one doesn't see a special generally the same or higher in rate in regard to the original.
I hope I have answered your question.
