Having found this on FUNimation, I decided to have a shot at watching. And I'm so glad I did.
Every aspect of this anime is amazing. The relationships running through it between the characters, the humour, the story itself, and the characters are all right on the ball. They couldn't get it anymore perfect.
The story is one of Ren Mihoshi, a starting pitcher all his middle school life for Mihoshi Academy. Part of the reason for him getting the spot is because of nepotism. And boy, don't the other players at his school let him know on every occasion. Because of this, Ren and the failing-spirits of the team, never win a single game in their middle school career.
Moving to Nishiura, he promises himself he'll quit baseball, but ends up on the mound of a not-so-professional-yet-make-up-for-it-in-spirit team with his catcher being one Takehaya Abe - a fantastic and amazing character who you will love.
The characters are near faultless. Ren himself has no self-esteem to speak of, something which bugs his catcher, Abe, to no end. The coach, Maria Momoe, is a act-first-think-later type of character, but is crazy enough to be lovable. Although altogether, I hope they delve into the characters (especially Abe and Maria) much more in the second season.
The music is great. I found myself humming the opening song from time to time! It really matches the anime, the strings making tense moments even more so.
This is an outstanding, flawless anime which I loved from beginning to end. If you get a chance, don't judge it, just watch the first few episodes and decide then. I almost guarantee you'll be in love with it by that point.
