Mihashi is a ridiculously weak-willed high-school pitcher who has zero self-confidence and probably an anxiety disorder from past bullying and trauma; he’s constantly on the edge of a nervous breakdown/panic attack, bursting into tears at the slightest provocation. (I loved him instantly.) He has no strength in his pitches, but he can place them very well, which is a major skill. Abe, the catcher, likes him because he has superb control of his pitches and doesn’t assert himself on the mound, meaning Abe can just tell him what to do like a puppet. Obviously this leads to wonderful dom/sub moments between them as they develop their relationship, like when Abe grabs Mihashi’s hand and studies it, oh man, and the line “When the catcher devotes himself to the pitcher, the pitcher repays the catcher with trust.” Also some fantastic hurt/comfort elements with Abe repeatedly worrying about his pitcher’s health and becoming concerned (read: jealous and possessive) when other people stretch Mihashi out after a match. *fangirling*
I love the coach, Momoe, a strong-willed woman who is really enthusiastic and way smarter and more perceptive than she may first appear and who works physically intense part-time jobs to pay for the baseball team. Together she and Abe are master tacticians and strategists. You’ll probably notice right off the bat (ha, pun intended) that she has rather unnaturally huge breasts—but, believe it or not, instead of being there just to titillate, this becomes a minor plot point in season 2 and an important character theme of women being underestimated or misjudged. Color me impressed.
I really thought I didn’t care about baseball at all, but this anime made me become interested despite myself. It was also rather educational, teaching me things from baseball terminology to hormones involved in sports (thyrotropin, corticotropin, and dopamine, if you wanted to know). What I loved best was the emphasis on how much of a team sport baseball is (our players are known as “the Nishiura [High School] nine”) and how much strategy is involved in the calls between the coach, the catcher, and the pitcher.
And I can sincerely say I love almost all of the characters: even the players from different teams who at first seem not that likeable are shown to have interesting pasts that made them the way they are (like Abe’s former pitcher, Haruna). But they are clearly teen boys still going through puberty (and shaving!), and the anime goes farther in mentioning the sexual urges these guys have than in other anime I’ve seen. For example, on entering the training camp, Tajima, the star hitter, announces loudly to the world that he forgot to masturbate today. On learning their female coach (Momoe)’s age, the captain, Hanai, instinctively does some quick calculations to see if the age difference between 23 and 16 is too much for dating or if it’s “borderline” before he realizes what he’s done. They also all have mothers who love them and come to their games (though their fathers rarely show up, which is kind of weird. I guess they’re just busy. But when we do meet Mihashi and Abe’s fathers in season 2, it’s really cute).
But my absolute favorite thing is the character of Mihashi. Maybe you’ll find him annoying, and I guess your enjoyment of this anime hinges on that point, but I loved him to death from the moment I saw him. He shares many character traits with Sunako from Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge, i.e. has trouble getting out full sentences, frequently exists in strange anime-form (the chicken face?) while everyone around him is in normal form, still dealing with the effects of past trauma which results in severely low self-esteem despite his unusual abilities. The ability to tell these characters’ stories in a sympathetic and amusing light is where anime absolutely excels as an art form.
