BIG WINDUP!
Animated by: A-1 Pictures/ TBS
Original Mangaka: Asa Higuchi

The Story:

The series, set in Saitama, follows the story of Ren Mihashi. Mihashi was the previous ace pitcher in his middle school's baseball team, but it seems that he only got the position because his grandfather was the owner of the school. His teammates (especially the team's catcher) hated him, and they always lost their games. Mihashi is thoroughly convinced that he is a lousy baseball pitcher and he graduates to high school with extremely low self-esteem. He then transfers to Nishiura high school with plans of quitting baseball, because he does not believe he is good enough to succeed at baseball. However, he is dragged into Nishiura's baseball team by their coach. Assisted by his new teammates (and especially the catcher, Takaya Abe), he grows in stature, confidence and skill, helping his team excel with his own abilities.

My Thoughts:

On several (very rare) occasions, I somewhat 'fell in love' with the anime's OST first before actually watching the series. And this anime is one of those instances. I first heard the ending song Arigatou (by SunSet Swish) when my sister played it on her laptop and being a (very) nosy person, I 'googled' the song and eventually discover the anime. And after spending some time watching the series, I admit that I kinda like it. Apart from the fabulous Eyeshield 21 & the legendary Captain Tsubasa, I rarely watch sport based anime (due to my own lack of athletic abilities) but this one really grows on me. The story might be kinda slow (and boring) at first but once the games started, you kinda feel yourself drawn to the anime as well. Sure, it might lack of the 'wow!' factor (such as in Eyeshield 21) and the graphics are pleasant enough but it is still a very enjoyable & laid-back anime to watch.

My Ratings: * * *

Labels: anime