Well, so this is the episode I’ve been fearing for twenty episodes now: the match against Ryuoh. And unfortunately, while the previous matches were surprisingly good, this one… wasn’t. During the previous matches, you could really see that Adachi did a ton of stuff to spice them up. This one however, was different.
It’s very straightforward: Kou keeps hitting everyone out, apart from that cleanup hitter. The enemy pitcher meanwhile also hits everyone out. And then, when a person has made it onto a base, the team slips up and lets a point go. Nearly every baseball series has them: the match against the supposed best of the best, in which the stakes are highest. This is where Touch did a far better job.
As for the good stuff: Akaishi. I mean, the entire series has been building up to the fact that he would redeem himself in this episode (in the same way that Kou is bound to hit 160km/h in the next one…), but nevertheless it did allow him to develop. Even though he hit a home-run before, in this episode he really was able to let his worries go when he celebrated the point. Asami back home also was great to watch.
In any case, I really hope that the next episode will close off the game quickly, so that there’s as much time as possible for the series to go back to the slice of life, and conclude itself.
Rating: (Enjoyable)
Finally I understand why you don’t like Cross Game’s matches.
I used to find the matches pretty enjoyable and couldn’t understand why you found them boring. But I hadn’t watched any other baseball themed anime.
Then I watched Ookiku Furikabutte and now Cross Game’s actual baseball matches seem like a joke.
Ookiku Furikabutte truly was a marvelous piece of animation and I can only hope the second season will live up to it.
It does bring out a bit of pique in me, though. People keep saying that it is a more realistic portrayal of pitching seeing as Mihashi relies on his catcher and fielders; he gets grounders or pop-flies for most of his outs as opposed to blowing it by the batter. While this aspect is indeed a truer portrait of the way baseball is played, Mihashi’s level of control and ability to throw any pitch to any point at any time is even more impossible than, say, Goro’s super gyro fastball (not actually what a gyroball is).
I pitched in high school, where I relied primarily on my control and breaking pitches as well, but what he does is as alien to the real sport as any shounen sports hero.
What I like best about Ookiku’s baseball games is actually Abe’s leading. He is a very good catcher when it comes to calling pitches.
Also, just as a note, pitchers don’t hit people out. At least that’s not what it’s called in the States. Striking the batter out, getting him to pop up, and getting a ground ball out would be the main ways a pitcher gets someone out.
I’m just curious as to how many episodes are left for this anime since I saw the screenshots for episode 50 and it seems that is where the anime will end. This means that the last chapter of the manga (ch 170) probably will not be in the anime. Any clue guys?
Shrimp: yup, there are going to be 51 episodes.
Eirias: True, Mihashi’s powers are also godly, but it’s not the realism that made Ookiku Furikabutte stand out, but rather that just about every baseball anime has pitchers who can strike incredibly fast. This series taking a different route was above all refreshing.
Cross Game is 50 episodes.
not 51, due to the Olympics…
Huge Spoiler in final episode PREVIEW for those goin to watch Episode 49. Might want to avoid preview.