Anime: Ookiku Furikabutte 4v143v

Note: This review is based on Central Anime fansubs. Good translation, average quality. No other subs are available so you have no choice but to get them.



Originally written as manga by Muzushima Tsutomu (xxxHolic) Ookiku Furikabutte[/b] is yet another incomplete anime about baseball to keep you forever unfulfilled. The plot is centered on a very self-conscious pitcher, Mihashi Ren, and his bitter smile inducing attempts to mingle into his new high school baseball team. Everything further is as you already know it: friendship power, training and the ever so important tournament.

Ookiku Furikabutte is one of those shows which make you wish you were a manga reader. It sets up a seemingly well balanced and relatively interesting cast, builds up some good tension before the tournament, promises to offer some interesting baseball; and ends before doing anything. While I didn't feel particularly bored with this show I still found ten episode long matches too outstretched to remain engrossing for the whole go. There are some nice character fleshing techniques used to flesh out opponent team players you know nothing about prior to the match and the main cast appears to develop too. Unfortunately, Ookiku Furikabutte ends before that development leads anywhere and personality-having opponent players are like spices without the meat. Average production values don't help this show either ultimately making it into just another one of those meh anime. Maybe I would have liked Ookiku Furikabutte better if I was a fan of baseball, but being raised in Europe my closest association with this sport is observing its bats used as weaponry. And after watching this anime I must say I'm not surprised we prefer cricket over baseball here, the game is darn uneventful. Anyway, even if you are indeed in love with baseball it still wont make an incomplete show like Ookiku Furikabutte into something above average.

Animation: 6/10

Animation done by A-1 Pictures (Kannagi) is somewhere in the middle between peculiar and completely bland. There is little if any detail put into the backgrounds: green brush for some grass a tree here and there, blue sky; that's it. Color palette is quite bright so backgrounds, though barren, do appear playful and, I guess, plausible for a show of this nature. Character designs, on the other hand, while not exactly well detailed or memorable, have this peculiar drawing style quite different from what you usually see in generic anime. The cast as a whole doesn't particularly stand out, but the clever drawings bring them to life very well. Super deformation during comedic relief moments is particularly nicely done and facial gimmicks are well directed. Motion fluidity for the most part is not noteworthy; no obvious choppy movements, but nothing particularly nice either.

Sound: 5/10

Music composed by Hamaguchi Shirou (One Piece) is quite letting down. Both OPs and both EDs are unmemorable and very skip-able pop songs; though I must say they do go along with the anime's atmosphere well. Background music is completely devoid of any noteworthy pieces. There are some better compositions prepared for the "big" moments, but even those wont linger in your head for any longer than one minute.

The same applies to voice-acting as well. There are some big name seiyuu, like Sugiyama Noriaki, in the side cast, but there is a limit to what you can do with the roles of bratty high school boys. Voices of the main cast hardly stand out though.

Story: 5/10

The plot of this show consists of 60% baseball 20% training and 20% Ren crying, whining and being depressed. The aforementioned slow pace makes it so there are only two baseball matches in the whole anime, so... it indeed is quite uneventful. Matches themselves, though stretched too long, are still pretty interesting and carried out well with enough drama and twists to keep you entertained. Frankly, I, myself, watched this anime in two days because I wanted for the damn games to finish before ending my sessions; and I believe that's the most pleasurable way to watch this show (as you will likely forget what has happened in the previous episode after a few days, the show is not particularly memorable). Being a tip of an iceberg the adaptation is pretty well done and if this show was hundred or so episodes long with a complete ending I might actually even commend it for being good. Now it is just two somewhat interesting baseball matches intervened by few boring training sessions and character development which leads nowhere.

Characters: 6/10

There are lots of characters if you were to for all people from opponent teams, cheerleaders and families. Very few of them, however, are full fledged. Even some guys from your own team remain nameless through the whole show. Anyway, the full fledged ones, particularly Mihashi and Abe, are indeed quite interesting. While Abe belongs to the not particularly original serious and bossy type, Mihashi is so wimpy and fast cry that even Shinji of Evangelion looks like an iron man next to him. I it it's indeed quite interesting to observe Mihashi's inability to communicate without shaking or crying and Abe's crude attempts to make the guy get some confidence. I was quite intrigued to see where their friendship will lead and I was certainly disappointed when the show ended before it even had a chance to advance. I still must say that Mihashi's extremely pessimistic nature successfully made me cheer for him during the matches, the guy still thinks he is the worst pitcher in the world even after crushing some of the best batters high school league has to offer, heh. While not particularly exceptional, the cast of the show is not bad and had the potential to lead the show for four times its present length. The vast amount of side characters also make the world feel realistic and alive.

Myers-Briggs personality type indicator:

Abe Takya - ISTJ (D)
Mihashi Ren - ISFP (D)

Show Spoiler

Value: 5/10

Well, while Ookiku Furikabutte by itself is not a particularly bad show, there is little, if anything, in it compelling enough for a second watch. Liking characters or baseball very much are the only two reasons I can think of; and I'm certain I'm not re-watching. I might keep this show in my collection though, seen much more worse anime than this one and throwing it away feels kind of like a waste.

1. Conclusion[/u]:[/b] Ookiku Furikabutte is a generic baseball show and it's likely you already know what it's about and where it will end. Being incomplete renders everything actually good this show offers (like character development) virtually useless, so there is little, if any, reason for anyone but baseball fans to watch this anime. If you are interested in baseball I believe Slam Dunk.

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Ookiku Furikabutte is an adaptation of an insanely popular baseball manga. And very good adaptation at that.

Animation - 8
Character design stays true to the manga's style. The animation quality is okay, with some scenes (usually some cool baseball moments) animated especially well. The only bothersome thing is a lot of repeating frames in the second half of the series.

Sound - 8
The work of seiyu is great. The music is fairly good but nothing special. Some nice tunes can be found though. OP's/ED's are okay.

Story - 9
The story is... well, it's terrific. It's much more down-to-earth and realistic compared to Major. It's more about coming-of-age, friendship, overcoming psychological barriers, etc. And of course, it's about baseball. The courses of all games are extremely well thought-out and are as thrilling as this stuff can get. An unprepared watcher can be a little overwhelmed by the insane depth of it, but actually it's enjoyable and understandable for both people not too familiar with baseball and for the fans of the game.
The truth is though, baseball aside, Ookiku's great story is actually driven by the characters.

Character - 9
And awesome characters at that. The main one, Mihashi (the pitcher), in contrast to Goro of Major fame, is very timid. And this offers tons of space for character development, which is fueled by Abe, the catcher and the tactical mastermind of the team. Interestingly enough, the most talented player in the team is not the main character, but rather an energetic baseball genius, Tajima, who resembles Major's Goro much more. The rest of the team and players from other teams are all likeable and have plenty of depth to them. Oh, and Momokan, the young female trainer, already has somewhat of a cult around her in the anime community.

Value - 8
A memorable anime. Fairly rewatchable I guess.

Enjoyment - 9
Ookiku Furikabutte is enjoyable as hell. A Funny, touching, dramatic anime. When it boils down to pure baseball, the whole sitting-on-the-edge-of-the-seat concept is what characterizes it the best. I've had a great time watching it and so will you. What we have here is another must-watch series of 2007.

Anyway, this sums up my review, but there's one important thing I have to mention. You see, this anime is somewhat of a first season and as the manga keeps coming out, the second season will eventually be on its way. Let's all hope it happens as soon as possible, because this baseball masterpiece is only getting started.