by Troy Gardner

Created on: June 11, 2010

Big Windup, also known by its Japanese name, Okiku Furikabutte,  is an anime centering on the subject of high school baseball. It came out in Japan in 2007 and was localized to the U.S. market by Funimation in 2009. The DVD set consists of one season broken into two halves. 

The plot centers around a pitcher named Ren Mihashi. The pitcher of his middle school team, he has transferred to Nishiura High to start over. His previous experience has been tainted by accusations of nepotism, that he was only the pitcher because his grandfather owned the middle school. As such, his teammates scorned and hated him, shattering his confidence. Luckily, his new teammates can see just how good a pitcher he really is, they just have to rebuild his confidence.

At its heart, this is an anime about emotions, acceptance and what it means to be part of a team. This is wrapped with a coating of baseball action. While most sports anime out there focuses almost exclusively on the external conflict, the taking of an underdog team and how they can win against all odds, this one focuses much more on the internal conflict. The games are almost secondary to the psychology of building their ace to usable levels. I feel that it works quite well. 

Since the lead characters tend towards the introspective side, you might expect the series to be slow and dragging. While slower paced, I feel that it is balanced out by the pacing of the games and the secondary characters. The games actually tend to move quickly, once they are gotten to. Whereas much time in typical sports anime is wasted in tension building, the tension in Big Windup has already been built at that point. It's usually a tension of how will they pull together, but the games go at a pretty good clip.

The supporting cast also serve to make this series more enjoyable. The catcher, Abe, often seems just fed up with the wussiness his pitcher displays, showing human levels of patience helps to keep the show from dipping into too sappy an area. Tajima, the star hitter for the team, is just funny. He's not got an incredibly deep reason for being where he is, he's not deeply introspective, he's a typical teenager. He also tends to get good lines.

The animation style for this show is clean, with the baseball well shown. The music works for it, even if it doesn't stand out as something amazing. With it's focus on the players, rather then the game, Big Windup runs the risk of becoming bogged down in its own sap. As such, it's not entirely a grand slam, but it is a solid double.

Learn more about this author, Troy Gardner.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.