This adorable pitcher is the main character. Doesn't he alone make you want to watch it?

Every so often, Steph will write reviews of sports anime and manga. Why? She likes them and she thinks you should watch them, too. If you like sports, you’ll like these series.

This is my all-time favorite show. I’m not even going to beat around the bush with that one. It’s actually taken me some time to write this review because I don’t even think I can begin to give this show the justice it deserves. It’s woefully underwatched in the United States, too. When I’m at an anime convention and somebody else knows the show, I immediately exchange online contact information with them so we can make friends – that’s how rare it is to find people who like it outside of the internet.

Anyway, let me take a few minutes to tell you all why this is the greatest show ever made and why you all need to watch it immediately, especially if you love baseball. This isn’t a cartoon. This is an extremely realistic depiction of baseball that happens to be animated. I have looked high and low for a better depiction of baseball. I have yet to find anything that captures the heart and essence of the game as well as this show.

The show’s title in Japanese is Ookiku Furikabutte, shortened to ‘Oofuri‘ by the fanbase. Its first season received an English dub and went under the somewhat painful sounding name of ‘Big Windup!’ but most fans generally choose to ignore that name because it sounds silly. You can find stuff regarding it by searching for either name, however. (In fact, if you search for a specific character on Google, I’m one of the first results to come up. But let’s not talk about that.)

» Continue reading “Review: Ookiku Furikabutte/Big Windup”

Endou Mamoru and Gouenji Shuuya celebrate their mad teamwork skills.

Every so often, Steph will write reviews of sports anime and manga. Why? She likes them and she thinks you should watch them, too. If you like sports, you’ll like these series.

I’m through the first twenty-six episodes of a one-hundred and twenty-seven episode series. It’s called Inazuma Eleven, and it was based on a video game series of the same name. Yes, it may be aimed at children, but that doesn’t mean that at age twenty-two I can’t enjoy it.

It is one of the cutest things I have ever seen in my entire life.

Basically, the premise is this: we follow young goalkeeper Mamoru Endou, grandson of famous keeper Daisuke Endou, as he puts together a ragtag team to enter the national middle school soccer tournament. He recruits players by running around his schoolyard and finding them when he doesn’t have enough, and over time more and more people begin enlisting, even his former rivals once they see his spirit. Oh, and everyone has special moves since this is a kids’ show. Some of the special moves are downright hilarious.

I’ve finished the first arc of this show, which takes the kids of Raimon Junior High through the Football Frontier, their national tournament. Thoughts abound after the jump.

» Continue reading “Review: Inazuma Eleven, Episodes 1-26″

Although he's only 35, Takeshi Tatsumi is taking over as the manager of struggling club East Tokyo United.

Every so often, Steph will write reviews of sports anime and manga. Why? She likes them and she thinks you should watch them, too. If you like sports, you’ll like these series.

I like soccer. Most people who know me are surprised that I care so much about it since they only know me as a baseball person, but the fact is that my entire family watches soccer. My mom is a big Tim Howard fan. My brother lives and dies with Manchester United. My team, West Ham United…well, they’ve been relegated, but that’s beside the point. The point is that I like soccer, and Giant Killing is an excellent series for anyone who likes soccer.

The term ‘giant killing’ is a British term referring to what happens when a lower-tier team upsets a favorite. This is a common trope in the FA Cup. It’s now applied to many sports across the world. The action in Giant Killing does, of course, start at the FA Cup, where two Japanese spectators talk to an elderly British gentleman as his lower-tier soccer team takes on FC Portsmouth in the fifth round. It turns out that the lower-tier team is being managed by a young man from Japan named Takeshi Tatsumi. Although they lose, Tatsumi’s accomplishments bring him acclaim as a manager, and the two Japanese spectators, who are actually on the board of directors for a Japanese team named East Tokyo United, decide to bring Tatsumi on board as their new manager. » Continue reading “Review: Giant Killing”