This is a pitcher’s duel.
What They Say:
“I Don’t Want to Lose”
I want to pitch to that mitt again… A meeting with catcher Kazuya Miyuki changed the 15-year-old Eijun Sawamura’s life. He said goodbye to all his friends and knocked upon the door of Seidou, a prestigious baseball school, intent on testing his own strength. There, he met many proud baseball players who were betting everything on the sport! A classic tale, yet new and fresh. All the emotion and excitement of the popular baseball manga is at last coming to television in the form of an anime!
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With one run in, Seidou has the momentum with their cleanup batter in the box. Yuki’s the only guy Seidou wants in the box in a situation like this, given that he’s the only one to get a clean hit off of Narumiya last year. Facing Narumiya, head-to-head, Yuki swings and misses on a fastball, fouls off a second fastball, and whiffs on the changeup. The changeup throws off your timing as a batter and it moves like a screwball. No matter what Seidou does, it’s going to be hard to hit that ball. Masuko, the fifth hitter, grounds out to end the inning, leaving Isashiki on base.
Now in the bottom of the first, Furuya’s on the mound and he’s finally trusting in the rest of his teammates. The game’s on his shoulders as the pitcher, but he’s not alone. The second and third years are behind him and Kazuya’s in front of him. He has a lot of rest and his fastballs are gonna kill just as much as they always do.
The first pitch from Furuya is high and Kamiya fouls off behind the catcher. The rest of the pitches are just as fast and just as hard to hit. Kamiya ends up whiffing on the splitter. The problem is Furuya has no control. He’s just like another pitcher on some no-name team Meisei. He’s not going to pitch to contact. Furuya gets K’s, and he gets a bunch of them. Three strikeouts in the first inning spell the end for Inashiro’s first inning.
Kazuya hits out quickly to start the top of the second and Furuya’s up next. Narumiya tries to scare off Furuya, but Furuya gets a strong foul off the first pitch. He ends up flying out to the infield soon after and Seidou gets nothing going on the top of the second.
Furuya’s back on the mound against Inashiro’s cleanup hitter and he fouls off two pitches for a quick 2-2 count. The splitter doesn’t get the catcher to move, but he strikes out on a fastball on the next pitch. Now it’s pitcher v. pitcher again from the other side with Furuya on the mound and Narumiya in the box. Narumiya fouls off balls quickly before flying out to third. The six-hole hitter strikes out, which makes 5/6 batters Furuya has strikeouts on.
In Summary:
One and a half innings. That’s all we got in this episode, but they’re gripping. After 52 episodes, I’ve learned about these characters so much that I want to see them win, especially against this cocky Inashiro team. Only one run up going into the third inning, Seidou needs to be careful not to give the game away. One base runner can be the beginning of the end for Furuya’s confidence and poise on the mound. Narumiya showed that when he gave up a run in the first inning.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Equipment: PS3, LG 47LB5800 47” 1080p LED TV, LG NB3530A Sound Bar
