[US DVD] Big Windup Season 1 Part 2

[Chris Beveridge]

Review by Chris Beveridge

Mania Grade: B
* Audio Rating: B+
* Video Rating: A-
* Packaging Rating: B+
* Menus Rating: B
* Extras Rating: B-
* Age Rating: 13 and Up
* Region: 1 - North America
* Released By: FUNimation Entertainment, Ltd.
* MSRP: 59.98
* Running time: 315
* Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
* Disc Resolution: 480i/p
* Disc Encoding: MPEG-2
* Series: Big Windup

In Summary:
Big Windup is a really unusual series, and one that falls short simply because there’s so much more that’s out there to be done with it. The manga is ongoing as of this writing and it’s easy to imagine that it’s going to run for awhile like Slam Dunk so that it can tell the entire season in these kids life. The fact that the manga sells hundreds of thousands of copies says a lot, but it’s also a title that’s near impossible to imagine ever being released here, which makes the end of the anime bittersweet. We’re teased with something really engaging, beautifully animated and with a great cast of characters just starting to come into their own. It’s definitely a show I can recommend if you’re aware of what the end result will be, because the ride across these twenty-six episodes is simply a lot of fun. I’ve never been big into sports myself, but these kinds of series are highly appealing and Big Windup raises the bar on them.

[Damius]

Oh already this review! Great!. Hope I'll get it sooner too.

[leongsh]

First off, some comments regarding the review contents:

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge (from the review)

For the second half of the show, which is made up of twelve episodes and an OVA at the end, eleven episodes deal with the first big game they have in the official rankings. It’s a rather long set of episodes to deal with a single game, but at the same time I’m hard pressed to complain too much about it because they are focusing on the game, the technical element and really showing what a good team does in trying to learn about their opponents and take them down.

Taking into account that the preliminaries for qualifying for Koshien are knock-out games, and not league style, each game is literally do-or-die. Each game will end with one school's participation for that summer and for those final year players in the losing school, the end of their last high school summer. To make it to the next round, if you know your team as being weaker, you would usually scout and need a gameplan to take down a stronger team. The stronger team would also scout the weaker team to ensure that they do not get any nasty surprises. In this case, Nishiura is so new that there's little known about them that Tosei could find out except that it's made up of only first years.

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge (from the review)

While it may be elaborate than you would believe a high school game is like, it has a certain methodical nature to it that is very engaging as weaknesses are teased out from each side in an effort to gain dominance. It does slow down at times because of this and it may get a little too bogged down in details, but whereas so many shows skim over these things it is kind of refreshing to see something look at it this way.

The elaborate methodical way that they took us through the game did not dumb down the game nor did it make it so detailed that it lost the energy of the game. For an anime show to cover any sport with sufficient due respect, for me, this show found a very good balance - enough to keep it real, exciting and tension-filled. And that is why for me, Big Windup/Ookiku Furikabutte has probably the best portrayal of baseball in anime so far.

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge (from the review)

So much of it is centered on Mihashi as I expected it to be and he has a hard time handling things because of his personality.

It's not so much his personality but more that he finds himself in position that is very unusual for him where he gets support and guidance from a catcher to execute his pitches as well as support from his teammates when he has never gotten both before. He finds himself now being part of a team that accepts him and is excited over the game. All unlike before when he was in Mihoshi Junior High.

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge (from the review)

His trust in Abe is tested a few times, particularly when he thinks a certain throw will actually hurt him and they made a pact about it, but overall the bonds between both these two young men and the team overall is really strengthened. The encouragement that the team gives to Mihashi is important, but as they note later on, they’re just normal people who are playing a game they love and they want to win, but they’re not over the top fanatical about it. It’s such a change of pace.

And it's so downright refreshing The Nishiura team members are just normal kids. Not overpowered highly talented players who have an eye on becoming professionals.

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

In Summary:
Big Windup is a really unusual series, and one that falls short simply because there’s so much more that’s out there to be done with it. The manga is ongoing as of this writing and it’s easy to imagine that it’s going to run for awhile like Slam Dunk so that it can tell the entire season in these kids life.

And as of now, the manga is still in the same summer - in the midst of Musashino's game against one of the top seeded schools in a much later round. This manga could become the work of a lifetime for the mangaka just like Hajime no Ippo is the work of a lifetime for its mangaka (Hajime no Ippo recently celebrated its 20th anniversary).

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

The fact that the manga sells hundreds of thousands of copies says a lot, but it’s also a title that’s near impossible to imagine ever being released here, which makes the end of the anime bittersweet.

Agreed that it is as you say bittersweet with it being near impossible for the manga to be released with an official English-translated release. I am so totally smitten with the show that I picked up the manga tankoubans during course of it and now currently follow the monthly serialisation.

Do note that the anime DVDs sold very well in Japan as well with each of the 9 volumes selling more than 10,000 copies per volume (in Japan, that's considered a bestseller for an anime series). Thus, there is some hope for a continuation of the series and may be dependent on how far along the mangaka gets with the story for them to produce the continuation.

Originally Posted by Chris Beveridge

We’re teased with something really engaging, beautifully animated and with a great cast of characters just starting to come into their own. It’s definitely a show I can recommend if you’re aware of what the end result will be, because the ride across these twenty-six episodes is simply a lot of fun. I’ve never been big into sports myself, but these kinds of series are highly appealing and Big Windup raises the bar on them.

It's mildly disappointing that this set of episodes in Part 2 only garnered a rating of "B" when it does so much right and raises the bar for a sports-focused anime show.