The appeal and evaluation of "Big Windup!": A moving film depicting the youth of baseball

"Big Windup!" - A masterpiece anime depicting the excitement of youth and baseball

"Big Windup!" is a TV anime series based on the manga of the same name by Higuchi Asa, and was broadcast on TBS, MBS, and BS-i from April 13 to September 28, 2007. The 25-episode series depicted the struggles and growth of youth through the sport of baseball, inspiring many viewers. In this article, we will take a closer look at the appeal of "Big Windup!", its production background, characters, story, music, and more, and explore why it is so loved by so many people.

■Overview of the work

"Big Windup!" is set in Nishiura High School, a fictional high school in Saitama Prefecture, and depicts the growth and friendship of the baseball team members. The protagonist, Ren Mitsuhashi, has a past in which he was treated as the ace pitcher out of favoritism due to his position as the grandson of the company's owner, and was disliked by his teammates during his junior high school days. Due to this trauma, he enrolls at Nishiura High School intending to quit baseball, but ends up taking the mound again as a pitcher for the baseball team.

Broadcast period: April 13, 2007 to September 28, 2007

Broadcasting stations: TBS, MBS, BS-i

Broadcast time: TBS April 13, 2007 to September 28, 2007 (episodes 1 to 25) every Thursday from 25:25 to 25:55
MBS April 14, 2007 - October 20, 2007 (Episodes 1-25) Every Saturday 17:30-18:00
BS-i April 27, 2007 to October 12, 2007 (Episodes 1 to 25) Every Thursday 24:30 to 25:00

Minutes: 30 minutes

Number of episodes: 25

Original story: Asa Higuchi (serialized in Kodansha's "Monthly Afternoon")

Director: Tsutomu Mizushima

Production: Animation Production/A-1 Pictures
Produced by: Oofuri Production Committee (Aniplex, A-1 Pictures, TBS, Kodansha, Movic, MBS)

Copyright: © Asa Higuchi, Kodansha/Oofuri Production Committee

■ Story

"I'm just..." says pitcher Ren Mitsuhashi, who is quick to cry. In his junior high school days, he was the ace pitcher because of favoritism as the grandson of the company's owner, and he was hated by his teammates for not giving up the mound for three years, which made his junior high school days sad. Because of him, the baseball team kept losing, and no one could enjoy baseball. Due to this guilt, he completely lost his confidence and fell into distrust of people. After graduating from junior high school, he left the escalator-style Mihoshi Gakuen and entered Nishiura High School, prepared to quit baseball. At another school, he thought that he would never be able to become a pitcher because he didn't have the skills, but he headed straight for the baseball team's grounds.

■Explanation

Whether you love baseball or know nothing about it, you'll be hooked! In middle school, pitcher Ren Mitsuhashi was the ace of Sansei Gakuen because he was the grandson of the school's owner, but he was disliked by his teammates because he refused to give up the mound for three years, and he had a sad time in middle school. After graduating from middle school, Mitsuhashi entered Nishiura High School with the determination to quit baseball, but he ended up becoming a pitcher for the baseball team that had just been promoted to the hardball division...

■Cast

・Mitsuhashi Ren/Yonaga Tsubasa/Abe Takaya/Nakamura Yuichi/Hanai Azusa/Taniyama Kisho/Tajima Yuichiro/Shimono Hiro/Oki Kazutoshi/Sato Yudai/Eiguchi Hayato/Suzuki Chihiro/Suyama Naoji/Homura Makoto/Mizutani Fumitaka/Kenichiro Kado/Izumi Kosuke/Fukuyama Jun/Nishihiro Tatsutaro/Kimura Ryohei/Momoeda Maria/Hayami Risa/Shiga Takeshi/Murozono Takehiro/Shinooka Chiyo/Fukuen Misato/Hamada Ryoro/Wasaiichi Jun/Umehara Keisuke/Hikita Takashi/Haruna Motoki/Matsukaze Masaya

■ Main staff

Original story by Asa Higuchi, "Big Windup!" (serialized in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine)
・Director / Mizushima Tsutomu・Series Composition / Kuroda Yosuke・Character Design / Yoshida Takahiko・Chief Animation Director / Takada Akira, Yoshida Takahiko・Action Animation Director / Taniguchi Junichiro・Prop Design / Suzuki Takuya・Art Director / Shibuya Yukihiro・Color Design / Sato Miyuki・Director of Photography / Oihira Hide・Editor / Nishiyama Shigeru・Music / Hamaguchi Shiro・Sound Director / Kikuta Hiromi・Interview Cooperation / Saitama Prefectural Urawa Nishi High School Baseball Club・Cheer Song Performance / Hosei University Second High School Brass Band・Producers / Oyama Ryo, Ochikoshi Tomonori, Tanaka Go, Hariu Masayuki, Kanaba Kozue, Maruyama Hiroo・Animation Producer / Iwata Mikihiro・Animation Production / A-1 Pictures
Produced by: Oofuri Production Committee (Aniplex, A-1 Pictures, TBS, Kodansha, Movic, MBS)

■ Main Characters

●Ren Mitsuhashi, Nishiura High School

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School 1st Year Class 9 Ren Mihashi / Uniform number 1 Pitcher / Right-handed pitcher, left-handed batter

Date of birth: May 17th Blood type: AB Height/weight: 165cm/52kg (at time of enrollment)
Family: Father, Mother

・Takaya Abe

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School, 1st year, Class 7, Abe Takaya, uniform number 2, vice captain, catcher, right-handed pitcher, right-handed batter

Date of birth: December 11th Blood type: O Height/weight: 170cm/55kg (at time of enrollment)
Family: Father, mother, younger brother

・Azusa Hanai

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School, 1st year, class 7, Hanai Azusa, uniform number 9, captain, outfielder and pitcher (center fielder, right fielder), right-handed pitcher and batter

Date of birth: April 28th Blood type: A Height/weight: 181cm/67kg (at time of enrollment)
Family: Grandmother, father, mother, younger sister, younger sister (twins)

・Yuichiro Tajima

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School, Class 9, 1st Year, Yuichiro Tajima, Number 5, Third Baseman and Catcher, Right-handed pitcher, Left-handed batter

Date of birth: October 16th Blood type: B Height/weight: 164cm/53kg (at time of enrollment)
Family: Great-grandfather, great-grandmother, grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, sister-in-law, older sister, older brother

・Oki Kazutoshi

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School, 1st year, class 3, Kazutoshi Oki, uniform number 3, first baseman and pitcher, left-handed pitcher and batter

Date of birth: July 20th Blood type: A Height/weight: 172cm/60kg (at time of enrollment)
Family: Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Older Sister

・Yuto Sakaeguchi

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School, 1st year, Class 1, Yuto Sakaeguchi, Number 4, Second baseman, Right-handed pitcher, Right-handed batter

Date of birth: June 8th Blood type: O Height/weight: 169cm/54kg (at time of enrollment)
Family: Father, older sister, younger brother

・Suyama Naoji

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School, 1st year, Class 1, Shoji Suyama, uniform number 6, shortstop, third baseman, right-handed pitcher, right-handed batter

Date of birth: April 6th Blood type: A Height/weight: 175cm/64kg (at the time of enrollment)
Family: Grandmother, father, mother, older brother, younger brother

・Fumiyoshi Mizutani

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School, 1st year, class 7, Mizutani Fumiki, uniform number 7, second baseman, outfielder (left fielder), right-handed pitcher, right-handed batter

Date of birth: January 4th Blood type: B Height/weight: 172cm/57kg (at time of enrollment)
Family: Father, mother, older sister

・Kosuke Izumi

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School, 1st year, Class 9, Kosuke Izumi, Number 8, Outfielder (Right fielder, Center fielder), Right-handed pitcher, Right-handed batting

Date of birth: November 29th Blood type: O Height/weight: 168cm/55kg (at time of enrollment)
Family: Father, mother, older brother

・Tatsutaro Nishihiro

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School, 1st year, Class 3, Nishihiro Shintaro, uniform number 10, substitute (left fielder), right-handed pitcher, right-handed batter

Birthday: February 10th Blood type: O Height/weight: 170cm/60kg (at time of enrollment)
Family: Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Sister

Maria Momoe

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School Momoe Maria / Momoe Maria Baseball Team Coach Left-handed pitcher, left-handed batter (softball)

Birthday: April 18th Blood type: B Height/Weight: 163cm/??kg
Family: Grandmother, father, mother, younger brother

・Tsuyoshi Shiga

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School Head Teacher, Baseball Team Head Teacher

Birthday: November 26th Blood type: A Height/Weight: 180cm/79kg
Family: Wife, daughter, son

・Chiyo Shinooka

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School, Class 7, 1st year, Chiyo Shinooka, shortstop, right-handed pitcher and batter (softball)

Birthday: March 25th Blood type: AB Height/Weight: 154cm/42kg
Family: Grandmother, father, mother, younger sister

・Yoshio Hamada

Saitama Prefectural Nishiura High School, Class 9, 1st Year, Hamada Yoshiro/Hamada Yoshiro Cheerleading Squad Leader

Birthday: December 19th Blood type: B Height/weight: 183cm/70kg
Family: Father, mother, younger brother

●Takase Junta, Kirisei High School

Kirisei High School, 2nd year, class 4, Takase Junta, pitcher, right-handed batter

Birthday: February 2nd Blood type: O Height/weight: 177cm/69kg
Family: Father, mother, younger brother

・Kazumi Kawai

Kirisei High School, 3rd year, class 6, Kazuki Kawai, catcher, right-handed batter/thrower

Birthday: June 15th Blood type: B Height/Weight: 180cm/78kg
Family: Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Brother, Sister

・Toshio Nakazawa

Kirisei High School, Class 1-4, Nakazawa Rio, catcher, right-handed batter/thrower

Date of birth: November 7th Blood type: O Height/weight: 186cm/68kg
Family: Father, mother, older brother

●Shugo Kanae, Samsung Gakuen

Sansei Gakuen High School 1st year Ivy team Kanou Shugo / Kanou Shugo Right-handed pitcher and batter

Birthday: July 12th Blood type: B
Height/Weight: 169cm/54kg
Family: Father, mother, younger brother, grandmother

・Atsushi Hata

Sansei Gakuen High School 1st Year Ivy Team Hata Atsushi / Hatake Atsushi Right-handed pitcher and batter

Birthday: August 9th Blood type: O
Height/Weight: 179cm/82kg
Family: Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Older Brother

・ Hiroyuki Oda

Sansei Gakuen High School 1st year student Hiroyuki Oda Right-handed pitcher/right-handed batter

Birthday: February 21st Blood type: O
Height/Weight: 186cm/80kg
Family: Mother, younger sister

・Mitsuhashi Ruri

Mitsuhashi Ruri, 1st year student in Matsu class at Mitsuhashi Gakuen High School. Ren's cousin.

Birthday: June 26th Blood type: A Height/Weight: 152cm/40kg
Family: Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Younger Brother

●Musashino First High School, Motoki Haruna

Musashino Daiichi High School, 2nd year, Class B, Haruna Motoki, pitcher (right fielder), left-handed batter and pitcher

Birthday: May 24th Blood type: AB
Height/Weight: 182cm/75kg
Family: Father, mother, older sister

・Kyōhei Akimaru

Musashino First High School, Class 2A, Kyohei Akimaru, catcher, right-handed batter

Birthday: March 12th Blood type: O
Height/Weight: 176cm/67kg
Family: Father, mother, older sister

・Naoto Kaguyama

Musashino Daiichi High School, 3rd year, Class C, Naoto Kaguyama, pitcher (right fielder) / right-handed batter

Birthday: January 3rd Blood type: A
Height/Weight: 170cm/62kg
Family: Grandmother, father, mother, older brother, younger sister

■Subtitle

・Episode 1: The Real Ace (2007/04/13)
・Episode 2: The role of the catcher (2007/04/20)
Episode 3: Practice Match (2007/04/27)
・Episode 4/Play (2007/05/04)
・Episode 5: Don't slack off (2007/05/11)
・Episode 6: Pitcher's Conditions (2007/05/18)
Episode 7: I want to play baseball (2007/05/25)
・Episode 8: A Great Pitcher? (2007/06/01)
・Episode 9/Past (2007/06/08)
Episode 10: Quickly and easily (2007/06/15)
Episode 11: Summer Begins (2007/06/22)
・Episode 12/Cheer Squad (2007/06/29)
・Episode 13/Summer University starts (2007/07/06)
・Episode 14: Challenge! (2007/07/13)
・Episode 15/First score (2007/07/20)
・Episode 16: Don't underestimate me (2007/07/27)
・Episode 17/Third Runner (2007/08/03)
・Episode 18/Additional points (2007/08/10)
・Episode 19: Kirisei's Strength (2007/08/17)
・Episode 20/Turnaround (2007/08/24)
・Episode 21/One More Thing (2007/08/31)
・Episode 22: Prevent it! (2007/09/07)
・Episode 23: Seriously (2007/09/14)
Episode 24: Conclusion (2007/09/21)
Episode 25: Win One (2007/09/28)

■ Related works

・Big Windup! Special Edition ・Big Windup! Summer Tournament Edition ・Big Windup! Summer Tournament Edition Episode 12.5

■ Theme songs and music

・OP1
・Period: 1 to 13
・Dramatic ・Lyrics: Yusuke Koide ・Composition: Yusuke Koide ・Arrangement: Base Ball Bear
・Song: Base Ball Bear

・OP2
Period: 14-25
・Seishun Line ・Lyrics by Yoshiki Mizuno ・Music by Yoshiki Mizuno ・Arrangement by Ryo Eguchi ・Singer by Ikimonogakari

・ED1
・Period: 1 to 13
・The Rainbow That Medaka Saw・Lyrics by Kozue Takada・Composition by Kozue Takada・Arrangement by TOMI YO
・Vocals: Kozue Takada

・ED2
Period: 14-25
・Thank you・Lyrics by Junzo Ishida・Music by Junzo Ishida・Arrangement by Daichi Suzuki・Singer by SunSet Swish

■Production background and evaluation

"Big Windup!" has been highly praised for its realistic depiction of baseball from the original work and careful animation of the character's growth. Director Tsutomu Mizushima interviewed the baseball club of Saitama Prefectural Urawa Nishi High School to accurately reproduce the rules and tactics of baseball. In addition, the brass band of Hosei University Second High School participated in the performance of the cheer songs, creating a realistic atmosphere.

This work focuses not only on the baseball game scenes, but also on the psychological portrayal of the characters and changes in human relationships. Mitsuhashi Ren's trauma and growth, his friendship with Abe Takaya, and the bond with his teammates are all carefully depicted, deeply moving viewers. In order to make it enjoyable even for people who are not familiar with baseball, there are also many scenes that explain the flow and rules of the game in an easy-to-understand way.

■Charm of the characters

The main character, Ren Mitsuhashi, is a boy who has been traumatized but cannot let go of his passion for baseball. His growth and change resonates with viewers. Takaya Abe is a good friend of Mitsuhashi and plays an important role as catcher, supporting the team. Characters with unique personalities, such as Azusa Hanai, Yuichiro Tajima, and Kazutoshi Oki, liven up the team and draw viewers in.

The characters of the rival schools are also attractive, especially Junta Takase and Kazuki Kawai of Tosei High School who leave a strong impression. The players of each school, such as Shugo Kanae and Atsushi Hata of Sansei Gakuen, and Motoki Haruna of Musashino First High School, each have their own personality and background, which livens up the story.

■ The appeal of music

The opening themes, "Dramatic" (Base Ball Bear) and "Seishun Line" (Ikimonogakari), are masterpieces that express the passion and emotion of youth. The ending themes, "Medaka ga Mita Niji" (Takada Kozue) and "Arigato" (SunSet Swish), are also beautiful songs that match the atmosphere of the story. These songs are deeply engraved in the hearts of viewers, further enhancing the appeal of the work.

■ Responses from viewers

"Big Windup!" has been popular with many viewers since it was first broadcast. Baseball fans in particular praised the realistic depiction of games and the reproduction of tactics. Viewers who are not familiar with baseball also commented in large part on how moved they were by the portrayal of character growth and human relationships. On social media and blogs, there are many passionate comments about their impressions of the show and the appeal of the characters, and a fan community has been formed.

■ Related products and events

Many related products such as DVDs, Blu-rays, the original manga, and character goods were released for "Big Windup!". Fan events and screenings were also held, which helped to support the popularity of the work. In particular, a special screening of the Summer Tournament Edition brought together many fans, providing an opportunity to reaffirm their love for the work.

Conclusion

"Big Windup!" is a masterpiece anime that depicts the struggles and growth of youth through the sport of baseball. Its realistic depictions of the game, portrayals of the characters' psychology, beautiful music and moving story have been loved by many viewers. This work is recommended not only for baseball fans, but also for those who want to enjoy youth dramas and human dramas. Please give it a watch.