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what, no cookies?
you know about the voices that speaks in your head?i listen to them somtimes. most of the times. sometimes they tell me good things. sometimes they make me wish for bad things. |
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about this blog
it's basically the inside of sakinah's brain.but mercifully edited, censored, and anaesthesised with a heavy dose of prozac. tagboard
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I, Fangirl?
!Warning, this post is a fan-rant! The manga was drawn/written by Asa Higuchi while the animation was produced by A-1 Pictures Inc and directed under the helm of Tsutomu Mizushima who also directed xxxHolic, another anime I enjoyed before CLAMP steered the manga into self-destruction mode. It's FIFA season, but nothing's stopping me from enjoying baseball anime on the side. And what better way to toast teamwork and sports psychology than Ookiku Furikabutte? Now, we have Aniplex backing, good director, solid story and baseball in the mix. Sounds like a winner just as it is. Problem in the equation is that I care squat about baseball. The closest bit I got to holding a mitt and a bat was in high school softball for one game. We were playing defense, I was fielder (God knows where) and none of the girls could hit the ball so we never moved much. It was the most boring game in the world. So, why the sudden interest in Oofuri? For those who know me well, I just have to say pitchercatcher and everything else is self-explanatory. Even so, it's not the only attraction that Oofuri offers. There's a good dose of comedy available, be it impressions or inside-joke baseball jargon. The characters mesh together so well, and their interaction almost feels like a real gang of friends playing ball and having fun. Of course, it's not all joy and laughter as the team challenges themselves to new levels in each step of the competition. There's a lot of work to be done, strategy planning to be thought of and morale to uphold. Asa Higuchi is a graduate of sports psychology, and a baseball fanatic, so she (yes, you read that right, she) incorporated a lot of her knowledge in her work. Everything might seem overwhelming to a baseball beginner, heck, even daunting, but underneath the complexities of Japanese high school baseball, Oofuri stuck to the basic of the basics. Have fun. Enjoy yourselves. Learn about your limits and possibilities. The icing on the cake for this philosophy is arguably the pitcher of the Nishiura High, Mihashi Ren; a timid boy traumatized by his experience as a pitcher for his previous school. He became the outcast in his own team because they thought he only got the position out of favoritism. He carried the stigma with him to high school, and remained doubtful of his ability despite much-deserved praise from his new teammates. Who can blame him, though? Tell a person he's useless over and over again, and in time, he might come to believe it himself. The season 2 finished with a... downward slope for the Nishiura High, but I'm optimistic for more. Sports anime, especially baseball, is usually well-received with higher chances of being continued. All that's left is for Asa Higuchi to work out her charm and bring out the best in her boys and we'll sit back, gnaw out hangnails in frustration and anticipation, and enjoy the game. Labels: anime, manga, rants, sports |