Taisho Baseball Girls

ThePatches Oct 2, 2009

7.9

Disclaimer: This is not a site review. If you're reading one of these, it's unlikely I'll ever write a site review for this anime. Probably because I don't want to pick it apart. ^_^Already smothered during the summmer 2009 season, I picked up Taishou Yakyuu Musume on the recommendation of therik, and I have to admit, I loved it. This touching little tale about driven high school girls fell short of greatness because it left so much unsaid, but at the same time, I wondered if continuing the story might have broken the beautiful spell it cast on me.Taishou Yakyuu's plot focused on the development of the girls, highlighting frienships, their physical hardships, and their struggle with their identities in very gender-deterministic 1920's Japan. I found myself caught up in Ouka-kai's firey spirit and constant application of strategy. The anime succeeded as a sports story, with the girls inventing or learning about special pitches, official scoring, and ground ball drills, all the while examining the relationships between the teammates, their families, and their school. The final game of the anime--against their boys' high school rivals--culminated in a realistic and satisfying manner that had me excited despite the fact that I could have predicted the outcome before either team set foot on the diamond. The only failing of this show comes from the fact that it didn't have nearly enough time to showcase it's entire massive cast. I loved all of the characters, but only learned a lot about Koume and Akiko.Typically of J.C. Staff, the animation and voice cast were top-notch in execution. The light, natural feel to the visuals which featured muted colors of animation over vibrant watercolor backgrounds fit the time period perfectly and allowed the blending of the old (many of the girls wore kimonos to school) with the new (street cars, baseball fields). On the aural side, Takahashi Mikako formed the heart-and-soul of the show as the super-moe Koume. The song she performs in the opening episode alone is worth the entrance fee.Overall, I found a lot to love here. An engaging cast, a cleverly executed plot, and relaxing visuals made this the perfect summer anime: light, fun, and enjoyable watching from start to finish.

MugenNeS Dec 28, 2010

8.5

Taishou Yakyuu Musume's story starts off  and ends with a sweet innocence for a game that I love very dearly, baseball, and puts a love story into the mix as well. I didn't find any real dull moments with the story, I did how ever find a good sense of comedy which to me really helped out the story. The animation feels a bit dated, but it's not as bad as many might probably think. The sound wasn't too bad either, hearing the crack of the bat, ah what a sweet sound *.* (sorry again, my love for baseball). The characters were also unique, even though a huge portion of the cast did seem to be variations of characters from other anime. (not naming those anime for various reasons). Overall Taishou Yakyuu Musume gets a nice healthy 8.5 out of 10, and yes mostly because of baseball, but also the fact that I have a huge love for women who play baseball. But the other main focus of me giving this anime an 8.5 out of 10 is the fact that our main character's story was done very nicely. I was actually expecting something different, but there was a huge sense of uniqueness that was put into Komue-chan. Well that's where I'll stand on this anime, if you're a fan of baseball and love girls who play, well this anime is a good fit.

SabakunoYana Nov 5, 2010

7.6

Taishou Yakyuu Musume may not be the greatest series of 2009, but deserves more attention than loads of last year anime that sound loudly. A creative plot well developed, simple but good, gave you a whole new perspectve. There's no much anime with the course of the women in history and all the taboos they had to challenge for freedom and equality. The characters aren't as deeply as we need, however, they work with the story. More emotions and a strong social context could work better. The music doesn't captivated me, but is fun and goes fluidly with all the cherry-blossom atmosphere. Not as deep as Versailles no Bara, more for moe fans, this anime is a good option to see something different and cultural.