Battery - Reviews

I had a very difficult time assigning a rating to this show, because I feel like a lot of the subtext went over my head. I started watching it because it looked like an interesting combination of sports anime and slice of life genres. And in a way it was... there are sports... but there is more focus on character development and maturation than on said sports. However, a lot of things are left unsaid (which is perhaps part of why I found the anime so interesting but simultaneously so frustrating). I haven't been able to find an analysis of Battery by someone who actually knows what they're doing, but I wish there were something I could read to explain to me all that I missed.

Without going into spoilers, I am fairly certain that a large portion of this show is a commentary on LGBT+ struggles during adolescence (as well as adolescence in general). I wouldn't tag this as BL or shounen-ai by any means, but it isn't "baiting" either. It can be subtle, and you could feasibly miss it. That being said, there are very strong implications that certain characters are grappling with these issues as they try to figure out how to interact with peers and navigate society. These characters are also in their early teens (with the "main" characters being 13 or 14), which is something that I had to keep reminding myself of as I watched. They aren't good at expressing themselves and honestly often times are incredibly immature, but to me that was part of the point! At that age, despite anime portrayals of junior high students who seem to be functioning at young adult level, we shouldn't expect them to have themselves figured out yet.

Overall, I thought this was an interesting and entertaining anime. I thought the animation and sound were decent, and the story and characters were lacking in some ways but had a lot of depth in others. If not for the subtext, however, a lot of the characters would seem flat and underdeveloped. A lot is said in silence in this show. It frustrated me that I didn't understand parts of it, it frustrated me that characters sometimes behaved inexplicably or immaturely, but in the end I felt that those emotions were part of the purpose of this storyline. This is all my opinion of course, but I do think it is worth the watch if you have the patience and perspective. If you are not interested in the context of baseball, adolescence, or LGBT+ issues, though, then you may not enjoy it nearly as much.

Hmm, This show was a lot of things- I can say that I don't think I fully understood everything that was happening and the subplot of the show, because it seemed much deeper than I was understanding. But the show was super enjoyable nonetheless. 

Story: 8/10

I really liked the story- it was more focused on character development and the story outside of the sport, which I personally prefer. It used baseball as more of an accessory to the story rather than the meat of it, again I prefer this but I can understand those who don't. There were a few point in the story that confused me, such as a few characters got violent and attacked some other characters, even though I didn't really understand why. I am not sure if there were some undertones that flew over my head, or maybe the conversations didn't translate to english that well, but either way a few parts in the story felt forced because of that. 

Another thing that bugged me about the story a little was what I call the "forgiveness trope" which is where something happens between to character, groups, or whatever, and in the next episode it's like it never happened? It doesn't happen to extremely in this show, but like (super vague and minor spoilers) when the two main characters fight- Takumi and Go- they say some mean things, and barge away from each other, nothing gets solved, or anything like that, they just stay disasified with each other. But the next time practice happens, they are fine again- or well mostly fine, if you squint there is some tension, and the Battery does preform a little bad at some parts, but overall they're fine, and give them a two second scene of laughing or something and the tension and problems are completely gone. Personally, I think that can be realistic in some situations, but I wanted to boil in that tension, I wanted to sit with their fight for a few episodes, and I wanted them to have a long- true make up.

All things aside- the story was actually really good. They did a lot of great things with it, sure they could've handled a few things better, but I am just nit picky.

Animation: 7/10

The intro and outro are gorgeous, but all the other animation is fine. There isn't anything SUPER remarkable about the animation, but it's consistent and nice to look at :)

Sound: 7/10

Uhhhh- it was fine, nothing that leaped out at me- but also nothing that took me out of the moment.

Characters: 7/10

The characters are the main driving point of the story- which I love. The only problem I had with them is some of them are a little floppy, like the mc's younger brother doesn't quite feel his age- and Go sometimes does things that I don't think he usually would- but otherwise they more or less stuck with their values, and didn't feel like they were just there to fill spaces in the plot, or worse, to be plot devices.

Overall: 7/10

I actually really enjoyed this show (I enjoy most shows as long as there is no fan service) I wish there were some ladies in it, but you can only ask for so much from Sports anime :0

WOULD I RECOMMEND IT??

Short answer, depends.

Long answer, if you like sports anime with a "darker" twist, or a sports anime that focuses on the characters and story rather than the plot, Yes. But it's not a show you HAVE to watch, it's a good watch, but you won't die without it.

However, if you watch sports anime for the sport, or like wholesome silly stuff, or like everything to be spelt out to you on the first watch thro, no I don't think you'd like this show.

Warning this Review May Contain Spoilers –
Oh dear, what a train wreck this turned out to be. So the NoitamaA time slot has brought us a sports show about baseball whilst also taking in some darker issues surrounding rivalries and the main protagonist who is just completely unpleasant to anyone he even interacts with, which then leads to melodramatic issues and creating a problem where eventually the whole team ends up being unlikeable. To me, this show tried its best to be things such as Haikyuu or Free by adding all the over the top drama around a specific sport but crashed into something that was extremely boring and was nowhere near realistic.

STORY
I have mentioned already how they have used drama that just comes across as forced and not realistic at all. This drama doesn’t add much to the story, but it’s not like there is much of a story to give. It was all over the place and then after a while was just boring, I felt that they needed to put more effort into the characters they are creating in order to make the story interesting enough to watch – which it wasn’t.

ANIMATION
This is the only reason I gave this show a higher score, the animation is decent…I mean there isn’t much to it but at least it doesn’t reflect on how bad the story actually is and gives this show something to hold onto. The issue is that it is very basic, along with a pretty basic scenario that is all you need.

SOUND
Eh, it was alright. Again nothing much to say in this section either, it was passable and I don’t actually have much to complain about. Like the opening was alright, the ending was alright and the voice-acting fitted at least to the annoying characters that there was, but still just leaves me feeling kind of meh. But I feel like my overall opinion on the show has effected how the animation and sound impacted me, so slightly bias.

CHARACTERS
Okay, now, this here is where we get to the big rant. So I think I can safely say that the majority of characters in this show are just plain unlikeable and don’t add much to the melodramatic arcs that could have been easily avoided if they weren’t so idiotic to one another. I feel like it gives something different to have an extremely moody main character compared to the hyperactive characters you see all too often in sports shows, but when that protagonist ends up bringing the whole team down into a pit of boringness it’s just bad. There may have been a couple of characters that were quirky enough to add something to the show at least but this isn’t enough to push the bar up to make me enjoy the show.

And that is why I have given this show such a low score, and I think quite a few people on this site have already stated a load of these things already. With that, this ends another one of my reviews…goodbye.
-AngelBeatsYui-
Ps: This Review is for the Monthly Marathon August/September 2017

This anime explores a middle schooler’s growth in understanding not the definition of success, fun, teamwork, responsibility, the future, or even baseball. Rather it delves into the adage “the more things change the more they stay the same”.  

Baseball is more than just a sport.

For Takumi & Go it’s life. Nothing else matters.

Is pitching a perfect game a possibility?

What’s the probability?

Whatever it may be Takumi is aiming to achieve this goal and Go wants to be his catcher.

Takumi’s little brother, Seiha, is an insightful child who’s always around to help out. Dreaming of being like his big brother and plahing baseball he's alway ready to go for a run and play catch. Sadly his body just won’t let him keep up but that doesn’t keep him from aiming high. This character’s purpose in the anime is vital: well developed and executed. As a character/person Takumi is unempathetic and generally un-likeable and that's intentional. With Seiha and Go as explainers Takumi's mannerisms are explored and the mixed personalities work because thier opposite yet relateable.  

Other baseball players are present and while many are opponents Takumi faces, some of the side charcter stories can feel a bit numbing. However they do serve a purpose.

• There are others who are like yet unlike Takumi & Go [individually and as a pair]
• There are those who will react with physical violence as soon as a teacher isn’t present
• There are coaches who want the best for their players and their team.

Overall this is a sports anime featureing baseball where two teams who go head to head because one character from one team has it out for a guy on the other team.

Storywise people are probably better off reading the manga but this 11 episode anime does a decent job of setting up and exploring some semi-original characters.

Animation is well suited to the story.

Sound is like-wise suited to the story. Opening and Closing musical themes are particularly enjoyable and have a lot to say about the story and its characters.

Highlight of the anime: absence of fangirls.

• Aside from Takumi’s mother and Go’s mother there are few other woman in the series and the ones who are are there as background characters.
• The choice to forego the over-done screaming girly fans of sports players was a good choice that let the story focus on Takumi, Go, and baseball.

If you’re looking for an anime that wraps everything up in the last few minutes look elsewhere.

If you’re looking for an anime that is open to interpretation and allows for continuation, give this a try.

“I decided I wouldn’t cry no more”

“I dream of hearing the cheers in the stadium”

“I close my eyes and dream”

Nice anime. Focused on a great team of baseball. I really liked baseball from my childhood, and I even used to play it. Not that I like to watch people play it, I rather like to play it. I really loved the battery. The times they misunderstood themselves, times they hated and hither and thither. I also liked the second pair/ship, Shun and Shugo. The way shun called Takumi, "princess" was very cute and sweet. Even if some people hate shun, I still like him. ^^ I loved this anime too much that, even now in 2021, I want a second season or more episodes!!! 

Now to say, I love baseball even more and I definitely recommend this anime to others. Watch it, it might be better than those Haikyuu and Free or YOI. I prefer BL subtle in every anime; mostly sports anime have them. Till now from all the sports anime, this and Stars align are my favourite. Well done studio Zero-G. :) very heartwarming and sweet baseball sports anime, ought to be awarded.

~~Love you TakuGou!!!~~