Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking back in on the boys from Nishiura, and seeing if they can finally fuckin’ relax in the wake of that nail-biter of a first round. Having found themselves matched against the summer tournament’s first-seeded reigning champions, Abe and his companions had to pull out every possible trick just to stay alive, much less eke out a victory. But between their opponents’ initial underestimation of their abilities, their own clever management of their opponents’ weaknesses, and the whimsical will of the heavens themselves, Nishiura somehow managed to just pull through.
That season-long match served as one of the most impressively grounded sports spectacles I’ve ever witnessed. Rather than relying on flashy animation or melodramatic personal turns, every single twist in fortune was here founded on sturdy, coherent tactical dynamics: the difficulty of mastering Mihashi’s pitches, the strategic fundamentals of managing the bases, the impact of rain on both the field and players. Tosei’s team was presented as less of a mountain to climb than a fiendish puzzle to solve, and with every step of that journey cleanly articulated, Nishiura’s victory felt like the natural culmination of their training, tactics, and mutual trust. There is a clear art to mechanically grounded conflict, and Big Windup! is an exemplar of the form. Now let’s see how our boys handle their newfound fame!