Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re embarking on a new journey, as we explore the first episode of 2007’s baseball-focused drama, Big Windup! I didn’t really know anything about Big Windup! before starting this project, save for a general familiarity with its character art, so I of course went to work checking out the staff and such to get some picture of what I’m in for. That led to me discovering this was directed by Tsutomu friggin’ Mizushima, and with that, my anticipation for baseball action was thoroughly primed.

If you’re not familiar with Tsutomu Mizushima, I’d describe him as a workmanly director with a particular mastery of editing, meaning his shows usually benefit from both high-paced narrative momentum and phenomenal comedic timing. His shows are defined less by specific visual signatures than a general sturdiness of form and lightness of tone, and his recent catalog is brimming with fine shows like Girls und Panzer, Shirobako, Witch Craft Works, and Prison School. Both Witch Craft Works and Prison School clearly demonstrate he’s able to augment his style to match the aesthetic of his source material, and beyond that, I’m also excited to see an award-winning sports manga by a female mangaka.

As a final point, this first episode is directed by Mizushima himself, with animation direction by the show’s character designer and Chief AD Takahiko Yoshida, meaning we’re undoubtedly in for a blueprint of the show’s intended style going forward. With all that established, let’s check out the first episode of Big Windup!

Episode 1

We open with a bright blue sky, before the crack of a bat sends a ball flying upwards. We follow the ball through its journey to the outfield and back, the camera holding tightly to the ball itself, building anticipation for the reveal of the cast

A melancholy music cue, and sparse shots of the players isolated in their positions. The game isn’t going well

The pitcher hides beneath his hat, clearly seeming nervous and in need of support. But when he glances to the catcher, he gets no suggestions on what to throw. So it seems finding a supporting community through baseball will be key here, though the pitcher-catcher battery relationship is also frequently important in its own right

And the batter clobbers it. Too bad, pitcher

The OP maintains that opening’s sparse visual aesthetic, with lots of low-angle shots emphasizing the blue sky above the players, as well as hyper-closeups that capture just a portion of some character’s physical exertion

The episode proper opens on an anime staple; a new kid at high school feeling overwhelmed by all the clubs asking him to join

Our protagonist is Mihashi, who was known for his lousy pitches in middle school, and didn’t follow his teammates to the same high school

I like the quiet atmosphere and open sense of space so far. This world feels vast yet empty in the way high schools’ secondary facilities frequently do

He’s discovered by an enthusiastic tall woman, who seems to be directing the baseball team

Yep. Maria Momoe is her name, and she’s actually the coach. Nice to get an actual female coach, rather than a female manager – and apparently the team is all freshmen, since they only just switched from being a softball team

“This is our faculty supervisor, Mr. Shiga, and my dog, who’s on a walk.” Excellent deadpan gag

We’ve also got our requisite childhood friend blushing through the backboard, as you do

Abe is the catcher. As usual, Mihashi being new means Momoe can introduce the rest of the cast to both him and the audience at once

The hat-wearing Hanai refuses to join because the manager’s a girl. Haven’t you watched any baseball anime, Hanai? The manager’s always a girl! That’s one of the only ways you can integrate female characters into a gender-segregated sport!

Momoe earns his respect by firing a perfect pop-up off for the catcher, and then earns his fear by crushing oranges into orange juice right in front of him

When asked to demonstrate his pitch, Mihashi realizes he’s too ashamed of his skill level, and says he’ll quit as well. Mihashi is quite a changeup from your standard shonen protagonist; he’s all nerves and insecurities, no hot-blooded energy at all. Good!

They’re doing an excellent job of scattering responses to Mihashi’s story among his teammates. A nice ensemble feel here, something Mizushima’s shows are consistently good at

Apparently Mihashi became the pitcher in middle school because his grandfather owned the school. I can see why he’d be embarrassed to reveal that

“It’s true you’re a jerk. But as a pitcher, I like you.” This is a very unique backstory. So Mihashi was genuinely selfish in middle school – he hoarded the pitcher’s mound for all three years, at the expense of his teammates’ experience. That’s a refreshingly messy starting point!

Yeah, Mihashi’s just an emotional wreck right now. It’s a good thing Abe is so good at managing him

Nice profile shot here, with a fluid cut demonstrating Mihashi’s form

Mihashi’s pitches aren’t fast, but it seems he has a wide variety of pitches available to him. That seems like a smart choice dramatically speaking; it’s hard to draw much narrative drama out of a superpower like “he throws really fast,” but making his strength the flexibility of his pitches means the show can naturally create tactical conflicts, where the goal is to outwit the opponent with an unexpected pitch to make up for your middling speed

Abe draws Hanai back towards the team with the offer of a competition. It’s clear we’ve already discovered the team’s psychological mastermind

Oh man, I am loving Abe’s internal monologue. “I have to manipulate the psychology of all my teammates in order to build the strongest possible team” is probably the most me-friendly approach you could take to a sports drama

And yep, he keeps poking at Hanai’s ego, provoking him to keep him on the field. Hanai is an easier type to handle than Mihashi, who needs to be built up and regain some self-confidence before being much use as a pitcher

“I’ll make you a real ace. And in return, you do exactly what I say. I hate pitchers who shake their heads at me.” I suppose this is Abe’s eventual prize – a flexible pitcher who works entirely as an extension of his own strategy

They use a handy overlay to underline the portion of the strike zone that Abe is guiding him towards. This story’s concept is a very smart distillation of baseball’s fundamental conflict; when you boil it down, this psychological battle between the pitcher, catcher, and batter is the essence of baseball. And if Big Windup! can make this core conflict parsable and exciting, it can expand its drama from there, embracing the other strategic quirks of baseball one at a time

This is a ton of fun. It’s wonderful watching Abe match up Mihashi’s pitches against Hanai’s mental state; a great dramatic conceit, executed very well so far

Having never been trained in proper fastball form, Mihashi’s “fastballs” mimic their usual form initially, but then shift into a breaking ball, making them very good for tripping up attentive batters. But of course, that’s only a trick that will fool you the first time – making it a perfect weapon for this show, which is all about Abe shifting through Mihashi’s arsenal to outwit each individual batter

“You understand well. Without my signs, you’re just a pitcher with slow balls. Remember how powerless you are.” Abe is such a fun mastermind

Some very energetic cuts for Momoe beating Mihashi into shape

And so the contrast is established – Momoe, who wants him to genuinely grow into a confident ace, versus Abe, who’s content to let him remain a nervous puppet, so long as he throws the right pitches

And Done

What a fun premiere that was! Mizushima’s involvement made me confident it’d be funny and well-paced, which it certainly was, but what I didn’t expect was its immediately incisive character work, or its engaging focus on the underlying psychology of baseball. I initially figured this would be a straightforward “Mihashi gains the confidence to lead” drama, but setting Abe as a manipulative mastermind leading him like a puppet was an inspired twist, and making the audience privy to Abe’s thoughts means the show can simultaneously proceed as an investigation of its cast on a sincere emotional level, as well as a chess board where Abe cultivates his pawns in order to make best possible use of them. A premiere like that makes me intensely curious to see where this story goes, so I hope to join you all again soon for another episode of Big Windup!

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