BATTERY

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA DramaBattery

REVIEWS

• 

  Talls

  50/100
  Battery was like scoring a grand slam in the 1st inning but somehow losing in the 9th.

  To preface I have never done a thorough review on an anime before as most of the time it is just me talking about bits and pieces of a show with others. What made me decide to review Battery the animation was because of how conflicted I was with this show. It’s a show that wants to tell more than what it was able to accomplish, and one that lifted off properly but didn’t know how to land ultimately. So, my goal with this review is to hopefully not stray people away from it, but to give some of my thoughts and feelings towards something so promising.

  Story (SPOILERS)
  This section will contain some spoilers as a fair warning. Battery is a story that I quite can’t put my finger onto. And it is not because it is an overcomplicated story it is just one that isn’t structured in a way that lines up. It starts off as a story about our main character, Harada Takumi, coming to a new school that has a weaker baseball team. But being the already talented pitcher Harada is he felt that he’d be able to make the team better just by being apart of them like his previous team. Which is a simple premise in itself, and one that we have seen in other sports animes. But this plot point gets thrown out the window relatively soon to introduce us to Nagakura Gou. This is to establish the title of the show being Battery, which is the collective of a pitcher and a catcher.
  This transition is something I didn’t mind as a show about a duo can be convincing and interesting enough as is. And in normal anime fashion these two after little time practicing start to see that they can match each other and be a battery. Nagakura and Harada are shown to be excellent additions to the junior high’s baseball team, but they run into drama early on as their personalities and ideals don’t match up. This drama doesn’t just occur for the duo as it spreads to the majority of the upperclassmen within the team, and we soon see the vice-captain of the team torture Harada for disobeying and resisting the authority of the team. This ends in the team not being able to practice for a while, and members of the club quitting shortly after club activities resume.
  This being the first of many short time skips within the show. This then leaves the team out of the district tournament and looking to prove they can be a competitive team. So, they set their eyes on the best team in their prefecture Yokote. Which seemed like we would finally be getting into some real games. Instead we are met with more drama that comes within the battery after convincing Kadowaki Shugo that there was a pitcher he couldn’t hit off of. What this ultimately does is during the match against Yokote break the shaky battery of Nitta East. And shortly after Harada is pulled from the match it ends.
  An ending like this however gives the viewer something to look forward to within the last 4 episodes. But you never get to see that hill climbed over. Instead the last four episodes promise the viewer a rematch along with the battery to come back stronger. And none of that happens as the show struggles to stick to a singular plot point and continues to throw in random time skips with no progression shown within the battery. And once the game finally comes, we are left on a cliff hanger of a pitch. Giving what felt like a promising study into the dynamics of a battery became a battle of pitcher vs batter as the flat lining battery couldn’t fix themselves.
  While I like the realistic aspects of the show like how simple disagreements and conflict can hurt a vital part of a team. I think the lack of any meaningful growth throughout this show makes it fall flat. Along with seeing these vast changes after a time skip like, Harada not being able to control a ball after showing pinpoint accuracy throughout the show, without any sort of explanation leaves the audience uninterested. I personally couldn’t help but lose interest as the show attempted to give me nothing but a choppy ending and story that felt like it stopped in the seventh episode.

  Themes
  What separates Battery from the rest of sports animes is how it tries to convey more themes throughout its runtime. A lot of shows tend to give us this lesson of perseverance and effort will ultimately win within the end. But Battery goes for some different approaches in that talent is what matters the most. And it’s interesting to this theme of talent so heavily emphasized within the Nitta East team and Yokote team.
  We see early on that Harada is fairly gifted in that he can aim almost perfectly while throwing the ball at ridiculous speeds. This sort of talent is what defines Harada to almost everyone including himself. And is the main reason for the discourse within the team as vice-captain, Nobunishi, becomes jealous of Harada. As he was someone who listened to his coach, respected the team and authority, but wasn’t even close to being as good of a player as Harada. This ultimately leads him to the torturing of Harada as he wanted Harada to understand how much effort and discipline mattered. But in the end, it only causes more drama for the team, and Nobunishi quits on the team as he can’t accept being wrong to someone like Harada. We see a similar sort of hatred within the Yokote team as Mizugaki despises Kadowaki for being this almost superstar.
  Another interesting theme they brought upon was the theme of friendship. One that normally takes place in all anime, but this time it was the opposite of what you imagine. Normally we see friendship triumph all, but this anime shows us that friendship doesn’t come with just being apart of a team or duo. In fact, we hear Harada say that Nagakura isn’t his friend multiple times throughout the show. And while this adds to the drama, they want to show us it also gives us this sense of interest to see if they’ll grow. Unfortunately, this show gives us the lesson that sometimes goals are just for yourself, and that you’ll use whatever tools you can to reach them. And that these tools can be just a fellow teammate and not someone you could ever call a friend.
  The themes are often used in a negative light, and I believe it is to shed some realism throughout the show. Especially this early into someone’s life people can come and go, and within sports talent that is fostered properly is often going to go further than raw effort. It is a grim reality and part of the reason as to why this show felt so promising to me.

  Characters
  I’ve already mentioned a lot about our cast of characters above. But there are some quick notes I’d like to share here. I think our main character Harada is rather interesting when it comes down to things. Sure, he is a cocky, arrogant, and selfish person that can only think about baseball. But it is interesting to see him use these traits to further his argumentative nature. One of the defining parts of the show is how he talks back to his coach when he is told he needs his hair cut. He talks about how there’s no need for his hair to be cut in order to play better baseball, which is something that the audience can get behind. But the coach wanting to almost abuse his authority threatens to not use him as a player because he basically wanted this freshman to bow down and accept whatever he demanded like the rest of the team. This sort of trait within Harada makes him feel more grounded as he asserts what he believes is better for not just him but the team. He also goes against the traditional Japanese ideology of how you’re supposed to respect your elders, while this is frustrating to many watching and people within the show. I believe it’s what makes his character not only more believable but makes him more interesting to watch as you want to see him prove that he is right.
  Which brings us to our other main character Nagakura Gou who serves as almost a complete opposite to Harada. As he is much kinder, more mature, and someone who front as being more confident than they are. Nagakura has a lot going for him as his mother wants him to pay more attention to his future rather than baseball. But this plot point is dropped early, and I’m not sure why other than the fact that maybe its something like him just wanting baseball in his future too. But Nagakura serves to be this person that can bring out the talent of Harada but is also insecure about being replaced and throwing his time away. This ultimately becomes the big factor of their dynamic breaking when trying to convince Kadowaki to play their team when Harada stops pitching to his full potential. This scene ends up breaking the dynamic of the battery, and although the show tries to reassure us that they will be fine we see they never recover.
  This is where the fundamental issue of Battery starts to show its cracks. As the battery is the focus of the show it breaks along with the dynamic of these characters. And then scrambles to find a new dynamic between Harada and Kadowaki, but this rush and uneventful rivalry further brings the show into a downward spiral of no growth. As none of these characters learn from each other or learn anything at all during this show. Each character stays true to the way they’re introduced all the way until the end. And I think they would’ve been better off trying to flesh out these dynamics in matches rather than trying to fit everything into drama outside of an actual game. It would be interesting to have seen this as it would’ve fleshed out and possibly let these characters and dynamics foster.
  Art and Sound
  There’s not a whole lot I have to say about the art in this show. Other than the fact that it’s the main reason I ended up watching it. As I really love Shimura Takako’s art as it is simple and soft. I’ve always found this type of art style to be realistic and pleasant to look at especially when animated fluidly like it is in Battery. There isn’t any over the top designs and I think that’s what keeps me coming back to her art in general. The realistic art she produces inside of these stories does add that sense of realism I think people tend to enjoy relating to. And it is in full swing in Battery.
  The sound also compliments the art within this show which is why I grouped these together. There isn’t a lot of music in Battery, but the sounds they utilize tend to be soothing piano pieces which goes hand in hand with the softer art style of the show. I also think the opening and ending soundtrack fill the same vibe that the limited musical pieces of the show do. Which is pleasant to the ears in general. Overall, I think these are some of the strengths of the show and are a big part in what got me interested and kept me invested.
  Final Thoughts
  Battery was an anime that still has me left a bit confused and empty as I write this review. It’s an anime that feels more abruptly ended and incomplete than other shows I have watched. And it’s a damn shame as it starts off establishing a strong dynamic and interesting break from the traditional molds of anime. As it tries desperately to pull away from the traditional sports anime it gets tugged back by the limitation of time I believe. Trying to adapt an entire manga can be challenging especially within 11 episodes, and I think that’s where this anime may have started to fail in the end as it couldn’t flesh out every idea it had. Though I may be looking too far into that.
  I don’t want to leave this review on a low note though, so I’ll give a couple recommendations for shows that have similar traits to this one but are done better. If you want an anime with a strong dynamic duo then Haikyuu is the right one to watch. As the dynamic between the two main characters is the most fun and interesting within the sports anime genre. If you want an anime that succeeds at breaking the mold from the traditional anime, then look at Star Align. Battery and Stars Align have tons of similar aspects to them, and I think in general Stars Align conveys a more interesting take on the realism that can affect club sports along with bringing actual stakes to the characters.

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• 

  Luka7890

  50/100
  One thing that I strongly feel need of getting out before anything else is that this may or may not be what you expect.

  Every so often comes along an Anime within the sports genre which gives us more fun games to explore and exciting moments to look forward to, but how often do we get a sports Anime that goes slightly beyond the standard. One that attempts to push the envelope, one that tries to introduce a thought-provoking idea, all the while presenting its sport of choice by its side and using it as an enhancement to its overall storytelling. Battery… Was ‘supposed’ to be one of those shows.

  Story:

  One thing that I strongly feel a need of getting out before anything else is that this may or may not be the kind of Anime you’d expect or hope it to be. What I mean when I say that is, it’s not the standard hype-inducing kind of sports Anime that focuses most of its matter on the game being played. Battery chooses to use baseball as more of a platform, it’s a medium through which the Anime presents its story. Thus it doesn’t really focus on the game itself very much.

  So what is it really about then? Well, it’s actually more of a drama and focuses heavily on the interaction between its characters which also makes it rather difficult to say if it really even has much of a ‘story’ per se. It provides a general setting to which like I mentioned before; the characters are what provide most of the material. That being said, quite sadly, it doesn’t manage to carry itself all that well. The kind of situations that are presented to us and the drama that comes along with it feel… well… Pointless. It’s like a struggle that feels like it could’ve been told better but the drama just feels so empty and everything feels so bland that it’s hard to really care much about anything that goes.

  It’s quite obvious that a bigger topic is trying to be discussed behind the innocent front of a baseball show but it’s just too bad that the message doesn’t properly come across unless you genuinely make an effort to really reach out for it.

  Art and Animation:

  The art is rather plain but it’s not dull in any way. The color pallet used adds a soothing feel to the visuals which compliments the overall look of the show quite well. As far as the animation is concerned, it’s rather ordinary. At times the quality of animation does seem to increase where needed, such as during the scenes when a baseball game is being played and there’s a need to showcase the swift movements by the players, but overall the animation stays somewhat chunky for almost the entirety of the show and never actually impresses.

  Sound:

  Like most of its other aspects, the soundtrack also has a pleasantly soothing touch to it and as a whole, the musical score is quite nice but unfortunately, there are only a select few tracks in total and even those are hardly used. Most of the show goes by without the use of much music, which wouldn’t be a problem if the show somehow fills in with the use of natural sound effects. Unfortunately with the type of show, this is, most of those scenes just feel empty without a soundtrack. There’s not much life to them.

  The opening and ending sequences were both really well done. The songs along with the visuals were very nice and did a really good job of setting the tone and atmosphere for the show itself.

  Characters:

  Like I mentioned earlier, Battery focuses more on its characters and the interactions between them. For the most part, we’re shown characters that slowly grow as events go by and their growth is presented in an ever so subtle manner that you really begin to appreciate it for what it is, until… when it’s all said and done, there’s no real sense of achievement. You feel like the characters came ways but never really found anything in the end. While there were some things to be had by the end, they all just feel so insignificant that you could hardly even care.

  More than often, when it came to the characters, it just felt like the show left you in the dust. At times they even felt lifeless or as if they had no emotions whatsoever. It’s hard to really tell what’s going on in their heads or what exactly their stance is on numerous occasions. Like with other parts of this show, it was just unable to come across properly.

  Presentation:

  It was quite evident that Battery attempted to tell a deeper story than what was portrayed or perceived, but it’s exactly because of the lackluster presentation that the deeper part of the show was unable to surface properly. An attempt at making a more natural and pleasant kind of atmosphere for the show backfired and ended up making the show really bland and unengaging.

  I should also mention that even though the show doesn’t focus on baseball as a game all that much, the parts where the characters are shown playing the baseball matches were possibly some of the most boring moments in the show. An entire match lasts for a few minutes and there’s absolutely no direction as to how it’s played out or what goes on in between the occasional frames with pitches and swings. There’s hardly ever even any sign of emotions by our characters during it all.

  Conclusion and Verdict:

  While Battery seemed to have a nice start and a fairly good idea, it was unable to carry it all the way till the end. It failed as a sports Anime and didn’t really manage to stand out much as a drama either. With a rather empty plot and difficult characters, it lacked anything for viewers to truly take away.

  I wouldn’t really stop anyone from watching the show, but chances are; even if you aren’t turned off by the blandness of the show, you’ll probably just end up bored halfway through anyways.

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