Anime
Ookiku Furikabutte – 05
Nishiura’s golden chance, Kanou x Oda or Kanou x Hatake or Kanou x Ren, 2-0, heated arguments, humming and staring in the bath, mo’ Momoe wisdom, and fighting over Ren in…
Ookiku Furikabutte 05 – Don’t Slack Off 「手を抜くな」
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Mihoshi and Nishiura remain scoreless after the second inning. Oda was surprised of Kanou’s sudden outburst. Though, Oda did notice that Kanou has been acting weird lately. Yesterday, Kanou was humming in the bath and today, during warm-up, he was showing off his forkball. It seems Kanou has been anxious about this for a while now. Oda understands that because this may be the last chance Kanou gets to face Ren, which is why he is so bent on winning this match.
Abe scolds Ren a bit for striking out. He tells Ren that, when he is on the mound, he is a pitcher just as when he is on bat, he should concentrate on being a batter. As Ren admires Kanou’s pitching from the dugout, Abe hopes that he is not thinking that Kanou’s pitches cannot be hit. Ren guiltily denies it and quickly makes his way to the mound. Shortly after though, he sprints right back to the dugout, forgetting to bring his glove.
Abe catches Ren gazing at Kanou, who is preparing to take up bat. Abe realizes that Ren admires Kanou as a pitcher. Thus, it is understandable that Ren is happy knowing that Kanou’s skill is still as sharp as ever. However, Abe still does not buy it completely as there seems to be something else going on.
Kanou moves to the batter’s box. He knocks the dirt off his shoes, swings the bat a few times, and raises his bat upwards for a stretch before he finally gets ready to bat. As he gets ready for the second pitch after hitting a foul, Kanou knocks off the dirt from his shoes, swings, and stretches, again. Abe recognizes it to be the same thing he did earlier and concludes that it is not the batter’s habit. Rather, it is a jinx.
Abe becomes suddenly aware that Kanou is seriously batting against Ren. The first ball ended up foul because Kanou was too serious and used too much power. Abe uses this to his advantage and calls for the same pitch. Ren hesitates for a while, but in the end, decides to comply. As Abe predicted, Kanou adjusted and hits a grounder. Kanou slides, but the ball has already reached the first baseman. “OUT!” declares the umpire.
Hatake tells Kanou that he should know better than to slide and risk injury over a practice match. Kanou stresses that they have yet to get a hit and that Hatake is the one who needs to take the game more seriously. Oda comes just in time to break up the two, before the situation gets out of hand.
Mihoshi goes on the defensive. Kanou has yet to recover his composure and pitches poorly. With one out and a man on second, Tajima easily sends the ball flying and paves the way for Nishiura’s first run. From the sides, Ren admits that he sympathizes with Kanou a little, when Abe asked him if he were.
Next up at bat is Hanai. Kanou gives him a forkball, knowing that Hanai would not be able to hit it. However, an error on Hatake’s part enables Tajima to steal third. Momoe gives the Hanai the signal to go for the straight. Surely enough, Hanai sends one flying, bringing Tajima home. Thus, it is two to none, in favor of Nishiura!
A feeling of worry grips Ren as Kanou walks another Nishiura batter. This prompts Mihoshi to call for a timeout. In the huddle, the Mihoshi players argue amongst themselves as they continue to look down on Ren’s abilities. Kanou reiterates that Ren is a good pitcher. The only people to blame for their losses were themselves, not Ren. Kanou names Hatake’s bullying and lack of recognition for Ren’s abilities as the biggest factor for their failure. One of them speaks out and says that Hatake did it for Kanou’s sake.
Oda cuts just in time and tells them that they should at least acknowledge Ren’s strength and that Kanou went a bit too far with his comment on Hatake. Kanou apologizes. He tells them that they cannot win if they continue to think of Ren in this manner. Hatake backs Kanou up and rallies the others to help him prove that Kanou is better than Ren with a win.
Abe asks if Ren wants to be part of that huddle as he was looking with such longing eyes. It is clear to Abe that Ren must think that it would be the greatest feeling to actually play with his former teammates without all the hate. However, Abe never expected to find a good pitcher in Nishiura, now that he has, there is no way he is giving up Ren. Moreover, if Ren wants to win, he is better off with him.
Abe was off to the catcher’s box when Momoe comes over to help him tie his leg guards. They take this time to discuss a bit of strategy. Before she sends him off, she tells him to take care of Ren. Abe agrees that Nishiura needs Ren. As he throws the ball to Ren, he swears to make Ren choose him over his former teammates. He locks his gaze to Ren and silently declares, “Ren… I am you catcher.” “I’ll pitch, Abe, with all my might…”
Thoughts
Nishiura finally gets to score. They caught a good break when Kanou was emo. Momoe capitalized on it pretty well. Abe and Tajima were awesome, as usual, and Hanai redeemed himself through the sacrifice hit. The game is finally heating up, here’s to hoping that next episode will be more gripping!
Fangirls should be happy because this episode was SHOUTING BL, which I discussed more in detail below 
I felt for Ren in this episode. It looked like he really, really wanted to get a taste of what it is like to be a true member of Mihoshi. Even though he was bullied, he was willing to forgive them, just to have that chance of playing with them as equals. Don’t worry Ren, Abe will take care of you. Ren was so cute when he sprinted back to the Nishiura bench because he forgot his baseball glove :3
On Kanou, I am just wondering why he was so fervent in his defense for Ren. He really tried hard to dispel the misconception that Ren became the ace as a favor. Was there an incident in the past that made Kanou realize that Ren was, by far, the better player?
I have not mentioned this before, but I am so addicted to the OP! I play it repeatedly. Sometimes in the middle of writing, I get the sudden urge to go back to the opening and listening to the song. So, I guess it is partly to blame why it takes quite a while before I finish my summaries… (lol, excuses)
BL moments (so many… ~kyaaa)
Lots of BL undertones in this one, especially between Kanou and Hatake. Hatake must have been really hurt hearing those accusing words from Kanou. Though, Kanou was right, since it was really Hatake who was always making a living hell out of Ren’s life during middle school. From what I get though, Hatake only did it for Kanou’s sake Hatake should be careful of Oda though. After all, Oda was staring at Kanou when they were in the bath together!
Hmm… I am starting to think that Ren and Kanou could be a pair. In this episode, we could see Ren looking at Kanou countless times. He was even worried when Kanou was pitching poorly, much like a girlfriend rooting for his boo.
Again, the Great Momoe intervenes, telling Abe to take care of Ren. I was pleasantly surprised when Abe said that he will make Ren choose him over his former teammates. You go snag Ren, Abe!!! That last stretch in the episode was a testimony to Abe’s determination in winning Ren’s heart.
- Oda staring at Kanou while they were bathing
- Kanou and Hatake’s awkward moment during their quarrel
- Hatake being the bully for Kanou’s sake
- Kanou and Hatake making up
- Hatake telling Kanou to leave everything to him
- Ren stealing glances of Kanou throughout the episode
- Abe’s thoughts of making Ren choose him over Mihoshi
Episode 06 – What Makes a Pitcher 「投手の条件」
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34 comments for “Ookiku Furikabutte – 05”
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Thanks so much for writing summaries! It makes the raws a lot easier to follow.
Do you mind if I link here from my Oofuri recommendation post? I’m trying to drum up more interest in the series.
@Hal Sure! Just read your post, awesome pimpage. I would really appreciate the linkage ^^
More power to oofuri! :3
Maybe it’s because I’m a hetero guy but really, I just can’t for the life of me see the BL implications in the Oofuri episodes that the fangirls seem to pick up so easily.
Oh sounds interesting. Love all the BL bits in this episodes.
There’s a gag story about Abe being jealous of Mihashi’s ex in like, every second doujinshi anthology out there.
But really, I agree with you so much on this.
I think I really started liking teh series with this episode, it was just good in every aspect, even the kinda cruddy synthmusic is getting better.
I’m a hetero guy, but how can anyone not see all the BL moments in this show (Ren saying he’ll make Mihashi choose him over the old team was priceless), lol, I’ve gotten used to it and I think it’s actually amusing at some parts and at some parts kinda sweet. And I mean that in a straight way!
I meant (Abe saying he’ll make Mihashi choose him over the old team)
I am also in love with the opening, the band has a very weird music video out for it. The setting is a baseball field but there’s like zero baseball action. Still, kinda funny with male cheerleaders!http://youtube.com/watch?v=BOPO7KMWy54
Firstly: how do I put in spoiler tag?
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To Chris, if you don’t mind mini spoiler ahead:
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@leongsh Girls have a heightened sense for these things. It is not really that blatant in the series (or at least not yet). ^^ Well, you could ask Chris for pointers, he seems to have a good grasp of it.
@Shirley Cheers! It just adds to my enjoyment really ^^
@iciak Yeah, the Abe x Ren is going to be used a lot, so it was kinda fun to see Ren looking at somebody else.
@Chris Man, you crack me up dude
I salute your open-mindedness and your courage. Not many would actually admit that it is sweet/amusing. There may just be a fangirl in you.
@p-kun I should really write a FAQ on this ^^;;; To answer your question though:
Just remove the spaces before and after “spoiler” and “\spoiler” ^^ Happy spoiling!
Still an Oofuri fan for life! I’m a girl but I’m not very good at picking up on the BL-ness. Well, I guess I see it, but I don’t register it as BL. This is really reminding me of Hikaru no Go where the relationships between the characters could be BL or not, but either way, it’s still fantastic. They’re all so sweet/cute that I want to glomp them all! I was kind of thrown off by the shower scene though…
@Nani? I guess the BL here is just the same as the shoujou-ai in MariMite. You think it is there, but there really isn’t. Even if it is there, you know nothing will come out of it ^^
Well, Oofuri is a little less subtle compared to the shoujo-ai hints in Marimite, especially with the confession as early as episode 3, the constant blushes you see in the characters, and just about their entire ‘actions’ =P
I love how Abe declared that he’s going to make Ren choose him over his former team-mates (or rather, choose him over Kanou
) It’s just like what iciak said – Abe getting jealous over Ren’s “ex”, then declaring that he’s going to make Ren not look at anyone else other than him. LOL =P
Yeah, but MariMite did have a scene with an innocent little kiss on the cheek ^^;; I wonder if Oofuri will go that route… hahaha… for the sake of non-fangirls here, I hope they don’t
It would be interesting to see though lol :3
Abe is really serious in his quest to make Ren his! A little spoiler that will probably happen in episode 6:
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girls kissing like that can easily be passed as innocent, and simply portray ’sisterly love’… in the case of guys kissing like that however (may it simply be on the cheek), it’s not “brotherly love” anymore, but rather BL XDDD
(well, even if they don’t show it in the anime, I’m pretty sure that the BL stuff is already on TONS of doujinshis out there :P)
and Abe… heh… sure is one ‘manipulative’ guy (makes him all the more ’seme’) ;P
OOH! I’ve been reading you summaries 2+ because i’ve been impatient waiting for the subs
So thank you muchly 8D I grasped what was going on, but you tied up some loose ends *_*
Episode 5 was really a…i don’t know how to put it- it was just a really lovely episode. I’m sort of not liking Kanou or the Mihoshi team on the whole LOL
I’ve become strangely attached to Nishiura and i want to see them grow D
Ren made me sad this episode though ;_; I felt so bad for him- when he was looking on the other team, and gosh, it must’ve felt SO horrible that they’re all happy and he’d want to be part of that. But at the same time, i think he knows he could never leave Nishiura 8DDDD
BUT OH GOSH, THE ENDING WAS BRILLIANT
@Duckie Welcome ^^ Uhh… I don’t quite get what you meant with “but you tied up some loose ends” ^^;;; Did you mean that to be a bad thing? ^^;;;
For me though, Hatake seems the most annoying among the Mihoshi bunch. The others seems benign enough. I agree with you on Ren. It broke my heart to see him… he must have been thinking about all the fun he missed in middle school
I got goosebumps looking at the ending (and silently rooting for Abe). ^^
Hope you’ll come back for the next episodes. ^^
I got goosebumps looking at the ending (and silently rooting for Abe). ^^
Well, you need to watch Episode 6 as soon as possible. There’s one word that describes what happens – (Episode 6 short spoiler follows)
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@leongsh Coincidently, I just watched episode 6 just now :3
Reply to spoiler:
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I’m so happy you’re blogging this! Have you watched OverDrive?
My second fav crying boy as the lead sports anime. I’ve only been your fan for a month but I really think you’ll love it.
@audrey2 Hey there. Glad you like my summaries ^^ I have yet to see OverDrive, though usagijen was blogging it up to episode 3 I think, but she dropped it. Thanks for the recommendation, I’ll try to find some time and watch it ^^
the truth is abe is gay for ren *wink* and they are irresistible together … end of discussion ^^
@claudius Yeah, it is so much fun to look at Abe x Ren and their seme-uke dynamics. And yes… Abe is hard gay for Ren lol
yep since the beginning Abe has been so possessive towards Ren… i mean in a good “HARD GAY” way hah. So cute^^
Honestly though, within the context of the story, Abe is keen to hang onto Mihashi as the pitcher is because Abe prefers a pitcher he can “control”. He has shown hints in the few episodes so far in that his past experience with a talented pitcher who dictated the pitches he wanted to throw and may have caused the separation that has Abe coming to Nishiura. As Abe has first stated that he dislikes pitchers that shakes their heads over his instructions as the catcher, he must have had a difficult prior experience as the catcher for a pitcher which they fought over pitching choices during the game. With Mihashi, he has found the type of pitcher that he wants for hsi own selfish baseball reasons. No, imagined BL there for me as to why Abe is so possessive in having Mihashi continue wanting and highly dependent Abe to be the catcher.
Mihashi’s demons we are most aware of, Kanou’s personal issues have come out in the previous episode – he does not want to lose to Mihashi even in high school and confirm that he really was not good enough. Abe has shown hints of a troubled past and thus some deeply hidden demons that we do not know yet from what has been shown and may be disclosed later on.
@leongsh I think your assumptions are quite valid, as I have been thinking along that lines as well.
Possible spoiler regarding Abe’s past:
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To leongsh and Seleria: Abe’s current selfishness is actually not reflective of what he really wants (actually at this anime point, he himself is yet to realize what he really wants). Abe is actually as pure and simple as the other team members.
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@p-kun Thanks for that bit of spoiler
It made me sympathize with Abe more.
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To Seleria:
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p-kun – After what you have disclosed in the spoiler, that has raised my expectations of the show a lot more. This is a path rarely taken. Thanks for the info.
@p-kun I was basing my opinion merely on what currently was being showed in the anime thus far. Since, we have yet to get any background information on Abe at this point, that was my take on the scene ^^
Thank you for the enlightenment ^^ I was not expecting so much depth in the characters, well, I do, but not this much.
No wonder the manga received awards. It’s another great episodes. No matter what everyone else said in here, i still went “awwwwwwww” when Abe said “Your catcher is me!” I totally spazzed out….. It’s just soo sweet!!! I’m so hunting for its doujin….
Thanks again Seleria for a brilliant summary
@iKing Yeah, the manga is well-written and the gags are fun. Asa Higuchi is doing a great job with Oofuri
Oh, and you are welcome ^^
I never watched a show with this number of BL undertones before but I don’t hate it.