Anime
Ookiku Furikabutte - 06
Mihoshi finally scores, intentional walk, a perfect game, cursed left fielder, HOME RUN, fastball habit, Oda’s secret to batting, and Abe chew out an outfielder in…
Ookiku Furikabutte 06 - What Makes a Pitcher 「投手の条件」
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Tajima catches the fly ball to end the fourth inning. Nishiura’s turn on offense is uneventful as Kanou easily strikes them out. For Mihoshi, Oda ends up fruitless in his turn again, being unable to properly anticipate and adjust his body to Ren’s pitches. He walks away frustrated at himself for worrying too much.
With Oda striking out, these thoughts fill Abe’s mind:
“Feels good doesn’t it?”
“If you stick with me Ren, you will be able to feel like this every time.”
“Don’t ever forget… The only one who can draw out your true power is ME!”
Mihoshi’s coach is slow to believe that a no-name team with first year players headed by a female coach could upstage a high-standard team like theirs. He is also stumped at why their players are not hitting, when they should already be accustomed to Ren’s pitching.
In the sixth inning, Kanou strikes out the first batter, but throws four balls on the next, sending Abe to first base. Tajima readies to take on the first pitch when Hatake stands to the side to catch the ball. The Nishiura players are surprised that the opposition decided to intentionally walk Tajima. Abe advances to second base as Tajima takes first. Next is Hanai, who hits a grounder, but it lands near third base throwing Abe out.
Ren hands Abe his catcher’s gear and tries to comfort him that there is still a chance for them to score. “Even if it means scoring against Kanou?” Abe retorts. Ren is slightly saddened that Abe misunderstood him. He knows very well that everyone at Mihoshi treats him as the enemy.
The score remains 2-0 in favor of Nishiura at the end of the sixth inning. The Mihoshi coach asks Kanou to take a good rest while they are still on offense to enable him to throw 100 pitches. Oda worries that at this rate, they will lose to Nishiura and asks Kanou for hints on how to score against Ren.
Kanou asks for Oda’s take on what are the conditions to being a pitcher, that is, how to determine if a person is suitable to become one. Oda admits that he never really thought about it. Kanou explains that the determining factor is one’s desire to pitch. It is that same passion and desire that will sustain you to concentrate and focus on pitching.
Kanou shares a bit of Ren’s baseball history. There was a time in middle school that Ren did not throw a single bad pitch and when he was a senior, he had 0 hit by pitch and only 1 base on balls. Kanou also adds that Ren made himself a target with 9 strike zones.
Oda was astounded at what he heard. He could not believe that Ren possessed that much control over his pitches. Ren’s ability to accurately place his pitch sounds like something out of a dream. Kanou knows how hard it is to believe that Ren could be so formidable. He attributes it to Ren’s problems with his personality. All the while, Mihoshi’s coach was listening intently. He calls Oda’s intention and asks him to try something may enable him to hit Ren’s pitches.
At the mound, Ren strikes out his second player. Abe eyes the next batter, thinking how getting this batter out would slowly solidify Ren’s perfect game. The batter hits a fly ball to the left field, but the outfielder failed to catch it! Abe struggles to control his anger, but consoles himself that there is still a chance of closing the game with a no hits no runs.
As Oda approaches the plate, Abe does a quick analysis on what pitch to call. Abe reminds himself to be cautious as that intentional walk means that Mihoshi is getting serious. Furthermore, Oda will not hesitate to hit the ball and he can manage the breaking ball as well.
As Oda sets to bat, he recalls the conversation he had earlier with the coach. Oda was having difficulty with hitting the ball because the afterimage of the previous pitch lingered in his mind. So, the coach proposed that he should not let the image of the previous pitch to stay. So, for the first pitch, Oda closes his eyes. He swings and right after, he looks at where the pitch landed—outside. Oda anticipates that the next pitch will definitely be an inside screwball and since he has already seen two of those, all he needs to do is to remember the trajectory.
As soon as Ren reads the sign, his pitcher’s instinct tells him that Oda would hit that pitch. Even though Ren is convinced that it would turn out that way, his fear of being disliked by Abe is greater. As Ren predicted, Oda hits a triple, helping Mihoshi to score their first run. And with that, Abe’s hopes of a no-no go up in smoke.
This angers Abe further. He desperately tries to know where he went wrong. Ren watches Abe and wonders whether he did the right thing or not.
“Abe… is… angry.”
“I didn’t shake my head and I followed his lead.”
“Even then, I guess… it is no good if it gets hit…”
The game continues with Hatake at bat. Hatake is 2-0 on the plate because of Abe. A blind determination takes a hold of Hatake. He does not know exactly how he can score, all he knows is that he must. On the mound, Ren thinks that Abe might be saying, “No matter how good my instincts are, there is a limit to my abilities.” Abe, on the other hand, is trying to come up with a good strategy for Hatake. He decides on a fastball.
Ren rubs his thumb and middle finger together. Hatake notices this and recognizes it as Ren’s habit when he is about to throw a fastball. He lunges in, takes advantage and hits the ball out of the ballpark! Mihoshi pulls off a reversal and now leads by a run. Abe and Ren are both stunned.
Momoe starts to worry as soon as she sees that Ren’s confidence is about to waver. Ren beats himself up because no matter how good Abe’s reads are, he is still the one pitching. If the team loses, it is his fault. Ren suddenly stands up much to Momoe’s surprise. Momoe sees that Ren has not lost his confidence after all and acknowledges his tenacity. Ren’s eyes fill with determination as he promises to continue pitching.
“I am on the mound… I will continue to pitch.”
Notice
I would like to warn that from this episode onwards, I may be slower to produce my summaries as the episodes have gone beyond the scanlations of Entropy. So, I have to do my mini-translations. Given that, aside from writing my summaries, I have to put in extra time and effort to understand the dialogues. It is no easy feat especially for someone who is still learning Japanese and Chinese. Also, baseball is not exactly my strong suit, so I do research on that as well. I try my best to write accurate summaries and I give a lot of care and attention into it. So, all I ask is a bit of patience and understanding.
I would also appreciate corrections if you find anything wrong with the summaries. However, please be civil about it, being nice would go a long way. Thanks in advance ^^
So, moving on to my sick and mixed up thoughts… Oh wait, they are not here. You can read them over at Deep Frying Ookiku Furikabutte 06.
Summary Notes
Special thanks to p-kun for pointing out that Momoe was not calling a relief pitcher ^^
Also, if you have read Entropy’s scanlation, there’s a slight deviation in my summary and their translation about what Abe said to Ren in the dugout. I did not change it because that was how I understood it and also the overall meaning was not lost, so no harm done.
BL
- Abe declaring himself the one who can draw out Ren’s true power
- Ren carrying Abe’s gear while waiting for him near the dugout
Episode 07 - I Want to Play Baseball 「野球したい」
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14 comments for “Ookiku Furikabutte - 06”
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For that brief moment, Mihashi finds the fire and determination to want to close the inning. He doesn’t want to fail the team that has been supporting him on the mound. There’s a spine in him after all =)
It’s going to be close next episode. Whether Nishiura wins or not, I think Momoe may have been convinced at that moment to keep Mihashi as the pitcher for Nishiura after all.
Ren just made me a proud fan back there
Yeah, I definitely think that Momoe’s gonna keep Ren in the game.
Yeah, I definitely think that Momoe’s gonna keep Ren in the game.
Not just for the game but for as long as he is with Nishiura =) She already sees the scope in trying to improve Mihashi as a pitcher in Episode 2. Rather than just wanting Mihashi to throw faster, she wants him to get better balance and control of his lower torso for even better pitching control so that he can increase his pitching speed without losing the control that he has worked so hard for.
She wants him to have the confidence to be on the mound and this last scene in the episode is, what I think, does nail it for her.
I was surprised at how intense the episode was. The anime is giving me a slightly different impression than the manga did. As far as the latter goes, I was focused on Mihoshi, but the TV series is digging deeper into Nishiura. I probably wouldn’t have developed a Kano fixation if I was only following the anime, ha ha.
Out of curiosity, why do you always refer to Mihashi as Ren?
@leongsh Ahh… I see what you are driving at.
Spoiler regarding game results:
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I really miss Momoe and her different exercises to help train the team. And I miss that juice-making gag that just sold me to her in episode 01.
@iciak Well, for the first arc Nishiura is battling Mihoshi and I think it would be confusing for readers to read Mihoshi Mihashi Mihoshi Mihashi. I am afraid it will turn into a tongue twister eventually
Also, Ren is so much shorter to type
Me lazehh ~ And I’d like to think that Ren and I are close buddies.
Ack, I didn’t think about the confusion at all, although I’ve misread it a number of times in the past, too. *dork* I was curious since I always have trouble remembering characters’ names if they’re not called by those in the series. xD;
Thanks for the summary. I was also surprised when Ren was able to pick himself up after that. Go Ren! Anyway, now that the other team is “getting serious”, the tension is spiking way up. You can feel it even sans-subs >_
To Seleria: regarding your summary that Momoe was preparing a relief pitcher -> in the omake from chapter 2, Nishihiro, the one Momoe was calling, is a baseball beginner. He’s not a relief pitcher. Nishiura does not have a relief pitcher yet. Momoe was using Nishihiro as a messenger, so what Momoe was planning to do was to have Nishihiro console Mihashi.
I personally think that it is not the case that Mihashi changed at that moment he stood back up from the shock of the home run. Mihashi has always have a strong nerve on the mound. As far as I know, pitching is a delicate business. Your mental state will affect how well you pitch, as an example we see Kanou’s control screwed up after fighting with Hatake (referring to Oda’s comment).
Mihashi’s awesome control in his junior high despite being stabbed back and front by the enemy team and his own team is a proof of how strong Mihashi really is. He’s always been strong, it’s just that no one in Mihoshi realized this (well, perhaps Kanou did). Pity that he does not keep this nerve outside the mound.
Kanou and Mihashi make a very amusing contrast. Kanou has a strong personality outside mound but his mental (and thus his concentration) swings a lot on the mound. Mihashi is actually strong on the mound but he is pathetic anywhere else.
This is just my subjective take on the scene btw.
@iciak I’ll try and use Mihashi once this arc is done
I misread it a couple of times before, that is why I used Ren to make it easier. Also, typo errors concerning Mihashi and Mihoshi are kind of a pain. But the bottom line is laziness ~haha
@Nani? I was quite surprised as well, but it was a pleasant surprise
Good to know that Ren is, at least on the mound, not a wimp after all!
@p-kun About the scene with Momoe, I did not expect that it would be like that. If that were the case, it would seem more amusing to me at least. It is kinda funny to be sending someone to console the pitcher ^^
I’ll take a look at that scene again later on and I’ll try to find that omake you are taking about. I wasn’t really quite sure about that scene on the get go and I did not know where to go for confirmation. Thanks for pointing this out
Kanou did mention in passing about how contrasting Ren is on and off the mound. When he told Oda about Ren’s pitching stats, Oda could not believe it initially. Then Kanou said that it would be hard to think of Ren as the formidable player that he is because of his rather weak personality in real life. ^^
Controling the pitcher’s mental state is a very important part of the catcher’s job, usually. Abe basically screwed up this time. :S I don’t think Nishihiro would have been able to do anything, had Mihashi been shaken by the hit, since he’s essentially an outsider in pitcher/catcher relations.
I kind of like how this article explains in simple words what kind of relationship should be shared by a good battery. There’s an example of a really good one later on in the manga.
Abe and Miha still have a long way to go, though. I mean, Mihashi doesn’t exactly trust Abe, he’s afraid of losing his support. For the pitcher to be afraid that if he fails, his catcher is going to hate him, is a no-go in baseball. Abe is trying his best, but his personality… doesn’t help? :D;
ARGH!! D;
@iciak Thanks for your input ^^ I think if Ren did breakdown at that said moment, it would be hard to bring him up to his feet again unless Abe would be the one to talk it out with him.
Thanks for article, I will try to find time and read it ^^ cheers!
@idiot_lord Lol… Don’t worry episode 07 will come out soon ^^
It’s getting more intense!!! Hell yeah~~~~~~ I love Oofuri!!!! Thanks again!
Seleria: “baseball is not exactly my strong suit”
you are doing a good job