Tosei’s rally, unrelenting rain, “K” mini flags, Ren-Ren, 11 strikeouts, Mihashi’s manly grip, unforced error, slippery grounds, and join Mihashi in the shower in…

Ookiku Furikabutte 20 - Coming From Behind 「逆転」

• Motoyama strikes out. Nishiura goes on the offensive.
• Ruri takes out some mini-flags with “K” prints. (K – is the symbol for strikeout)
• Ruri gets a call from his brother that Mihoshi is also having a match. He mentions about Kanou as well.
• Nishiura comes up empty in the 7th inning.
• Mihashi expresses his desire to win to Abe. Abe ensures him that it is possible as there is still 3 innings left.
• Mihashi strikes out Junta, making it 10 strikeouts for the game.
• Yamanoi hits it deep and gets base.
• Mihashi manages to field Mayakawa’s bunt for the second out.
• Mihashi is breathing heavily.
• Mashiba hits and gets base. First and third are loaded again with two outs.
• Mihahsi loses his footing and throws his pitch way off, allowing third baseman runner to score. Tosei takes the lead with a score of 3-2.
• Sakaeguchi comes over to the mound to check on Mihashi.
• Abe calls for another timeout.
• Abe tells Mihashi that it was the rain’s fault. He touches Mihashi’s palm and finds that it is very cold.
• Abe tells Mihashi to get a hold of himself.
• Mihashi gives up a walk, giving Ruri the impression that Nishiura might lose.
• Mihashi confirms that he can still pitch.
• For the last strike, Shimazaki swings and misses, losing his grip of the bat. He is the 11th recorded strikeout for Mihashi.
• While the teams are in the dugout, the officials have a meeting. Momoe hopes that the officials will let them finish the game.
• Mihashi goes off to the shower. Abe follows and finds Mihashi drenching himself with water.
• Abe orders Mihashi to grip his hand, but Mihashi struggles.
• Ruri barges in and announces that Mihoshi and Kanou won. The janitor drives Ruri off as she is not allowed in there.
• Tajima and the others start jeering Mihashi for being called “Ren-Ren”.
• Sakaeguchi recalls his conversation with Mihashi. Since Ruri is so cute, Sakaeguchi exclaims that it would certainly be bad if Mihashi and her continud to live together.
• Tajima presents his hand to be gripped. Mihashi grips it with force now, causing Tajima to cringe. Same thing happens with Abe.
• Hanai calls them out to the bench because the match is about to continue.
• The team hopes to score and tie the game.

Thoughts

Mihashi committed an unforced error which resulted in Tosei to lead by a run. The rain caused the ground to be slippery, I believe, causing Mihashi to lose his footing. I am really glad that Abe made it clear that nobody blamed Mihashi for the 3rd Tosei run.

One thing that has been consistent with Ookiku Furikabutte is that they never allow the characters to be in deep depression over their mistakes. After blowing their one-run lead, the Nishiura team redirects their energies into scoring instead of wallowing in despair.

This episode did not showcase any outstanding dramatic plays that we saw in the past few episodes. However, it is laying down the groundwork for, what I hope to be, a dramatic comeback from Nishiura come next episode.

Notice

This is still a work in progress. Come back soon for the final write-up.

Episode 21 – One More Run 「もう一点」