(L) Taishou Yakyuu Musume

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by G.o.S

A kind anon on 4chan translates this. I just did some simple cleaning and typesetting.

What's an evil mother D:

[Pellissier]

Originally Posted by mpt37

On another note, I really like Koume's VA, Kanae ito. I'm also watching (or listening?) to her in Sora no Manimani right now but I hope she gets more roles.

Originally Posted by sikvod00

It's funny that you mention Kanae Ito's other role in Sora no Manimani, because both of the girls she voices are quite different in terms of sanity...err, personality. Koume > the girl on crack and meth by a longshot.

Personally I've got Kanae Itou's name booked since when she had her debut (fall 2007) in in the mahou shoujo anime Shugo Chara, voicing the protagonist Hinamori Amu. I immediately noticed how much potential she had there, and kept wishing she would star in other anime soon. In 2008 she basically got stuck in her Amu-chan's role, but this year, perhaps also because Shugo Chara is rumored to come to an end soon, she got these two protagonists role in once, in Taishou Yakyuu Musume and Sora no Manimani. And she's doing very well, her specialty so far have been low, cool sounding tones, with a notable mention for her fantastic "whispered" voice. But whenever she had to yell she sounded quite funny and convincing. More so now in SnMM and TYM. I think She's also fairly good/cute in singing (see musical number in ep.1, and the ending theme).

But speaking of voice actors, this show made an awesome job in putting the cast together. Akiko is voiced by Nakahara Mai (Nagisa in Clannad), Tama is Hirohashi Ryou (Kyou in Clannad), Yuki is Mamiko Noto (Kotomi in Clannad), Shizuka is Kitamura Eri (Ami in Toradora), Noe is Ueda Kana (Saki in Saki, Fumi in Shigofumi). Plus other talented ones like Fujimura Ayumi and Goto Saori. So it's really a pleasure to hear all of them together.

And the show itself keeps getting better and cuter each episode going by.

[Saber Cherry]

Originally Posted by Proto

I've been lurking this thread for the most part, but I've also been following this series and it has surpassed again and again my expectations. Almost makes me regret that I didn't wait for this series to be completely out before watching it.

Hahaha! That makes me feel a perverse new emotion that I can only call "reverse envy". I enjoy the "new anime season triage" of finding the anime good enough to watch "live", while splitting off those with the scent of true quality to save for a marathon. I made the decision to save this one about 2 minutes into episode 1. Like a dragon, it makes me happy to just lay on my unwatched hoard as it slowly grows.

It's dangerous for me to even glance at this thread for fear of spoilers, though, so I'll skedaddle.

[Pachael]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

Oh man Akiko needs to start learning proper pitching form. If the Cross Game's former Ball Wench could do it I'm sure she can. Then again it's not like everyone gets good so fast, but at the rate they're going it isn't looking to bright for the team.

The girls still need to get that concept right, but they're getting there! (somehow) The pace seems to be a tad quick this week though; 3 games in one show.

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by Pachael

The girls still need to get that concept right, but they're getting there! (somehow) The pace seems to be a tad quick this week though; 3 games in one show.

They are not really a game through, more like weekly practices or a single long game with lots of time in the middle to practice or character development....

[Pachael]

Compared to their first outing, it's a game ;p

[suguru]

Originally Posted by G.o.S

A kind anon on 4chan translates this. I just did some simple cleaning and typesetting.

That is hilarious...I wonder if Koume's mom does have a hidden mischievous streak, if she did it would be pretty funny...

[fict_ticious]

Originally Posted by G.o.S

A kind anon on 4chan translates this. I just did some simple cleaning and typesetting.

I lol'd.
I guess a lot of Yuri-tards are lamenting this turn in events, and just when Koume and Akiko married through baseball. Oh well, it looks like the next episode belongs to them.

[Dop]

Koume can't possibly marry Saburou, she's already betrothed to Akiko!
(What is it about rich girls called Ogasawara?)

The entendres wrote themselves this episode. Did laugh at Koume blush level 2!

Seriously though, Koume has only herself to blame. Asking her mother about what it is to be husband and wife probably gave her ideas!

[Tatiana Razajev]

Originally Posted by Dop

Koume can't possibly marry Saburou, she's already betrothed to Akiko!

Exactly, the only worthy of Koume is Akiko anyway. Plus Koume is clearly dedicated to her. Or maybe I'm deluding myself into believing that.

[Silvance]

Originally Posted by G.o.S

A kind anon on 4chan translates this. I just did some simple cleaning and typesetting.

OMFG! That's hilarious! XD

Honestly speaking, I don't really care about the pairings in this show. I like all the characters except for Akiko's fiancé

[typhonsentra]

People are too hard on that guy I think. You have to keep in mind the environment he was raised in and the time period. He's not trying to hurt her and he very clearly cares about her quite a bit. I feel like he can be redeemed in the end, I feel less certain about his friend who's interested in Koume though. He's totally oblivious.

[4Tran]

I'm doomed to watching each episode twice - once for the 4:3 version, and once for the far superior 16:9 version. Then again, the more I watch this show, the more there is to love, so that isn't a bad thing at all . One element that I found particularly interesting in episode 6 is that it's marvelously subversive. Taishou Yakyuu Musume (We desperately need a shortened form! ) comes from a feminist vein, but not all of the setbacks come from the derision of those who would criticize the girls for doing something that's inappropriate for their gender, but from the girls' own weaknesses of character. The most prominent examples of this are Akiko's initial refusal to play the elementary school boys, and in Tomoe's indulgence of her selfishness rather than doing what's best for the team. It's even more fitting that they would lose because of their own weaknesses than from any other course.

Also, my estimation of Koume is slowly creeping up; and it's not for her cuteness, but for what she brings to the show in terms of both chemistry and perception. I've remarked earlier about how her ability to see deeply into matters was impressive, but Koume has taken it to a new level with her rebuke of Akiko's attitude.

.
.
.

Oh yeah, and the baseball and the humor was fun as well!

Originally Posted by OceanBlue

This describes how I felt when I started watching.
This is really a great series. It's too bad that it doesn't seem that popular. The characters are all interesting with great VAs.

While Taishou Yakyuu Musume might not be all that popular here, it's all the rage among the otaku at 2ch, where it's what, third(?) most popular topic, after Umineko and Bakemonogatari. This show feels like Saki (redux), except as a period piece, and with less obvious archetyping.

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

Oh man Akiko needs to start learning proper pitching form. If the Cross Game's former Ball Wench could do it I'm sure she can. Then again it's not like everyone gets good so fast, but at the rate they're going it isn't looking to bright for the team.

Because... well frankly the match against those elementary schoolers was just plain painful to watch.

Do bear in mind that they have yet to receive any real baseball training - Anna said outright that that's what they would work on next after she came back from Nagasaki. And indeed, for complete beginners, they came a very long way in just a couple of weeks - from being totally blown out in the first game, to having a legitimate shot of winning in the third game. And in fact, if Tomoe had kept going for solid hits rather than swinging for the stars and if Akiko managed to improve on her stamina (the boys scored far more runs in the later innings), then they should have won the game handily.

Originally Posted by Pellissier

Personally I've got Kanae Itou's name booked since when she had her debut (fall 2007) in in the mahou shoujo anime Shugo Chara, voicing the protagonist Hinamori Amu.

*Ding*Ding*Ding*. Itou Kanae has done a great job so far, and I think that Koume is her best performance so far. And indeed, the entire cast has been pretty good as well.

Originally Posted by Dop

Koume can't possibly marry Saburou, she's already betrothed to Akiko!
(What is it about rich girls called Ogasawara?)

Most common Japanese family names date only as far back as the Meiji Restoration (only 50 years prior to this show), so names older than that belong to the old aristocracy. The Ogarasawa name belongs to a famous clan of samurai dating all the way back to the Heian era; hence the name's assignment to more modern aristocrats.

Originally Posted by Dop

Seriously though, Koume has only herself to blame. Asking her mother about what it is to be husband and wife probably gave her ideas!

I think that this one of the ways the show (and presumably the novels) nod to realism. Arranged marriages were probably extremely common in the Taishou era, so it's likely that all of the girls will have arranged marriage setups as they reach adulthood. Koume is the only daughter of a proprietorship, so it's even more natural for her parents to find someone trustworthy who could suceed the restaurant and who could take care of her. Koume is rather lucky in their selection of Saburo in that they can get along very well. Of course, given how much feminism is seeped into the story, I wouldn't be surprised if things are nowhere nearly as simple as that .

Originally Posted by typhonsentra

People are too hard on that guy I think. You have to keep in mind the environment he was raised in and the time period. He's not trying to hurt her and he very clearly cares about her quite a bit.

Indeed. The point of his character is to show just the kind of challenges that girls in Taishou Japan faced; even from the people who genuinely want the best for them. What better way to show the kind of prejudices prevalent in the era than to show people who have no clue as to why their actions are wrongheaded and offensive.

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

Indeed. The point of his character is to show just the kind of challenges that girls in Taishou Japan faced; even from the people who genuinely want the best for them. What better way to show the kind of prejudices prevalent in the era than to show people who have no clue as to why their actions are wrongheaded and offensive.

But if we do not hate him, then how can we enjoy seeing the girls improving days by days to kick his ass? D:

Without such a clear goal, it will be K-on all over again where the girls have a really high aim but we're not sure about how far they will reach by the end of series/ this season

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

But if we do not hate him, then how can we enjoy seeing the girls improving days by days to kick his ass? D:

Ah, but it's quite possible to dislike what the character represents in terms of prejudices without hating the character per se. The reason Sousuke is so much of an obstacle is because he isn't someone who acts maliciously for the sake of malice, but because he acts in a hurtful manner without even thinking about it - which is often what exacerbates the problem. Then again, I rather like flawed characters, and I tend to do so because of their flaws.

Originally Posted by risingstar3110

Without such a clear goal, it will be K-on all over again where the girls have a really high aim but we're not sure about how far they will reach by the end of series/ this season

I'm not sure how long the show is, but it's rather obvious that beating Sousuke's team is just an interim goal; as something that was taken on as Akiko's whim. I imagine that the rest of the story to have loftier goals and challenges than that. And given that this show really is about cute girls playing baseball, I expect that we're going to get a fairly traditional sports anime rather than a show that simply apes the mannerisms.

[Cirrostratucat]

For a start I'm gonna say that I'm not really into/know about baseball rule here... But I must say, not only this show keeps getting better and better. But I also like how they present the entire development of those girls from the beginning until now.

Spoiler for ep 6:

Like from the starter, how Akiko cannot throw a proper pitch and how she slowly learn to throw it. And they also have done a good job with adding some hilarious scene with Tomoe in the middle of all that "practice" match.

I also notice that Noriko brings her camera nearly at the end of ep. Does this mean she's gonna somehow turned up being... say, some kind of "reporter" for them?

[MeoTwister5]

Originally Posted by Tatiana Razajev

Exactly, the only worthy of Koume is Akiko anyway. Plus Koume is clearly dedicated to her. Or maybe I'm deluding myself into believing that.

I smell a triangle.

Or a threesome.

Whichever is more awesome in the long run.

[zetsubou-san]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

Taishou Yakyuu Musume (We desperately need a shortened form! )

Taikyuume?

While Taishou Yakyuu Musume might not be all that popular here, it's all the rage among the otaku at 2ch, where it's what, third(?) most popular topic, after Umineko and Bakemonogatari. This show feels like Saki (redux), except as a period piece, and with less obvious archetyping.

Would be really interesting if they brought up more of the historical context of the Taisho era. I mean, if this is late Taisho (circa 1926) the characters in this anime, especially the guys, would go on to fight WW2. The fight between Akiko and her fiance over the "proper" role of women is one such example of what I'd like to see more in the anime.

*Ding*Ding*Ding*. Itou Kanae has done a great job so far, and I think that Koume is her best performance so far. And indeed, the entire cast has been pretty good as well.

Seriously I haven't paid much attention to Kanae before this season - not a big fan of Shugo Chara myself. Really liked the ending's single (and the other 2 tracks in it). Agreed that Koume is her best role so far - I think Mihoshi from Sora no Manimani is too (artifically) hyper and genki.

[typhonsentra]

I think you can get away with saying just "Taishou" or "Baseball Girls".

[passin'gass]

Been lurking here since episode four, when Akiko shouted for her maid at 16:32, I fully expected the maid to clamber out of a well or something *snicker*...Sadako-san...

As of ep.6, the team's weak link is still the pitcher, and lack of relief players for proper rotation.

Still, playing against those elementary kids was a really smart move, they gain experience, confidence, and skill without the humiliation of utter defeat against male high school athletes.

By the way, in 1925, the Japanese school system already had Middle and High schools, is that correct?