(L) Taishou Yakyuu Musume

[serenade_beta]

Spoiler for ep2:

I wasn't too sure from episode 1, but episode 2 was great! (^^)b

It really was entertaining all the way through. The entire cast is so enjoyable too~
It surprised me that they actually finished gathering all of the members so early. I was worried they would spend 3-4 episodes on it, but they finished it fast, a good thing.

And now on to more practicing! Massugu Go!

[Fuze]

I also loved the second episode.

Spoiler for episode 2:

So, Koume is going to be a catcher. Akiko a pitcher. That was sort of expected since the catcher/pitcher relationship tend to have a closer bond, and I feel, they will have a more special relationship compared to others.

I'm glad the baseball theme isn't overpowering. I think it has a nice blend of character interaction and humor so far. The cast is pretty like-able, although their personalities can be considered somewhat generic. Original or not, I think this title is my favorite of the season, so far.

[Master Anime]

Same as above
After watching 2nd episode I fallen in love with this anime
J.C.Staff do great job this time

[Pachael]

Sleeper hit of my season so far. Good stuff

[scr]

Spoiler for eps 2:

Beware of groper!

Also, i think Mrs. Curtland is Patty's (Lucky*Star) grandmother.

[MeoTwister5]

Hoping to find subs by tomorrow. This series might succeed where K-On! had (almost) failed.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Great cast, but I find myself quite bored, for some reason. I don't find myself caring about any of the characters. At least not yet. Maybe their low level of skills offends me, lol.

Spoiler for ep2:

But I agree with serenade_beta that it is great that they were able to get the team together so early.

[Midonin]

Once again we have Ryou Hirohashi voicing a reserved but ultimately cute character named Tamaki. Feels like it was only yesterday that happened.

[Ashlotte]

Tama-chan kawaii Tama-chan.....Starting to lament the lose of the kimono as a school uniform here...Honestly think it looks better on most of them then the sailor fuku...

Very fun episode though...Some great personalities at play here that all mix and mingle very naturally creating a nice atmosphere...And ofcourse the pratfalls from inexperienced little girls trying to play baseball is always enjoyable to watch.

[MeoTwister5]

Heh. The show has struck the proper balance between Cute Girls and the Cute Things that they do, something K-On failed to do IMO. This show just got bumped up to my To Watch list.

What is most distinctive about this episode is that they managed to showcase the individual personalities of each character in just 2 episodes, heck all 9 of them in fact. That's a feat in and of itself.

[Dop]

That just had me in stitches.
I mean, it was obvious that the ball was going to go through a window at some point, but that didn't stop it being hilarious when it did, and the fact that it was Anna-sensei who did it was just icing on the cake.

The English being read out in class sounded like an extract from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, if anyone wanted to know.

The bit where Tomoe's admirer was just standing next to her in complete glee was also hilarious.

If they can keep up this level, I'm in for the rest of the series.

[Noe]

I really like the direction this anime is going so far.

[Raiga]

Just watched the subs.

That one girl owed Tomoe one yen? How much was a yen worth back then, in terms of today's currency? o_O

[Noe]

I was surprised as well. Probably worth a lot since I recall hearing a story that you can get a hot dog+beverage+slice of pizza for a nickel in the USA back in the days.

[Raiga]

Originally Posted by Noe

I was surprised as well. Probably worth a lot since I recall hearing a story that you can get a hot dog+beverage+slice of pizza for a nickel in the USA back in the days.

Yah that's sort of what I was thinking too... hm, did they used to have currency smaller than the yen?

Anyway, off to Wiki

The yen lost most of its value during and after World War II. After a period of instability, in 1949, the value of the yen was fixed at ¥360 per US$1

Okay, now to figure out what a US dollar was worth soon after WWII and calculate it from that... hm, much higher exchange rate than it is today, though, isn't it? What is it today, about 90 to 1?

EDIT: Found a calculator that returns 6 different evaluations on the value of the USD through history... all six of them being wildly different, the lowest saying a dollar in 1949 was worth 9 today, the highest saying 50... XD Let's compromise and approximate that as... 25. So if one 1949 dollar was worth three hundred sixty 1949 yen and 25 modern dollars, that means one 1949 yen is worth about... seven modern yen? o_O

[rg4619]

Originally Posted by Raiga

Yah that's sort of what I was thinking too... hm, did they used to have currency smaller than the yen?

Yeah, 1 yen = 100 sen or 1000 rin

In 1924, 100 yen = $43 US. According to inflation calculators, $1 US from 1925 would be roughly $12 today. Nevertheless, this doesn't exactly tell us a lot about buying power or average incomes of the time (according to one article, a male clerk working for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government would start at 70-75 yen per month).

[4Tran]

The first couple of episodes of Taishou Yakyuu Musume (Taiyamu for short) have been surprisingly charming and fun. That first segment where Koume broke out her little song and dance was insanely old-fashioned, but it's sheer innocence and energy created a great atmosphere. Overall, the comedy of the show is very predictable, but great nonetheless. The most predictable gag possible in a baseball comedy has to be someone breaking a window, and here it's executed so well that it's obvious that the show is in good hands. What I also found really great was the wonderful way the creators brought Taishou Japan to life. Their attention to detail makes for a much more lively environment to frame the story, and it's something that they've taken good advantage of.

Other notes:

• Koume's dream-parents are dressed in clothes that are 20 years out of date for some reason. It's a nifty contrast to how fashion-conscious Koume is supposed to be.
• The other contrast of some girls in kimonos versus more avant-garde ones in sailor fuku isn't just interesting, but it also accentuates the difference between then and now. What I find especially amusing is that it's now the sailor fuku which are now associated with Japanese schoolgirls rather than more traditional wear.
• I don't know if I missed it, but did Taiyamu give a reason for why Yuki is called Souya?

Originally Posted by Raiga

That one girl owed Tomoe one yen? How much was a yen worth back then, in terms of today's currency? o_O

It should be somewhere in the neighborhood of $10-20. The humor value is supposed to be partially in how trivial the loan (and hence the extortion) was.

[Bonta Kun]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

The most predictable gag possible in a baseball comedy has to be someone breaking a window, and here it's executed so well that it's obvious that the show is in good hands.

This is what stood out alot for me how well they handled this age old gag with baseball, it was done very well and was very funny.
Anna-sensei's got quite the swing probably better than mine and I was quite good. Used to live next to school field and played there alot, baseball was always good laugh.

Omg when Tama-chan utters the line "What are you saying, you stupid" I swooned and screamed like a little girl KYA~~~
yea you read that right I screamed like a little girl!

liking both the Op and Ed very much, more so the ED.

Now I recall alot of people saying Umineko was the only good summer anime but so far I've seen quite a few that are much better than it. This being one and really a great delight to watch.

[Scab]

Originally Posted by 4Tran

I don't know if I missed it, but did Taiyamu give a reason for why Yuki is called Souya?

Souya (宗谷) is her family name, Yuki (雪) her given name. See the official characters page. ANN has a lot of the names down wrong if that's where you were looking.

[4Tran]

Originally Posted by Bonta Kun

Now I recall alot of people saying Umineko was the only good summer anime but so far I've seen quite a few that are much better than it. This being one and really a great delight to watch.

I'm really surprised at how much fun I'm having watching Taiyame myself. I think that I actually prefer it to every other new show so far, and there have already been a number of really good opening episodes so far.

Originally Posted by Scab

Souya (宗谷) is her family name, Yuki (雪) her given name. See the official characters page. ANN has a lot of the names down wrong if that's where you were looking.

Ah, the vagarities of alternate Japanese pronunciations. Thanks for the info .