Anime of the Week
It has been a while since I’ve done an anime of the week, this week it’s Oblivion Battery. The last one I wrote was on Rascal Does Not Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai.
This week it’s on a baseball anime that I finished recently called Oblivion Battery. I saw some clips of the show on TikTok and it looked good so I gave it a shot.
*There Will Be Slight Spoilers Ahead*
Oblivion Battery Review
Synopsis
[Oblivion] Battery is a story about a famous baseball battery consisting of the genius pitcher Kiyomine Haruka and skilled catcher Kaname Kei who was also known as the “General.” During their senior league days, they were talented enough to not only win, but also crush the hopes and dreams of many junior high school players that they played against.
However, Kaname lost his memory and the two entered Kotesashi High School, a no-name public high school. In the same school, they meet several talented players who had quitted baseball after playing against them in junior high.
This is a story of their coming together in a newly established baseball club, to play baseball again. (Natalie mu)
What I Didn’t Like
Let’s start with what I didn’t like, which is only one thing. I didn’t like the character of Kei Kaname. His character type is like Zenitsu from Demon Slayer, and he was one of the reasons I almost dropped Demon Slayer entirely.
These types of characters that are loud and intentionally not funny are one of the characters I dislike instantly. Zenitsu calmed down later into the series, and there were times where Kei Kaname calmed down, especially when he regained his memory for a bit.
What I Liked
The Characters (except Kaname Kei)
Here are the Oblivion Battery Main Characters:
Kei Kaname – Mamoru Miyano
Haruka Kiyomine – Toshiki Masuda
Shunpei Chiyaya – Nobunaga Shimazaki
Aoi Todo – Yohei Azakami
Kazuki Tsuchiya – Yoshitaka Yamaya
Taro Yamada – Yuki Kaji
Kei and Haruka dominated their middle school baseball league, defeating all the other characters from different schools.
My favourite character of the bunch is Shunpei Chiyaya. He got the final arc in the anime and his character arc / backstory was amazing.
I related to his struggle, having played varsity basketball in high school despite being short. Chiyaya and I are nearly the same height; he’s 167 cm, and I’m 165 cm.
He overcame those odds and became the best baseball player on his team, which is pretty inspiring. He has that Hinata from Haikyu!! aura to him.
The Story (When Everyone Is Locked In)
The story is a ‘comedy’ most of the time with Kei’s character. However in one of the episodes he regains his memory for a bit and goes back to being the “General”. It was definitely Top 3 episodes of the anime.
During this segment, everyone was completely locked in, he was instructing people on how to practice and leading the team on the field.
Animation
This was the reason I picked up the anime. Specifically, as I mentioned, I saw clips of the anime on TikTok and the animation was great. Upon further research, I found out that MAPPA produced the anime and gave it a try.
Official Trailer
Should You Watch Oblivion Battery? + Oblivion Battery Season 2
I think if you’re like me who dislikes Kei and Zenitsu type of characters, you’ll likely not watch this. However, the episodes where he calms down and isn’t too overpowering are great.
With Oblivion Battery’s second season confirmed, I’m hoping for a focus on the General and less screen time for this Kei Kaname. Personally, I believe the show would be more enjoyable if it centered on the General from the get go.
Oblivion Battery is a good baseball anime. If you’re looking for a good sports anime this is a great one to check out.
