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Here's the deal short and sweet: It's a great story, but you've gotta love baseball--or at least find the beauty in it, because this anime does an incredible job of highlighting all the intricacies of the game.

It's a classic, and I really do mean that. The characters are the driving force. The relationship between insecure- Mioshi and steadfast-Abe rivals the best of partnerships, and is a genuine joy to watch evolve. The supporting cast of boys helps to drive home the team atmosphere, and you fall in love with each of them.

It is a slice-of-life, so the pacing can be rather slow. A large ... portion of the first few episodes are focused on just one game. But that's baseball for you, am I right? In all fairness, though, it is a joy to watch. It doesn't have a lot of thrills and hijinks--but it gives you the heart of growing up through a beloved game.

Summary:
Story - 7
Art - 7
Sound - 6
Character - 9
Enjoyment - 9
Overall - 8

It is rare to find a story that seems both entirely implausible and out-of-this-world, yet still manages to be easily grasped by the most average of players. Tsuritama is a diamond in the rough, indeed. As the story begins to unfold following Yuki, a boy who is both endearing and relatable, Tsuritama doesn't hold back its true colors. The art is bright and magnificent, the music is like rafting down a stream with a faithful companion, and the humor is unashamed, full of quirk--and the understanding that sometimes everyone feels like they're drowning in a sea.

On one hand, the story moves so effortlessly that ... it is easy to forget that there is a wide-eyed boy claiming to be an alien running amok. Though, on the other hand, between a self-proclaimed alien and a mysterious man who talks to his duck, it can be just as easily forgotten that the story is, above all, about a few unlikely friends who are simply going fishing. The craft of story telling is mastered beautifully in Tsuritama. Even among the moments of concentrated fishing, there is never a feeling of doubt that this isn't just fishing--it's more, and that propels the story to move at an easy pace--ultimately too quickly by the series' end.

What ultimately shines in Tsuritama are the characters. None are without fault, and all are able to experience evident growth throughout the series. In true coming-of-age fashion, the boys are confronted with real-life issues of death, family, and friendship. The interactions between Yuki's grandmother and innocent, self-proclaimed alien Haru are some of the most poignant, as he learns about the inevitability of goodbye and the frailty of the human spirit.

Tsuritama is an artistic gem. It is not by any means an "average" slice of life, nor is it too fantastical to be grasped. While it lends itself to be a coming-of-age, that is not easily won on the viewer who, at its end, longs to be forever young, surrounded by the best of companions, with a hook and rod in hand. Perhaps that is, after all, how to save the world.