Boukyaku Battery (or Oblivion Battery) is a great example of the found family trope - less found family and more found team, I guess. Despite the overused amnesia trope, it is utilised in a way where it doesn't feel like a nuisance or where it feels forced.
The Amnesia:
Even if there is a bit of a distastefulness to a character going from serious and stoic to, well, unserious and goofy after amnesia, Boukyaku Battery does an amazing job at it. Kaname's amnesia isn't used as a way to excuse the things he had done wrong beforehand, but instead he is forced to remember it (or
...
rather be reminded of it) by facing those he had "wronged" in his past. His amnesia also gives him a new perspective to things that his past self would not have considered or picked up on - especially in regard to baseball.
The Plot:
It's a rather basic plot, in my opinion. But just because it's a basic plot, doesn't mean it lacks potential or the ability to be outstanding. Somehow the simplicity of the plot makes it even more enjoyable. A basic explanation of the plot would be that a group of now high schoolers who once loved baseball but gave up on it due to past failures or other reasons, are realising why they actually loved baseball so much by not only facing their past, but also by competing and working alongside eachother to overcome those fears and failures.
The Characters:
The characters in this anime are, well, both unique and not unique. We all know at least one or maybe ten stoic characters that barely speak, or a character that tries so hard to be funny it's cringey, or a character that's struggling to overcome past failures. But despite these character tropes not being unique, I do believe the way they are written and utilised is unique. I love how despite a character being goofy and quirky about their fear of being disliked, there are also more serious moments for said character where you realise "oh, they're not just goofy". But it also doesn't feel like said character's goofiness is used to hide something dark or sad, which I often see used. It's just that they're weird and goofy and it isn't used to hide anything. It's just something that goes alongside their troubles.
Along with the stoic, goofy and overcoming-past-falures characters, we also have our "normie" that you'd expect to have no special talent aside from maybe their personality, as well as the sly character that seems to be good at many things. Regardless of the character tropes being used, I do think this anime does a good job of meshing it all together in a cohesive and not messy way.
The Comedy:
Though I too find the "nipple hair" situation to be incredibly cringey, I don't think it's used in a way to force comedy or to make viewers laugh. Instead I consider it to be something that shows how lame and maybe even socially unaware certain characters are... as well as how blindly supportive another character is of previously mentioned character. Yes, it is used multiple times, but it doesn't necessarily feel repetitive as the responses to this one-liner are different and gives us a look at how different characters react to it and how the person saying it reacts to those reactions. The one-liner itself isn't all that comedic or funny, but the reactions sure are. Aside from that one-liner, there are many other comedic moments throughout the episodes that I have seen.
The Baseball:
Though I knew nothing about baseball before watching Boukyaku Battery and I still don't have much interest in baseball as a sport, this anime has me completely hooked regardless. Something that Boukyaku Battery does that I haven't seen in some of the other sports animes that I've watched, is showing the scary side of the sport portrayed within the anime. It doesn't brush over it in a way where the character just keeps going. Instead it shows what that scary experience can do to the character and how if might affect their performance.
I also enjoy how I, as the watcher, get to learn baseball from scratch alongside Kaname who lost his memories. It doesn't feel like a sports anime where the rules and such being explained feels forced due to the characters already knowing the rules. Here there's a genuine reason for the rules to be explained.
Art Style / Animation:
The art style was at first not exactly my cup of tea. It's not an art style I was expecting from MAPPA or to see at this point in time. But despite that, there is a nostalgic feel to it that is somewhat reminiscint of older anime in regards to how the faces, especially the eyes, are drawn and animated. Despite my first dislike of the style, it somehow grew on me. Some features seem quite repetitive, especially the eyes, but despite the similarities, it doesn't feel like the characters suffer from same-face-syndrome or something of the sort.
Aside from the faces, I am once again in awe of MAPPA's staff's ability to animate. Not only with the fluidity of the characters' movements throughout a game, but also the cinematic aspects of it. Especially in the first few scenes of the first episode.
What I Genuinely Disliked:
Despite my liking of Kaname, I do find his goofiness to be somewhat annoying at times. Though I have grown to like the art style, I still sometimes feel like the way the eyes are drawn feels a bit out of place for a sports anime. Another thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the way a grown adult character (no specifics given to avoid spoilers) was acting. Sometimes an old man throwing a tantrum like a child can be funny - and it was a bit - but it became annoying quite fast.
Final Opinion:
I genuinely believe that Boukyaku Battery has the potential to be one of the next big sports animes. I just hope others will realise this potential as well so that I won't have to wait half a decade for another season.
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May 30, 2024
Boukyaku Battery (TV)
(Anime)
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Recommended Well-written  Preliminary
(7/12 eps)
Boukyaku Battery (or Oblivion Battery) is a great example of the found family trope - less found family and more found team, I guess. Despite the overused amnesia trope, it is utilised in a way where it doesn't feel like a nuisance or where it feels forced.
The Amnesia: Even if there is a bit of a distastefulness to a character going from serious and stoic to, well, unserious and goofy after amnesia, Boukyaku Battery does an amazing job at it. Kaname's amnesia isn't used as a way to excuse the things he had done wrong beforehand, but instead he is forced to remember it (or ... 
Nov 21, 2020
I don't get why people on TikTok made such a fuss about it. It's not that bad. Yes, it's gory & gross & cruel. But ultimately I liked the art style & I have a great deal of respect for the artist seeing as they did the frames' drawings by himself [ correct me if I'm wrong].
The plot itself was a bit confusing for me after the dwarf guy came into the picture. & the end was a bit confusing to me as well. I didn't like some scenes, but that's expected as this is a very... dark film. But uhhh... yeah. It's not ... |
