Oblivion Battery Review

Why Did I Choose To Watch This

Oblivion Battery was a show that I had my eye out on as soon as I saw that it would be getting animated. Not because I read the manga, but because I'm an avid sports anime fan, and to add sugar on top, it's a baseball anime. I grew up playing baseball for 10+ years so I had a feeling that this series would hit home (no pun intended). Aside from the fact that I love sports anime, the synopsis seemed very different from your typical sports anime. Most sports anime revolve around a main character aiming for nationals. But that wasn’t the case for Oblivion Battery. This series is about one member of an elite battery (pitcher and catcher duo) losing his memories and joining a public school instead of pursuing baseball at a reputable school. Public schools in Japan typically don't have the talent to make it to nationals, however the pitcher and catcher were both elite before going into high school. The "going to nationals" element is very normal for sports series, but the "losing memory" aspect is what really intrigued me. The last reason I went full in on this anime was the fact that MAPPA was animating the series.

__Plot/Engagement
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The plot wasn't what I expected going into the series so what I got was a nice surprise. I loved the direction the series took. Having a serious character turned into a fun and goofy character isn't what I was expecting, but it worked out really well in this series. I'll be avoiding any major spoilers in this review, but what I will say is the show knows how to throw a curveball. You’ll know exactly what I mean by that when you watch this anime. It was also exciting to see both dynamics in such a short season. I have to be broad as to avoid spoilers but aside from that, let's talk about the engagement. Every episode was fun and felt short. My rule of thumb when watching a show is when a show feels short, it means it’s entertaining. I have a short attention span but this series had me hooked from the moment I watched the first episode to the very end. I didn't find a single boring/dull episode and I loved the series through and through.
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Plot: 10/10__
Engagement: 10/10

Aesthetics/Vibes

The vibes of this show were immaculate. Everything from the characters to the artwork/animation to even the opening and ending. Let's start with the characters. Each character had a quirk to them and a meaningful backstory. The characters all somewhat banded together by accident, forming a tight knit team, but also seeming like a hodgepodge of characters and personalities. It worked out very well in this case. The backstories of each character are fascinating, and one of the backstories even had me rethinking my life philosophy. A lot of the backstories could be related to real life. For example, conquering the yips.

The animation was so crisp that you can see the movements looking super clean when the players were playing in the anime. A simple hit and run followed by a fielder fielding the ball and throwing it felt like it was a new type of elite animation that I hadn't experienced before. All in all, the animation was so captivating I replayed a few scenes just to make sure I was seeing what I was seeing. MAPPA did it's thing.

This show had fun and goofy vibes at times. For example, when it had its own version of a Dragon Ball Z transformation. The one liners were funny too. But the series also managed to make the triumphant moments really stand out when it needed to as well.

Aesthetics/Vibes: 10/10

Overall Rating/Recommendation

I'm going to keep the rating very straightforward. This was a 10/10. The fact that my lazy self wrote a review on it should constitute this as being worthy of a 10. Everything from the plot to the aesthetics of the show was everything I could have ever asked for. At the end of the day this isn't the typical sports anime that I've come to know and love but I couldn't have asked for anything better. The backstories relating to real life problems really resonated with me. There might be some bias from me because I love sports anime so much and because I played baseball for so long but I truly believe this deserves a 10/10. I believe anyone that loves sports series should check this out especially if you want to see something a bit different than the typical sports series plots. I would recommend this series to anyone that likes when an anime relates problems through characters to real life problems as well. Just watch it... that's all I can say.
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Overall Rating: 10/10__