Media Journal: Ookiku Furikabutte Vol.15-20

Help I zipped through these volumes really fast. It's just really good. It's like even after this many volumes, there's still so much depth to these characters and interesting new ways to see their relationships!!!

░ Abe and Haruna

It's so great to see Abe's feelings get more complicated towards Haruna as he watches his baseball career. Like imagine seeing the person who hurt you become a better person. The kind of person that you needed back then. Abe's struggling to face that he feels regret for leaving him? That it could be him leading Haruna into the top 8? AGGH THE PAIN.

ABE: Is it because his growth period is over? Or is it that the Kantou Seniors Tournament didn't mean anything to him... While a high school prefectural tournament does? Or is it that now... Hes pitching for the sake of his team?

It's also so good to see Haruna's side of the story back in middle school. To Haruna he never felt like he was slacking off, he actually worked too hard and injured himself which is why he was so cautious about his arm when he was playing with Abe. He didn't realize how selfish that seemed to him. But! He did finally apologize and say that he was grateful to Abe for being his catcher during a tough time in his life, and Abe acknowledges how far Haruna has come too <3. It is a happy ending! But I still wonder if it will always be that simple. They still have yet to play against each other, and Abe hasn't seen what Haruna and Akimaru are like. I think Akimaru and Haruna's relationship kinda border on what Abe and Haruna used to have, maybe it will sour things for Abe.

░ Haruna and Akimaru

Eep. I'm really excited to learn about these two. The concept of a catcher that can catch purely based on the form and body language of the pitcher is really insane. Haruna really shines and is able to pitch with all he's got with Akimaru, but it isn't all paradise... They have conflicting motivations. Haruna wants to go pro and Akimaru is content being a reserve player. Haruna's frustrated Akimaru drags down the team because he's hopeless at anything except catching. Akimaru's frustated too because he's followed Haruna all his life and he doesn't see that he's already given him so much?

AKIMARU: Do you even understand how much influence you've had over me? The whole reason I'm a catcher is because you're a pitcher!

Their relationship mirrors abeharu and abemiha a lot... Like different levels of commitment, and the fact one person completely takes over the lead. We've already seen these two kinds of relationships aren't sustainable. But what will be the result? Does Akimaru like baseball enough to be able to play without Haruna's influence? or will he realize at some point that he's sacrificed enough? I'm so curious.

░ Abe and Mihashi

Abe and Mihashi are really cute in these few volumes. It's fun to see Abe be a little helpless in comparison to Mihashi. Like him stewing over his emotions over Haruna while Mihashi understands the situation crystal clear. Or him fumbling all over the kitchen while Mihashi is a competent cook. The little role reversal is great to show Mihashi can be independent and Abe isn't perfect. Momoe did really good forcing them to cook breakfast together lol.

░ Mihashi's Growth

20 volumes in and Mihashi has come so far! He went from saying it's impossible to win to inspiring the entire team to make their goal to win Koushien. He's showing Abe he can stand on his own, and during training camp he helped build the confidence of another timid pitcher... But he still has so much to go. He left the personal goal sheet Momoe gave them completely blank.

Thanks for reading! As always you can leave a comment by any of the links below.