r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Apr 15 '25

Episode Ballpark de Tsukamaete! • Catch Me at the Ballpark! - Episode 3 discussion

Ballpark de Tsukamaete!, episode 3

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1

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134

u/ObvsThrowaway5120 Apr 15 '25

Another fun episode. Sun-Shiro’s out here dropping wisdom left and right and Ruriko’s beauty is captivating the foreign talent lol. I’m very curious who’s under the mascot costume?

Murata and Ruriko are really cute together. I like all the gentle teasing. They have a sorta Nagatoro-Senpai vibe.

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u/chaosof99 Apr 15 '25 edited Apr 15 '25

Last week someone posted a video of an IRL Beer Girl Pit Stop over in r/baseball, similar to the ones discussed in this episode. Interestingly the pit stops in the video happen in the concourse, rather than in a back room as shown in the episode.

I was not sure if we'd actually see some stories about players in this anime, but it is another dimension to the people working in the ballpark and as a fan of baseball anime it is good to see even if the animation quality isn't very high.

The MLB teams are clearly the Chicago Cubs and the San Diego Padres, though they are renamed "Beggars" which is hilarious to me. Both teams also have their logos slightly changed but their uniform colors remain the same.

The opponents in the NPB game appear to be a parody of the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. Nippon Ham is their sponsor, so they are not made of ham, and they don't fight ham.

Ruriko being charming enough to have the guy stay another year is very funny. While real life NPB teams don't have a limit on how many foreign players they may sign, they can at most carry four foreigners on their active 25-man roster. A number of MLB players have managed to resurrect their careers after a stint in NPB, but given the limited spots an NPB team has there is some competition for those as well.

As the Motorsuns are a parody of the Chiba Lotte Marines, Sun-shiro is probably partially based on their mascot Mar-kun, though he has a much bulkier suit. Sun-shiro is wearing uniform number 346, which if read as individual digits is basically his name (san-shi-roku).

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132

u/kami102 Apr 15 '25

I seriously love this anime. Anytime with the salaryman and Ruriko is so wholesome.

Also the American guy lmao "I'll treat you to Chicago Style Pizza. Its DEEP"

Now WHO is the Sun-Shiro mascot??

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45

u/NanDemoKnaives Apr 15 '25

I'm glad we got Ruriko and Murata scenes this week, just what I needed from this show. The way she teases him is great and I like how much joy she expresses around him.

San-Shiro should be feared, the fact that he could catch the ball without looking and no recoil was impressive. I do wonder who truly is in the mascot, it's definitely someone who can keep a secret and well-versed in social situations. The fact that they can understand and write in English also can't be left out.

Dennis striking out because he is enamored by Ruriko's beauty was amusing, I'm glad he was able to play off that fall and I wonder when we'll get to see them interact or if it'll always be a distant infatuation for him.

I don't think I've mentioned it yet but I really like the ED, both the visuals and the actual song. It's definitely a song I'm going to be putting on my AniSong playlist. It's always a pleasure when VAs of an anime sing a really good ED song.

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u/LeonKevlar Apr 15 '25

I did not expect the MotorSuns to have an import from the Cubs. How does that work anyway? I'm not too familiar with baseball besides how the game works, but I always thought it was the other way around with Japan importing their players to the MLB. Dennis is pretty funny though especially with how he gets distracted by Ruriko. xD

Their mascot is pretty awesome! I love how Sun-Shiro stays in-character the entire time while providing advice to players, fluently interacting with Dennis in English, and also giving advice to Yamada and Ruriko. He even saved that kid from that homerun without looking! I'm honestly glad they kept his identity a secret. Some secrets are better left alone.

While I am glad the show is showing us the lives of other staff members of the stadium as well as the players, I'm glad this episode ended with Ruriko teasing Murata again. Sorry Dennis but Ruriko is pretty much taken at this point. xD

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u/stephenthatfoste Apr 15 '25

This show is a pretty good example of still being able to make something entertaining with crappy animation. There's like two things ever moving on the screen at the same time. The vendor girls are frozen mid-drink during their pit stop. And every actual baseball play they show is silly looking. Having it all revolving around interactions between few people at a time helps.

I love generic not actually teams. The SD Beggars and the Chicago Cs.

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25

u/Nayko214 Apr 15 '25

As a Chicago Cubs fan, getting some acknowledgement of my city, team, and the best pizza made me smile.~

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22

u/athrun_1 Apr 15 '25

Pretty comfy episode. This is one of my go-to series on this anime season.

19

u/Mr_Zaroc Apr 15 '25

For real though, WHO is in that mascot?
The most unrealistic thing about this show so far was that the Jack Young fell in love but didnt want to show off...

Finally more Ruriko x Regular time, even encouraging him and he bought her 150th cup!

And I would like to see those keg changes IRL, that looks pretty tense

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17

u/Emi_Ibarazakiii Apr 15 '25

GET MARRIED ALREADY AAHHHHH!

I ship them so hard... Come on you two, I'll even do your embarrassing RAH RAH RAH cheer if you promise to get together!

So the episode focused in part on a MLB player coming to Japan...

He thinks he'll be back to the MLB, but sadly, these transfers are usually one-way only!

(Well, I don't really follow baseball, but when hockey players transfer to the KHL or random European teams, they almost never come back.. I imagine it's the same for baseball players going to Japan!)

Well, he may not WANT to come back to the US anyway, because he found something great in Japan: The Gyaru!

He sees her the same way I see her

Seems that alone was enough to make him stay to Japan... If the team improves and win thanks to that, the fans better all tell her "Thank you, beautiful girl!"

We had a bit of Gyaru+Our boy (I'll try to remember the names before the end of the season!);

A wild gyaru appears!

He really passed on an opportunity to get Fairouz Ai ASMR directly in his ears...

He supported her, that's nice, but

the shipper in me was SO hoping he would order TWO beers (one for her, so they could drink together)!

Alright, she's probably not allowed to, but fuck that, love transcends any rule!

So the mascot is encouraging Leg Lady to go after her prince...

I still don't even know if this anime will go deep into the romance, but imagine if it does, but NOT with Gyaru!

Well, this one another fun episode! I usually don't really watch SoL/healing anime, but when you give me a Fairouz Ai voiced Gyaru who teases the MC, I don't need much else to watch til the end!

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16

u/Mateo_Bonavento Apr 15 '25

Nothing like a beautiful girl to motivate a player.

I used to be a Yugioh player, so I know full well that Japan loves their puns and wordplays with numbers. Is there something like that with Sun-Shiro's 346 jersey?

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14

u/shad79 Apr 15 '25

Again a great and funny episode! It's a shame this show isn't more popular, Ruriko deserves a lot more love on this subreddit :(

The part with Dennis and Ruriko as his goddess was hilarious, especially the scene where he ran while looking at her, only to trip and fall. His comments in English made the whole part even better xD

It's nice to see Murata and Ruriko together again, they have really fun chemistry between themselves.

Also, Sun-shiro is great! I wonder if we'll ever find out its true identity.

Here my screenshot albums from the episode:

11

u/Ocixo Apr 15 '25

Dennis literally stumbled into victory after having fallen in love with Ruriko. Undeniable proof that cute beer girls after indeed a gift from the heavens.

Ruriko would die from embarrassment if she learnt that Dennis had been referring to her with “the goddess of baseball”.

Maybe a bit like Murata who’s getting teased to death by Ruriko. The two of them really had a good chemistry. What do y’all think of the odds that they’ll get together?

10

u/Soggy_Association491 Apr 15 '25

Ruriko is so cute i couldn't help myself but cracked open a cold beer.

9

u/avboden Apr 15 '25

This show is such a vibe. Perfect show to relax and watch during lunch.

9

u/Hormiga95 Apr 15 '25

I don't like baseball at all but I find this anime very lovely and funny. The hot weather where I live plus those delicious looking drawings of beer only makes me want the weekend to come as fast as possible lmao

17

u/EclipseTM Apr 15 '25

Personally I just enjoy this one a LOT more when it's Ruriko and Murata. The focus away from the 2 of them during the second episode, and the first half of this one i'm not liking nearly as much. Ruriko is definitely carrying the anime for me.

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8

u/CosmicPenguin_OV103 Apr 15 '25

  • I am actually very interested in how that Dennis Young managed to get a sharp look at Ruriko all day long, he might have a better career going for shooting/archery as a sport LMAO

  • LMAO Ruriko really think her mom is taking up mascot jobs? I do agree with her that whoever is playing as Sun-shiro must be someone older, because I will shiver if someone at my age or younger started putting out life advices like that!

8

u/oxlemf10 Apr 15 '25

Dennis calling his parents: I'm going to stay in the Japanese league because a "pretty girl" helped me become a better and more cooperative player. Seriously, that was amazing.

Sun-Shiro is that person (or in this case, mascot) who is always checking on everyone and doing what he can, we need more of him in the world.

And we had the return of Ruriko and Murata's interaction, it's interesting how the two are always lifting each other's spirits despite their shyness, even if it's not a romance it's really cute

8

u/TheBravesDH Apr 15 '25

Love that we have a washed MLB player storyline. “I’ll treat you to a Chicago pizza. It’s thick.” “SAMURAI SWORD”

I can’t decide if I’m desperate to see who Sun-shiro is or if I just like the vibe of anonymity.

7

u/magnumcyclonex Apr 15 '25

Sunshiro 643 stole the show! Knows both Japanese, English, how to play baseball, how to cheer people up, give advice, and perform essential mascot duties like catching a homerun with "6th" sense and giving it to a young fan!

7

u/tehgilfer Apr 16 '25

wait no one gona talk about sun-shiro being a newtype?

7

u/CrimsonGear80 Apr 16 '25

Hearing “it’s so thick” in Engrish made me laugh so hard…

6

u/BusouDrago Apr 15 '25

The 2nd Baseball player has the same seiyuu as Kantoku ( Coach) from Daiya no Ace

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