The series is adapted into a TV anime series, animated by A-1 Pictures, which premiered in Japan on TBS from April 2007. It also aired during the same month across several of TBS's affiliated TV networks, including MBS, BS-i and CBC. One month later, the series also aired on the Japanese Animax. The series was also subsequently aired in English across Animax's English language networks in Southeast Asia and South Asia. A second season was announced in the 13th volume of the manga. Funimation acquired the rights to distribute the anime in the US and Canada but does not plan on licensing the second season due to low sales of the first.
Season One Episodes[]
- The Real Ace
- The Catcher's Role
- Practice Match
- Play!
- Don’t Cut Corners
- Requirements for Pitchers
- I Want to Play Baseball
- An Amazing Pitcher
- The Past
- Bit by Bit
- The Summer Starts
- The Cheering Squad
- The Summer Tournament Begins
- Challenge
- The First Run of the Game
- Don't Underestimate
- The Third Runner
- Another Score
- Tosei's Real Power
- Turning the Tables
- One More Run
- Defense!
- Precisely
- The End of the Game
- After One Win
- The Basics of the Basics- DVD Bonus Unaired Episode
Season Two Episodes[]
- What's Next?
- Sakitama
- Third Match
- Baseball Is Hard
- I Want To Play Baseball
- Important
- Slow Change
- Fifth Match
- Doing Research
- Bottom Of The 5th, 2-5
- Because I'm The Ace
- 9th Inning
- We Start Again
- Goal- Unaired Episode
Staff[]
- Original Work: Asa Higuchi's Ōkiku Furikabutte (serialized in the monthly Afternoon magazine)
- Director: Tsutomu Mizushima
- Series Composition: Yōsuke Kuroda
- Character Design and Chief Animation Director: Takahiko Yoshida
- Action Animation Director: Jun'ichirō Taniguchi
- Accessories Design: Takuya Suzuki
- Art Director: Yukihiro Shibuya
- Color Design: Miyuki Satō
- Photography Director: Ei Rōhei
- Editing: Shigeru Nishiyama
- Sound Director: Hiromi Kikuda
- Mixer: Riyō Yamada (Sound Team)
- Sound Effects: Tomozaku Mitsui (Sound Box)
- Music: Shirō Hamaguchi, Akifumi Tada
- Production: A-1 Pictures
Theme songs[]
- Opening theme
- "Dramatic" (ドラマチック, Doramachikku)
- Performance: Base Ball Bear
- 2nd opening theme
- "Seishun Line" (青春ライン)
- Performance: Ikimono-gakari
- 3rd opening theme;
- "Natsuzora" (夏空)
- Performance: Galileo Galilei
- Ending theme
- "Medaka no Mita Niji" (メダカの見た虹)
- Performance: Kozue Takada
- 2nd ending theme
- "Arigatō" (ありがとう)
- Performance: SunSet Swish
- 3rd ending theme
- "Shisō Densha" (思想電車)
- Performance: CureaL