Moshidora - Episode 2

A baseball team managed by a girl who doesn't like baseball any more doesn't seem like the best of starts for any outfit, but things are about to reveal themselves as being a whole lot more complicated as we hit episode two of Moshidora.

First things first, I should probably mention that nothing more has been said about Minami's dislike of baseball in this episode, which I find a bit odd, but oh well... with the decision that the high school team needs some marketing work, Minami teams up with bed-ridden Yuki to interview the entire squad and staff and find out their feelings for the team, from what they hope to get out of being part of the team through to any dislikes they have.  This arguably doesn't get off to the best of starts, with quiet girl Ayano reduced to tears as we learn that she only joined the team in the hope of making friends, and as the interviews progress we build up a picture of a team with myriad problems - some individuals full of self doubt, others with a waning interest, and topping the bill a complete breakdown in the relationship with the team's coach and their star pitcher Asano.

The issue between said coach and Asano is an instantly recognisable one - here we have two guys who are, to all intents and purposes, speaking different languages, with the coach living in a world based around logic and statistics while Asano plays and makes judgements with his heart over his head.  Courtesy of Drucker's management, Minami realises that she needs to act as the interpreter between these two sides, and following their first game of the season things only get worse as other players turn on Asano without understanding what his real issue is.  This disintegration of further relationships within the team finally persuades the coach to speak up and back Asano, but it is too little too late for the team?

In terms of the management aspect of this episode, it was certainly fare that I'm more than familiar with - working in a technical position means having to translate my own thoughts from the cold, hard logic of that kind of role into something more easily comprehended by higher level management and customers (and more broadly, to understand that different people think in very different ways that you can break down into three or four groups and pick up on by the way someone behaves) - something which isn't always as easy to judge as it sounds.  It's a shame really that having posited this need to "interpret", this episode left Minami unable to do anything but look on - perhaps it's too early for me to expert her to come out and take charge but it seemed to almost undo the educational moral of the story by seeing it relegated to a back seat role.  Still, it made for an episode of Moshidora that was fascinating enough to watch - it might not be as exciting and nerve-wrenching as Giant Killing, but I'm still interested in what it has to say for itself through the remainder of the series.