The rainy season's finally over!
It's starting to get hot.
The season for outdoor activities.
How about we go have fun somewhere outside?
Sure, what do you want to do?
How about fishing?
Sounds good. What's there to catch right now?
Summer is the season for fresh delinquents.
Let's use Nagisa as bait to catch the ones that try to shake him down
--and fleece them instead! --Big haul! Big haul!
I never knew delinquents were seasonal.
What should we do?
--What do you feel like, Nagisa? --Let's see...
Oh, how about the beach?
Ooh, the beach...
Nice throw, Captain!
"Kunugi" Nice throw, Captain!
"Baseball Club Captain, Kunugigaoka Junior High" "Kazutaka Shindo"
Hey, Sugino, it's you!
Long time no see.
For real?
--Hey, it's you! --Sugino!
--Hello! --Hey!
Hey, Sugino!
What gives? You should come say hi once in a while.
Nah, it'd be kind of awkward.
You're pitching in next week's ball game tournament, right?
Oh, I guess it hasn't been decided yet, but I think I'd like to.
We'll be looking forward to it!
Sure thing!
But man, I envy you, Sugino.
You're E Class, so you get to goof off every day.
We've got schoolwork and the club, so we're running on fumes.
Knock it off. That's not nice.
Juggling both schoolwork and extracurriculars at a prep school
isn't something you have to do unless you're one of the chosen.
Wow, that's incredible.
You make it sound like you're one of the chosen.
That's right, I am.
Don't like it? Then I'll show you at the ball game tournament.
There are those chosen to stand at the top and those who aren't.
You'll see the huge gap that's already opened between us at our age.
Stand up, bow, lock on!
Stand up, bow, lock on! Oh, yeah
Sensei! Target on
The more the potential, the bigger the hassle
Our dropout mentality goes beyond the extraordinary
We looked like we were nodding off, hidden knives in hand
Stand up, bow, lock on!
Let it go and someone's sure to take care of it
We thought it was someone else's problem... and yet
Mr. Teacher, tell us
Will we, still incomplete
Be able to shoot through
The invincible target that's you?
As long as we keep trying, the odds are 50/50
Mr. Teacher, look at us
Lost in so many ways
For you more than anyone else
Studying like a house on fire
Our bloodlust alone is our message to you
A self- (let's go) reliant (all out)
Revolution
Oh, yeah! Sensei! Target on
"Episode 12: Ball Game Tournament Time"
Mm-hm.
A class versus class ball game tournament, is it?
Cultivating healthy minds and bodies through sports--most excellent!
However...
"Ball Game Tournament Year 3 Boys' Baseball" Why is E Class not in the tournament bracket?
E Class doesn't get entered into the tournament.
Due to the splendid reason that there'd be an odd number of teams.
Instead, we have to play in the exhibition game at the end.
The exhibition game?
Basically, it's just a spectacle.
As the entire school looks on, we get pitted against the Baseball Club
and the girls the Girls' Basketball Club.
I see, so it's the same old same old.
Yep.
We aren't sticking around to be laughingstocks.
You guys handle it however you want.
See ya.
Hey, wait! Terasaka!
Sheesh!
If it's baseball, the go-to guy'd be Sugino.
Got any secrets we can use to win?
It's impossible.
Our baseball club is pretty strong.
Especially Shindo, our current team captain.
His powerful fastball
has even gotten the attention of the prestigious high schools.
A star pupil and a star athlete-- it's like, unfair.
But you know...
I want to win, Koro Sensei.
Not just put up a good fight. Win.
I don't want to lose at the sport that I love.
After getting kicked out of the Baseball Club and coming to E Class,
my feelings have actually only grown stronger.
I want to team up with these guys and win--
So excited! So excited!
R-Right. You want to play baseball, too. I hear you loud and clear.
I've always wanted to be the fiery coach in a sports drama.
I won't smack you kids around or anything, so instead, I'll flip dinner tables.
You're way too prepared!
Lately, you've grown more articulate about the direction you want to go in.
"I want to kill." "I want to win."
Unwavering, no matter the adversity you face.
To reward that spirit, Coach Koro will impart upon you
the training and strategy that will allow you to win!
Whoa-oh! It's a high one!
Center fielder catches it with ease! The game is over!
The winner of the Year 3 Baseball Tournament is A Class!
Aw, man, we lost.
Let's watch the next match to put this behind us.
Guys less talented than us suffering an even worse humiliation!
And now, lastly,
we have the exhibition match between Class 3-E and the Baseball Club.
Only the elite with both scholastic and athletic ability
can stand above others as one of the chosen.
That's what it means to excel at both pen and sword.
You excelled at neither. Someone who wasn't chosen.
Let's play a tight game!
Yeah!
Whoa, hey, why're they so fired up?
Come to think of it, where's Coach Koro? I thought he was going to give us directions.
He's over there.
Mr. Karasuma told him not to draw attention to himself,
so he's using forced perspective to look like one of the balls.
He said he'll signal us with the color of his face and stuff.
Like that's not going to give him away!
One! Two! Three! One! Two! Three!
What'd he say?
--Hey, there, Teach! --Let me see...
He said, "Win like you're going to kill them."
That's true, we're after a much bigger target.
If we can't win against those chumps, we'll never be able to kill our teacher.
All right!
Let's kill it!
Yeah!
Now, let us give them a taste
of baseball from hell, infused with murderous intent and tentacles!
Now, top of the first inning!
E Class is on offense. Batter number one, third baseman, Kimura!
Strike!
But man, that super-junior high pitch sure is fast.
I hear he gets up to 140 kilometers per hour.
What?! 140?!
That's right up there with the pros!
Man, it totally feels like we're a visiting team.
One! Two! Three!
Roger that.
All right! Here we go!
Whoa-oh, the batter's plenty fired up!
We'll get the first three batters out to end the top of the first
and in the bottom, we'll score ten runs and get it called.
--You're a nobody. --Now, here's Shindo, with his second pitch.
And he throws!
What?!
Whoa! A bunt!
--Kimura is the fastest runner in E Class. --That went in a nice direction for him!
Catch them by surprise and he should easily make it to first base.
--He's safe! This is unexpected! --Yes!
--E Class, no outs, runner on first! --Damn! Sneaky bastard...
Batter number two, Shiota.
One! Two! Three!
Whoa! A push bunt!
Damn it!
They may be a powerhouse, but they're still junior high kids.
They can't handle bunts the way pros can.
Aw! He's got nowhere to throw it!
Unbelievable! No outs! Runners on first and second!
Wh-What?!
Hey, this game is starting to go in a weird direction.
Impossible!
Getting a fastball like Shindo's
to go where you want it to is virtually impossible!
--Hah! How do you like that? --Batter number three, shortstop, Isogai.
--We've been practicing against that thing. --Batter number three, shortstop, Isogai.
Pitcher Koro throws 300 kilometers per hour pitches!
Infielder Koro lays down an impregnable defense with clones!
Please, you get it.
--Oh, no, please, you get it. --Will you make it in time?
Catcher Koro destroys your focus by whispering trash-talk.
You were so into it secretly playing air guitar behind the school, Mimura.
--I can't take any more. --Next up, we study our opponents.
I had Takebayashi spy on them for the last three days.
It was a pain.
"1 Kazutaka Shindo"
Shindo's pitches top out at 140.5 kilometers per hour.
The fastball and the curveball are all he has.
Even during practice matches, 90 percent of his pitches were fastballs.
With his powerful fastball,
that's all he needs to win at the junior high level.
Yes! Put another way,
we've got this in the bag as long as we have that fastball down cold.
So! For our practice from here on out,
I'll throw the same pitches Shindo throws with the exact same form
and throw extra slow, just like Shindo does.
After seeing those pitches from me earlier,
his pitches will look like they're not moving.
Whoa! And another bunt!
Therefore, if it's just bunts, it's possible to become amply proficient at it.
I-It's a fair ball!
It's come to a dead stop right on the line!
Batter number three, Isogai, is safe!
Th-The bases are loaded!
No outs! Bases loaded!
M-Maybe Shindo's not feeling well or something?
Batter number four, pitcher, Sugino.
Sugino!
One! Two! Three!
Play ball!
Now, the game resumes.
Whoa-oh! There's that bunting stance again!
Wha...
What is this?
What's up with these guys?
Is what I'm playing right now...
...baseball?
It's true--in terms of sheer power, I'm no match for you.
But with a well-aimed strike, even the weak
can take on a gigantic power and bring it...
...down!
He hit it!
The ball is going deep into right center field!
--Following the runner on second base, --Third! Third! Third base!
--the runner on first base is also heading for home! --Second base, go left! Left!
N-No way...
The hitter Sugino also makes it to third base!
--It's a triple that's cleared the bases! --All right!
Wh-What the heck is this? This isn't how it's supposed to go.
--This is bad! --E Class has scored the first three runs of the game. Oh?
You look rather pale, Mr. Terai.
Perhaps you are not feeling well.
You should go rest right away.
The team members are so worried, they are not able to play their best.
S-Sir! N-No, as you can see, I am perfectly--
I am glad to find you unwell.
Were it not for illness,
no instructor employed at my school would perform so disgracefully.
Ah! As I thought, he has a terrible fever.
Please take Mr. Terai to the nurse's office.
Yes, sir!
In the meantime, I shall serve as the coach.
Wh-What are you...
Oh, I will merely educate them a little.
Man! That was too bad.
Yeah. We'll get them next time!
I'm sorry. I was the one who dragged us down.
--That's not true. --Don't worry about it.
When I saw the bobbing boobs on those basketball players,
the rage and bloodlust just made me see nothing but red and I...
What's up with your animosity towards big boobs?!
But I mean...
Now, then...
I wonder how the boys are doing.
Mr. Principal...
Top of the first inning and the final boss already makes his appearance?
A-According to the information I just received,
Mr. Terai, the coach of the Baseball Club,
had been gravely ill since before the match
and the players were so worried for their teacher
that their hearts were not in the game!
The principal couldn't stand by and do nothing,
so it seems he will be taking charge immediately!
--Batter number five, second baseman, Maehara. --Now, the game resumes!
How will they--
Wh-What in the world is this?!
All players are defending the infield!
--They know that all we've got is the bunt. --I have never seen the defense moved in like this!
But they can't do that, right?! Getting up close like that?!
According to the rules,
they're free to defend wherever they want as long as it's in fair territory.
It'd be a different story if the umpire made a call against it,
but the teacher acting as umpire is on their side.
We can't expect anything from him.
Now, let's reset the flow of this game.
About Sugino of E Class...
It seems he joined a municipal baseball club.
In his own way, he's making an effort.
But what of it?
Everyone makes an effort.
Chosen people such as yourselves have a destiny.
In the life ahead of you,
you'll have to trample hundreds, even thousands, of people like him
in order to get ahead.
You would be better off not thinking of this as baseball.
This is the work of trampling just ten of those thousands.
Now, let us begin our work.
Yowch!
He popped it up!
Has the pressure of the infielders gotten to Maehara?!
That's one out now!
--Batter number six, center fielder, Okajima. --You've got to be kidding me! You can't get by that with a bunt!
What're we going to do, Coach Koro?!
One! Two! Three!
There's nothing else we can do?!
Strike three! Batter out!
--Three outs! Switch! --And just like that, they got three out!
The pitcher, Shindo, is completely back to his usual form!
Keep it up, Shindo.
All you have to do is throw four-seam fastballs.
Make your movements large and pitch as though to overpower them.
Yes, sir!
And I will say this again to all of you.
This is not baseball.
This is the work of unilaterally gaining ascendancy.
Yes, sir!
We're turning the tables on them!
Yeah!
"Easy to Understand" "Rule Book"
He, too, is masterful at educating his students.
He has a good memory of his students' faces and their talents,
and he's exceptional at teaching, as well as getting them motivated.
Their methods are very similar.
--And yet, how can they be so different as educators? --Come on, inspiration! Come on, inspiration!
This contest of leadership between these two...
I'm a little interested to see how it goes.
I get it now, Karasuma! In other words, with ball and stick, you...
Batter number one, left fielder, Hashimoto.
Play ball!
Sugino of Class E, first pitch. And he throws.
Whoa!
--Strike! --Holy smokes!
Don't let them get a hit, Sugino.
I'm not sure any of us can catch the ball, even if it comes our way.
I know.
Try repeating after me.
"I am strong."
"I will wind up big and throw."
I am strong.
I will wind up big and throw.
"I will overpower them."
I will overpower them.
"I will trample them."
I will trample them.
--Karma. --U-Unbelievable! He's struck out two batters in a row!
Don't show up right at my feet, Coach Koro.
You looking to get stepped on?
The next inning begins with you first up to bat.
How about we try shaking things up with some provocation from you?
Now, top of the second inning!
Still going with the impregnable bunt defense!
Batter number eight, left fielder, Akabane.
--Hey! --What are you doing? Hurry up and get in the batter's box.
Isn't this playing dirty, Mr. Principal?
They're taking up defensive positions that clutter up the field,
and the teacher acting as umpire hasn't given them any warnings.
Don't you guys think it's weird, too?
Oh, I get it.
You guys are morons,
so you don't understand defensive positions and stuff, do you?
Quit whining about the little things, E Class!
It's an exhibition game! Quit trying to dispute the defense!
Don't think it's working, Coach.
That's perfectly fine.
The important thing is to speak out, and protest loud and clear.
Top of the second inning, E Class helplessly gives up three outs!
He hit it!
The trajectory's low! It smacked right into the fence!
--Uh-oh! He couldn't catch it off the bounce! --Nice hit!
Shindo makes it to second base with room to spare! It's a double!
Thank you, Koro Sensei,
for helping me educate them.
The weak, who try to win using nothing but cheap tricks,
and the overwhelmingly strong, who easily overpower them.
I wonder which the students would rather be like.
Strike three! Batter out!
Now, bottom of the third! We've finally come to the end!
It's the Baseball Club's turn on offense and that's it!
Hashimoto.
Yes, sir!
Show them how it is done.
--Damn it! --It's E Class's turn to see their share of hell!
--Sorry. --E Class, this is how bunting is done!
--It's all good. --E Class, this is how bunting is done!
The Baseball Club bunting against amateurs...
Even the students watching would normally find it unacceptable.
--But the fact that you did it first
--Damn it! --provided us with proper justification.
To show you how it's really done.
No outs! Bases loaded! And the batter that's up is...
...our school's superstar! Our pride and joy!
It's Shindo!
I'll trample you, Sugino!
In order to orchestrate this for the final inning,
I have been building him up since the first inning.
It will not be a bunt that clinches the game,
but the swing of the powerful-- the star of this game!
Now, what hand will you play,
Mr. Homeroom Teacher to these assassins?
Karma.
The time has come to put your earlier provocation to good use.
Oh, I get it now.
I think we have no choice but to walk Shindo.
Hey, instructions from the coach.
Now, the game resumes--
But...
Th-These tight defensive positions!
We're clearly defending in positions that would disrupt the batter's focus,
but when you guys did it earlier, the umpire didn't say anything.
You've got no problems with this, right, Principal?
Indeed.
You have thought this through, but that is just a clever trick.
Feel free.
Mere changes in defense will not rattle those who are chosen.
Wow, tough talk. Then we'll take you at your word.
T-Talk about close!
Forget about tight defense! This is point-blank range defense!
He could hit them with his swing at that distance!
Don't mind us--swing away, superstar. We won't get in the way of the pitch.
A worthless bluff.
Swing away without a care, Shindo.
Even if you break some bones,
it will be E Class that gets penalized for obstructing the batter.
Think they can mock me like this?
If I swing big and scare them,
they'll back down for sure!
Strike!
They barely moved to dodge him...
In terms of their nerves of steel and dynamic visual acuity, they're at the top of E Class.
Simply dodging the bat is easier than bunting for them.
A slow swing like that won't cut it.
Next time,
try swinging like you're going to kill us.
At this point,
Shindo could no longer physically keep up with the principal's strategy.
Both the runners and the audience members
were overwhelmed by this bizarre spectacle masquerading as baseball.
Nagisa!
--Out! --Third base!
Out!
Kimura! First base next!
The runner hasn't run, so no rush!
Roger that!
Out!
A t-triple play--game over.
Unbelievable... Unbelievable...
E Class has...
--You boys are awesome! --...won against the Baseball Club!
--They did it! --...won against the Baseball Club!
What the hell? That was no fun!
The Baseball Club lost to those E Class nobodies!
Who the hell loses with that kind of difference in firepower?!
The people who were watching probably have no way of knowing
about the numerous strategies
that the two coaches pitted against each other behind the scenes.
Between this and the midterms, I'd say I'm at one win and one loss.
We shall settle this with the upcoming final exams.
Shindo.
Sorry for turning it into such a crazy game.
But I know.
You're a way stronger baseball player than I am.
I don't think I won against you with this or anything.
Then...
...why did you go to all this trouble to win?
Weren't you trying to produce real results to show that you're stronger than me?
Nagisa always keeps me company when I practice my breaking balls.
And things like Karma and Isogai's reflexes
and how everyone'd gotten good at bunting was amazing, right?
But without real results to show for it, it's hard to get that across.
Well, what it boils down to is this:
I wanted to brag a little.
About my current friends, to my old friends.
You remember this, Sugino!
Next time we play will be in high school!
You got it!
If Earth's still here by the time we hit high school.
What's wrong?
Nah, it's nothing.
The sun shines, leaving a red afterimage
On the backs of closed eyelids
With notebook and pen in my leather bag
C'mon, let's go walking
I draw and I draw
But they don't get any neater
There's nothing wrong with the paint I've chosen
I still remember the shooting star
I saw last night--I was waiting for...
Hello, shooting star
Hello, shooting star again
She's been waiting
That dreaming girl has been here
All this time, ah ah
Just like she was that day, ah ah
Shine again