When we last left our intrepid Nishiura Nine, they had just begun their first game in the Saitama prefecture tournament against the previous year's defending champions, Tosei. Ace pitcher Mihashi has managed to relax (a little) and his confidence is growing (sort of), so with the help of the rest of the team, they stand a chance against Tosei, right? (Right?)

Highlights:

This volume covers episodes 14 through the end of this 26 episode series. Eleven out of 13 episodes are devoted to the single game between Tosei and Nishiura. It is almost as long as 2 Major League baseball games. It is conceivable that you could get 9 of your friends together, play a full nine innings, have a barbeque, and go home and there would still be episodes left of this game to go. It is still far shorter than a cricket match. Episode 25 is a look at the team as they recuperate the day after the game. The last episode of the series features a look at the team of Haruna, Abe's erstwhile pitcher from the first volume as he tries to inspire the rest of his crapsack team to at least put in some more effort.

Tensions are running high in both teams right from the beginning. Tosei may be a seasoned team, but they aren't taking this game against a no-name bunch of freshmen lightly. And Nishiura, fresh off of Mihashi's first ever win against his old middle school team, desperately needs this game to realize their progress under Coach Momoe's hellish training regimen. Mihashi, still suffering from a severe lack of self-esteem, is running himself ragged in his drive to not blow the game and disappoint everyone. Abe, in between calling pitches, is trying to prevent Mihashi from doing that in any way short of killing him. The sky, sensing that the pressure of the game would control Mihashi's tears, has decided to cry in his place and the whole game is beset by rain. The balls are slippery (hold that thought), the mound is drenched (that one, too), and the stakes are raising ever higher (no comment).

Homoerotic tension runs even higher. Abe regularly presses his palm against Mihashi's to measure how calm Mihashi is. Mihashi is always blushing. “Why is he so red?” Abe thinks. You say it's just adrenaline, but it's because he loves you, Abe. “He isn't usually this mushy.” Yes, he is. Abe tells Mihashi not to hit. Mihashi bats his eyelashes and Abe relents. Mihashi gets hit in the butt with a wild pitch, and Abe screams at him in front of everyone to show him where he's injured. Mihashi gets a nosebleed. He was thinking of Abe smiling at him the same way other anime characters get nosebleeds when they think of naked women. Mihashi collapses in the shower. Check his pulse. Yep. Still gay. Mihashi doesn't want to throw home because the runner is bigger than Abe, and Mihashi doesn't want Abe to get hurt. Abe throttles him for it. If Mihashi screws up or gets tired, he immediately assumes that Abe will hate him. Abe concludes that Mihashi hates him after Mihashi fails to respond to a text message. Abe gives Mihashi a massage. It's a beautiful relationship. Even Tosei gets in on the fangirl baiting, when the pitcher, upon completion of the game, is embraced by his catcher which triggers the entire team to do the same, with lots and lots of tears. I don't love you, man. I love you. If only baseball games could be won by weeping.

Overview:

All right, it's not really quite that gay. But it is very sweet. Even more than the last volume, the baseball seems more like a vessel to depict fervent developing relationships between boys, and as the main characters, Abe and Mihashi bear the brunt of the sentimentality. Mihashi returns as a kid with ability hampered by his collapsible spine, and is unfortunately the only sore spot. I'm vaguely aware of the Japanese people's tendency to view themselves as some sort of global buttmonkey, and as such the sentiment finds its way into their media, but one would think that after some time, success, and being surrounded by a team of people who don't constantly dump on you, you would get over it. Abe has been elevated to the position of my favorite character, mainly because he's the only one who seems to get frustrated with Mihashi's near-constant whimpering. It's still early on in the series time-wise, and I hope as things go on Mihashi will see more development.

In fewer words, it is another 13 episodes of the same warm-blooded (still a few too many tears for hot-blood), sincere, base-ballsy action. Again, if you love baseball, this is a winner. If you love teenage boys acting cuter than perhaps any boy ever has since hoop rolling and knickerbockers were in style, this is for you. I'm not ashamed to say I fall more into the latter group, and I really, really liked this volume. I'm sad to see it end, and hope the manga will be picked up by an American distributor so I can keep up with what happens.

ComicsOnline gives Big Windup! Volume 2 4 out of 5 at-bats.