Battery (novel series)

Battery (Japanese: バッテリー, Hepburn: Batterī) is a Japanese novel series by Atsuko Asano that was published by Kadokawa Shoten. The series is about Harada Takumi and Gō Nagakura, two boys who start a baseball team. For the work the author received the Noma Prize for Juvenile Literature in 1997 and the Shogakukan Children's Publication Culture Award in 2005.[2] It has sold over 10 million copies in Japan,[3] and has been adapted into a film in 2007[4] and an anime television series in 2016.

Battery
Cover of the first volume of the novel series
バッテリー (Batterī)
Genre	Sports
Novel
Written by	Atsuko Asano
Illustrated by	Makiko Satō
Published by	Kyōikugageki Kadokawa Bunko
Imprint	Kyōikugageki no Sōsaku Bungaku Kadokawa Shoten Kadokawa Tsubasa Shoten
Audio drama
Station	NHK FM
Original run	April 17, 2000 – April 28, 2000
Episodes	10
Manga
Written by	Atsuko Asano
Illustrated by	Chikage Yuniwa
Published by	Kadokawa Shoten
Magazine	Monthly Asuka
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	2004 – present
Volumes	8
Live-action film
The Battery
Directed by	Yōjirō Takita
Written by	Tadashi Morishita
Music by	Ryō Yoshimata
Studio	Toho
Released	March 10, 2007
Runtime	119 minutes
Television drama
Written by	Atsuko Sagara
Original network	NHK
Original run	April 3, 2008 – June 12, 2008
Episodes	10
Anime television series
Directed by	Tomomi Mochizuki
Written by	Tomomi Mochizuki
Music by	Akira Senju
Studio	Zero-G
Licensed by	Amazon.com (streaming) ^NA Discotek Media (home video)
Original network	Fuji TV (Noitamina)
Original run	July 14, 2016 – September 22, 2016
Episodes	11[1]

Plot

This story is about a young pitcher (baseball) named Takumi Harada who just recently moved into his grandfather's house named Ioka Youzo-who is a former coach of Nitta Highschool. Later on, Harada met a catcher named Go Nakagura. They started playing and Harada realized that Go can catch up with his pitches. Harada become motivated and joined the baseball team in Nitta High. They later began their journey as a baseball team.

Characters

Main characters

Takumi Harada (原田 巧, Harada Takumi)

Voiced by: Kōki Uchiyama (anime), Mamoru Miyano (radio drama)[5]

Portrayed by: Kento Hayashi (movie), Yūma Nakayama (TV drama)

Gō Nagakura (永倉 豪, Nagakura Gō)

Voiced by: Tasuku Hatanaka (anime)[5]

Portrayed by: Kenta Yamada (movie), Shō Takada (live-action series)

Other characters

Seiha Harada (原田 青波, Harada Seiha)

Voiced by: Yūi Fujimaki (anime), Hayato Taya (radio drama)[5]

Portrayed by: Akihiro Yarita (movie), Shintarō Morimoto (TV drama)

Shūgo Kadowaki (門脇 秀吾, Kadowaki Shūgo)

Voiced by: Yūki Ono (anime)[5]

Portrayed by: Dai Watanabe (movie), Ryūta Nakamura (TV drama)

Shunji Mizugaki (瑞垣 俊二, Mizugaki Shunji)

Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura (anime)[5]

Portrayed by: Yasuaki Seki (movie), Kazuma Kawahara (TV drama)

Kazuki Kaionji (海音寺 一希, Kaionji Kazuki)

Voiced by: Yuichiro Umehara (anime)[5]

Portrayed by: Hiroshi Yazaki (movie), Ryōsuke Kawamura (TV drama)

Keita Higashidani (東谷啓太, Higashidani Keita)

Voiced by: Kaito Ishikawa (anime)[6]

Fumito Sawaguchi (沢口文人, Sawaguchi Fumito)

Voiced by: Ayumu Murase (anime)[6]

Media

Anime

An anime television series adaptation aired on July 14, 2016 on the noitaminA block of Fuji TV[7][6] and finished on September 22, 2016. The series is directed and written by Tomomi Mochizuki, with animation by the studio Zero-G. Hideoki Kusama is serving as character designer and chief animation director and Akira Senju is in charge of the music.[5]

References

1. "バッテリー 6 - Blu-ray&DVD - TVアニメ「バッテリー」公式サイト" (in Japanese). Retrieved July 14, 2016.
2. "Battery (6 volumes)". Japanese Board on Books for Young People. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
3. "TVアニメ化！シリーズ累計1,000万部越えの青春野球小説『バッテリー』が描き下ろしアニメイラストの幅広帯で登!". Oricon. July 14, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
4. "バッテリー" [Battery]. Variety Japan. Archived from the original on July 6, 2008. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
5. "Atsuko Asano's Battery Novels Get TV Anime in July on Noitamina". Anime News Network. May 19, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
6. "Baseball Anime Battery Casts Ayumu Murase, Kaito Ishikawa & Premieres July 14". Anime News Network. June 2, 2016. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
7. "Atsuko Asano's Battery Novels Get TV Anime in July on Noitamina". Anime News Network. March 17, 2016. Retrieved March 24, 2016.

External links

• Battery at Kadokawa Shoten (in Japanese)
• Battery the Animation (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia