crossposted from MAL Catch Me at the Ballpark also known as The Catcher in the Ballpark is a lovely sliceoflife anime. I wasnt initially keen on watching it but I could not ignore how so many anime watchers were praising it on Reddit so I dove in. My unfamiliarity with the term ballpark led me to think that its just a small neighbourhood park where kids play baseball. In reality ballpark is a North American term for what Id usually call a baseball stadium. If you read the synopsis you will be left with the impression that this is perhaps another potential romance between the salaryman Murata Koutarou and Ruriko grounded in baseball. Whilst Murata and Ruriko are the key characters since the story is anchored on them the anime is not exclusively about them. Its about fans of the Chiba Motorsuns and in general the community that this team fosters. The Chiba Motorsuns are a standin for their realworld counterpart the Chiba Lotte Marines. There are some baseball terms thrown in but its not necessary to know them in order to enjoy this anime. Its not a sports anime where the character arcs focus on each individual player. It focuses firstly on fans whom we might casually dismiss as NPCs. These fans can be security guards the food seller the mascot etc. It leaves you with heartfelt impressions. Segments only last from 510 minutes. With its great characterisation the storytelling is amazing. You dont need to know these characters over the long haul to get to know them and be left with a nice impression of each fan or staff. I had problems in some anime where rather than a full episode of a single action its actually divided into segments. Such anime tend to have 4koma manga as source material. But this is not a problem in this anime. It can be comparable to Bartender 2006 but the emotions you are left with are lighter and feel good. Ruriko and the rest of the beer vendors are attractive. They are drawn with a pretty face and a sexy figure. Even though Ruriko teases Murata it doesnt seem to be cheap sexualised fanservice. The same could be said of the rest of the beer vendors. There is some CGI that might be glaring but by and large they are easy to overlook. Animating the baseball matches while fairly acceptable is secondary to the story. It goes without saying that this is great for fans of sliceoflife anime but may not be what fans of sports anime are looking for. The OP and ED are quite catchy. In closing this is a great heartwarming sliceoflife anime. If you want something different to the typical sports anime Catch Me at the Ballpark is a perfect fit.