FUNimation Announces Big Windup Aquisition

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Flower Mound, TX - June 17, 2008 - FUNimation® Entertainment today officially announces that it has acquired rights to the 26 -episode competition anime series Big Windup! (known in Japan as Ookiku Furikabutte) from Kodansha Ltd.

The Big Windup! anime storyline is adapted from the manga "Ookiku Furikabutte" by Asa Higuchi. The manga won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize for best creative work in 2006 and the Kodansha Manga Award for general manga in 2007. In order to create Ookiku Furikabutte, Higuchi collected data for 10 years on high school baseball!

The anime was directed by Tsutomu Mizushima (xxx HOLiC series, movie and OVA) and produced by A-1 Pictures, Inc. (a subsidiary of Aniplex). The music composer, Shiroh Hamaguchi, also composed the music for One Piece, Kiddy Grade, and Ah! My Goddess TV series and movie. He also did the music arrangement for Final Fantasy VII Advent Children.
About Big Windup! 

Ren Mihashi was the pitcher for his middle school baseball team and could never win a game. After being bullied by his team mates, who believed the only reason Ren was allowed to continue to pitch was because his grandfather ran the school, he quits baseball and transfers to Nishiura High School. Ren reluctantly takes the mound again when forced to join his new High School ball club. With the help of catcher, Abe Takaya, and his teammates, maybe Ren can regain his self-confidence and lead the team to victory.

Official series synopsis:
Most guys can't wait for baseball to start. But not Mihashi. For this kid, the crack of the bat is the sound of failure. Every summer he gets caught in a pickle between wanting to stay on the mound and watching his pitches get blasted out of the park. But each spring brings a fresh start, and this year, Mihashi's at a new school with teammates that don't know how bad he used to be. Most importantly, he's got Abe - a real superstar behind the plate. If Mihashi can learn to trust his new catcher, this could be the year he falls in love with the game all over again.