Studio Mappa has become a household name in the anime industry thanks to extremely successful series such as Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen and Attack on Titan. However, the studio's recent anime projects have not received the same love and attention from viewers.
Mappa rose to prominence with shows like Dorohedoro and The God of High School, but it was the release of Jujutsu Kaisen that really took the studio to the next level. Since then, Mappa has taken on many major IPs and consistently delivered breathtaking animated shows.
However, since the release of the second season of Jujutsu Kaisen, with an impressive rating of 8.84/10 on MyAnimeList, Mappa seems to have gone through a dry spell.
After Jujutsu Kaisen season 2, Mappa released the anime film Maboroshi in September 2023, which currently holds a rating of 7.23/10 on MyAnimeList. Then they followed Bucchigiri?! in Winter 2024, has a rating of 6.66/10.
Now, their newly released series “Oblivian Battery” is currently rated 6.83/10 on MyAnimeList, suggesting that the show may be having trouble attracting the audience's attention. anime fans this season.
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Oblivian Battery: A promising story with mixed reception
Oblivian Battery is an anime series related to baseball. premieres in spring 2024. Despite featuring an all-star voice cast such as Yuki Kaji (Eren Yeager), Mamoru Miyano (Light Yagami), Toshiki Masuda (Kirishima in MHA) and Nobunaga Shimazaki (Mahito in JJK), The film still receives mixed reactions from viewers. after just one episode.
Some comments on the MyAnimeList discussion forum expressed disappointment with the animation and comedy style. One commenter noted: “This style… is kind of weird, ngl, like constantly changing shape between silly, weird, and ‘normal’(whatever that is for anime, lol). ”
Another commenter, a self-proclaimed baseball fan who had high hopes for the series but felt disappointed by the first episode, said, “Except for the premise, the animation and the comedy all good… I hope it will improve in the future…”
According to Crunchyroll's synopsis: “Oblivian Battery follows star pitcher Haruka Kiyomine and skilled catcher Kei Kaname, an unstoppable duo until Kei hits a curve ball: dementia. The two get a second chance to play at an unknown high school with a team made up of past opponents, but they must overcome Kei's amnesia and rekindle their baseball dreams.
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Despite its promising premise and star-studded cast, Oblivian Battery seems to be having trouble finding its footing with audiences.
The series currently has a rating of 6.81/10 on MyAnimeList and out of the 4,887 people who watched the first episode, 214 decided to drop it, resulting in a drop rate of 4.3%. This is a relatively high drop rate for a series that has only released one episode.
Given Mappa's reputation and talented voice cast, one might expect Oblivian Battery to generate more buzz. However, it seems like the series will eventually be overshadowed, much like Bucchigiri. It is worth considering whether the baseball-centric theme is a factor in the series' lack of recognition.
Although baseball is extremely popular in Japan, it may not have the same widespread appeal as other sports, such as soccer, which have been successfully portrayed in anime such as Blue Lock.
It will be interesting to see if Oblivian Battery can overcome its initial mixed reception and find an audience.
Source: MyAnimeList