Moshidora

Plot

The story follows Minami Kawashima who, as a favor to her childhood friend, Yuki Miyata, takes over as manager for the Hodokubo High School Baseball team when Yuki is hospitalized with an illness. With no previous experience managing a team, Minami ends up picking up a copy of Peter Drucker's business management book, Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, and starts to manage the baseball team like one would manage a business, with the goal of reaching the nationals.

Characters

Minami Kawashima (川島 みなみ, Kawashima Minami)

Voiced by: Yōko HikasaThe protagonist of this story, Minami is a high school kid who hates baseball, having had her dreams of becoming a professional baseball player shattered at a young age. When her best friend, Yuki, is hospitalized with an illness, Minami takes her place as manager for a high school baseball team, using Peter Drucker's Management as a reference point. She is portrayed by Atsuko Maeda (from the girl group AKB48) in the film.

Yuki Miyata (宮田 夕紀, Miyata Yūki)

Voiced by: Kana HanazawaMinami's best friend who has been with her since they were babies. She has had a condition since when she was little and had become hospitalized after becoming the manager of the baseball team. She joined the team having been impressed seeing Minami play baseball as a kid, and dreams of taking her team to the nationals. However, just as the team reach the finals of the prefectural tournament, she succumbs to her terminal illness and passes away. She is portrayed by Haruna Kawaguchi in the film.

Makoto Kachi (加地 誠, Kachi Makoto)

Voiced by: Kenjiro TsudaThe coach of the Hodokubo Baseball Team. While his orders are sometimes harsh, he always has the team's safety in mind. After Minami informs him about innovation, he concocts the 'no-bunt, no-ball' strategy, hoping to revolutionize high school baseball. He is portrayed by Yo Oizumi in the film.

Keiichirō Asano (浅野 慶一郎, Asano Keiichirō)

Voiced by: Tetsuya KakiharaThe team's main pitcher. He is often determined to show his worth on the field, though his play tends to weaken after making 100 pitches. He is portrayed by Koji Seto in the film.

Jirō Kashiwagi (柏木 次郎, Kashiwagi Jirō)

Voiced by: Akio SuyamaThe team's catcher, who is also one of Minami's childhood friends. He is portrayed by Sosuke Ikematsu in the film.

Ayano Hōjō (北条 文乃, Hōjō Ayano)

Voiced by: Sayaka NakayaThe team's score keeper and part of the management team. She is incredibly shy, usually saying little else besides "Oh, yeah, right," and has a strong admiration for Yuki. She is portrayed by Minami Minegishi (AKB48) in the film.

Jun Hoshide (星出 純, Hoshide Jun)

Voiced by: Yoshimasa HosoyaInitially the team's captain, though prior to the prefectural tournament he steps down from this position to focus on his plays. He is portrayed by Jingi Irie in the film.

Masayoshi Nikai (二階 正義, Nikai Masayoshi)

Voiced by: Shintaro AsanumaOne of the team members who joins the management team and is later made the team's captain after Jun steps down. He is portrayed by Hiroki Suzuki in the film.

Fumiaki Kutsuki (朽木 文明, Kutsuki Fumiaki)

Voiced by: Ryouta AkazawaThe team's pinch runner. He is a fast athlete, often occasionally training with the track club. He is portrayed by Masato Yano in the film.

Yūnosuke Sakurai (桜井 祐之助, Sakurai Yūnosuke)

Voiced by: Hideki NakanishiThe team's shortstop. He is rather timid and often makes mistakes under pressure. He is portrayed by Yukito Nishii in the film.

Daisuke Niimi (新見 大輔, Niimi Daisuke)

Voiced by: Yasuaki Takumi

He's the team's secondary pitcher. He often lacks physical strength. He is portrayed by Shota Matsushima in the film.

Hanae Chin (陳 花江, Chin Hanae)

Voiced by: Yukiko MondenAn anime original character, Hanae is a friend of Yūnosuke's who tries to support him when he's down. She later joins the management team, wanting to make something of herself.

Novel

The original novel, written by Natsumi Iwasaki with illustrations by Yukiusagi and Bamboo, was published by Diamondosha and released in Japan on December 4, 2009. The novel sold 1.81 million copies during its first year and became the year's bestselling novel in Japan.

Manga

A manga adaptation launched in Shueisha's seinen manga magazine Super Jump on December 22, 2010.

Anime

In October 2010, the Japanese public broadcaster NHK announced that a 10-episode anime television series based on the novel would begin airing on its network starting in March 2011. Due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the series was delayed from its original airdate and aired between April 25, 2011 and May 6, 2011 instead. Aimed at men and women in their 30s and 40s, the anime series is produced by Production I.G under the direction of Takayuki Hamana. The series' screenplay is by Jun'ichi Fujisaku while Jun Sato composes the music. The opening theme is "Dream Note" (夢ノート, Yume Nōto) performed by azusa and the closing theme is "I Love You" (大好きだよ, Daisuki dayo) performed by momo.

Live-action film

A film adaption starring actress Atsuko Maeda as the lead role of Minami Kawashima was released in Japanese theatres on June 4, 2011. Over 30 companies bid for the novel's film rights. It debuted on the 4th position in the Japanese box office with a total gross of US$2,232,675 on its debut weekend. The original soundtrack was released by Sony Music Entertainment on June 1, 2011.