Tribe Nine is one of the new titles that is flying under the radar this winter season. It has yet to reach both our top-10 weekly poll and our top-10 new anime weekly poll for Winter 2022. In fact, the most hype the series has received so far this season is when Corpse Husband was announced as the dub casting for the main antagonist, Ojiro. But with that in mind, Tribe Nine has been the winter season’s “kick back and enjoy” type of series. The cyberpunk-baseball anime still manages to be wildly entertaining despite being void of any intricate plotline.
Since the start of the season, we’ve had important characters die, the hectic world of the series established, and some shockingly beautiful animations. Though, I’m not surprised that the creator of Danganronpa and Akudama Drive, Kazutaka Kodaka, brings fans another one of his works that keeps us on the edge of our seats. But now that the first half has come and gone, here are five things that we think could bring more even excitement in the second half of the season.
1. More Baseball, Less Emotion
The first half of the season had its emotional moments. With an unexpected death, Haru doubting himself, and Taiga being told he should just quit extreme baseball, Tribe Nine made quick work of setting the tone within the Minato Tribe. These moments weren’t meaningless. But now that their resolves have been somewhat established it’s time to put in the work. The anime is centered around extreme baseball. So making the second half of the series full of extreme baseball moments and less self-doubt is ideal.
2. Saori Taking Charge of Minato Tribe
At the end of episode 6, Saori is chosen to be the new leader of the Minato Tribe. Being a fan-favorite among fans in the first half of the series, the second half has the potential to showcase her capabilities that we’ve been teased with for the first six episodes. For example, she is the only person in the series that could catch Kamiya’s pitches when nobody else could. That’s a great establishing moment for her future potential as a player. Now that her abilities and position are both known at this point, it’s time to see what else she’s capable of.
3. Ojiro Needs to Take a Loss
Ojiro is going on a winning tirade of beating down (literally) any tribe that stands in his way. While Tribe Nine doesn’t have a complicated plot, Ojiro still needs a loss at some point. It’s understandable that this anime is basically one giant advertisement for the upcoming game, but being an antagonist usually sets you up for a loss at some point in time. And with the best extreme baseball player out of the picture, Saori would be the perfect character to lead Minato Tribe to deliver that first loss to Ojiro. It’s a cliche revenge trope, but it would be undoubtedly entertaining.
4. Give One of the Side Characters a Spotlight Moment
Maybe that’s wanting too much out of a series that doesn’t seem to have much character development in the first place. But whether it’s Diamon, Mita, or even Yui, Tribe Nine revolves around explosive moments. So having a side character do something incredible at any moment would just add to the wild nature of the series. It could be ridiculous, but that’s what Tribe Nine is all about—pure chaos wrapped in extreme baseball.
5. Taiga’s Big Return
Obviously, this one is more of a possibility since episode six ended with Taiga being taken under Hanafuda’s wing. So, since it’s an anime, he’ll more than likely showcase his new hitting abilities in a crucial moment and it’s going to be glorious to witness. Hopefully, the animations will look as beautiful as they did in the first half of the season when Kamiya went up to bat against Yutaka.
What would you like to see happen in the second half of Tribe Nine?
Image source: Funimation, Official Twitter: @tribenine_tokyo
©Akatsuki Inc. / Tribe Nine Project