The Minato Tribe faces off the one-man army Ojiro Otori – Spoilers Ahead for Episode 3 of ‘Tribe Nine‘
Picking up immediately after the events of episode two, Tribe Nine Episode 3 sees the Minato Tribe being challenged to a game of Extreme Baseball by Ojiro Otori, leader of the Chiyoda Tribe. Ojiro has just recently taken out the Bunkyo, Toshima, and Shinjuku Tribes in bloody fashion and now has his eyes set on Shin’s Minato Tribe as he continues to fulfill the plans of his father in controlling all of Neo-Tokyo by eliminating all of the city’s XB Tribes.
The game beings with Ojiro showcasing his brute strength and his pitching power as he kills one of his henchmen while throwing a warm-up pitch. The rest of the Minato Tribe are shaken to their core as they are now facing a much more fierce opponent than they were back in episode one. As the teams switch sides, it is now Ojiro’s time to bat, and to Haru’s surprise (as much as everyone else’s), Ojiro is also a wielder of a beam bat.
Something we’ve only seen wielded by Shun up to this point. Shun showcases his pitching power even though he’s not throwing at 100%. Despite blowing the first pitch past Ojiro, he doesn’t miss Shun’s second pitch and hits a line drive that leads to an XB Battle between him and Shun. After a quick exchange, Shun manages to trick Ojiro and Haru manages to tag him out.
After a couple of quick three-and-outs from both sides of the field, it is now Shun’s turn to bat. Shun hits a line drive that smashes Ojiro’s face mask to pieces. After getting past first base, Ojiro catches up to Shun, and another XB Battle between ensues, this time much quicker than the first as Ojiro makes quick work of Shun and knocks him down.
Ojiro bats again and smacks another line drive between second and third base. This time, this XB Battle between Shun and Ojiro is much longer and more brutal than the first. Resulting in a stylish, yet epic XB Battle between these two giants (figuratively speaking) at the Super Hill’s anti-gravity wall. This time, however, Ojiro puts down Shun in a brutal fashion and makes his way to home base.
Despite their best efforts, including Shun’s last-minute efforts, Ojiro lands another immobilizing blow to Shun which results in the Minato Tribe forfeiting the game and accepting defeat. As per the rules of Extreme Baseball, the winner of the loser of the match must submit to whatever the winner’s request is. In this case, Ojiro calls for the disbandment of the Minato Tribe, taking out the biggest XB Tribe in all of Neo-Tokyo, and moving one step close to achieving his goal.
Shun is then taken to the hospital to check on his injuries. Back at the Lovely Ocean, the team is content enough to just be enjoying each other’s company and enjoying some food until Haru approaches Shun about the final play at the plate which resulted in Shun actually tagging Ojiro out. However, Shun decides not to overturn Micchan’s forfeit but is happy that Haru saw what actually happened.
Although he doesn’t reveal why; it seems like Shun has bigger plans for Haru and the former Minato Tribe. That is if he is alive come next week’s episode. But we also see that he’s left a much bigger impact on Ojiro than we thought we would see. As Ojiro has a visible injury from Shun’s tag.
Tribe Nine Episode 3 was a solid episode that really pushes the narrative forward and shows how brutal Extreme Baseball can be in this world. While also setting up Ojiro as the big bad of the series as he moves onto his next target.
So far I’ve been really enjoying Tribe Nine and this is an anime series I picked up on an absolute whim. That impulsive decision came at the behest of Funimation’s Youtube video showcasing the series’ animation and how it was put together. It’s an impulsive decision that I have not rejected at all yet.
From its stylish animation and character designs to its Saturday morning anime series look and feel, and hard-hitting soundtrack, everything about Tribe Nine was been an absolute pleasure to watch. I do fear that the plot might get a little repetitive when it comes to the XB matches. Now that the top XB Tribe has been taken out, the whole dynamic of the series changes. We just have to see if it’s for the better or for the worst.
Tribe Nine is streaming now on Funimation.
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