Team Astro (2005)

One Game, Full Throttle

A young boy, J. Shuro, meets the legendary pitcher Eiji Sawamura in the Philippines during World War II. Sawamura shares his dreams of one day gathering the nine Astro Superhumans – who all were born nine minutes and nine seconds past nine on September 9th of the 29th year of Showa (1954) and all have baseball-shaped birthmarks on their bodies – to form the ultimate baseball team capable of beating the Yomiuri Giants and any U.S. Major League team. When Sawamura dies during the war, Shuro decides to help fulfill his idol’s dream and goes in search of the nine ball players. But the team that is formed does not play ordinary ball. These extraordinary players demonstrate extraordinary plays on the field and some will not stop until everything – even their lives – is left on the field.

• First Air Date: 2005-08-10
• Last Air Date: 2005-12-07
• Total Seasons: 1
• Total Episodes: 18
• Episode Runtime: 48 min.
• Network: tv asahi
• Directors: Imai Kazuhisa, Kenzō Maihara, Jun Akiyama.
• Creator: Yoshinobu Kamo, Katsuhiko Manabe