Baseball is the favorite high school sport in Japan. For Seido High School, it’s a tradition to go to the Koushien, the dream stadium for every high school baseball player. But this year, Seido High’s chance is in jeopardy. They must face Gedo High at the very first game. Their team competes just for the thrill of the kill! Seido High’s head coach witnesses a new students formidable baseball and martial arts skills. He recruits him to join the team to fight against the Evil team. Now the rules are simple - there are no rules. Just make it to first base without any of your body parts getting cut off.

BATTLEFIELD BASEBALL shares similar elements with Stephen Chow’s SHAOLIN SOCCER but it contains a much more odd sense of humor that only can be found in Japanese films. It is rare that the film lives up to audiences’ expectation. Despite the fact that is called BATTLEFIELD BASEBALL, there’s not a single baseball game. The film isn’t about the competitiveness of the sport because it is not a sports film. It film revolves around what baseball means to these characters and what they go through. It is based on a Manga, and it truly adapts the spirits and taste of it. Everything is over the top and everything that is so ridiculous and unbelievable is meant to be that way.

The cast of the film is as unique as the film itself. Every characters is very distinctive each other and cast brings it out brilliantly. Tak Sakaguchi (Versus), playing the new student Jubei, portrays this lone hero perfectly with odd timing on comedic reactions and fighting skills. Most of the cast are comedians and they seem to know what they are doing. Everyone brings the comedic level to the next level. As stated before, it is really about baseball or battle. This is a comedy. There is not much ultraviolence or jaw dropping fight sequences in the film. But there is something happening in every scene. Most of them are odd and silly, but that is the spirit of the film. Don’t expect VERSUS just because Kitamura produced it.

That said, BATTLEFIELD BASEBALL is a perfect film for those who just love an odd, quirky film that is just a pure entertainment. The story is very fast paced, performances are hilarious, scenes are ridiculous, and it is absolutely unbelievable. It is highly extreme and enjoyable film.

DVD DETAILS

Video: presented in anamorphic widescreen of aspect ratio 1.85:1, the transfer is borderline average.  The sharpness is a little soft sometimes, and the color saturation isn’t vivid as today’s standard but knowing it is a very low budget film, one shouldn’t ask more.

Audio: the disc supports Japanese DD 5.1 and original DD 2.0 with optional English subtitles. This is less impressive than the video transfer. It contains newly remastered DD 5.1 but that is the major disappointment. The dialogue is clean and centered but rest of the channels are not activated at all. The low frequency is on vacation through entire film, the rear channels doesn’t enhance any action moments as well as not providing much ambient sound. Very disappointment.

Special Features

Audio Commentary: this is one great listen. All the panelists are having great fun and the energy of it is super hyper. They mostly talk non sense that does nothing to do with the film. It is too bad that the energy and comedic sense of this couldn’t translate well in subtitles.

Making of BATTLEFIELD BASEBALL: there are two parts.

- Making of Featurette 1: this 30 mins featurette is conducted in interview style. Some random kid interview (reading off cards) Tak and he answers by showing the behind the scene footage.
- Making of Featurette 2: In this 25 mins featurette, it mainly covers behind the scene on action sequences and effects sequences.

Outtakes / Deleted scenes: contains 10 outtakes and 7 deleted scenes. Some of deleted scenes are just outtakes as well.

Short / Foulballs: it contains 5 shorts films.

- Love Show: Karaoke style music video for a song featured in the film.
- Premier Footage: 3 mins montage of the film festval/premier appreances of cast and filmmakers.
- Battle Guy 1: this is a 10 mins short about students at Seido High featureing Kubrick figures as cast.
- Battle Guy 2: again this 3 mins short starring Kubrick figures is about goons ar Gedou High.
- Ramen Short: this 8 mins short Is about a boy who’s living with a lady old bag and his journey to make an ultimate bowl of ramen for her. it contains the same sense of extreme humor as the main feature,

Battlefield Baseball Trailers: contains 3 original theatrical trailers of the film.

Subversive Cinema Trailers: trailers for Subversive releases including The WitchWho Came from the Sea, Living Hell (Japanese version), Living Hell (US version), Candy Snatchers, and Mutations.