Obligatory essay on why Mihashi is autistic under the readmore
Big Windup--or Ookiku Furikabutte--is a Japanese manga and anime, written by Higuchi Asa. It began publication as a manga in 2003 and got an anime adaptation in 2007. The story follows a young baseball club in their first year- with only ten members, a newbie coach, and a supervisor that knows nothing about baseball, how far in the tournament will they be able to go?
The main character, Mihashi Ren, is a pitcher with severe self esteem issues. In his middle school, he endured extreme bullying and exclusion by his fellow baseball club members. Seemingly because of this, Mihashi has a jumpy personality-- he speaks in fragments, jumps at random, and often has a dorky expression on his face-- but most importantly, he never lost his love for baseball, going as far as to practice after hours at his own house, for long periods of time. Mihashi exhibits many symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder-- namely, “Delayed language skills”, “Hyperactive, impulsive, and/or inattentive behavior”, “Unusual mood or emotional reactions”, “Anxiety, stress, or excessive worry”, and “Obsessive interests”. (CDC) He has also been shown to suffer from insomnia, but this also stems from his anxiety.
Of course, it would be easy to dismiss these symptoms as a result of his bullying in middle school. However, Mihashi has been exhibiting symptoms since his early childhood (Wiki)- specifically his choppy way of speaking and his intense obsession with baseball. Another character also notes that “Its hard understanding (Mihashi).” (Oofuri vol 2, ch 4) Mihashi himself also misunderstands people often, misconstruing advice and concern for threats. This can be seen when Mihashi goes up to bat and his fingers are too close to the front, putting them at risk of being hit. A player on the bench mouths at him to move his fingers back, which Mihashi misconstrues as a threat. Another time, the team captain corners Mihashi to apologize for yelling at him. While the captain wants to discuss and apologize for blowing up at Mihashi, Mihashi thinks
Adding on to his hardship in forming relationships, he seems to have trouble telling how close he can appropriately get. He is one of the last people on the team to switch to calling others by their given names, a practice that is extremely common in high school sports and baseball specifically. It takes him until their second year to call Abe by his given name, despite Abe trying to get him to do it for several months before.
Specifically with his hyper fixation on baseball, Mihashi exhibits intense focus and obsession, practicing to the point that he has impeccable precision, and is even able to split his pitching zone into nine parts, when most players at his level can manage at most four. Not only can he do this, but he has impeccable control, being able to send the ball exactly where he wants it to go every single time. This took a lot of training and focus, and one character comments that Mihashi is a better pitcher than him because he loves baseball more, and "liking it means you concentrate."(Oofuri vol 2, ch 5) Baseball-- and specifically pitching-- is Mihashi's special interest, and he applies all of his energy to it one hundred percent of the time. He also has several types of balls he is able to throw, despite never having an official coach training him. According to his fandom wiki page (a site similar to Wikipedia for shows and other types of media) Mihashi “loves pitching so much that his mother mentions he's always holding a ball, even in his sleep.” It's implied he spends several hours a day practicing pitching and solely pitching, until regulations are placed on him. When his coach tells him he can't pitch outside of practice, he gets very upset. Not only is this because it interferes with his special interest (pitching) but also because it disrupts the schedule he generally abides by.
Mihashi is also very stubborn. This is shown by his distaste when the coach asks him to limit his pitching outside of practice, his refusal to leave the pitcher's mound in middle school, and the fact that he got upset to the point of tears when it was suggested that they train another pitcher. He is extremely adverse to the thought of having a possible replacement, even going so far as to claim he could play two games in the same day, because he wants to be the only one pitching so he can pitch for as long as he wants. In fact, this is what he did in middle school, as the one who monopolized the pitcher's mound.
It is also shown several times in the manga that sometimes Mihashi is unable to verbally speak his mind, due to his fear of criticism. He is shown to fidget when in thought, and when he wants to speak, but can’t. This causes many people to get annoyed with him, because he is unable to properly voice his opinions and thoughts. He also has a hard time maintaining eye contact. In chapter six, Mihashi greets one of his fellow players as they walk to school, and the player is surprised that "he can make eye contact now!" (Oofuri vol 2, ch 6) This is only one of many examples of characters being surprised when Mihashi makes eye contact, or annoyed when he fails to.
Mihashi can also be very gullible at times. When someone tells him something, he tends to believe it, especially if they are someone he trusts. When Abe promises him he wouldn't get injured or sick their entire three years together, Mihashi believes him. However, this is not something Abe has control over, and when Abe does in fact get injured, Mihashi is distraught. When Mihashi was younger, the older kids in his neighborhood convinced him Santa was real, and he believed it for a very long time. He tends to be more trusting, and is often confused at the thought of people purposely deceiving others.
In addition, Mihashi has been shown to have some sensory issues. He is very weak to loud noises, often startling when his teammates shout loudly. He is often startled to the point of tears in these situations. When overwhelmed, which happens often, he tends to burst into tears and make himself as small as possible, withdrawing from the situation.
In terms of autism criteria laid out by the DSM-5, the diagnostic criteria manual, Mihashi meets the following:
Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history (examples are illustrative, not exhaustive; see text):
Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions.
Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.
Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.
Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g., strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests).
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