Princess Nine

Princess Nine, known in Japan as Princess Nine Kisaragi Girls High Baseball Club (プリンセスナイン如月女子高野球部, Purinsesu Nain Kisaragi Joshikō Yakyū-bu), is a 26-episode Japanese anime television series and a three volume manga written and created by Kensei Date. The series is about the trials of nine girls at the Kisaragi School for Girls who form a baseball team for the purpose of playing on equal footing with boys' teams at the most prestigious high school tournament in Japan, the National High School Baseball Championship. Their aim to qualify for, and ultimately to win, the final rounds of the tournament which is held each year at the Koshien Stadium. They are led by ace pitcher, Ryo Hayakawa, a daughter of a former pitching star in Japan who was banned from Nippon Professional Baseball. The team (in batting order): All of the team members are excellent athletes and in great physical shape, and this explains why the team becomes such a strong one despite their physical differences. In addition to the nine players, there are two more members: The series was produced by Phoenix Entertainment, and aired from April 8 to October 14, 1998, on NHK. The series was initially released by ADV Films in North America, who released it in six VHS and DVD volumes. The show is listed on Animeondvd.com as a recommended series. At Anime Expo 2013, Right Stuf Inc. had announced that they have licensed the series for a 2014 release under their Lucky Penny label. Funimation is streaming the series on their website in partnership with Nozomi.