10 best anime to watch if you like Catch Me at the Ballpark!

2025's Catch Me at the Ballpark! anime follows the relationship between Kōtarō Murata, a weary salaryman finding solace attending baseball games, and Ruriko, a spirited beer vendor whose cheerful public persona hides vulnerability.

As Ruriko serves Murata beers across the MotorSuns stadium counters, their bond gradually deepens against the backdrop of staff, fans, and players that breathe soul into the venue. Fans of the 2025 baseball anime Catch Me at the Ballpark! may struggle to find shows with the same emotional spirit and slice-of-life charm.

Fortunately, several anime share Catch Me at the Ballpark!’s emphasis on subtle character bonds, celebration of everyday passions, and infusion of poignant humor into mundane spaces. Ranging from creative pursuits to rural revitalization tales, these shows contain the same glimmers of life’s quiet joys.

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10 must-watch anime for fans of Catch Me at the Ballpark!

1. Shirobako

Shirobako (Image via P.A. Works)

Shirobako offers a peek into the production side of animation rather than final products. Viewers follow Aoi Miyamori’s career at animation studio Musashino Animation as she confronts typical challenges like missed deadlines or uncooperative staff.

But beyond workload stress, creative passion and camaraderie still shine through. Much like Catch Me at the Ballpark!’s stadium settings, animation production includes its own lesser-seen roles—from production assistants to key animators.

And like MotorSuns Stadium’s community spirit, Musashino Animation teams channel collective drive to put quality artwork into the world. For viewers taken by Catch Me at the Ballpark!’s behind-the-scenes angle, Shirobako offers the ultimate next step into the realm of creative career realities.

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2. Barakamon

Barakamon (Image via Kinema Citrus)

For city-dwellers feeling trapped in urban sterility, moving to rural Japan is often seen as an idyllic escape. That idealistic assumption gets playfully upended in Barakamon, which follows calligrapher Seishu Handa’s adjustment to island living after public mistakes tarnish his reputation.

Expected artistic seclusion quickly morphs into a lively community connection, thanks especially to the vibrant Naru Kotoishi and her village friends. There’s joyful resonance in seeing friends gather within life’s ordinary nooks and crannies.

Like Catch Me at the Ballpark!, these relationships flourish in seemingly mundane spaces—the post office where Handa ships calligraphy, local gardens, and tiny corner stores.

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3. Insomniacs After School

Insomniacs After School (Image via LIDENFILMS)

For viewers drawn into Catch Me at the Ballpark!’s central duo dynamic, Insomniacs After School spotlights another tender male-female relationship blooming within quotidian spaces.

Set around an abandoned school observatory, it follows the bond forged between insomniac high schoolers Isaki Magari and Ganta Nakami. Beyond observatory visits and late-night wanderings, their relationship evolves through stargazing, walks home under starlit skies, and quiet conversations.

There’s comfort in seeing human connection kindle even in spaces normally dismissed as merely transitional. Much like MotorSuns Stadium’s bustling corridors in Catch Me at the Ballpark!, the observatory holds its own community—forged across floor mats and telescopes.

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4. March Comes in Like a Lion

March Comes in Like a Lion (Image via Shaft)

Emotional refuge takes center stage again with Rei Kiriyama in March Comes in Like a Lion, an anime spotlighting both the beauty and hardship of the shogi world. Following a personal tragedy, shogi prodigy Rei has withdrawn inward—rarely attending school and becoming isolated within competitive circles.

But Rei soon finds his stagnant life disrupted by two forces: the energetic Kawamoto sisters, who draw him into their warm family sphere, and his adoption into the lively Shimada shogi workshop. Like Catch Me at the Ballpark!’s Murata, Rei struggles with feeling adrift from typical social bonds.

And through motivational friendships, he ultimately rediscovers passion rooted in community support.

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5. After the Rain

After the Rain (Image via Wit Studio)

An age-gap relationship anchors After the Rain as it explores emotional shelters from life’s storms. Following knee surgery that dashes her track club dreams, 17-year-old high schooler Akira Tachibana retreats from peers and fixates on her kind 45-year-old manager, Masami Kondō.

Seeking refuge from the pressure of her injury and drifting friendships, Akira finds comfort in Kondō’s gentle guidance at the Garden Café, where they both work. It’s another ode to life’s quiet, restorative spaces—places that allow human bonds to deepen through daily rituals like sharing meals or walking home together.

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6. Sakura Quest

Sakura Quest (Image via P.A. Works)

Few anime celebrate the charms and challenges of rural community revitalization as earnestly as Sakura Quest. When jobless Tokyoite Yoshino Koharu accepts the Queen of Manoyama role as a tourism booster in Manoyama, Toyama Prefecture, she quickly realizes the role’s difficulties but also its personal rewards.

Beyond hilarious mascot outfits and promotional event planning mishaps, Yoshino discovers the spirit and resilience woven into Manoyama’s history—from elderly residents reminiscing about younger days to young craftspeople reinventing fading industries with modern twists.

Much like the MotorSuns Stadium staff in Catch Me at the Ballpark!, Manoyama locals fully embrace the roles of sustaining their beloved community stage.

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7. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (Image via A-1 Pictures)

For viewers drawn to Ruriko and Murata’s office-stadium bond, Wotakoi likewise explores the intersection of adult work life and passionate hobbies. Spotlighting multiple couples, it focuses most on Narumi and Hirotaka—two office workers and self-proclaimed otaku who hide their nerdy obsessions from colleagues.

Beyond gaming and geeking at home, this secret shared interest allows an endearing bond to emerge slowly between them through office interactions, after-work drinks, and even gaming tournament visits together.

Like baseball in Catch Me at the Ballpark!, gaming proves a conduit for human connection to deepen within spaces often dismissed for one-dimensional roles.

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8. Tamayura: Hitotose

Tamayura: Hitotose (Image via TYO Animations)

Photography steps into the spotlight with Tamayura: Hitotose as another ode to nostalgic memory and passion-fueled bonds.

Following her father’s death, high schooler Fū Sawatari rediscovers his old film camera and returns to Takehara—the town her family once called home. There she grows closer to childhood friends, including Kaoru Hanawa, who works at a local café, and begins capturing daily life through a new lens.

Each photo reflects quiet affection for community—morning market scenes, shrine groundskeepers at work, and the gentle tide’s flow. Simple, precious moments anchor collective belonging.

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9. The Great Passage

The Great Passage (Image via Zexcs)

Language itself proves the communal linchpin within The Great Passage. Set inside the publishing company Genbu Shobo, it highlights the enormous collaborative effort underlying dictionary creation as word lover Majime joins the dedicated team compiling a new tome.

Beyond intricate word definitions, Majime discovers rich cultural connotations woven into language itself. From Chief Editor Matsumoto’s leadership to veteran lexicographer Kouhei Araki’s guidance, Majime finds inspiration in the passion fueling this often overlooked publishing realm.

Their vision ultimately mirrors Catch Me at the Ballpark!’s broader ode to investing everyday human devotion into spaces that anchor communal belonging.

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10. Deaimon

Deaimon (Image via Encourage Films)

Passion passed between generations anchors Deaimon as it explores one family’s dedication to upholding their small Kyoto confectionery shop inherited across three generations. Its current heir is 30-year-old Nagomu Irino, who returns home after failing to become a musician in Tokyo.

But while Nagomu lacks a clear career drive early on, his kind heart and love for their traditional wagashi ultimately fuel his commitment to the family shop. Guidance from his family—and his growing bond with Itsuka, a young girl living at the shop—helps Nagomu cherish the tradition and meaning behind their craft.

Much like MotorSuns baseball in Catch Me at the Ballpark!, their craft becomes a conduit for community service and bonds shared across the years.

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Conclusion

While its exact setting stands alone, Catch Me at the Ballpark!’s emotional spirit resonates across many anime, capturing passion’s quieter ripples within everyday communities.

From rural towns to niche industries, these shows spotlight the humor and meaning nurtured in spaces often dismissed as mundane backgrounds. Most importantly, human relationships stay anchored in the center frame—subtly deepened through shared daily rituals or challenges confronted as motivational teams.

For any fan who fell for stadium staff bonds or Murata and Ruriko’s connection, these anime offer more gateways into the gentle power of ordinary interactions unfolding in extraordinary emotional places.

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Edited by Somava