"I want to live life believing in myself." This is the hope of the young baseball players portrayed in the best-selling novel Battery. The book tells the story of the characters' friendship and has been made into a popular television drama by NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation).

The story takes place in a rural town in the western Japanese prefecture of Okayama. Main character Harada Takumi has moved to the town just prior to starting junior high school. Harada is a talented pitcher with a blinding fastball, but his ability has made him overconfident. He's a stubborn young man, and if he doesn’t agree with something, he absolutely refuses to bend his principles. This means he often ends up quarreling with his teachers and senior team-mates.