Tribe Nine is a multi-media project created by Akatsuki Games and Too Kyo Games about a futuristic baseball-game-styled gang war set in Tokyo. It consists of a 12 episode anime, a web-manga adaptation of the events of the anime, and an Action RPG taking place after the events of the anime.
A number of outlaw gangs fight a brutal turf war over all 23 wards of Tokyo, using the unofficial sport "Extreme Baseball". One game takes place across an entire ward, with the city's most famous spots serving as "bases".
The anime mainly followed the story of one Tribe, the Minato Tribe, as they fought their way to the top of XB, going against Chiyoda Tribe, Neo Tokyo's then-leading faction at the time, and ousting their tyranny over the city in the process.
The game, while treated as a standalone story, does pick up around two years after the events of the anime and follows both new and old characters. Players take the role of amnesiac XB player Yo Kuronaka as he realizes he's wasted two years of his life brainwashed by Neo Tokyo's newest tyrant, Zero, after being rescued by his childhood friends Tsuki Iroha and Sui Yakumo, as well as returning character Kazuki Aoyama, his mysterious friend Q, and eight others leading a resistance against Zero. Just before they could escape, Zero catches up to them, reveals the whole rescue event was part of his plans all his time, and forces Yo to "play the most exciting games with him." Yo challenges Zero to an XB match instead but his team subsequently loses to him in a seemingly hopeless XB game. Now forced to play his "Extreme Games" as a result of the loss, Yo and his newfound friends, now monikered "Trash Tribe," must now find a way to beat Zero at his own games, free Neo Tokyo from his death game-ruled societal binds, and seek out who Yo really was before Zero kidnapped him.
The game's full release launched on February 20, 2025, while a closed beta version was launched in June 2024. The anime, produced by Liden Films, debuted in January 2022. On May 15th 2025, the game announced the cancellation of further content and end of service on November 27th, 2025. Tribe Nine's story would continue under the doujin circle Neoneon Tribe, in which Kazutaka Kodaka is involved in to finish the story to the end.
Preview: Official Trailer👁 Image
- Accidental Pervert: Haru has achieved this twice as of Episode 7, and both times with Saori. Fortunately for him, Saori, while embarassed, has not subjected him to Pervert Revenge Mode.
- The first time is when he leaps away from Taiga's punch after denying the claims of his superior reflexes, and his face lands smack inbetween her thighs. This causes Taiga to accuse Haru of perversion, with Shun, Manami, and Santaro teasingly joining in.
- The second time was when he walked in on her while she was getting undressed for a shower, causing him to get an eyeful of Saori in her underwear.
- Achievement In Ignorance: When Taiga challenges Hanafuda Sakura, the one person who even Shun couldn't beat, for the right to be his apprentice, Hana decides to cheat his way out of it by only pretending to pitch while Yajirobe Ueno, the Taito Tribe's leader, takes a ball on his person and pretends to catch it. Under Yajirobe's advice to not overthink things, Taiga opts to simply close his eyes and just as swing as hard as he can and bank on hitting the ball. He then swings so hard that he causes a massive gust of wind that flips the kimonos of Hana's courtesan harem, leading to him Eating the Eye Candy and dropping his ball, which Taiga sees rolling on the ground upon opening his eyes and immediately assumes it's that way because he hit it, meaning he won. And since Hana can't explain how he couldn't have without admitting that he tried cheating, he's forced to accept Taiga as his apprentice.
- Badass Biker: The batter in the reveal trailer arrives to the game on a sleek, red motorbike. He later uses it to take care of his opponents' fellow gang members.
- Batter Up!: The batter in the trailer uses, of course, a baseball bat. A rocket-powered one.
- Bring It: The batter in the trailer is clearly very confident in his abilities, as he taunts the pitcher of the rival gang shortly before the game starts.
- Cool Bike: In the reveal trailer, the opposing batter uses a cool red motorbike to travel between the bases. And to take care of gang members who get in his way.
- Decoy Protagonist: Shun Kamiya dies at the end of the third episode.
- Determinator: After the Adachi Tribe'ss brutal defeat by Ojiro, Taiga starts practicing day and night and, upon learning of Hanafuda Sakura, the one guy Shun couldn't beat, he relentless begs the man to make him his apprentice, which he manages to achieve with a combination of persistence and sheer dumb luck.
- The Dragon: To prove his worth as a successor to his father, Ojiro Otori leads the Chiyoda Tribe for Extreme Baseball while his father observes as Orcus on His Throne.
- Dumb Muscle: Taiga. He's Hot-Blooded, doesn't have much understanding of the rules of XB, and generally tries to brute force his way through things, but his experience as a Tuna fisherman before coming to Tokyo has made him incredibly strong. When he challenges Hanafuda Sakura for the right to be his apprentice, he swings his bat hard enough to cause a burst of wind.
- Even Evil Can Be Loved: No matter how corrupt Ojiro has become, Aoyama will not give up hope to save his friend from himself.
- Evil Sounds Deep: Ojiro has a deep, growling voice, and serves as one of the main antagonists of the series.
- Exact Words: After their win against the Adachi Tribe, Saori suggests reforming the Minato Tribe, saying how Ojiro never said they couldn't reform it after disbanding.
- Fighting Irish: Taiga has an Irish accent in the English dub and is a Hot-Blooded XB enthusiast.
- Gang of Hats: Besides the Minato and Taito tribes, most tribes have an overall look and theme. The Chiyodas are Putting on the Reich along with oni masks, the Adachis are motorcycle-riding Greaser Delinquents, the tech savvy Shinagawas dress like office workers, and the Ax-Crazy Otas wear green trench coats and gas masks.
- Gone Horribly Right: Tenshin trained Ojiro to value strength, especially in XB, above all else...which means Ojiro is disgusted enough to kill him when he declares his intention to secure all his future XB victories by cheating.
- Heroic Sacrifice: A non-fatal version. Ojiro ends up in the path of a speeding train during the climactic game, leading to Kazuki jumping in front of it to try and protect his old friend. Both end up surviving the impact — and Kazuki's actions end up causing Ojiro to start reconsidering his prior views on XB.
- Honor Before Reason:
- After Aoyama joins during their game against Adachi to save a kidnapped Saori, Haru and Taiga take issue with how they're relying on stuff like oil slicks and other tricks to make up the difference between them. As Aoyama points out, it'd be one thing if they're playing for fun, but they're trying to rescue a hostage, so their sense of fair-play and how it's causing them to act un-cooperative with him is ultimately more of a hindrance than anything admirable, especially with their opponents willingness to play cheap in mind.
- The climactic game against Chiyoda takes place as Chiyoda Castle is plummeting to the ground. Rather than escape to safety with their teammates, Taiga, Aoyama and Haru stay to finish the game.
- Implied Love Interest: Shun Kamiya and Saori Arisugawa. Not that Shun lives long enough for anything to be confirmed.
- Insufferable Genius: Kazuki Aoyama, who joins the Tribe after Shun's death at his request, doesn't play directly, but is knowledgable about XB and can quickly figure out a rival team's tricks and ploys. However, he is also fully aware that he's the smartest guy in the room and acts like it, referring to everyone else as "monekys".
- It's Personal with the Dragon: As Tenshin Otori never actually meets them in person, the Minato Tribe has far more beef with his main enforcer Ojiro. This goes double for Kazuki, thanks to their shared history together.
- Le Parkour: The players in the trailer indulge in quite a lot of jumping, running and somersaults to get from point A to point B.
- Made of Iron: Numerous characters are shown shrugging off normally-fatal attacks (ranging from severe beatings to point-blank explosions), with the aftereffects ranging from "perfectly fine" to "wrapped in bandages but otherwise functional".
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: Shun served as The Mentor in XB to Haru and to a lesser extent, Taiga. He ends up dying from illness after the third episode.
- Mood Whiplash: In episode six, there's a quick transition from the brutal defeat of the Adachi Tribe at Ojiro's hands to some of Taiga's comedic antics.
- Mundane Boss, Superhuman Dragon: Big Bad Tenshin Otori is by all accounts a regular human, while his son and subordinate Ojiro is one of the strongest characters in the series thanks to the brutal XB training he's gone through.
- No-Respect Guy: While they do recognise that he has talent, Taiga is often the butt of the Minato Tribe's jokes due to his Hot-Blooded nature and tendency to not look before he leaps.
- Pervert Revenge Mode: Double Subverted. When going to the backroom to put his bat away, Haru's so distracted by his suspicions that Kazuki trying to sabotage the Minato Tribe that he accidentally enters the shower room Saori has just finished using and was in the middle of getting changed. While embarrassed, she only asks that he closes the door, and only gets violent when Mita barges in upon hearing the commotion, asking if Saori's okay while carrying a camcorder and trying to record her, promptly getting punched in the face.
- Slouch of Villainy: Tenshin Otori is the Emperor of Neo Tokyo and true master of the Chiyoda Tribe, who mostly chills out while his son does all the villainy.
- The Starscream: Ojiro kills Tenshin after Tenshin declares he wants to resort to win XB through playing dirty and bribing the judges.
- Treacherous Advisor: Yui Kamiki, Tenshin's Girl Friday. When Ojiro usurps Chiyoda's throne, she puts her plan to dominate and rule Neo-Tokyo from the shadows into action.
- Worf Had the Flu: Shun Kamiya was already dying from a Soap Opera Disease when he battled Ojiro Otori, and therefore not at his peak performance.