Cross Game
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| Cross Game | |||
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 Cross Game volume 1 cover |
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| クロスゲーム (Kurosu Gēmu) |
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| Genre | Romantic comedy, Sports (baseball) | ||
| Manga | |||
| Author | Mitsuru Adachi | ||
| Publisher |  Shogakukan |
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| Demographic | Shōnen | ||
| Serialized in | Shōnen Sunday | ||
| Original run | Issue 22/23 2005 – ongoing | ||
| Volumes | 12 | ||
Cross Game (クロスゲーム Kurosu Gēmu?) is an ongoing romantic comedy baseball manga series by Mitsuru Adachi. It has been serialized by Shogakukan in Weekly Shōnen Sunday since issue 22/23 in 2005, and collected in 12 tankōbon volumes as of May 2008.
The first part of the story, "Seasons of Wakaba" (若葉の季節 Wakaba no Kisetsu?), is a prologue that takes place while the main characters are in elementary school. The second part, which is untitled and restarts the numbering of chapters, starts four years later while they are in junior high and continuing into high school.
Cross Game is the story of Kō Kitamura and the four Tsukishima sisters, Ichiyo, Wakaba, Aoba, and Momiji. The Tsukushima family runs a batting center with an attached coffee shop, and Kō's father runs a neighboring sporting good store.[1][2] Wakaba and Kō were born on the same day in the same hospital, and have been close friends since childhood—close enough that Wakaba treats Kō as her boyfriend, even though nothing is officially declared.[1] Aoba, who is one year younger than Wakaba and Kō, doesn't like how Kō is "taking" her sister away from her and claims she hates him.
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[edit] Setting
The series is set in Mifujidai, a fictional town based on Nukui 3-chōme in Nerima-ku, Tokyo, and the fictional Mifujidai Station is based on Fujimidai Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.[3] There is no batting center, though, in Nukui 3-chōme.
[edit] Plot
Kō Kitamura, son of the owner of Kitamura Sports, lives in the same neighborhood as the batting center run by the Tsukishima family. Due to their proximity and the relationship between their businesses, the Kitamura and Tsukishima families have been close for many years, with their children going back and forth between the two homes like extended family.[1] Because Kō and Wakaba are the same age and always together, Aoba is jealous of all the time Kō spends with her older sister. Aoba is a natural pitcher with excellent form, and Kō secretly trains to become as good as she is, even while publicly showing little interest in baseball. Then Wakaba dies in a swimming accident at a summer camp during fifth grade.
In junior high, Kō continues training in secret. When he enters high school, he joins the baseball club along with his childhood friends, Akaishi and Nakanishi. However, the temporary principal (the regular principal has been sick for some time) has brought in a new head coach, and he in turn brings in transfer students from other schools as ringers just to play baseball. This team is the clear favorite of the school. Led by their star, Yūhei. Because the three friends refuse to take evaluation tests to join the first-string team, they are placed on the second-string "prefab" team under the former head coach, Maeno, who has to use the local junior high school field for practice. This causes a rivalry between the two parts of the team. In the first summer practice game between them, the prefab team loses by only a narrow margin.
During the summer vacation, while the first-string team plays in the Kōshien preliminaries, the prefab team practices at a recently closed elementary school under the guidance of a mysterious old man. Near the end of summer vacation, the temporary principal decides to dissolve the prefab team. However, Coach Maeno asks for a rematch practice game with the first-string team, where whichever team lost would be dissolved and that coach would leave. With Aoba playing with them, the prefab team wins a narrow victory.
The first-string team is dissolved, and the head coach and the temporary principal leave to work at other schools. Spring comes around again, Kō becomes a second-year student and Aoba enters his high school.
Kō continues practicing with his team. Yūhei, whom decided to stay with the team despite having been a member of the corrupt manager's team, helps the team as their pinch hitter. He moves in with Kō and his family as the dormitory where Yūhei was staying is closed down. They play very well, defeating teams they are expected to lose against. Such as Sonnoh in the first round of the tournament to gain entry into the Kōshien. In the second round the face Ryouh. They play well but lose in overtime in the tenth inning.
With the main season over the story shifts to Kō and his personal life. A girl named Akane moves in nearby. Her striking resemblance to Wakaba causes mixed feelings among the various characters. Eventually the resemblance is revealed to Akane who doesn't seem to mind.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Main characters
- Kō Kitamura (樹多村 光 Kitamura Kō?)
- Position: Pitcher
- In 5th grade in Part One, enters Seishū High School at the start of Part Two. Kō lives down the street from the Tsukishima family and is treated like one of the family when he visits their house, batting cage, or coffee shop. He has been practically inseparable from Wakaba since their birth on the same day in the same hospital. While he shows little interest in baseball to outsiders, he has practiced daily at the Tsukishima Batting Center since he was old enough to swing a bat, enough so he is an excellent batter, especially against fastballs.
- After Wakaba's death, Kō is inspired by Aoba's excellent pitching form to become a great pitcher himself, and secretly adopts Aoba's daily training regimen. Although he doesn't play baseball in junior high, he friends convince him to join the high school baseball club. Because Kō and his friends don't take the placement test, they are put on the second string team (called the "prefab" team). With his changeup fastball, he becomes a well-known ace pitcher in the eastern conference.
- Wakaba Tsukishima (月島 若葉 Tsukishima Wakaba?)
- Second daughter of the Tsukishima family, in 5th grade in Part One. Through their childhood, Wakaba is constantly with Kō. She constantly talks about their future together, even giving him a schedule of suggested future birthday gifts that includes an engagement ring for her 20th birthday. She frequently kisses Kō, which annoys their mutual friend Akaishi, who has a secret crush on her. For several birthdays in a row, Wakaba gives Kō alarm clocks because he has a hard time waking up in the morning. She dies in a swimming accident while at a summer camp during 5th grade. Her name means "young leaf".
- Aoba Tsukishima (月島 青葉 Tsukishima Aoba?)
- Position: Pitcher (but sometimes plays centerfielder)
- Third daughter of the Tsukishima family, one year younger than Kō and Wakaba. Aoba is jealous of how much time Wakaba spends with Kō, and frequently tells Kō how much she hates him. She is an excellent pitcher, having modeled her pitching form after Junpei Azuma. She has a poster of Ryota Igarashi, a famous fastball pitcher, hanging on her bedroom wall, and says she is only interested in a guy who can pitch a fastball at 160 km/h (about 100 mph). She loves to pitch in practice games, even though as a girl she cannot play in official baseball. However, she rarely shows her real speed as most catchers can't handle it. Her name means "blue leaf".
Upon entering high school she has joined the baseball team despite saying previously she would not. She has been asked out repeatedly and once even went on a group date with everyone who asked her out to get them to stop pursuing her. She recently gave chocolate on valentines day to Yūhei (She probably wanted to give them to Ko).
[edit] Seishū High School
- Yūhei Azuma (東 雄平 Azuma Yūhei?)
- Position: First baseman
- Younger brother of Junpei Azuma, in the same year as Kō. Yūhei transferred to Seishū High School in order play baseball on the first-string team, and remains after the coach is dismissed. He has trouble recalling other people's names and faces, but he remembers meeting Kō at the Tsukishima Batting Center several months before transferring to Seishū. He lost some of his self-confidence after his transfer, but seeing Kō's abilities during the practice game boosted his spirits.
- Junpei injured his leg, ending his rising baseball career, while saving Yūhei from falling down a staircase. Since then, Yūhei has been very careful around all stairs and the guilt gave him a renewed drive to make it to the Kōshien. He currently has stated romantic interests in Aoba.
- Osamu Akaishi (赤石 修 Akaishi Osamu?)
- Position: Catcher
- Akaishi is a childhood friend of Kō and Wakaba, the same age as them. In Part One, he has a crush on Wakaba and is jealous of the time Kō spends with her. In elementary school, he was kept from pitching on his Little League team because he got into fights with opposing teams. He was able to throw a 100 km/h fastball while in elementary school, and Kō could to hit a home run off one of his pitches. In high school, Akaishi throws himself into baseball with a passion. Because he did not take the placement test for the baseball club, he is on the prefab team with Kō. His father owns a liquor store.
- Daiki Nakanishi (中西 大気 Nakanishi Daiki?)
- Position: First baseman, Third baseman
- A member of the Seishū High School baseball club, in the same year as Kō and Akaishi. He likes Kō, but has a rocky relationship with him ever since elementary school, when Kō convinced he and his friends to buy a lot of brand new baseball equipment from the Kitamura store. In compensation, Nakanishi forces Kō to learn the basics of baseball (outside of hitting). He joins the baseball club in junior high, but quits after three months of never getting to play. He keeps training after leaving the club, however, until he is stronger than the players on the junior high team. He joins the baseball club in high school, but like Kō and Akaishi he does not take the placement test and is placed on prefab team. While he plays catcher in elementary school, in high school he originally plays first baseman before switching to third baseman.
- Keiichirō Senda (千田 圭一郎 Senda Keichirō?)
- Position: Shortstop
- A member of the Seishū baseball club, in the same year as Kō. He is the only first-year student to pass the baseball club placement test, and therefore on the first-string team. Because of this, he frequently brags about how good he must be. Coach Maeda comments that Senda is too much of a showoff to be a good pitcher, but that he would likely make a great shortstop. He constantly pursues Aoba, trying to get her to date him. After making too many errors as pitcher, he is demoted to the prefab team, where he plays shortstop. His appearance and personality are similar to Ryūtaro Kine from H2.
- Toshio Miya (宮 俊男 Miya Toshio?)
- Position: Left fielder
- A member of the first-string team of the Seishū baseball club, in the year ahead of Kō. Toshio is an excellent bunter and very good at squeeze plays as well fielding. His playing helps keep the first-string team from allowing too many runs during their practice games.
- Tanabe (田辺?)
- Position: Center fielder
- A member of the Seishū baseball club, in the year ahead of Kō. He passes the placement test for the first-string team, but is only an average player. He is substituted for Miki in game four of the regional tournament and does a good job. However, after defying a coach's order during a practice game in order to make the correct play, he is demoted to the prefab team.
- Makihara (巻原?)
- Position: Third baseman
- A member of the prefab team of the Seishū baseball club, two years ahead of Kō. He is always late. He did not get along with Nakanishi in junior high, and frequently pushed him around. He is jealous of Kō's abilities and lets it affect how he plays. However, after the rematch practice game between the first-string and prefab teams, he resigns and tells the rest of the team he hopes they look forward with anticipation to the next year.
- Sekiguchi (関口?)
- Position: Second baseman
- A member of the prefab team of the Seishū baseball club, two years ahead of Kō. Like Makihara, Sekiguchi didn't get along with Nakanishi in junior high. He retires after the rematch practice game.
- Tsuneki (常木?)
- Position: Center fielder
- A member of the prefab team of the Seishū baseball club, two years ahead of Kō. Tsuneki also didn't get along with Nakanishi in junior high. He is now retired from baseball. He retires after the rematch practice game.
- Kayama (加山 Kayama?)
- Position: Shortstop
- A member of the prefab team of the Seishū baseball club, two years ahead of Kō. He has to be relieved partway through the first practice game with the first-string team after eating too much okonomiyaki for breakfast. He retires after the rematch practice game.
- Wataru Morinaka (森中 渡 Morinaka Wataru?)
- Position: Third baseman
- A member of the baseball club, one year ahead of Kō. After the third-year players quit, he becomes a starting player during the rematch practice game between the first-string and prefab teams. After Nakanishi switches positions to third base, he becomes a benchwarmer.
- Satoshi Takada (高田 智史 Takada Satoshi?)
- Position: Second baseman
- A member of the baseball club, one year ahead of Kō. After the third-year players quit, he becomes a starting player during the rematch practice game between the first-string and prefab teams.
- Tetsu Iwai (岩井 哲 Iwai Tetsu?)
- Position: Right fielder
- A member of the baseball club, one year ahead of Kō. After the third-year players quit, he becomes a starting player during the rematch practice game between the first-string and prefab teams.
- Sentarō Maeno (前野 千太郎 Maeno Sentarō?)
- Position: Coach
- Former head coach of the baseball club, and coach of the prefab team. Because he has coached for so long, he is well-known and has a lot of influence with other coaches. While coaching of the prefab team, he seemed very docile and quiet, frequently talking about winning and dying, but once he returns to head coach, he becomes a strict trainer. He has a great knowledge of baseball and is very well known for his victories.
- Hiroko Ōkubo / "Dave" (大久保 博子 Ōkubo Hiroko?)
- Position: Manager
- Manager of the prefab team, one year ahead of Kō. Despite being called "chubby" by some of the players, she has a kind heart and is a very hard worker. She is a former foreign exchange student, and picked up the nickname Dave while overseas. Her appearance and personality are similar to Hikaru Kawamura from H2.
- Risa Shidō (志堂 理沙 Shidō Risa?)
- Position: Manager
- Manager of the first string team, one year ahead of Kō, and daughter of the stand-in principal. She is a former foreign exchange student who recently returned to Japan. As she considers herself to be above the baseball players, she does not do any work and treats the team (especially the prefab members) as her personal servants. Despite being the manager of the first-string team, she has very little interest in or knowledge of baseball. During the rematch practice game between the first-string and prefab teams, she is on a vacation in Europe. When the regular principal returns, she is fired from the team and she begins working at her mother's boutique. Even after her parents divorce, she still tries to use their influence to get ahead.
- Yokomichi Ōkubo (大久保 横道 Ōkubo Yokomichi?)
- Chair of the Seishū High School board and Hiroko Ōkubo's grandfather. He is a regular customer at Akaishi's father's sake store. He has a very stubborn personality and always keeps his promises. As board chair, he is a little worn out from worrying about Vice Principal Shidō (the temporary principal), though he does not let that show in public. During the first practice game between the first-string and prefab teams, he sneaks in the game with Aoba. During the rematch, he goes back and forth between the two teams' benches, and after the prefab team wins he enforces the agreement that the losing team be dissolved.
[edit] Tsukishima family
- Seiji Tsukishima (月島 清次 Tsukishima Seiji?)
- Owner of Tsukishima Batting Center and the Clover coffee shop, and father of Ichiyo, Wakaba, Aoba, and Momiji. Both his wife and second daughter have died, but he is very nice and a worldly man. During high school, he played catcher on a team that went to Kōshien.
- Ichiyō Tsukishima (月島 一葉 Tsukishima Ichiyō?)
- First daughter of the Tsukishima family. At the start of Part Two, she is in her third year of college. After her mother's death, she has run the Tsukishima household, acting as a surrogate mother for her sisters. She treats Kō like a younger brother. Her cooking is generally good, though she sometimes makes something wrong. She likes Junpei Azuma, but has trouble expressing her feelings to him directly. Her name means "first leaf".
- Momiji Tsukishima (月島 紅葉 Tsukishima Momiji?)
- Fourth and youngest daughter of the Tsukishima family. She is in kindergarten during Part One, and in 5th grade at the start of Part Two. Although she lost her mother at a very young age, she has a happy, energetic, and outgoing personality. Despite their difference in ages, Momiji and Kō have a friendly, sibling-like relationship. She catches for him when he practices pitching. Once, while playing catch, Aoba apologizes for throwing the ball so hard and Momiji says she is used to it as Kō's pitches are harder—to Aoba's surprise. Momiji grows up to resemble her older sister Wakaba, which surprises Akaishi the first time he meets her. Her name means "maple leaf".
- Yōko Tsukishima (月島 洋子 Tsukishima Yōko?)
- Seiji's wife and mother of the four Tsukishima sisters. She died when Momiji was very young.
- Nomo (ノモ?)
- The Tsukishima's black-and-white cat. He appears in the background throughout the series. He is named after Hideo Nomo.
[edit] Kitamura family
- Kensaku Kitamura (樹多村 健作 Kitamura Kensaku?)
- Kō's father, owner of Kitamura Sporting Goods. He is a fan of the Tokyo Yakult Swallows baseball team.
- Kimie Kitamura (樹多村 君江 Kitamura Kimie?)
- Kō's mother. Aoba loves her korokke, and frequently visits the Kitamuras to obtain them.
Sources:[2]
[edit] Manga volumes
- published on 2005-09-02, Shogakukan, ISBN 4091273513
- published on 2005-12-15, Shogakukan, ISBN 4091273521
- published on 2006-03-17, Shogakukan, ISBN 409120130X
- published on 2006-06-16, Shogakukan, ISBN 4091204198
- published on 2006-09-15, Shogakukan, ISBN 4091205895
- published on 2006-12-16, Shogakukan, ISBN 4091206972
- published on 2007-03-16, Shogakukan, ISBN 4091210201
- published on 2007-06-18, Shogakukan, ISBN 4091210759
- published on 2007-09-18, Shogakukan, ISBN 4091211704
- published on 2007-12-15, Shogakukan, ISBN 4091212301
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Cross Game (manga). Anime News Network. Retrieved on 2007-07-03.
- ^ a b Cross Game. AdachiFan. Retrieved on 2007-06-22.
- ^ あだち充『クロスゲーム』第二部#01「ヒマだよ」(週刊少年サンデー40号) (Japanese) (2005-08-31). Retrieved on 2007-07-12.
[edit] External links
- Cross Game (Japanese) - official site
- Cross Game (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
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