Otaku Surf

Crossing Over to Cross Game

Posted on 03. Jul, 2009 by admin in Anime/Manga

Aoba and Ko from Cross Game.

     If you’re not a baseball fan, you may still find yourself liking the anime Cross Game. A few months ago, after searching for new anime shows, one show seemed to pop up on a regular basis on anime blogs and garner really positive ratings.  I thought I would give it a shot even though it’s described as a sports-centric anime and set to be 51-episodes long.

     This will be a non-spoiler brief on the comedy-drama Cross Game. Cross Game centers around two teenagers, Ko Kitamura and Aoba Tsukishima. Ko and Aoba both share a love for Aoba’s sister, Wakaba Tsukishima, which drives both Ko and Aoba apart. Aoba moreso since she already doesn’t like Ko for some reason or another. 

Aoba Tsukishima from Cross Game Episode 13.

Ko Kitamura from Episode 5 of Cross Game.

    Both Aoba and Ko have incredible skills when it comes to baseball, in particularly with pitching. It’s only natural for them it seems, since in the beginning it’s setup that Aoba’s family owns a batting center and Ko regularly visits the center and strives to become a pitcher like Aoba, who achieves the skill earlier. It’s their evolving relationship that’s one of the most interesting aspects of the anime.

     At this point in the series, it seems like the whole anime is nothing but baseball, but it’s not. In fact, at the 13 episode mark only three episodes are wholly centered on a single baseball game. Even so, those three episodes are really enjoyable and tension filled because of the previous episodes’ set-up of the many characters. You won’t need to know any baseball to get into the series or the characters for that matter.

Ko amusing Aoba's sister, Momiji, with some juggling.

The highschool baseball coach who may not have the best intentions for the team.

Ko pitching against an opponent from a tension filled episode.

     I find myself looking for the next episode ASAP on a constant basis, something I did when Deathnote originally came out.  

Ko and Aoba.

     There are numerous characters that are introduced in the anime, and they are all centered around the high school team getting to the nationals. But there’s some twists and surprises on the way, and one which I didn’t expect for an anime like this.  This is all set in the background of some great storytelling with equally great characters. The animation as you can see is a bit simplistic, but it compliments the story quite well. 

     This is a refreshing series that I personally didn’t think I wouldn’t  be interested in at all.