Cross Game

"*Clover. A perennial plant of the pea family. The four leaf variety is said to bring happiness.*"

## Manga Information

### Released

**Original**May 2005 to Feb. 2010
**Tankōbon**
Sep. 2005 to April 2010
**Viz Media**
Oct. 2010 to Nov. 2012

## Both

### Genres

Comedy, Drama, Romance,
Slice of Life, Sports

### Licensors

**Anime** *North America* - Viz Media
*China* - Mighty Media
**Manga**
*North America* - Viz Media
*China* - Ching Win Publishing
*Italy* - Flashbook Edizioni
*France* - Editions Tonkam

### Status

Completed

***Cross Game*** (クロスゲーム | *Kurosu Gēmu)* is a Japanese sports manga series by Mitsuru Adachi, who also created *Touch* and *H2.*

## Synopsis

Kou Kitamura is a fifth grader whose family runs a sporting goods store, Kitamura Sports. One of the regular customers of his family's store is the Tsukishima Batting Center, and so he gets to know the four daughters of the Tsukishima family (Ichiyou, Wakaba, Aoba, and Momiji) very well. Since Kou has spent so much time practicing in their batting cages, he has become a genius hitter, but has no knowledge of any other aspect of baseball. This is in contrast to Aoba, who, despite being a year younger, is an adept pitcher and hitter. Wakaba is a classmate of Kou's, and she seems fully intent on marrying him when she grows up. All seems idyllic in their world, until tragedy strikes. The story then skips ahead to four years later, as Kou has continued the training he began four years ago, but has not played in a baseball game since. As he finally begins playing again, it remains to be seen whether or not he will live up to the expectations of those who know the true talent he has been hiding all this time.

## Media

### **Manga**

Main article: *Volumes and Chapters*
The *Cross Game* manga series was published from September 2nd 2005 to February 17th 2010 in *Weekly Shōnen Sundays.*It spans 17 volumes and 170 chapters. The manga series won the 2009 Shogakukan Manga Award (Boys Category). Both the manga and anime garnered favorable views. Viz Media condensed the volumes from 17 down to 8 for unknown reasons. The manga repeatedly breaks the fourth wall by referencing author Mitsuru Adachi and/or his editors and deadlines.

### **Anime**

Main article: *List of episodes*
The manga received an anime adaptation which was a part of the Spring 2009 anime line up. It aired on Tokyo TV in Japan and has streamed on platforms such as Netflix Japan and Hulu. The anime ran for 50 episodes and covers the entirely of the manga with a few filler episodes.

### **Music**

The anime's opening theme Summer Rain was used for the entirety of the anime's run, becoming an example of evolving credits later down the line. The anime had 5 ending themes Koikogarete Mita Yume, Orange Days, Moeru You na Koi Janai Kedo, Rehearsal and Koi Suru Otome. The last ending theme, Koi Suru Otome was only played in the last episode. Natsuko Kondo sang two of the ending themes: Rehearsal and Koi Suru Otome. Kondo was also the theme song composer and lyricist.

### **Staff Credits**

* **Director**: Osamu Sekita
* **Sound Director**: Tadashi Takadera
* **Script**, **Screenplay**: Hideki Shirane
* **Script**: Mitsuyo Suenaga, Michihiro Tsuchiya
* **Theme Song Composition** **and Lyrics**: Natsuko Kondo
* **Chief Animation**, **Director, Key Animation**: Kenji Fujisaki, Toshiyuki Komaru
* **Key Animation**: Masahiko Komino, Juuji Mizumura, Takashi Saijou
* **Character Design**: Yuuji Kondoua
* **Art Director**: Yutaka Mukumoto
* **Music**: Koutarou Nakagawa
* **Color Design**: Kayoko Oono
* **Animation Director**: Kenji Tanabe
* **Director of Photography**: Hiroki Tsubouchiast

## Characters

*Main article: Characters*
**Kou Kitamura** (voiced by Miyu Irino)

**Kou** is the male protagonist of the series. A right handed pitcher on Seishu Academy High School's baseball team. In Wakaba's dream, he was pitching on the mound at Koshien. He's working together with Osamu and Aoba to make Wakaba's dream come true. His family owns a sporting goods store.
**Aoba Tsukishima** (voiced by Haruka Tomatsu)

**Aoba** is the female protagonist of the series. She's a right handed pitcher on Seishu Academy High School's baseball team. However, being a girl, she can't play in official baseball games. In Wakaba's dream, she played center fielder at Koshien. Her family owns a batting center and cafe.
**Wakaba Tsukishima**  (voiced by Akemi Kanda)

**Wakaba** is Aoba's older sister who had a dream of seeing Kou and Osamu as a battery at Koshien . She had a crush on Kou when they were 10 and decided he was her boyfriend. She drowns at summer camp
**Osamu Akaishi**  (voiced by Kenji Nomura)

**Osamu** is a right handed catcher on Seishu Academy High School's baseball team. He had a crush on Wakaba when they were little. In Wakaba's dream, Osamu played as catcher at Koshien. He knew about Wakaba's dream before Kou did. And is working together with him and Aoba fo fulfill the dream. His father owns a liquor store
**Daiki Nakanishi** (voiced by Yoshinori Sonobe)

**Daiki** is a right handed third baseman on Seishu Academy High School baseball team. He was also teammates with Kou in the little league team, the Doors, a team that was started mainly so they would buy equipment at Kou's family's store.
**Yuuhei Azuma** (voiced by Takahiro Sakurai)

**Yuuhei** is a left handed first baseman on Seishu Academy High School's baseball team. He was originally on a team managed by Shuugo Daimon but stayed at Seishu after Shuugo left because he saw the potential in Kou. He's the team's clean up hitter and proved himself to be a force to reckoned with at bat. His family runs a fruit delivery service.
**Keiichirou Senda**  (voiced by Daisuke Kishio)

**Keiichirou** is a right handed shortstop on Seishu Academy High School's baseball team. He was previously a pitcher but wasn't good so he was kicked off the varsity team. He was moved to shortstop shortlty thereafter and quickly proved himself to be a very effective shortstop.
**Akane Takigawa** (voiced by Akemi Kanda)

**Akane** is a girl whose family opened a soba resturant next to the Kitamura's sporting goods store. She bears a striking resemblance to Wakaba and becomes curious about her when multiple people, including Kou, Osamu and the Tuskishima family, are repeatedly taken aback by her appearance. Akane has an unknown illness and was hospitalized for a time but towards the end of the series, was shown to be recovering from it well.
**Kensaku Kitamura**  (voiced by Takuma Suzuki)

**Kensaku** is Kou's father. He owns a sporting goods store. Kensaku is supportive of his son playing on the baseball and is shown to be cheering for him.
**Kimie Kitamura** (voiced by Kyouko Hikami)

**Kimie** is Kou's mother. She's a house wife and co owner of the sporting goods store. She, like her husband, cheers for Kou when he's playing. Aoba likes her homemade croquettes.
**Seiji Tsukishima** (voiced by Yasuhiko Kawazu)

**Seiji** is the father of Aoba, Wakaba, Ichiyou and Momiji. He owns the batting center and cafe which are popular hang out spots for the characters in the series. Despite losing both his wife Youko, prior to the series and his daughter, Wakaba, Seiji isn't bitter or angry.
**Youko Tsukishima** (voiced by Erika Sudou)

**Youko** is Seiji's deceased wife and the mother of Aoba, Wakaba, Ichiyou and Momiji. Youko died 3 years prior to the start of the series to an unknown illness. She makes appearences in the show through flashbacks, references and photos.
**Ichiyou Tsukishima** (voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi)

**Ichiyou** is the eldest daughter of Seiji and Youko and the oldest sister of Aoba, Wakaba and Momiji. She is often working in the family run cafe and catches the eye of Junpei Azuma who she dates and eventually marries.
**Momiji Tsukishima** (voiced by Noriko Shitaya**)**

**Momiji** is the youngest daughter of Seiji and Youko and the youngest sister of Aoba, Wakaba and Ichiyou. Momiji is a swimmer like her sister Wakaba and talks about herself in the third person. She takes bribes from Junpei to talk him up to her sister Ichiyou. She is often seen in the company of Nomo, the pet cat.
**Sentarou Maeno** (voiced by Minoru Inaba**)**

**Sentarou** is the head coach at Seishu Academy High School. He was demoted to the coach of the prefab team after Kou enters high school. After a rematch with Shuugo Daimon's varsity team, Sentarou is promoted back to varsity head coach. Maeno has a sunny disposition most of the time even when things doesn't seem to be going well for him.
**Shuugo Daimon** (voiced by Tooru Furusawa)

**Shuugo** is the world reowned coach brought to Seishu during Kou's first year of high school in an effort to get Seishu to Koshien. Shuugo is not well liked by the prefab team or some of the players on his own varsity team. After losing in a rematch, Shuugo is fired and transfers to a new school with most of his varsity players in tow.
**Hiroko Oukubo** (voiced by Mami Kameoka)

**Hiroko** is the manager of the prefab squad and later is the manager of the newly put together varsity squad. She is always in a good mood, despite being called mean names like 'tubby' because of her weight. She also likes to please others and won't hesitate to help others, jumping right into washing the laundry of the varsity squad, despite at that time not being their manager.
**Junpei Azuma** (voiced by Mitsuaki Madono)

**Junpei** is Yuuhei's older brother who runs the delivery van for the family's fruit delivery service. Junpei was the pitcher on his high school baseball team but an injury forced him into retirement. His brother, Yuuhei wants to make it to Koshien for Junpei because Junpei protected him from falling down a flight of stairs that caused the career ending injury.

**Nomo** (voiced by Masako Nozawa)

**Nomo** is the Tsukishima's pet cat who is often seen hanging around the cafe and batting center, often in the company of Momiji.
## **Gallery**

 Volume 1 (Viz)Volume 2 (Viz)Volume 3 (Viz)Volume 4 (Viz)Volume 5 (Viz)Volume 6 (Viz)Volume 7 (Viz)Volume 8 (Viz)

## Trivia

* The series takes place in a fictional city called Erima which is possibly based off of Nerima, a city located in Tokyo. This is further proven by the fact that the train station in the series, Mifujidai, resembles real train station Fujimidai, which is located in Nerima. It's currently unknown why Adachi chose to use a fictional city in *Cross Game*.
* The title is a double entendre for "close game", a glossary term for baseball.
* Kou, Wakaba and Akane are the only the characters in the series whose birthday are revealed. And all three characters' birthdays are in June
	+ Wakaba and Kou's birthday are June 11th and Akane's is June 25th
* Kou, Wakaba, Aoba, Senda, Momiji, Ichiyou and Akane are the only characters in the series who's age is actually mentioned in the manga
	+ Based on this fact it is known that Aoba is at least a year younger than Wakaba and Kou. Kou, Wakaba, Senda and Akane are all the same age, Momiji is about 4 years younger than Aoba and 5 years younger than Kou and Wakaba. Ichiyou is about 5 years older than Kou and Wakaba and 6 years older than Aoba.