Mitsuru AdachiAnmeldelser

I read this straight through (unlike vol 1 where I paused between stories). More of these stories were interconnected by characters or places and there was a more bittersweet wistfulness to many of them.

"Spring Passes" is an obvious call out, about two former classmates and an act of kindness that separated them. "4 On the Richter Scale" and "Spring Call" were my two favorite tho with "Before Spring Comes" and "Aim at the Ace" both also strong contenders.

This collection was more heavily sports related tho which makes sense given Adachi's other series largely focus on sports in some manner. I do think some of the references either didn't translate as well as they could have or went straight over my head, but I found a lot of the insert stuff about being a manga-ka or writer quite amusing ("Don't trust dark alleys or editors!" is my fav background sign).

Overall though I remember very little of these stories, I think at this point I was subscribing less to Animerica Extra due to a price increase so it's possible I hadn't read these at all. I believe this is also the last collection printed domestically, but there are 2 more volumes available in general.

It makes me a bit sad as this isn't as popular a genre in America--that is the short form same author collections. So many of my older favs have collections out (Yumi Tamura, Chie Shinohara, Kyoko Hikawa, Yuzo Takeda...) that I'll likely never see domestically.

A perfect ending to a perfect series. I will dearly miss everyone in this series, from the Seishu team to the Tsukishimas. One of the best series put out by Viz and one that is severely underrated by mainstream manga audiences. I really hope there is an anime out there and that I'll be able to watch it soon!

Ah, the next volume is the series finale, isn't it? Koshien is so close now! All this emotional buildup is killing me! I'm sure the eighth and last Cross Game omnibus will have me crying along with the Seishu team.

It's been almost two years since I've spent quality time with Ko and the Seishu team but once I dove into the sixth omnibus edition of Mitsuru Adachi's manga, it did not feel like such a long time as much as a brief weekend away from good friends. In the last volume, people were wondering if ghosts could age as new girl in town Akane walked into their lives, striking more than a passing resemblance to the deceased Wakaba. In this volume, we explore more of Akane's character and see what happens when another eligible young woman comes into the sphere of Ko Kitamura.

My full review of CROSS GAME 6 is at my blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/

Short Program is pretty typical Mitsuru Adachi - short stories exploring the complexity of human relationships and growing up and the differences between men and women. Good thing 'typical Adachi' is also 'excellent Adachi', which this book certainly qualifies as.

You can read my full review of SHORT PROGRAM at my review blog, Nagareboshi Reviews: http://nagareboshi-reviews.blogspot.com/

It's getting harder and harder to write up a review of Mitsuru Adachi's awe-inspiring baseball manga Cross Game, but not because it's getter worse, oh no; it's because it's a series that is just constantly quality stuff on a very consistent basis at a level I don't see much shonen manga these days being able to match. So what can I even contemplate on saying about this latest batch of chapters, released in svelte omnibus format by Viz Media, other than what I've been saying for the last three volumes? Well, if there's one thing you can never fault CG for doing, it's for not having anything happen.

And volume four is certainly an eventful one for Ko and friends, especially since the introduction of Mizuki Asami, Aoba's cousin, who makes no short business in restarting his old friendship with her. Oh, and did I mention this is a baseball manga? Cause there is a lot of that as well. So if you're in it for the heartfelt drama, the madcap humor, the constant in-jokes about Mitsuru Adachi's lack of discipline as a manga-ka, or those sweet baseball games, you won't end up disappointed with this one.

You can read the rest of my review at Nagareboshi Reviews!

There are few manga releases I truly look forward to these days more than Adachi's Cross Game. It is straight-up beautiful, the most beautiful sports shonen manga I've yet to read so far. I could go on and on about how awesome it is, but instead I'll just concentrate on this one volume, in which Stuff Happens. So much Stuff Happens, you guys. This latest volume of Cross Game is so important because of that Stuff. And because Senda gets his own subplot! A-ah, okay, that was a joke. Senda who? Poor guy. Still, what an amazing, amazing book. Just when you think this series had run out of places to go, it goes there and it does so perfectly.

You can read the rest of my review at Nagareboshi Reviews!

Ah, Cross Game. The series that just gets better and better with each passing volume. In this collection of chapters, we see the showdown to end all showdowns between varsity and the portable team, with the jobs of each team’s coach – as well as the life of the portable team itself – riding on the outcome. We are also introduced to several new characters, including the dour Yuhei’s older brother and an unexpected rival for Aoba’s affection, one that might actually have more than a snowball’s chance in hell of being noticed by her. Yikes! This volume is a pitch perfect blend of baseball and character development that any likeminded Adachi fan will cheer for.

Read the rest of my review at Nagareboshi Reviews!

Fewer current (current as in being published in English, natch) shonen manga series have swept me away, heart and soul, as Cross Game has. It brings me so much pleasure to see that after the emotional knock-out of a premiere volume, it has returned yet again for another 300 pages of wonderful sports-related drama and humor that only Mitsuru Adachi could deliver. Not only is it typical Adachi – that is, typical Adachi being code for 'most excellent' – but it has a lot of something I'd been craving since volume one. More baseball!

Read the rest of my review at Nagareboshi Reviews!

The world of Cross Game is one I never thought I'd be granted access to since Mitsuru Adachi (despite being a manga-ka giant in Japan and one of the main reasons Shonen Sunday is such a successful publication) has rarely if ever been brought over to North American audiences in English format. But thanks to the good graces of Viz and their slowly growing pool of older licenses, Cross Game has crossed my path - and I am ever so grateful that I gave it a chance. As someone who loves shonen manga and baseball (but don't ask how my team is doing - I'm a Cubs fan, after all!), Cross Game was a manga I seemed destined to fall in love with - and so I did, fast and without regrets.

You can read the rest of my review of Cross Game GN 1 at Nagareboshi Reviews!

I'm always hesitant to read sports manga. I'm not a big sports fan, and sometimes the stories just don't grab me. Boy, this one did! It has drama, depth, and baseball. But more than that, it really lets readers connect emotionally to the characters, and manages to be a true slice-of-life manga as well. I can't wait to read more!

Vừa mới đọc xong đã chỉ nhớ vài chuyện, vài chi tiết.
Tình yêu quá ư nhỏ nhẻ.

A reasonably entertaining teenage romcom manga, with the usual tropes and feeling a bit dated (unsurprisingly as a 1980s series).

今作も、著者はキャラクタに残酷である。兄弟いずれもすでに片親をなくしている。さらなる逆境。それを笑って糞喰らうプレイヤーたち。あだち色のワンバリエーション。½

Rating: 3.5/5

Review coming soon.

It's hard to hate Adachi, even when he tries to make you hate him.
This series broke my heart, but I can't say it was anything but awesome.

安心のあだち充クオリティ。ここでいうあだち充クオリティとは、もし手にとったマンガ雑誌にこの作品が連載されていればもちろん読むが、この作品のためにその雑誌を買うことはないし、コミックスも買わない、ということを意味する。何なんだろうな、このクオリティは。½

Fun and yet surprisingly serious.

As usual, Cross Game continues on with the gentle character humor that makes this series so endearing and fun, but at the same time infuses a life goes on feel that somehow makes you nostalgic for a time which you never experienced.

For some reason, I have been very reluctant to read Mitsuru Adachi's manga series Cross Game. I'm not sure if it's because the series is a sports manga or what. I've heard plenty of good things about Adachi and about Cross Game in particular, even from readers who aren't particularly fond of baseball. I even read a preview of the series in Otaku USA and enjoyed it, but for some reason still couldn't bring myself to read more of the series. My hand was finally forced when Cross Game was selected for the May 2011 Manga Moveable Feast. Because of that, I picked up the first volume released by Viz Media in 2010--equivalent to the first three volumes published in Japan between 2005 and 2006. Adachi began the series in 2005 and the seventeenth and final collected volume was released in Japan in 2010. In 2009, Cross Game was honored with a Shogakukan Manga Award. There was also a fifty episode anime adaptation of the series produced between 2009 and 2010.

The Tsukishima family, who run the local batting cages and the Clover coffee shop, and the Kitamura family, who own the sporting goods store down the street, are good friends and their children have grown up together. Wakaba, the Tsukishima's beloved second daughter (out of four) and Ko, the Kitamura's only son, are particularly close and even share the same birthday. It seems like fate that the two of them should be together. The only person who's unhappy with the two being nearly inseparable is the next youngest Tsukishima daughter, Aoba. She adores Wakaba and so holds a grudge against Ko. Although Aoba won't admit it, except for the fact that she loves baseball and Ko isn't even really interested in the game, she actually shares quite a lot in common with him.

While there are moments in Cross Game that are absolutely heartbreaking, the manga also has quite a bit of light-hearted humor to it as well, making the series more touching rather than depressing. Ocassionally, Adachi does have the tendency to either break the fourth wall or come very close to it. I did find this amusing, but it also threw me out of the story. However, I really enjoyed the small bits focusing on the Tsukishima's pet cat Nomo; they made me smile every time. Adachi's art style is fairly simple and straightforward. Every once in a while it feels like the panels are a bit disjointed, usually when Adachi sets up a dramatic reveal, but overall it is very easy to follow. One thing that he does that I particularly enjoyed and appreciated is how he captures the passage of time, often using the changes in season and in the neighborhood to visually transition from chapter to chapter. This also helps to establish a sense of place and makes the town feel as well-rounded and complete as the characters.

Although there is plenty of personal drama, conflicts, and lively baseball games, I mostly find Cross Game to be a rather quiet coming of age series. Out of this volume, I preferred the first part of the story which focuses a bit more on the relationships between characters than on the baseball. But even when baseball becomes more prominent in the manga, the character interactions remain crucial and convincing. There is something subtle and very skilled in how Adachi balances the two elements. That being said, I find it strange that I'm not more gung-ho about Cross Game; for some reason it just doesn't immediately grab me. However, I did appreciate it more and more after repeated readings. I truly care about the characters Adachi has created, even if I don't feel compelled to immediately rush out and read more of the manga. But, I've discovered that the longer I wait, the more I worry about the characters and wonder how they are doing.

Experiments in Manga½

A highly recommended manga series for any fan of a light hearted, but character driven story. The author, Mitsuru Adachi, has long been a lauded writer for the sports manga genre, writing in such a way to make both the story and sport compelling. With Cross Game, he has definitely raised the bar.

Rating: 3.5/5

Review coming soon.