Forum - View topicREVIEW: Cross Game ep 1-5
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Otaking09
 Posts: 637 |
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Reply to 1.: That's the bottom line. Because it's SOOO good, we have to come back to the fact that it's very much a kids show. But its in a different class altogether in television, that much can't be denied. Reply to 2. Haven't seen One Outs, but I'd say it's 20% baseball, 5% tournament and 75% slice-of-life. The drive is to realize the dream of a loved one... and that happens to relate to baseball. The strategy of the game happens to give it a feel of tournament, but once the games are over, they're over. And the overall quality moments and romantic developments take place out of the uniforms. Yes it's not perfect, but it's (EASILY) one of the best slice-of-life tales you're ever going to see anywhere. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18212 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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The whole series is not maudlin; apparently you didn't pay attention to the part about how the humor quotient increases significantly after the time jump, either. The series definitely has its serious and reflective moments, but it also has plenty of more light-hearted ones, too. Look, if you find the first episode that dissatisfying then you're right, the series is not for you. I could expound at length about how this series will not play out anywhere near as predictably as you'll expect, and about how the execution is superior even when it is predictable, and about how the things you're complaining about apply to the overwhelming majority of anime story premises out there, but it sounds like you're looking at the first episode much too cynically for any of it to work for you. I still encourage you to try at least 1-2 more episodes before giving up on it, though. It may surprise you, and few that have given it an honest chance have been disappointed. |
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Sailor S
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Sounds like nothing anyone says will convince you that this is worth watching, so I guess we can just leave it with it being your loss. This was a show I took a flier on because it was highly praised when it first came out by reviewers. The initial premise didn't sound too exciting, but I figured it didn't hurt to give it a try. Boy was I glad I did. This became my favorite show of that season, and subsequent seasons. I'm just sad that it had to end, since I looked forward to it each week. This is something that is well worth my money, and I definitely look forward to reading the manga when it comes out too. |
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meruru
Posts: 471 |
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I had clicked on the picture linking to the review vaguely thinking it was about Touch (another baseball anime I watched because of a different article on Anime News Network.) since the drawing style was similar and it obviously features baseball. Then realizing it was about a different anime, I started reading this review thinking: "Wow... this anime sounds *alot* like Touch..." Then I looked it up and, well, what do you know, it's by the same mangaka.
I can't help but think that maybe some of the power of Cross Game's story would be lost on me since Touch is so similar it makes Cross Game somewhat predictable (or surely vice versa). But at any rate Touch was good stuff if you enjoy a slower paced romantic anime, so surely the same is true of Cross Game. |
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nechronius
 Posts: 275 Location: So Cal, USA |
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Touch was the series about twin brothers, right? I tried reading a bit of it, it didn't quite grab me as this one did although after reading and watching this, I might have to give that one a second go.
This series clearly isn't for everyone. Here's a short list of items that if you are looking for them, you may as well stay away as this show doesn't have them. 1. Panty shots, although there is one or two in the manga... 2. Harems, but several key characters do have their throngs of suitors. 3. Magic/alien/supernatural, but it does have some feats of near-superhuman talent. 4. Mecha, although... ok no mecha of any kind, but there is a teapot in the shape of a cat. 5. Doe-eyed moe girls, but frankly the artwork is more function than form. 6. Boss characters, unless you count a final game against rivals. 7. Hypersexualized schoolgirls. There's also no outrageous/ridiculous/unrealistic high-school plot lines, like trying to attain 100 sexual partners before graduation, drinking breast milk for power, discovering the ability to slay evil spirits with swords, one man armys, treasure hunting, solving the problems of helpless girls, moe moe kyun! etc. Not to say that I don't watch any of the above, or that some don't have their place high in the ranks of great shows, but Cross Game is one of the few shows that I can truly say is a great show and say it with a straight face to non-anime watching friends. |
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TatsuGero23
 Posts: 1277 Location: Sniper Island, USA (It's in your heart!) |
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vashfanatic: try giving the H2 manga a try. That might be more of what your looking for. Although it is slightly more sports oriented then his other works. But I think you might like the characters more. Also, in a bit of defense, in the Cross Game manga that doesn't happen until the end of Volume 1 with much more character development for that character and volume 1 is very long too. But I felt the anime did a really great job getting the core of that character down in just 1 episode. Also Key, I think you should give the H2 manga a try too.
Personally I like Adachi's H2 more then I liked Touch. But I think that's more of a product of "more experience" working for him at that point and that I liked the love triangle (square?) going on with it and that I really liked his twist in that series. I found myself very moved by it. More so then the one in Cross Game. Still deciding where Cross Game ranks for me amongst his work. May have to reread H2 to decide. Also, H2 anime was horrible. Don't watch it. On one hand, Adachi can be a bit predictable because he does reexplore themes and premises. But on the same hand, he's shown he could go any direction with similar stories because he's done it before. Those unfamiliar with Adachi's work may roll their eyes at certain moments, like maybe spoiler[Wakaba's death] because its been done in anime and manga before. Others will probably be sincerely moved by it. But those familiar with his work know that he could have gone either way with it and on much much later event in the series as well because of his track record. But because of said track record, you know it would have been an engrossing story none the less. With other artist it's "Of course 'X' character lives/dies". With Adachi it's "Hmm... 'X' character might live/die" or "See these characters? Don't be surprised if one of them suddenly dies or I tease the hell out of you wether or not I kill off a character or they live or I horribly change their lives!... enjoy the story". And that's one of the things I find really appealing to me of this work besides his storytelling and characters. Of course that's also exactly why some people really hate him too. |
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meruru
Posts: 471 |
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Yep. I'm not really surprised it didn't "grab" you, since not a whole lot happens for quite a while even in the anime... it's really episodic until the second season, where I feel like the anime really starts going, but I know most people don't really want to watch/read that long before there's solid "payoff." |
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Jedai
 Posts: 11 |
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This series is a gem and this review does a pretty good job of avoiding spoilers but still interesting people. Though the critic of the art is a bit wrong as I see it : it is absolutely true that the characters are drawn in a very simplified style (which will seem very ugly to some people) but it's the style of the mangaka, adhering to it is probably a deliberate choice from the studio ; despite this, I strongly disagree on the lack of expressiveness, Adachi has always impressed me with his capacity to express a lot of emotions with little touches (slant of the eyes, form of the mouth...) on his almost caricatural faces and this anime manages that pretty well most of the time. Some background are also very impressive and beautiful though never flashy (which might lead to them being ignored on first view-through). The animation is well done but nothing very impressive.
For the ones who were not touched by the first episode and stopped there... You're potentially missing an enormously enjoyable anime, the tone changes a lot in the following episode and you get a better sense of Wakaba (as this review justly remarks, rarely is a character more present in an anime than Wakaba, despite spoiler[her death in the first episode]).
Except that as I remember it (ok, I just watched it again) she doesn't confide her dream to Kou in the first episode... The only allusion to it is in the somewhat obscure (at this point) introduction. Kou didn't even know she spoiler[dreamed to see him in Koshien] before spoiler[she died]. If you're speaking of the "I can't wait to see what you'll become" bit, it doesn't read as a lifelong dream and in fact we pretty much get the feeling that it's a discussion they have periodically. As well, in Adachi work you'll never know if such a revelation will announce spoiler[the death of the character], it can go either way, and sometimes spoiler[he kills one of his main cast completely out of the blue]... So even if you guessed right this time, be convinced that it was more luck of the beginner than anything else. I would also like to say that while the premise of this show may be reminiscent of Touch, it's really not the same story at all (though it's the same faces, yeah Adachi always draws the same ones) and having already seen Touch shouldn't be an handicap at all to watch this one. -- Jedaï |
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Ah well, maybe I'll check out some of this author's other work... 
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