| Quote: | | Viz credits Acky Bright with the story for what it describes as the first such IP that includes active baseball players |
Viz is incorrect, in that regard, as the Yomiuri Giants were heavily involved with manga during the 60s & 70s, the most notable being Star of the Giants, but also titles like Samurai Giants, Honou no Giants, & Team Astro, and of course other actual Japanese baseball teams were included in those titles as well. While fictional players were naturally given the focus, these titles also included real life players who were active at the time, like Samurai Giants featuring most of the Giant's legendary active V9 team in the manga's version of the Giants' lineup, while Team Astro literally saw its main characters play a game against the Lotte Orions, which included American players Jim Lefebvre & George Altman, who were actively playing for the Orions during the 70s.
GalaXic Baseball League looks to be the first to include active MLB players, sure, but it's by no means the first "IP" or manga (I'll count it as manga, since it is being drawn by a Japanese artist) to include active baseball players. The book still sounds fun & interesting, so I'll still likely buy it, but Viz & MLB Players, Inc. need to stop acting like they're the first to include active baseball players in a manga, as it was already done 50-60+ years ago.
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