Series · 2009
Cross Game
クロスゲーム
Ko grows up close to the four Tsukishima sisters and becomes drawn into their family’s connection with baseball. A childhood dream of reaching Koshien stays with him as he enters high school. On the field, he has to turn ability into something a team can use.
Aoba is already an accomplished pitcher when Ko is still approaching organised school baseball. The high school then divides players into a favoured first team and a second group. The difference between talent and the opportunities a school provides becomes a concrete obstacle.
As the middle-school players approach their move into high school, rumours about its baseball club are already circulating. Older players are said to control the programme, and one pupil tries to win their favour. Baseball is a social hierarchy to navigate as well as a game to practise; talent alone does not decide how a newcomer will be received.
Complete original television series · Approx. 20 hours · 50 episodes
Original 2009 television adaptation, all 50 episodes. Manga-only material is excluded. Viewing time uses the licensed 24-minute episode labels as a nominal estimate.