Cross Game is a romantic comedy sports manga series written and illustrated by Mitsuru Adachi and published by Shogakukan. The series is about the high school baseball players Kou Kitamura and Aoba Tsukishima, who are bound together by Kou's relationship with Aoba's dead sister, Wakaba, and by their efforts to fulfill Wakaba's last dream of seeing them play in the national tournament in Koshien Stadium.
Main characters
Position: Pitcher
One of the two protagonists, Kou is in 5th grade in Part One and enters Seishu High School early in Part Two. He lives down the street from the Tsukishima family and frequently visits their house, batting cages, and coffee shop. He has been practically inseparable from Wakaba since their birth on the same day (June 10) in the same hospital. Despite their age in Part One, the two are very close and their families treat them as if they are a couple. While he shows little interest in baseball to outsiders, he has practiced daily at the Tsukishima Batting Center in the cage and above since he was old enough to swing a bat; as a result, he is an excellent batter from a young age, especially against fastballs. Kou is described by several other characters, including Ichiyo, Yuhei Azuma, and Junpei Azuma, as very like Aoba. In particular, they say the two are both very competitive, and Junpei attributes their frequent squabbling to their similarities. After a sandlot game against Aoba's team in elementary school, Kou is inspired by her pitching form to become a pitcher himself, and at Wakaba's urging secretly adopts Aoba's daily training regimen. Although he does not play baseball in junior high school, Akaishi and Nakanishi convince him to join the high school baseball team. With his changeup pitches, control, and incredible fastball, he becomes the ace pitcher in Seishu High School, as well as a strong hitter. Kou describes himself as having no self-confidence and an excellent liar. In Part Three, Kou starts dating Akane Takigawa, who has a remarkable resemblance to Wakaba. However, he is also very attentive towards Aoba; for example noticing when Aoba is injured before anyone else and consoling her by catching her pitches when the realization that she would never be able to share important moments with her fellow teammates on the field, finally sinks in. Despite being at odds with one another, Kou and Aoba share a deep bond through their love for Wakaba. Kou takes to heart what Aoba has to say and values her opinion more than others. During the final Seishu's match against Ryuō, he shows great determination to throw a 100 mph pitch, having promised Aoba he would (based on Wakaba's advice on how to get Aoba to like him) telling her "We're going to Koshien! I'll pitch 100 mph ball! And I love Aoba Tsukishima more than anyone else in the world!' when playing catch with her before the match. Though he did ask if he could lie to her before replying, the first two are shown as true, implying the latter may also be true. This is further implied in the last chapter when Aoba holds his hand and he doesn't pull away when given the choice by her.