Welcome back for another episode of My Taste is Better Than Yours! Adachi Mitsuru is a mangaka whose works I’ve discussed many times. but I wanted to use the podcast format to take on a topic which fascinates me. Touch and Cross Game are the twin masterpieces of Adachi’s career, yet far more different than they appear at first glance – the work of a young writer vs. that of a middle-aged one. The distinctions are indeed fascinating, and the question of which series you prefer is as well. Tune in for an in-depth exploration of one of manga’s most unique and accomplished legends, and the series which, more than any other, define him.
Podcast links:
Nadavu
June 3, 2025 at 8:20 amThank you Enzo, Samu.
As iconic as Touch is, and as much as I love it, it has one glaring fault that puts it below Cross Game for me: Pacing. Especially on the second half of the show, there are multiple-episode stretches that were hard to get through. Some plot elements and characters were stretched and abused: Nitta imouto, Sadistic Coach, Nishima (senior). I haven’t read the manga so I don’t know how much of it was anime-filler, if any, but for a show that ran 101 episodes, it could have done just as well with 90 and still retain those slice-of-lifey episodes Adachi is known for, but without the indulgence.
Guardian Enzo
June 3, 2025 at 9:00 amIt’e been long enough that I don’t remember how much filler the anime had either (some “after” stuff deffo was). But I do think CG is able to say just as much if not more in much less space, which speaks to its elegance as a narrative.