When watching any piece of media it’s easy for a viewer to judge a show on its past and create expectations of what they’d like to watch. This often leads to feeling disappointed when a program doesn’t meet those expectations. Cross Game is a shounen that shows that a simple tale of love and baseball can lead to a an amazing ending.
The main characters of the show are all memorable, from the four street sisters to Ko’s best friend Daiki. This small cast makes the show unique. They can bring the feeling of a persona and ambiance to every scene. They can deal with themes like love and death easily and give them a deeper feeling than you’d expect from a standard shonen.
Cross Game is unique because it knows where to direct its attention. While the characters are very well developed, there’s not a lot of tension or twists that happen in every episode. This lets the viewers truly enjoy the development of their relationships without being overwhelmed by the need for greater emotional tension or a plot constantly trying to surprise viewers with new twists and cliffhangers. Cross Game is a wonderful film since it avoids all of these issues. The genre could benefit from more of this.