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| THIS IS AN ANIME ONLY DISCUSSION POST. DO NOT DISCUSS THE MANGA BEYOND THIS EPISODE. ---------------------------------------- A solid enough ending. Tatsuya was true to his feelings in the end. I'm giving the series a 9/10. Excellent story telling. What I felt it lacked was a developing relationship between Minami and Tatsuya. I feel like all of the character development involving their relationship was done in the first 26 episodes. I would have also liked to see them become a couple a little bit sooner, just so there would be material of them as a couple. Still, I found brilliant gems in the story with regard to team building and pursuing goals/happiness, as well as facing challenges. |
| just finished watching this anime and i loved it, I especially liked Harada's character. This is the type of ending i like to see in romance anime, when there is a definite resolution to the relationship whether its a confession or whether we get to see them as a couple, or even if the relationship doesn't turn out. 10/10 from me i really enjoyed watching this series. |
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| "...was one of the highest-rated television anime series ever" Now I can see why. I was satisfied with the ending. A top-notch series with memorable characters and a reasonable reason to accomplish a goalβΊ 9/10. |
TuzoAnimeJan 19, 2010 9:43 AM
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| Whoa, those 101 episodes sure went by fast... Great series though, definitely a 9/10. |
| The one 'positive' thing I can say about Tatsuya is that he remained consistent throughout... consistently pathetic, that is. Minami played the roles of best friend, cheerleader, and mother all at once, wanting desperately to be his lover and never being 'unfaithful'. But, despite her being out of his league and rejecting all other advances - including that of his dedicated twin brother - he STILL ended up making her cry after stringing her along during the best years of her life. He never managed to support her, or comfort her, and a confession literally had to be dragged out of him. And she was the only one to ever make an aggressive move in their relationship. I have seen far more pathetic male leads in romance stories than Tatsuya - this is true. Very rarely do leads in romance types become sporting heroes. However, usually the female leads in similar stories aren't clear about their feelings, adding to the anxiety of the male leads. That was never the case in Touch - Minami having always been clear with her feelings, even when Kazuya was still alive. Unlike the guy she was foolish enough to fall for, she had the guts required to be honest, and I loved her for that - in a 3D to 2D kind of way. During the first, 27 episode stretch of the story, Tatsuya's reasoning for not responding to Minami first confessing and, later, kissing him was understandable. With everyone around him thinking his twin would marry her, and even Tatsuya himself believing Kazuya would be better for her, it was a very difficult situation. And, in fairness to him, at the end - before Kazuya made his exit - he did enter into the love triangle proper. But, after that point, it was so aggravating watching him do NOTHING that I started to seriously dislike him. What ruined his character was the author not taking the main relationship anywhere after the first quarter or so of the story - all of the important TxM developments occurring during that period. There was no reason whatsoever for them not to get together shortly after Kazuya went out of the picture... and yet, rather than developing their relationship, Adachi kept it at the same level, throwing in needless love rivals who had no chance of winning either of the leads over; both ending up hanging around without any real purpose and never seriously threatening. And, in the last half of the story, Tatsuya and Minami practically got NO time together - something which was worsened by the fact that Minami's dream seemingly got forgotten, somewhere along the way. About 10-20 episodes too late, following the Kazuya drama, Tatsuya got Minami to ask him to take her to Koushien in order to inspire him like she previously inspired Kazuya. But, after that, it was never mentioned again meaningfully. This struck me as bizarre due to how strongly she cared about her dream when the man she didn't love tried to fulfill her desires. Only in the second movie (unless he did in the manga, also) did Tatsuya swear to take her to Koushien, and that's why I didn't care a great deal about the baseball drama near the end of the anime. What made the small amount of baseball in the opening/Kazuya section of the story so involving was the romantic side being pushed forward by Minami's dream. Harada often commented about what women would do for men who made their dreams into reality, and this bothered Tatsuya greatly. So, again, I can only express my confusion over her dream becoming so insignificant - for both parties. It was extremely disappointing for Minami to end up not being the motivation behind Tatsuya's charge to glory and, instead, often just being shown in the stands, having no real purpose. ...In a nutshell, what ruined the series was the characters not developing realistically over the course of the story, and filler elements instead being wasted time on. The development from childhood friends to something more was handled superbly... but that was as far as Adachi was willing to go. After that, he played it safe, not wanting to focus on romance more than he had to and keeping the main relationship childish - so much so that, had Minami been real, she'd have needed the patience of a saint or not had any sexual desire. He could have had the main two grow as characters by having them deal with the struggles of a first serious relationship, and there still would've been ways to work in Nitta in order for Tatsuya's inferiority complex to play a negative role in their relationship (such as him comforting Minami when they fell out, for example). But, instead, he was content with chucking in a couple of TxM bits that you can see in countless other romantic comedies/dramas (36) that lead to nowhere, all too predictably. Rather than for the good of Minami's character, the gymnastic/idol bit got thrown in to extend the story - keeping the main two separate. The same is true of the Nitta siblings. And, in the case of Kawashiba, the third, 20-something episode section of the story was pure filler, the only thing his character did that was ever meaningful being the orders given during the last two innings of the final. The fact his character remained in place for 40ish episodes, in spite of him openly attempting to sabotage Meisei's team, says a lot about how much the quality lowered after its captivating romantic drama beginnings. The most ironic thing about Touch is that, as well as the romance being what pulls viewers in, it's the romantic aspect that eventually ends up being the most bothersome negative. From toying with my emotions to making me type numerous paragraphs to vent my frustration - that's the way the romance went. I suppose one plus is that the anime's ending wasn't quite as poor as the manga's, where Tatsuya made Minami cry even more over his worthless arse. At least in the anime he asked her to come support him, rather than emoing some more over his long deceased brother and getting close to an idol. Before finishing up with Touch fully, I'm going to watch the three movies that cover the events of the TV series, as well as the two (most likely) horrible filler movies. I have some hope for the first three movies pleasing me since the dialogue is more straightforward... though that did seem to impact negatively on the scene where Kazuya proposed, when I checked if the file worked. As for the other two, I only needed to have a looksee at the fourth's MAL thread to know I'm in for pain. I mean, seriously: how can I enjoy a sequel set 4-5 years later when the main two STILL aren't together and the events of the TV series get repeated? ;_____; Edit: 7/10 at best, in my book. A classic but FAR too flawed to receive a higher score. |
AironicallyHumanSep 3, 2010 4:54 PM
| It was definitely a good watch, but I felt that it dragged on a little too much. The episode itself was great though. I loved seeing the characters just hanging out and all. It's a classic, but it's very worn down. It gets 8 from me. |
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| This series has a lot of flaws, I know it. But I want to ignore them, because it is a very old one. It may not be very good in our time, but I'm sure it was one of the best of its time. Overall anime experience in Japan has been increasing over the years. In my opinion, most of the ever best produced animes are the ones produced in the recent years. The fact that today's animes being better than yesterday's shouldn't make us give the cold shoulder to old series. While scoring, we should weight the score by the time it is produced for giving a fair rating. 9/10 from me for this series. |
| I didn't get what this episode was all about. I also thought Tazuya's feelings about Minami goes without saying. They liked each other all along the series (and both knew about it) but just to create a dramatic romantic ending writer had to show Tatsuya being an ass (I didn't even get his reason for it) and then realizing his feelings. This episode could have been better. A great series by the way, especially the first part was excellent. The whole concept of living in shadow of your brother and then suddenly stepping in his shoes was awesome. Later parts of the show felt dragged out and some unnecessary things were added. If the whole had been executed like first part it would have beaten Cross Game which, despite having a weaker story, is still my favorite because of its execution. Overall, a 9/10 for me. |
thunder7May 20, 2012 2:01 AM
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| I don't think there was anything that I disliked about this anime. Even what most people would consider flaws (Tatsuya's indecisiveness, the slow pace, Kashiwaba's character) come out as a positive from my perspective. It's a story about human beings. The fact that Tatsuya is still a flawed person by the end of it makes the story much more meaningful, I think. He grows and matures and yet always remains Tatsuya. A story like this is for me the true definition of 'epic'. No post-apocalyptic save-the-world scenario could ever make me feel the kinds of emotions that I did here. It was a hell of a ride and I'll have troubles accepting that there won't be any more Touch for me to watch now. I'll have to think about where it stands in my top five, but for now this has definitely earned a 10 from me. And I don't give them easily. |
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| A lot of charm and just a great timeless story,but again Adachi shows that he cant write a proper romance between the 2 main character or write a proper ending/conclusion to save his life (this is more noteworthy in the manga version). Thinking back it had a lot of flaws,like just a lot of things that could have been handled better :dialogue wise,side character that completely disappear,dragged on second half,characters that kept going back and forth with their actions/motivation .... ,but most of them were negated by how overall the anime came together. Solid series,but not even close to being the best sports anime out there.And as a romance it's not even worth mentioning,since it was beyond slow (it literally stopped at some points) in that regard..... |
amateurOct 15, 2014 10:21 PM
| Instead of 101 episodes, this show could have finished within 50 episodes. Amaya-dono said: Honestly speaking, all the romance in this show bored me. If the whole show had the focus on romance that the first 26 episodes did I'd have given it no more than a 4/10. I simply couldn't get behind the Tatsuya/Minami pair because I thought Minami was a horribly-written character. A "Mary Sue", you could say. Tatsuya was excellently written, and I quite liked him but my favourite character in the show ended up being Koutarou (cliche as he was). I couldn't agree with you more. 80 episodes are wasted for the romance part. Aside from Tatsuya, in this show Harada and Kashiwaba Kantoku became my favourite characters. And Imo who went through character development are like, only Kashiwaba and Tatsuya. Since I really loved the character of Aoba from Cross Game, I thought I would feel the same for Minami. But on the contrary, Minami is the most selfish MC I've ever seen and I won't forget easily how she got all the boys' hopes up and how much a slut she could be. It's a shame she's the heroine. There were so many unnecessary flash-backs and most of the episodes were full of fillers. However, I really enjoyed watching the baseball matches. I'll give this 7/10. |
| A great series completed. I do wish there was more Tatsuya/Minami romance development after the first chunk, but I still enjoyed it the whole way through and give it a 10/10. Now to watch the films, then check out another of Adachi's works, I've heard great things about Cross game :) |
| Its a good series but it did not need to be 101 episodes. I thought Yuka needed to be shoved off more forcefully than they did but oh well. 7/10 |
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| Congratulations, Adachi. 10/10. |
| Without showing the kiss I'm somehow doubting it a little. It's still unclear to me exactly what Tatsuya was thinking. Having watched this after Cross Game, it's clear the lessons it learned. 8/10 |
RediceRyanJan 6, 2017 12:35 AM
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| Another good old stuff and I really love this series too. The ending is solid and Tatsuya is finally being honest to himself. The minor from this series is the development of Minami and Tatsuya relationship. Another thing, I think it's the animation. Everything is OK and I like the baseball match in this anime too. I give Touch a solid 9/10. But I think the flaws from here have been covered on Cross Game. Adachi Mitsuru really learned from the mistakes :D. |
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| A reluctant 10/10. I thought it dragged too much in the middle and the whole "demon coach" thing got a bit too ridiculous for me. But when I went ahead and compared it to all the other shows I gave 10/10s to, I really couldn't rate it any lower. It had moments to rival any other classic, and built an epic tale of human emotion over its run that most shorter series could never manage. It's the sort of series that I feel lucky to have had the privilege to watch, and I want to thank the creators for allowing me this experience. It wasn't a perfect anime, but it's an anime that carved a mark into my soul and I'll remember it for the rest of my life. |
| “Money can't buy dere” |
| A pretty boring last episode, really lackluster; but at least it's finally over. For a moment there I thought that Tacchan, and Minami wouldn't even end up together, and it would have made sense because they had been far apart emotionally for a while, but well. Happy ending? Yay. The last sequence with the song was cool though. |
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| Final episodes of longer series often leave me speechless and so did this episode. Just wow. Admittedly, things were more or less left open, but that's imo fitting in relation to Tatsuya's indecisive nature which dictated his behaviour throughout the whole series. It was nonetheless extremely satisfying and all major story points were worked off. Now Tatsuya can start a new chapter, beginning at the Koushien, his first real goal and with Minami at his side. Really great series overall, except from a few episodes that focussed on minor characters around episode 70. Don't get me wrong,the sidecast was endearing and characters such as Harada, Nitta and Nishimura gave this anime so much life, it's just that I didn't like those episodes which revolved around that Meisei team member. So yeah, setting that aside, I enjoyed this thoroughly from start to finish. Very believable characters and drama, especially the high from episode 26, which kicked off the real story was something I will always remember and the emotional impact may be only topped by the payoff from these last two episodes. I'm kinda sad that the ride is over now, but there are still some movies for this franchise and there's also Mix waiting for me. |
One Piece episode 914 & 915 & 1027 were a mistake and 957 brought the salvation - FMmatron |
| I still couldn't get over to how great romance was portrayed in Cross Game, this one didn't have a romance as great as its successor, but this series was in another sides of good. It showed the potential of how great character developments in a slice-of-life show could be. I wouldn't comment this anime as a sport show, it didn't have a necessarily good story for it, but as a slice-of-life, this anime is really great. 9/10 Tatsuya is still my boy, but both Harada and the interim coach are the men. |
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| Fastest 101 episodes of my life. I feel just like Veronin, the 'flaws' most people are talking about here are positives for me. |
| Was a great ride. Tatsuya's development was well done and Harada and Kashiwaba were also very based. The sol episodes were also comfy. The only thing I would have liked to see more in the show is more development of Tatsuya's and Minami's relationship. |
MurauAug 3, 2019 3:02 PM
Hackser_ said: I still couldn't get over to how great romance was portrayed in Cross Game, this one didn't have a romance as great as its successor, but this series was in another sides of good. It showed the potential of how great character developments in a slice-of-life show could be. I wouldn't comment this anime as a sport show, it didn't have a necessarily good story for it, but as a slice-of-life, this anime is really great. 9/10 Tatsuya is still my boy, but both Harada and the interim coach are the men. Great romance nope I don't think so the girl from cross game was an abusive mental case that needed help I feel so sorry for Kou |
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| Truly a gem from the past, really made me feel with the characters (even though I wish some characters would appear more often like Harada). Kinda wished there was a bit more romance development after Kazuya's death. Some great character like Tatsuya who underwent a complete change and even Koutarou who I initially despised as whiney who turned out to be a good friend. Even some 'annoying' characters like the coach, Nishimura and Yuka made things interesting (except Yoshida he just scumbag). Great end to the long journey of Minami, Kacchan and Tacchan (pronounced Touch) goal of reaching Koshien! |
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| Touch was incredibly frustrating for me, everything from the story to characters to the romance just made me grit my teeth much of the time in between flashes of brilliance. Tatsuya and Minami's relationship just felt so mishandled, could have "the feels" but instead it felt like it was slapped on the plot like an afterthought. With a last minute confession to cap it all off. More time was given to that stalker pitcher from a rival team than Tatchan x Minami. Then there was the rehabilitation of the demon coach, real annoying that we the audience are supposed to feel sympathetic of him now after he spent most of his screentime being a total prick. Sorry but that attempt fell flat, Tatsuaya gave him the game ball? Awful writing decision, should have been to Minami. But then she was sidelined so much that it doesn't surprise me at all. Honestly I just feel that Cross Game is such a better series in every way. I realize that Touch was written first but I simply see Cross Game had taken all the story beats from Touch and distilled them down to more tightly written and emotional material. Touch just feels like a fumbling mess with bits of greatness in the bones and Cross Game is a like Touch 2.0 with most of the flaws erased. This was good for a one time watch anyway. 5/10 show. |
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| What a great anime, I really want to give it a 10 after the last 8 episodes, but there was so much faffing around with the Demon coach, poorly written out or simply disappearing side characters (Natsuko and Kaori) and side plots (What on earth happened to Minami's gymnastics meaning she couldn't support Tacchan? Yoshida's rivalry was promising and then it just ended only for him to be brought back for two episodes and inexplicably transferred to a different school) Not to mention incompetent budget management! Three recaps in a row anyone? No less than 5 entire minutes of watching the same loop of the team running around a muddy field? In one episode!? I quite enjoyed the side characters and slice of life fillers, The episodes about Nakajima that people thought were "a pointless waste of time" were actually quite effective at developing the Meisei team's characters individually and as a whole and made the final matches much more emotionally intense. I started to want every one of them to succeed and be happy, not just Tatsuya and at times they were mutually exclusive. I was honestly worried Tacchan would subconsciously throw the first Koushien game in this episode to be with Minami. I think there are a lot of people who don't understand Uesugi Tatsuya. He isn't being an arse, he genuinely doesn't know what to do with his life. He's got to the Koushien like Minami wanted, now what? Nothing's changed, Kazuya is still dead and now fulfilling his last dream, the only thing that had given his life meaning, is over. But this episode is when he realised that there was another thing that gave his life meaning: Minami's love. He's not a passionate person and I think in this episode he realised that while he was never as passionate or forward about Minami as Kazuya; he loved her in his own way too, a very Tacchan way. It's a masterful character development imo. |
BritishBlitz87Apr 2, 2021 6:21 AM
| Old is Gold "Look, look, we can do spinning shots without wasting our entire budget" "Did you see? Look, it's all smooth and everything !" "You're not looking, please, it's SO AWESOME LOOK AT HOW SPINNY IT IS!!!!" - All anime animators since the invention of CGI. |
AironicallyHuman said: The one 'positive' thing I can say about Tatsuya is that he remained consistent throughout... consistently pathetic, that is. Minami played the roles of best friend, cheerleader, and mother all at once, wanting desperately to be his lover and never being 'unfaithful'. But, despite her being out of his league and rejecting all other advances - including that of his dedicated twin brother - he STILL ended up making her cry after stringing her along during the best years of her life. He never managed to support her, or comfort her, and a confession literally had to be dragged out of him. And she was the only one to ever make an aggressive move in their relationship. I have seen far more pathetic male leads in romance stories than Tatsuya - this is true. Very rarely do leads in romance types become sporting heroes. However, usually the female leads in similar stories aren't clear about their feelings, adding to the anxiety of the male leads. That was never the case in Touch - Minami having always been clear with her feelings, even when Kazuya was still alive. Unlike the guy she was foolish enough to fall for, she had the guts required to be honest, and I loved her for that - in a 3D to 2D kind of way. During the first, 27 episode stretch of the story, Tatsuya's reasoning for not responding to Minami first confessing and, later, kissing him was understandable. With everyone around him thinking his twin would marry her, and even Tatsuya himself believing Kazuya would be better for her, it was a very difficult situation. And, in fairness to him, at the end - before Kazuya made his exit - he did enter into the love triangle proper. But, after that point, it was so aggravating watching him do NOTHING that I started to seriously dislike him. What ruined his character was the author not taking the main relationship anywhere after the first quarter or so of the story - all of the important TxM developments occurring during that period. There was no reason whatsoever for them not to get together shortly after Kazuya went out of the picture... and yet, rather than developing their relationship, Adachi kept it at the same level, throwing in needless love rivals who had no chance of winning either of the leads over; both ending up hanging around without any real purpose and never seriously threatening. And, in the last half of the story, Tatsuya and Minami practically got NO time together - something which was worsened by the fact that Minami's dream seemingly got forgotten, somewhere along the way. About 10-20 episodes too late, following the Kazuya drama, Tatsuya got Minami to ask him to take her to Koushien in order to inspire him like she previously inspired Kazuya. But, after that, it was never mentioned again meaningfully. This struck me as bizarre due to how strongly she cared about her dream when the man she didn't love tried to fulfill her desires. Only in the second movie (unless he did in the manga, also) did Tatsuya swear to take her to Koushien, and that's why I didn't care a great deal about the baseball drama near the end of the anime. What made the small amount of baseball in the opening/Kazuya section of the story so involving was the romantic side being pushed forward by Minami's dream. Harada often commented about what women would do for men who made their dreams into reality, and this bothered Tatsuya greatly. So, again, I can only express my confusion over her dream becoming so insignificant - for both parties. It was extremely disappointing for Minami to end up not being the motivation behind Tatsuya's charge to glory and, instead, often just being shown in the stands, having no real purpose. ...In a nutshell, what ruined the series was the characters not developing realistically over the course of the story, and filler elements instead being wasted time on. The development from childhood friends to something more was handled superbly... but that was as far as Adachi was willing to go. After that, he played it safe, not wanting to focus on romance more than he had to and keeping the main relationship childish - so much so that, had Minami been real, she'd have needed the patience of a saint or not had any sexual desire. He could have had the main two grow as characters by having them deal with the struggles of a first serious relationship, and there still would've been ways to work in Nitta in order for Tatsuya's inferiority complex to play a negative role in their relationship (such as him comforting Minami when they fell out, for example). But, instead, he was content with chucking in a couple of TxM bits that you can see in countless other romantic comedies/dramas (36) that lead to nowhere, all too predictably. Rather than for the good of Minami's character, the gymnastic/idol bit got thrown in to extend the story - keeping the main two separate. The same is true of the Nitta siblings. And, in the case of Kawashiba, the third, 20-something episode section of the story was pure filler, the only thing his character did that was ever meaningful being the orders given during the last two innings of the final. The fact his character remained in place for 40ish episodes, in spite of him openly attempting to sabotage Meisei's team, says a lot about how much the quality lowered after its captivating romantic drama beginnings. The most ironic thing about Touch is that, as well as the romance being what pulls viewers in, it's the romantic aspect that eventually ends up being the most bothersome negative. From toying with my emotions to making me type numerous paragraphs to vent my frustration - that's the way the romance went. I suppose one plus is that the anime's ending wasn't quite as poor as the manga's, where Tatsuya made Minami cry even more over his worthless arse. At least in the anime he asked her to come support him, rather than emoing some more over his long deceased brother and getting close to an idol. Before finishing up with Touch fully, I'm going to watch the three movies that cover the events of the TV series, as well as the two (most likely) horrible filler movies. I have some hope for the first three movies pleasing me since the dialogue is more straightforward... though that did seem to impact negatively on the scene where Kazuya proposed, when I checked if the file worked. As for the other two, I only needed to have a looksee at the fourth's MAL thread to know I'm in for pain. I mean, seriously: how can I enjoy a sequel set 4-5 years later when the main two STILL aren't together and the events of the TV series get repeated? ;_____; Edit: 7/10 at best, in my book. A classic but FAR too flawed to receive a higher score. spoilers I know it's been 11 years since this review but there's so much I disagree with here. Firstly, calling Tatsuya a pathetic male lead after the 1st quarter of the show is robbing his character of how great the emotional internal conflict he deals with after the Kazuya section of the story. The way you put it is that after losing Kazuya he's supposed to just forget all about him and get with the girl his brother loved. Even if moving on was as easy and quick as that, which it isn't, a huge part of Tatsuya's character is his struggle to stay himself while following in footsteps of what his brother would have become. This is especially emphasized through baseball and in the episodes nearing the end. The rivalry with Nitta plays a role in developing Tatsuya with Nitta asking him if he could face Kazuya once more. As for Nitta's relationship with Minami, it also does a lot for Tatsuya's character as it presents a love rival who, just like Kazuya, is seen as perfect by others and shows Minami still won't choose them after they throw themselves on to her, although that part isn't blatently obvious to Tatsuya. Another part of Tatsuya is that he doesn't want glory or the spotlight, so Minami's dream driving him towards that wouldn't make sense, but the Koshien being her dream is ultimately why Tatsuya gets that far. (In the manga, his motivation for baseball drops as soon as they reach Koshien, and his focus shifts towards his feeling for Minami as he finally realized her dream. I prefer this ending) The reason why Minami isn't constantly barraging Tatsuya with wanting to go to Koshien is because she understands how having the same expectations of him as she did of his brother affects him. Her taking up gymnastics is her going for something she doesn't have to rely on Tatsuya for and pressure him to compare himself to his brother. I touched on why Nitta is a great rival for Tatsuya, but I agree that the little sister doesn't bring much to the plot, I do like her for bringing entertainment though. As for Kashiwaba, the coach, I couldn't disagree more about him not doing anything meaningful for the story. Kashiwaba is easily Touch's best character following Tatsuya. Your previous complains about the show make a lot of sense if you didn't understand the meaning behind Kashiwaba, as it highlights that a big part of the show isn't just the relationship between boy and girl, man and woman, but largly about brother and brother. The Kashiwabas contrast the Uesugi siblings so well and give you an idea of how the story could have unravelled had Kazuya still been there. Minami's interactions with the wife of the coach's brother are some of the most emotionally mraningful scenes in the series. Kashiwaba's background and ruthless coaching are some of the most important reasons why Tatsuya matures and also grows better and stronger physically. Calling those episodes filler is criminal. You say that the characters developed unrealistically, but I think they develop very realistically and a lot more so than if the changes you wanted were applied, like if Tatsuya were to completely disrespect his dear deceased brother by getting together with the girl he loved soon after the car accident. Overall, Touch is an easy 10/10 for me, and maybe it would be closer to that for you if you view it for what it's supposed to be, a story about two brothers and a girl, instead of a story about two guys and a girl. |
| It's the 101th and final episode of Touch. I've done it. I'm sorry if this sounds kinda cringey but it almost feels like I've made my way into my own version of Koushien in a way :) It took me like 40 days to finish this and if I wanted to I could've ended it sooner but I'm glad I took my time. This was a wild ride. I remember seeing references to this show many times as one of the best "romcom" anime of all time while watching Maison Ikkoku not long ago and I can see why. There are some clear similarities with Maison Ikkoku with Touch such as both being from the 80's and having EXTREMEMLY similar character archetypes. Still I think Maison Ikkoku does the romantic drama a lot better. And I think Maison Ikkoku is also slightly better than Touch overall but I may think that cause I found it more relatable to my life. If I'm being honest then Touch is 1/4 about romance and the remaining parts are all about baseball. So I feel as if I got tricked into watching a baseball anime. But I can't really complain since I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. But thing is since most of Touch is about baseball it feels like a sin to complain about anything since I still don't know much about baseball. Though I know more about it now compared to before. In hindsight I made so many predictions throughout the episodes but most of them were outright wrong. I'm pretty bad about predicting outcomes in storylines in general I guess but I still think most of the subversions in this anime were positive and only added to the experience. For example Kazuya's death was the first major twist in the story. At the time it felt too cruel, me and many others thought "why couldn’t the author just injure him or put him in a coma?". Well after finishing the story it doesn’t feel like that plotline would've worked. Tatsuya needed a life-changing event to teach him a lesson. And boy did Tatsuya change. One of the most moticable character growth in any anime that I've seen. And also obviously since this is what the author wanted to write. I love the OST of Touch and its artstyle. The animation can be a bit cheap at times but I think for the style it was going for it's perfectly fine. I like the simplistic drawing and character designs of Adachi Mitsuru. According to MAL there are 5 anime movies of Touch, the first 3 movies are basically readaptation of the series with some changes to work in 3 movies and the last 2 of which take place after the ending of the anime. I'm not sure if these "sequel" movies are canon to the 3 movies preceding it or the 101 episode series (or both). I guess I'll have to watch them to find out. I'm almost certain all of them are non-canon to the manga though. Before watching those I think I'll re-watch some of the first few episodes for comparison's sake and also cause I'm already nostalgic about the more fun episodes of part 1. It wasn't long when I hated the baseball aspect of the show in part 2 and it finally started slowly growing on me with part 3 and finally part 4. Can't say I'm too much into baseball still but I will watch Mix and maybe even Cross Game later on. From what I can tell Mix canonically takes place after Touch in the same universe so it might be worth watching just for that. And that anime was made fairly recently so it might showcase the author Adachi's writing whether it improved or stayed the same. And lastly if you were like me and wanted to see more romance in Touch then you I highly recommend watching Maison Ikkoku as the closest alternative if you haven't picked up on it already. Touch is a pretty unconventional romance story especially after part 1 but Maison Ikkoku is romance through and through and might be what you're looking for now. Don't worry it doesn't involve baseball except for 1 filler episode if you're concerned about that. |
0451Aug 29, 2021 9:21 AM
0451 said: It's the 101th and final episode of Touch. I've done it. I'm sorry if this sounds kinda cringey but it almost feels like I've made my way into my own version of Koushien in a way :) It took me like 40 days to finish this and if I wanted to I could've ended it sooner but I'm glad I took my time. This was a wild ride. I remember seeing references to this show many times as one of the best "romcom" anime of all time while watching Maison Ikkoku not long ago and I can see why. There are some clear similarities with Maison Ikkoku with Touch such as both being from the 80's and having EXTREMEMLY similar character archetypes. Still I think Maison Ikkoku does the romantic drama a lot better. And I think Maison Ikkoku is also slightly better than Touch overall but I may think that cause I found it more relatable to my life. If I'm being honest then Touch is 1/4 about romance and the remaining parts are all about baseball. So I feel as if I got tricked into watching a baseball anime. But I can't really complain since I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. But thing is since most of Touch is about baseball it feels like a sin to complain about anything since I still don't know much about baseball. Though I know more about it now compared to before. In hindsight I made so many predictions throughout the episodes but most of them were outright wrong. I'm pretty bad about predicting outcomes in storylines in general I guess but I still think most of the subversions in this anime were positive and only added to the experience. For example Kazuya's death was the first major twist in the story. At the time it felt too cruel, me and many others thought "why couldn’t the author just injure him or put him in a coma?". Well after finishing the story it doesn’t feel like that plotline would've worked. Tatsuya needed a life-changing event to teach him a lesson. And boy did Tatsuya change. One of the most moticable character growth in any anime that I've seen. And also obviously since this is what the author wanted to write. I love the OST of Touch and its artstyle. The animation can be a bit cheap at times but I think for the style it was going for it's perfectly fine. I like the simplistic drawing and character designs of Adachi Mitsuru. According to MAL there are 5 anime movies of Touch, the first 3 movies are basically readaptation of the series with some changes to work in 3 movies and the last 2 of which take place after the ending of the anime. I'm not sure if these "sequel" movies are canon to the 3 movies preceding it or the 101 episode series (or both). I guess I'll have to watch them to find out. I'm almost certain all of them are non-canon to the manga though. Before watching those I think I'll re-watch some of the first few episodes for comparison's sake and also cause I'm already nostalgic about the more fun episodes of part 1. It wasn't long when I hated the baseball aspect of the show in part 2 and it finally started slowly growing on me with part 3 and finally part 4. Can't say I'm too much into baseball still but I will watch Mix and maybe even Cross Game later on. From what I can tell Mix canonically takes place after Touch in the same universe so it might be worth watching just for that. And that anime was made fairly recently so it might showcase the author Adachi's writing whether it improved or stayed the same. And lastly if you were like me and wanted to see more romance in Touch then you I highly recommend watching Maison Ikkoku as the closest alternative if you haven't picked up on it already. Touch is a pretty unconventional romance story especially after part 1 but Maison Ikkoku is romance through and through and might be what you're looking for now. Don't worry it doesn't involve baseball except for 1 filler episode if you're concerned about that. Jesus you finished the show quickly! I agree with all this, personally I enjoyed the baseball as much as the romance a lot of the time, I shed tears at the end. These old epics really make you feel like the characters are old friends and the plot was an adventure with them. I second that Maison Ikkoku recommendation , like this it sagged in the middle but other than that all the bad things about touch aren't really present. |
| Old is Gold "Look, look, we can do spinning shots without wasting our entire budget" "Did you see? Look, it's all smooth and everything !" "You're not looking, please, it's SO AWESOME LOOK AT HOW SPINNY IT IS!!!!" - All anime animators since the invention of CGI. |
BritishBlitz87 said: Hehe. 0451 said: It's the 101th and final episode of Touch. I've done it. I'm sorry if this sounds kinda cringey but it almost feels like I've made my way into my own version of Koushien in a way :) It took me like 40 days to finish this and if I wanted to I could've ended it sooner but I'm glad I took my time. This was a wild ride. I remember seeing references to this show many times as one of the best "romcom" anime of all time while watching Maison Ikkoku not long ago and I can see why. There are some clear similarities with Maison Ikkoku with Touch such as both being from the 80's and having EXTREMEMLY similar character archetypes. Still I think Maison Ikkoku does the romantic drama a lot better. And I think Maison Ikkoku is also slightly better than Touch overall but I may think that cause I found it more relatable to my life. If I'm being honest then Touch is 1/4 about romance and the remaining parts are all about baseball. So I feel as if I got tricked into watching a baseball anime. But I can't really complain since I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. But thing is since most of Touch is about baseball it feels like a sin to complain about anything since I still don't know much about baseball. Though I know more about it now compared to before. In hindsight I made so many predictions throughout the episodes but most of them were outright wrong. I'm pretty bad about predicting outcomes in storylines in general I guess but I still think most of the subversions in this anime were positive and only added to the experience. For example Kazuya's death was the first major twist in the story. At the time it felt too cruel, me and many others thought "why couldn’t the author just injure him or put him in a coma?". Well after finishing the story it doesn’t feel like that plotline would've worked. Tatsuya needed a life-changing event to teach him a lesson. And boy did Tatsuya change. One of the most moticable character growth in any anime that I've seen. And also obviously since this is what the author wanted to write. I love the OST of Touch and its artstyle. The animation can be a bit cheap at times but I think for the style it was going for it's perfectly fine. I like the simplistic drawing and character designs of Adachi Mitsuru. According to MAL there are 5 anime movies of Touch, the first 3 movies are basically readaptation of the series with some changes to work in 3 movies and the last 2 of which take place after the ending of the anime. I'm not sure if these "sequel" movies are canon to the 3 movies preceding it or the 101 episode series (or both). I guess I'll have to watch them to find out. I'm almost certain all of them are non-canon to the manga though. Before watching those I think I'll re-watch some of the first few episodes for comparison's sake and also cause I'm already nostalgic about the more fun episodes of part 1. It wasn't long when I hated the baseball aspect of the show in part 2 and it finally started slowly growing on me with part 3 and finally part 4. Can't say I'm too much into baseball still but I will watch Mix and maybe even Cross Game later on. From what I can tell Mix canonically takes place after Touch in the same universe so it might be worth watching just for that. And that anime was made fairly recently so it might showcase the author Adachi's writing whether it improved or stayed the same. And lastly if you were like me and wanted to see more romance in Touch then you I highly recommend watching Maison Ikkoku as the closest alternative if you haven't picked up on it already. Touch is a pretty unconventional romance story especially after part 1 but Maison Ikkoku is romance through and through and might be what you're looking for now. Don't worry it doesn't involve baseball except for 1 filler episode if you're concerned about that. Jesus you finished the show quickly! I agree with all this, personally I enjoyed the baseball as much as the romance a lot of the time, I shed tears at the end. These old epics really make you feel like the characters are old friends and the plot was an adventure with them. I second that Maison Ikkoku recommendation , like this it sagged in the middle but other than that all the bad things about touch aren't really present. Baseball kinda makes me more hyped than it used to before watching Touch. I also agree with your points and criticisms especially the one about Tatsuya's character. Touch isn't perfect but it is pretty damn close to being perfect I think. Maison Ikkoku isn't 100% perfect either, it does drag around the middle but the way it starts out and especially the way the last couple arcs fling back is incredible. Touch is probably the 2nd biggest anime I finished this year after Urusei Yatsura and before Maison Ikkoku. I still haven't watched all the Touch movies yet though, I think I'll slowly make my way through them when I feel like it. |
0451 said: It's funny because I binge watched the entire series of Maison Ikkoku before watching Touch and personally, I prefer Touch as a romance series. I find the drama, the feelings, the characters alongside with the music to be far more impactful and realistic. Just the overall writing is way better for me and the protagonists, Tatsuya, and Minami are far better than the main couple from Maison Ikkoku. Anyways, I wouldn't say it's a fair comparison anyways because I don't consider Touch a "romcom" anime or even close to one whereas Maison Ikkoku is 100% a romcom. It's the 101th and final episode of Touch. I've done it. I'm sorry if this sounds kinda cringey but it almost feels like I've made my way into my own version of Koushien in a way :) It took me like 40 days to finish this and if I wanted to I could've ended it sooner but I'm glad I took my time. This was a wild ride. I remember seeing references to this show many times as one of the best "romcom" anime of all time while watching Maison Ikkoku not long ago and I can see why. There are some clear similarities with Maison Ikkoku with Touch such as both being from the 80's and having EXTREMEMLY similar character archetypes. Still I think Maison Ikkoku does the romantic drama a lot better. And I think Maison Ikkoku is also slightly better than Touch overall but I may think that cause I found it more relatable to my life. If I'm being honest then Touch is 1/4 about romance and the remaining parts are all about baseball. So I feel as if I got tricked into watching a baseball anime. But I can't really complain since I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. But thing is since most of Touch is about baseball it feels like a sin to complain about anything since I still don't know much about baseball. Though I know more about it now compared to before. In hindsight I made so many predictions throughout the episodes but most of them were outright wrong. I'm pretty bad about predicting outcomes in storylines in general I guess but I still think most of the subversions in this anime were positive and only added to the experience. For example Kazuya's death was the first major twist in the story. At the time it felt too cruel, me and many others thought "why couldn’t the author just injure him or put him in a coma?". Well after finishing the story it doesn’t feel like that plotline would've worked. Tatsuya needed a life-changing event to teach him a lesson. And boy did Tatsuya change. One of the most moticable character growth in any anime that I've seen. And also obviously since this is what the author wanted to write. I love the OST of Touch and its artstyle. The animation can be a bit cheap at times but I think for the style it was going for it's perfectly fine. I like the simplistic drawing and character designs of Adachi Mitsuru. According to MAL there are 5 anime movies of Touch, the first 3 movies are basically readaptation of the series with some changes to work in 3 movies and the last 2 of which take place after the ending of the anime. I'm not sure if these "sequel" movies are canon to the 3 movies preceding it or the 101 episode series (or both). I guess I'll have to watch them to find out. I'm almost certain all of them are non-canon to the manga though. Before watching those I think I'll re-watch some of the first few episodes for comparison's sake and also cause I'm already nostalgic about the more fun episodes of part 1. It wasn't long when I hated the baseball aspect of the show in part 2 and it finally started slowly growing on me with part 3 and finally part 4. Can't say I'm too much into baseball still but I will watch Mix and maybe even Cross Game later on. From what I can tell Mix canonically takes place after Touch in the same universe so it might be worth watching just for that. And that anime was made fairly recently so it might showcase the author Adachi's writing whether it improved or stayed the same. And lastly if you were like me and wanted to see more romance in Touch then you I highly recommend watching Maison Ikkoku as the closest alternative if you haven't picked up on it already. Touch is a pretty unconventional romance story especially after part 1 but Maison Ikkoku is romance through and through and might be what you're looking for now. Don't worry it doesn't involve baseball except for 1 filler episode if you're concerned about that. |
FlamingMangosJan 22, 2023 4:35 PM
FlamingMangos said: Well Touch is a lot more about drama while Maison Ikkoku was more about comedy at first and then later became more about romance. It's not a 100% fair comparison and whether you like one over the other simply depends on your preference. 0451 said: It's funny because I binge watched the entire series of Maison Ikkoku before watching Touch and personally, I prefer Touch as a romance series. I find the drama, the feelings, the characters alongside with the music to be far more impactful and realistic. Just the overall writing is way better for me and the protagonists, Tatsuya, and Minami are far better than the main couple from Maison Ikkoku. Anyways, I wouldn't say it's a fair comparison anyways because I don't consider Touch a "romcom" anime or even close to one whereas Maison Ikkoku is 100% a romcom. It's the 101th and final episode of Touch. I've done it. I'm sorry if this sounds kinda cringey but it almost feels like I've made my way into my own version of Koushien in a way :) It took me like 40 days to finish this and if I wanted to I could've ended it sooner but I'm glad I took my time. This was a wild ride. I remember seeing references to this show many times as one of the best "romcom" anime of all time while watching Maison Ikkoku not long ago and I can see why. There are some clear similarities with Maison Ikkoku with Touch such as both being from the 80's and having EXTREMEMLY similar character archetypes. Still I think Maison Ikkoku does the romantic drama a lot better. And I think Maison Ikkoku is also slightly better than Touch overall but I may think that cause I found it more relatable to my life. If I'm being honest then Touch is 1/4 about romance and the remaining parts are all about baseball. So I feel as if I got tricked into watching a baseball anime. But I can't really complain since I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. But thing is since most of Touch is about baseball it feels like a sin to complain about anything since I still don't know much about baseball. Though I know more about it now compared to before. In hindsight I made so many predictions throughout the episodes but most of them were outright wrong. I'm pretty bad about predicting outcomes in storylines in general I guess but I still think most of the subversions in this anime were positive and only added to the experience. For example Kazuya's death was the first major twist in the story. At the time it felt too cruel, me and many others thought "why couldn’t the author just injure him or put him in a coma?". Well after finishing the story it doesn’t feel like that plotline would've worked. Tatsuya needed a life-changing event to teach him a lesson. And boy did Tatsuya change. One of the most moticable character growth in any anime that I've seen. And also obviously since this is what the author wanted to write. I love the OST of Touch and its artstyle. The animation can be a bit cheap at times but I think for the style it was going for it's perfectly fine. I like the simplistic drawing and character designs of Adachi Mitsuru. According to MAL there are 5 anime movies of Touch, the first 3 movies are basically readaptation of the series with some changes to work in 3 movies and the last 2 of which take place after the ending of the anime. I'm not sure if these "sequel" movies are canon to the 3 movies preceding it or the 101 episode series (or both). I guess I'll have to watch them to find out. I'm almost certain all of them are non-canon to the manga though. Before watching those I think I'll re-watch some of the first few episodes for comparison's sake and also cause I'm already nostalgic about the more fun episodes of part 1. It wasn't long when I hated the baseball aspect of the show in part 2 and it finally started slowly growing on me with part 3 and finally part 4. Can't say I'm too much into baseball still but I will watch Mix and maybe even Cross Game later on. From what I can tell Mix canonically takes place after Touch in the same universe so it might be worth watching just for that. And that anime was made fairly recently so it might showcase the author Adachi's writing whether it improved or stayed the same. And lastly if you were like me and wanted to see more romance in Touch then you I highly recommend watching Maison Ikkoku as the closest alternative if you haven't picked up on it already. Touch is a pretty unconventional romance story especially after part 1 but Maison Ikkoku is romance through and through and might be what you're looking for now. Don't worry it doesn't involve baseball except for 1 filler episode if you're concerned about that. |
tr25a3 said: In the anime, Tatsuya is hesitant because he simply doesn't know what to do until he decided that he needs Minami to do his best and then he confesses to her. The message in the anime is pretty much simplified when compared to the manga. After watching this episode and even after reading the last few chapters in the manga, I still can't wrap my mind around Tatsuya and why he acts towards Minami the way he does. Why is he so hesitant when it comes to her? Does he still think that his deceased brother would have been better for Minami, while ignoring her feelings for him? Does he feel inferior? Is he still searching for his place and purpose in life? What exactly does he feel for her? I think Minami asked him at least twice, but his answers are still a mystery. He says he loves her, but he still doesn't want have a relationship like that with her? In the manga he even went so far to say that he loves her, but that he wouldn't say that again for another 10 years. I am at a loss there. In the manga, the original message of the ending between Minami and Tatsuya is that Tatsuya wants to be his very best form before he fully commits to Minami. He doesn't want to be with her when he's unmotivated, indecisive, doing nothing. His confession is the starting line and it's what gives him the motivation and confidence. It pushes him to try his best and at the same time, it pushes Minami to do her best too. He wants the relationship to be equal where it's the best of two worlds where none are beneath the other in achievement. That's the reason why he won't say "I love you" again for another 10 years, because he think it'll take 10 years to be his best form. He'll be 28 years old and I predict that's when he'll retire and marry Minami. |
FlamingMangosFeb 12, 2023 12:50 AM
| Mid-NIce ending. Took me less than a week to finish the show. So i guess i kinda liked it. I'm giving a 8.5/10 . I will rate it a 9/10. Overall its 60% baseball, 40% Romance. The clearly peak of romance in this show was in the first 26 episodes. Those 26 episodes was very good, specially with what happened to Katsuya. Make the public goes emotional. Not like today's anime where the MC die in the first episode and we can't really be emotional. I still don't understand why Tatsuya wasn't sure about his feelings at the end. Like he knows his feeling but doesn't want to take action. Fortunately he did with that phone call. Tbh the show was entertaining at the baseball level, but at the romance level it wasn't that much. It was entertaining seeing both Nitta ( the guy and the little sister ) take part of the romance ( at least they tried ) . But otherwise it wasn't that deep. This show is a mix between Major ( baseball ) and Maison Ikkoku, Ranma 1/2 ( romantic/comedy ) . |
Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth. Neo: What truth? Morpheus: That you are a slave, Neo. |
Reply to amateur
A lot of charm and just a great timeless story,but again Adachi shows that he cant write a proper romance between the 2 main character or write a proper ending/conclusion to save his life (this is more noteworthy in the manga version).
Thinking back it had a lot of flaws,like just a lot of things that could have been handled better :dialogue wise,side character that completely disappear,dragged on second half,characters that kept going back and forth with their actions/motivation .... ,but most of them were negated by how overall the anime came together.
Solid series,but not even close to being the best sports anime out there.And as a romance it's not even worth mentioning,since it was beyond slow (it literally stopped at some points) in that regard.....
Thinking back it had a lot of flaws,like just a lot of things that could have been handled better :dialogue wise,side character that completely disappear,dragged on second half,characters that kept going back and forth with their actions/motivation .... ,but most of them were negated by how overall the anime came together.
Solid series,but not even close to being the best sports anime out there.And as a romance it's not even worth mentioning,since it was beyond slow (it literally stopped at some points) in that regard.....
| @amateur Cringing at myself for not fully grasping...everything and taking for granted all the shows strengths. Other shows would kill to have this level of credibility and seamless character growth. |
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