Ashita Tenki ni Naare

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Ashita Tenki ni Naare is a long-running sports manga by well-known mangaka Chiba Tetsuya, and it is one of the most well-known golf manga. The main character is a student named Mukai Taiyou, who comes from a family that lacks financial freedoms, with the only adult being his mother who runs a restaurant, where the family resides on the second floor. As a result, Mukai shows great interest in earning money, and grabs any chance that presents itself, like asking his fellow classmates to be paid in return for certain tasks, such as predicting what will be in the next test. His ultimate goal, however, ... is to become a pro golfer, and be able to financially support his family. For this, he works part-time at a golf course, as well as being steadily taught by a former pro golfer on the side. As evident from these descriptions, Mukai is a hard-working, honest individual, but his greatest asset is his natural aptitude for the sport.

Chiba’s manga often portray those with a specific, extraordinary skill in the ordinary everyday; ones who can persevere through any hardships life may throw their way, from Yuki no Taiyou to Ashita no Joe. Taiyou is no different, able to overcome any obstacle in his path through perseverance, and much like the protagonists of Chiba’s other sports manga, he shows a natural adeptness to golf, and is very quickly able to show a level of skill that surpasses veterans much more seasoned to him.

There are many similarities that can be drawn between Taiyou as a character, to Teppei from Ore no Teppei, one of Chiba’s other sports manga. They are both rash, inexperienced, and quick to anger; but also quite clever, with a great amount of natural talent. Obviously, there are also differences, particularly with Taiyou being not quite as quick-witted as Teppei. Teppei, comparatively, can also be much more obnoxious and sneaky, whereas Taiyou generally doesn’t try to outwit his opponents through various methods, unless they attempt to outwit him first. One of the scenes in the manga shows this trait; during one of the competitions, when one of the other players attempts to thwart Taiyou’s play through dishonest conduct. Once Taiyou realizes this, he decides to reverse the situation, putting the pressure on that player, but through fully honest conduct, which eventually leads the other player to be unable to overcome that pressure instead.

There are a range of competitions shown in the manga, from a national golf competition for students, to The Open, one of the most revered golf competitions in the world. Present also are many real-life professional golf players from the period this manga was running; the most notable member of this lineup probably being Jack Nicklaus, generally considered to be among the greatest players in golf history. Though I am unfamiliar with pro golf, and these players are all before my time, for those who are knowledgeable, it would be amusing to see this kid beat out some of the greatest golf players in history.

The increase in scale of the competitions stands in contrast to Ore wa Teppei, where, though the competitions and opponents do gradually increase in skill, they are always national competitions, with the opponents always students. The increase in scale here is more comparable to Ashita no Joe, which also sees international opponents later on. However, Joe is older than Taiyou, and therefore the opponents, who are mostly all adults, feel that much more daunting here. Combined with Taiyou’s small stature (even the opponents often remark on the surprise they feel that such a small person is able to exert so much power), it makes his achievements seem all the more impressive.

Chiba’s art here is some of the best he’s ever drawn, and every golf match is presented with great intensity, and in such a way that is best conveyed as a comic. The ‘grittiness’ of Chiba’s art brings the characters, as well as the aesthetic of 1980s Japan, the central setting, to life, and his grounded yet stylized art allows for the golf courses to be presented to the reader with the feeling of magnificence they deserve. This is also achieved by a large helping of double page spreads throughout all the golf competitions, which overall, number much more compared to some of his other sports manga. The general visual presentation of the manga is also nothing short of impressive, with the powerful swings of the players being shown in all their double spread glory, and numerous smaller vertical panels being used when necessary, such as when a golf ball is shown falling from the sky, becoming gradually more visible in successive small panels as it falls, giving the ball a feeling of movement and speed it would otherwise lack.

The greatest shortcoming of the manga is that the side characters, particularly Taiyou’s mentor, Ryukoku, as well as his friend Etsuko, are largely thrown by the wayside in the latter half of the manga. This is disappointing as in Ashita no Joe or Ore wa Teppei, many of the side characters throughout the manga become interesting characters in their own right. There is the impression that, at least with Ryukoku, there may have been plans to give him his own backstory and character arc, what with his distinct appearance, combined with the mention that he was a pro himself back in the day, but this never comes to fruition. In addition, Taiyou’s family are never made to be particularly interesting characters in their own right, which is a shame considering that in Ore wa Teppei, Teppei’s father was an interesting and entertaining character in his own right. Apart from Taiyou and the other pro players, the most interesting characters are probably the caddies, of which most have colorful personalities, but they change every course, and never appear again afterwards, which can’t help but feel a little unfortunate.

Ashita Tenki ni Naare may not feature the distinctly memorable moments featured in some of Chiba’s other manga, and the lack of any notably interesting side characters will always feel like a bit of a missed opportunity. Still, for a work featuring a static sport portrayed in a static medium to be this engaging is certainly a commendable feat, and Chiba’s art and overall skill as a mangaka elevate the manga far above what it could have been otherwise. It's an enjoyable comic on its own, and also a great display of some of Chiba’s skillfulness as a mangaka. It also features a charismatic lead, whose development as a person and as a player is more than enough to make this manga worth reading.