Ranked #193

Touch

Touch rightfully stands out as one of the best made series that earns the title of classic among anime. From the work of Adachi Mitsuru, he brings out an example of how a simple concept in a sports/romance series can provide great results in execution and writing.

As mentioned earlier, the story of Touch is based on a simple concept that is easy to follow. It is mainly a coming of age story where characters participate in the area of sports (mainly baseball) along with dealing the events that happen in their lives. One thing that Touch truly achieve is how Adachi brought great writing in its story. Because the writing is consider that great, none of the 101 episodes would feel like a bad episode to the viewer. To add with the enjoyment of the story, there are also a few unexpected plot twists that may certainly stun the audience in its results.

It is also hard to believe seeing several characters well-developed in Touch, but ever since completing the series they were truly among that class. The story of Touch features three childhood friends growing up where an older brother (Tatsuya) wants to do nothing, an younger brother (Kazuya) who is a very talented pitcher in baseball, and the cute girl (Minami) who lives next door. Tatsuya brings out a good performance such as providing humor and never falling out of character. This was obviously necessary to the story, especially when it comes to dealing with the shadow of his talented younger brother Kazuya. Minami (who enjoys managing the Meisei baseball team) also deals with situations such as her school popularity, her participation in gymnastics, and deciding who to be with in a romantic relationship.

Some of the supporting characters also manage to bring quite a lot to the story of Touch. One supporting character that has done well in his performance is the baseball catcher Koutarou. Koutarou's performance weighs on how supportive he is with the Meisei baseball team along with having a strong friendship with Kazuya. Another supporting character that brings out a solid performance is Harada who tends to provide advice to Tatsuya in making decisions. There is also the antagonist Kashiwaba Eijiro who ends up being a challenge to the Meisei baseball team in order to achieve his own agenda.

The one major setback viewers may have with Touch is the animation being dated, especially since this was a series made from the 80's. Being a witness of Adachi's works, his character designs are not all that great but they do seem to fit the image of being acceptable in a series such as this one. The background drawings visually were nice enough to look up at in Touch.

The sound department is mainly good in its results but it also has its setbacks from times in Touch. The opening and ending songs feature an assortment of 80's music that are mainly good tunes to listen to. Some examples of good songs would include the gentle music of "Kimi ga Inakereba", the upbeating music of "Che! Che! Che!", and a great song called "Kimi wo Tobashita Gogo" (which this reviewer thought was an appropriate closure song for a long series like Touch). From the scenes of Touch, some bgms manage to fit while other bgms do feel out of place at times. The seiyus also brought great performances with their characters, especially when providing their emotions in certain scenes.

Despite the animation being dated at times, Touch is certainly a sports/romance series that provides great results in both story and characters. For those that are fans of sports/romance genres, Touch is one series that is worth checking out. read more

I'm sort of surprised there isn't a review for this show already. This is really a great show. It's defenitely a classic.

Story
The story itself may not sound extremely original, but the way that it develops is excellent. The main focus of the series is the growth of the main character, Tatsuya. His brother, Kazuya, is the ace pitcher of the baseball team and everyone loves him. Both him and his brother like the same girl, Minami. Over the series, Tatsuya tries to make himself a better man for Minami, with a lot of influence from his brother Kazuya. The show has a lot of romance in it, as well as sports, but there is a good balance. Also, the dramatic parts of the story are done so well, but not overdramatized. The first 26 episodes focus on the relationship between the brothers and Minami, but after that it focuses on Tatsuya becoming part of the baseball team. It really feels like a slice of life anime when you're watching it. The series covers 3 years, but the pacing is perfect.

Animation
For a show that was made in 1985, the animation is really nice. It's simple, yes, and the character designs arent flashy. However, the animation itself is great. The movement of the characters while they are doing sports, or anything, is dead on. There aren't many "repeated" scenes over and over again, and if they are they're not too noticeable. The quality of animation is also consistent throughout. I personally also liked the simplistic character designs and feel of the show.

Sound
Nothing to out of ordinary here. You have your typical 80's pop songs for intro and ending songs. In the show there is a lot of classical music (like chopin) when Kazuya listens to his records or Minami does gymnastics. Aside from that the background music is fitting to the show, but does not really stand alone well. The voice actors are very good though, and extremely fitting to their roles. Tastuya and Minami's seiyuu's were great.


Character
The character development in this show is huge. Throughout the show you see the growth of the characters. Tatsuya undergoes the most growth since he is the main character, but Minami and other characters (even some of the minor characters) grow and change throughout the series. The only downside was the fact that you never really got to know all the members on the baseball team, which happens a lot with sports related shows. However, all the characters in this show are great.


Enjoyment
I enjoyed this series so much. There was not really any filler (besides a few recap episodes which would have been necessary for people following the show weekly) and each episode was interesting. The story never really seemed to drag, and even though there were times where you got frustrated at certain situations, they always turned out fine in the end. DON'T avoid this show because you dont like sports. the sports may be a crucial part to the story, but it defenitely does not have your typical "sports anime" feeling. Same with the romance. The romance in the show is really important, but it's not a "romance anime".

Overall
This show was really well done. At first, I was hooked by the romantic rivalry between the two brothers. However, as the story progressed i got hooked into seeing how Tatsuya would change by becoming part of the baseball team. The story itself is really good and I think it's defenitely worth watching. Don't be scared because it's an old series, it's defenitely a classic that should be watched by all! :) read more

In a sentence, this series will touch your heart - this is a hard anime to find, but if you can get your hands on it and don't mind watching anime from another age (the 80s), sit back and enjoy the ride. Slow but very deliberative and excellent character development, packed with foreshadowing and plot twists; some expected, many more not.

While it is a "sports-themed" anime, don't let that stop you from picking it up - the near-flawless execution triumphs over what on the surface may seem like a fairly simple plot outline.

This is a masterpiece; if you're in the market for a story with characters that you actually want to succeed but also want to be kept guessing whether they will or not, look no further. Touch, and never forget. read more

Animation - 4
Touch has that signature, old school character design. Big hair, pretty natural to exaggerated bodies, and big, blank, stupid eyes. With that said though, I will say that Touch has the most expressionless faces I've ever seen in any show. The face is completely the same whether or not the character is crying, stunned, happy, or angry. From scene to scene, body proportions change from heads being proportionally larger to smaller to natural. The animation is terrible. For eyes that aren't the type that normally catch lots of mistakes or shortcuts regarding the execution of animation, mistakes are very obvious. One easily catches recycled scenes all over the place, be it gymnastics, baseball, or just running to school. Even for this time period, I'm not so sure that this was acceptable.

Sound - 6
I could be wrong, but the music used during the show was overall, anachronistically ludicrous. One of the main songs "My Girl," sounds like it belongs in a 50's sockhop. But what's worse is that the song is used for almost every occasion, be it training, mourning, victory, or romantic sequences. The opening and endings were all suitable for the show, but ultimately forgettable. Foley effects are pretty on par with what was available during the time, so I didn't really see anything wrong with that. Overall, I believe the cast did a really job of creating characters (especially the supporting actors who were given very little to work with). Voice actors for the main characters were especially charming and added engaging emotion where the animation failed.

Characters - 8
For characters that were integral to the story, the writing did a good job of making memorable characters. The leads, Tatsuya and Minami, aren't very original characters in their type, but because of very strong characterization and fine development, they come off as some of the most natural high schoolers I've probably seen in anime. Though they are prodigies, and there is a bit of a disconnect there, there is no doubt ever that they have go through much of the same thoughts as their classmates. Tatsuya is by far the most interesting character because all of his personality and actions all come from the same place, and except for one occasion, he never felt like he was going out of character, which is very important and amazing considering the show covers the most significant years in human development. Rivals such as Kazuya, Akio, and Yuka are also either well developed or characterized and efficiently play their roles as foils of either Tatsuya or Minami. But of those rivals, Yoshida Takeshi is by far the most well-executed character, with development rivaling that of Tatsuya. He goes from a pitiable tertiary character to a loathsome rival in such a short, yet natural amount of time, that his presence on screen becomes magnetic.

Although there are great and good characters in this show, there were also very bad and useless characters to go along. Tatsuya's parents were absolutely useless in the show. They are used only as comic relief, so when the most serious turning point happens, they are rendered as useless as puppets without an owner. Moreover, there is really no apparent reason for them to have treated their sons with such differing affection. Their actions were always baffling. Another character that deserves mention is Tatsuya "seemingly" best friend, Harada. After having finished the show, one is left mistified at his purpose besides framing what Tatsuya is going through. Aside from that he is a delinquent who isn't really a delinquent, and that's all that the viewer knows. Another character strangely one note character is Eijirou Kashiwaba. He's basically only introduced to catalyze Tatsuya's talent for baseball, but once he is given a story of his own (that of a distorted mirror of Tatsuya) it fails. I don't really know what to say about it, but it just fails. Much time was wasted on giving this man a reason for his actions, but ultimately he could have been just as effective had he been simpler.

Story - 7
The story is very transparent: it is a high school romance between Minami and Tatsuya set up around baseball. For about the first half of the show, the sports aspect is wholly inconsequential to the main plot. Though the plot development is very obvious, there are a few times where, as a viewer, you don't want to be right in anticipating the outcome, which speaks very highly of how engaging most of the story and characters are. There is a wonderful simplicty and innocence in the tone of the show that is carefree and relaxing (in much of the nostalgic way that adults who have good memories of high school tend to look back) adding to the overall enjoyment of Touch. The building up of emotions is where this story shines.

But with the good comes the bad, and when Touch is bad, it can be rather droll. The writers don't have a flair for drama at all, so when it comes to important scenes where a character needs to express his or her feelings, the writing just doesn't know what to do with itself, so for the romantic element of the show, it just about fails in delivering that climax. Also, regarding the main turning point in the series, the aftermath is terribly executed. Rather than show how the characters cope with the situation, we get a time skip of about two weeks, and everyone's practically acting normal. Finally, as I have mentioned before, towards the end, the show tries very hard to force drama into Tatsuya as a character while juggling the difficulties of making sense of Kashiwaba as a character, and wrapping up the story as a whole, managing to over-complicate the plot, and knock the wind out of the main climax of the story, Tatsuya and Minami's relationship.

Enjoyment - 9
Overall, I really enjoyed this show from episode one. Though many events in the plot and characters left me dumbfounded, with everything that went on, I think the show was very successful. For those that hate the look of this time period as much as I do, I must say that it is a testament to the quality and the tone of the show that I didn't give the art that much of a thought. Watching Tatsuya come into his own despite himself was a very enthralling process. Much of his humor alone is the reason why I thoroughly enjoyed Touch. This show really is for anyone. read more

I started watching thinking I would only watch a couple of episodes of this sports anime in old fashioned drawing style, but unexpectedly I finished it rather fast and wishing there were even more episodes.

The story is slow paced and character development driven, it is all about the relationships between the main characters. Before I knew it I was sympathizing with each one of them, as they all have a lot of depth.
I don't care about baseball and have no clue about its rules, but the baseball parts are never boring, on the contrary, they were very exciting to watch and I really got into them.
The voice-acting was good and I thought the sugary music suited the anime really well.

It was 101 episodes long, yet surprisingly enjoyable from start to end.

Hotness: Although the anime is not packed with huge amounts of romantic scenes and over the top sweet lines, there is nevertheless a lot of electricity in the air and it has its hot moments.

Bishounen: I'm not a fan of the character design, but somehow I got used to it. Together with the character design, the twins grow on you. Later in the story Akio Nitta, the star batter for Sumi Tech, comes along. read more