Tetsuwan Girl

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Iron Arm Girl

Japanese: 鉄腕ガール

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 9

Chapters: 92

Status: Finished

Published: Feb 10, 2000 to Feb 7, 2002

Genres: Drama, Slice of Life, Sports

Theme: Historical

Demographic: Seinen

Serialization: Morning

Authors: Takahashi, Tsutomu (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 7.45¹ (scored by 1,093 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #3383²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #4708

Members: 4,266

Favorites: 39

7.45

Ranked #3383Popularity #4708Members 4,266

MangaMorningTakahashi, Tsutomu (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /9

Chapters: /92

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Synopsis

The year is 1949. Japan had been defeated in World War II and was occupied by Allied Forces consisting of American, Australian, British, Indian and New Zealander troops.

A young woman meets a young man. Both have lost everything because of the war. Tome Kano, a barmaid, and Katsuya Ranzaki, a wealthy investor. The two are fed up with their lives and want to live "real lives" for once. Katsuya's starting up an all-girls baseball team with Tome on it allows them to do this. In this dramatic story, the dreams of a nation come alive. Through the determination and strength of Katsuya and Tome, girls baseball becomes a sensation, and Tome a superstar.

(Source: MU)

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Kano, Tome

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Reviews

May 22, 2015

Dokubachi

Recommended

Expectation of typical sports plot when it comes to Tsutomu can be classed as pure naivety. His innate noir-ish sensibilities prevent him from such orthodox escapades, instead we are presented with hyperrealistic version of occupied Japan where baseball plays a secondary role.

Nippon Banzai screams out of panels and tactful subtlety is nowhere to be found. Main character serves as vox populi amidst this anachronistic mumbo jumbo, which at some parts resembles David and Goliath with a nationalistic twist to it.

Tsutomu's adroitness both as artist and writer allow him to bypass the flaws. Aspects such as women's empowerment and anti-war mindset play in favor ...

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Jan 30, 2024

Mayuka

Recommended

I usually don't write reviews on MAL but I feel like this series is under-appreciated and overshadowed by other sports series. My review will not be very structured but I'll try my best to write about it in an unbiased way. Firstly, this resembles Holyland if I were to pick any sports series. It's about a main character trying to find freedom and strength.

I really liked this series and it moved me. I cried several scenes. It's such a powerful series and our MC, Tome is a really fun character to follow.

Let me go over the flaws. The romance is very strange. I never felt ...

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Mar 21, 2021

coldrex

Not Recommended

Tetsuwan girl could have been many things.
It could've been a straightforward sports manga/underdog story with a cool historical setting. It could've been an inspiring feminist tale about women finding empowerment in their passions against an oppressive, conservative environment that brings them down at every opportunity. It could've been an anti-war story about the power of sports that transcends national boundaries and brings people together, even in the aftermath of war and destruction. It could have been a tragic character study about obsession, pride, and the crushing weight of ambition.
It's not any of these things.
Anti-war sentiments are nowhere to be found. Instead, we get a nationalistic ... power fantasy riddled with shoehorned crime elements, driven by a lead girl who appears charismatic and cool on the surface, but the author never really attempts to dig any deeper than that, which ultimately might be Tetsuwan girl's biggest downfall. The titular character, Tome (or the 'iron-armed girl') remains completely static throughout the span of 92 chapters. Despite having the entire story revolve around her, Takahashi never gives Tome the development she so desperately needs, because she's basically a goddess from the start; a complete natural at pitching, always confident, always unphased, she can silence an angry mob by yelling "shut up" at them, and she never wavers in her resolve. She has no self-doubt, no inner conflict, not a worry in the world, which is what makes her charismatic, but also a fundamentally boring character to read. There's a brief training camp segment in the earlier chapters, but we never see her skills flourish - ultimately, her success feels unearned because we never see her truly struggle.
Which brings me to the pacing, another key weakness of Tetsuwan girl. In one word, the pacing is fast. Tome isn't the only one whose development feels lackluster - that is to say, the rest of the main cast is two-dimensional at best, and the side characters are pretty much non-existent. The characters aren't the only ones who aren't given proper attention - there's no real buildup to anything.The worst offender is probably the romantic development between Tome and Katsumi, which plays out over the course of just a few chapters and then becomes the main driving force for the rest of the story. Just as we never get to know these characters, we don't really see them get to know each other either - it all feels so rushed, forced and out of nowhere. The same can be said about most of the sequences throughout this manga.
With all that said, i still gave Tetsuwan girl a 4/10. Anything below that is reserved for offensively bad works, which i don't really think it is; it's just painfully underwhelming and incompetently written. Despite all of its wasted potential, Tetsuwan girl still has its redeeming qualities, most notably the realistic, detailed and sufficiently dynamic artwork. It's not the kind of art i'd call beautiful, at least not in the sense that Tsuruta Kenji's, Mori Kaoru's, or Shimura Takako's art is beautiful. Nevertheless, it has a level of quality that's easy to appreciate.
That's all i have to say. Sorry, i'm not good at closing out reviews.

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Poll: Tetsuwan Girl Chapter 92 Discussion Culex - Mar 12, 2015	2 replies	by Mayuka »» Apr 26, 2016 4:36 PM
Poll: Tetsuwan Girl Chapter 16 Discussion Beatnik - Nov 29, 2008	1 replies	by Mayuka »» Mar 8, 2016 4:23 AM
Poll: Tetsuwan Girl Chapter 15 Discussion Mayuka - Mar 8, 2016	0 replies	by Mayuka »» Mar 8, 2016 4:23 AM
Poll: Tetsuwan Girl Chapter 14 Discussion Mayuka - Mar 8, 2016	0 replies	by Mayuka »» Mar 8, 2016 4:17 AM
Poll: Tetsuwan Girl Chapter 11 Discussion Mayuka - Feb 10, 2016	0 replies	by Mayuka »» Feb 10, 2016 12:25 AM

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