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 any romance out of Tome and her love interest. If you read it, it progresses very quickly and has no development and buildup. If the writer really wanted a strong romance between them, we need more development. I normally wouldn't have minded a random love interest pushed in but it ended up driving her existence and her motives where she did everything for that love interest which was out of character for her. She is a woman who is depicted as a soloist or a leader. I honestly don't think she needs a man to live.
It's a bit rushed at times. I feel that the pacing in the beginning worked better than the one it ended off with. The build up was excellent though.
The strong point of this series was the build up, as I've said before. How everything rolled down, how Tome was shown as. She's so fearless and liberated. This series is truly a good read for a feminist, at least. I'm not speaking about 3rd wave feminism but actual feminism back in the older days. Women in Anime/Manga are usually depicted as as weak, powerless, and submissive but she is rather the opposite of all those things. She's an actual role model.
The art is well done and matches the story. The art makes you want to cry for the characters because they do a lot and suffer but they still try their best. It's kind of detailed for art but it's an older series so that's as expected.
The sports aspect was pretty good. I mean, it's not really a sports manga as baseball was just the theme they picked. Anything else could have been used in place as long. Overall, this was a really great series and more people should check it out if they want something that impacts.
8/10
