Anime
I Can Only Pimp So Much About Cross Game
It’s so easy to let loose and want to shout “OMG YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS!” when you watch an anime that’s so amazing, and you want other people to share in the joy of having discovered a GEM — like when I came across Cross Game and found it to be the BEST that Spring has to offer (I know there’s also Eden of the East, but I’m pretty jaded about it atm, will pick it up again when I’m ready to TAKE IT ALL IN); it’s also as easy to get disappointed when people can’t seem to relate with the OH JOY you’re feeling.
I rewatched the first 3 episodes of Cross Game last Saturday (or in the words of OGT, I went Cross Game-ing), this time with a good friend of mine, didinskee who wrote for the blog once and never again. While my friend was able to appreciate bits and pieces about the show — the cute aww moments — he didn’t feel the same excitement as I did. It was easy watching for him, but he didn’t really feel compelled to watch the subsequent episodes; Or in his words, he didn’t feel like doing a cartwheel while shouting “THIS ANIME IS AWESOMEEE!!!” after watching it, far unlike me.
WATCH CROSS GAME NOW OR I’LL— never mind.
The aftermath ended up similar to the time I made some of my officemates watch Tokyo Marble Chocolate, where they turned out to be not so giddy excited for it as I was and me feeling oh so sad and blue because they couldn’t share in my joy and it’s not until later that I realize why, when I snapped out of my delusional mode. The feeling of disappointment this time around was even worse, because I know that Cross Game is nothing short of amazing, a Timeless Classic, and I know for a fact that I’m not being delusional about this. But GAH, I don’t know what to say to make people see that! I thought I did, but now that I’ve come across this stumbling block (or this “gah, what should I do to make you see this anime’s awesomeness D:” obstacle), I dunno anymore. Should I have introduced my friend to the Cross Game manga first so he can fully appreciate it? I also don’t know. This is kinda analogous to that of relationships where the girl/guy realizes that his/her love is greater than the other person and that the feeling is not so mutual… but ahh, I digress.
Come to think of it, it shouldn’t come a surprise that people won’t easily get into Cross Game, or Mitsuru Adachi’s works (or other iyashikei animes), especially those who have been so used to flashy edgy animes with Superb Plots or Awesome Fightscenes where “so many things happen” in the span of one episode. It’s like, one day, after all the Amazing Animes you’ve seen, you come across this seemingly “useless” or oddball anime and wonder, “ok, what the heck do I do with this?… Nothing’s happening… Oh, the guy gets into baseball because of her… Oh the guy and the girl gets into a fight… slowness ensues forever.”
So as I was trying to explain myself and why I find Cross Game to be AMAZING to didinskee (or should I say, Cross Game’s Strike Zone), honestly, I was at a loss for words. Is it because I could empathize with the characters? That’s what I thought, but ‘empathy’ implies that you’re relating to the characters and/or drawing out similarities from your own experiences and I don’t seem to be doing that. I can FEEL them, and whatever they say or do resonates with me and hits me to the core… but again, the question is, why?? Is it because I find the characters to be endearing and I’ve sort-of unconsciously vowed to stand by them till the end of time and serve as a witness to their lives? Maybe, but that’s a bit too ambitious and ambiguous. Is it because I feel a renewed sense of appreciation for Life the more I watch it, as I get to reflect on casual chances in life that I take for granted? Perhaps, but again, that’s too vague and would just earn me a scorn or a “o.O” look more than a “I want to watch that!” nod.
I also thought about how those who get to appreciate Cross Game for what it’s worth are making use of one very important faculty — their heart, and that people will only be able to enjoy it if they let it into their heart — but that’s so eww cheesy www.
Convincing people (who are not really into slice-of-life) to watch Cross Game is about as challenging as convincing people to watch Aria (or Chi’s Sweet Home, Trapp Family, among others), and more so, enjoy it. It’s the kind of anime that’s so “laid back”, not much happens at all, there’s not much of a “plot” or Exciting Events that leaves you hanging at the edge of your seat, begging for MOAR. You’re just a casual spectator who, pretty much like this jiji, gets to appreciate what you see despite its “slowness” — allow the show to let you see the beauty of the mundane, let the characters grow on you, as you bask in the momentary pauses and moments of reflection the show has to offer.
And then I got into thinking… Do I really NEED to convince people to watch Cross Game (or any other anime for that matter), or to understand why they don’t like it the way I do? What will I gain from successfully bringing them to the light side? Badge of Superiority? What will that do to the convincee (if there’s such a word)? One thing I realize in all this (despite my miniscule ‘case study sample size’) is that you can only do so much to convince people to watch an anime, and more so let them enjoy it. The decision to watch and enjoy something has to come from _within_. As ghostlightning-sama has once said: “We will not like some anime because we are not ready for it.” People will be able to appreciate certain animes, in the right time, and in their own time. No one else can know when that will be but the very person himself (despite how it seems as if there are “external factors” coming into play here — time, place, or the person’s mood — it’s actually intrinsic for the most part, because everything is a choice). Also, seeing someone have that little bit of an ‘urge to watch (and get to like)’ a series like this is enough reason to rejoice, because that little spark will most likely lead to something greater sooner or later, if the person so wanted, of course.
More than pimping or “going out of my way” to convince other people to watch what I’m enjoying and shoving it down their throat, I’d rather enjoy it, talk about what I find amazing about it, and that’s it. It’s up to you to join in the said experience and bask in what it has to offer. If you end up loving Cross Game, yay hurray! If not, well I can’t blame you, because this is exactly the kind of anime that’s so easy to dismiss (though I still hope you’d find it in your heart to revisit it and appreciate it). If you watched it and enjoyed it, and felt your heart move with the characters, props to you, and I can’t be any happier to share in your joy of having discovered Cross Game, or Mitsuru Adachi even 
Cheers!
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24 comments for “I Can Only Pimp So Much About Cross Game”
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I second the notion that this is the best anime this season! I’ve watched to 5 or 6 , whatever the last one is and then I went back to 1… man talk about making the first episode even more emotional! great stuff.
Since you like it so much, I’ll consider it. Right now I’ve been thinking of how I end up watching shows, and how my behavior relates to the influences that led to my decision. I’ve mentioned this to Ryan A but he hasn’t responded yet.
Some triggers, then my corresponding behavior in () — incomplete examples but they serve the purpose. In any case here they are:
a. Direct recommendation by a trusted source (RL friend) in a vaccuum {Mai Hime, Full Metal Panic, Last Exile, Victory Gundam, Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory (a current favorite), Reideen (the recent one)}
b. Internet review sites — not blogs, since I haven’t discovered the sphere then (Hoshi no Koe, Millennium Actress, Ghibli films)
c. Blog reviews|fanboying (Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Armored Trooper Votoms, Mobile Fighter G Gundam, Nana Manga, Lucky Star)
d. Blog preview hype (RideBack, Sengoku Basara)
e. Blogger twitter lol (Souten Kouro, Eden of the East)
f. Blogger direct recommendation — over IRC or IM chat (K-ON!,Nana live action)
g. Recommendations from comments in my own blog posts: (I get a lot but haven’t started watching any of the recommended shows yet)
h. Forum/imageboard discussions (I can’t say I directly started a show from reading these)
Let’s attempt a forced ranking of influence: (circa 2009, noting that decisions are now made by cross-referencing the above triggers)
1. a
2. f
3. c
4. d
5. e
6. g
7. h
8. b
I don’t really know what conclusions to make from this, but it may begin to assist us in figuring out how to best make recommendations to particular people — because not everyone listens the same way.
“Convincing people to watch Cross Game is about as challenging as convincing people to watch Aria”
Now I can relate to your experience.
For my part, I haven’t dipped into Cross Game yet because the character designs aren’t like what I’m used to. I’m a child of the 2000s as far as anime is concerned, so I tend to shy away from anything that harks back to an earlier age.
I know, it’s not fair to judge a book by its cover, etc. etc. – please bear with me, I’m still something of a noob and I do this sort of thing. And just for comparing Cross Game to Aria, I will consider giving it a shot.
Incidentally, I’m no stranger to the work of Adachi-sensei: I watched a live-action adaptation of H2 and liked it. So I guess my problem really is with the character designs.
To some degree, I’ve always thought that it’s hard to get people into sports anime since they tend to be formulaic to the extreme. Cross Game bucks that trend by presenting a very nice story with enjoyable characters with sports as more of a backdrop than the actual focus (so far anyhow).
Looking forwards to see where this goes since it’s been great so far. Soundtrack is awesome to boot, especially with all those acoustic guitars.
Everyone who watches Cross Game will lose weight, understand physics, and win the lottery.
There are quite a number of people out there who diss cross game for its’ art, claiming that moe art is superior just because they think it’s more pleasing visually. I can’t help but just laugh at those fools.
And that’s precisely why moe dulls the senses.
he didn’t feel like doing a cartwheel while shouting “THIS ANIME IS AWESOMEEE!!!” after watching it, far unlike me
Well, I don’t know what you’re implying here, but I want to see some usagi-acrobatics nao. :3
The story with me and Cross Game is: I didn’t mention it in any of my previews, nor did I sample the premier (I suck!), but after just a few bumps from familiar bloggers from beyond episode 1, I took note.
My stance at the moment is to attempt some large batches. It’s a personal thing, but unless I truly blow an entire day away on multiple series, I feel deterred switching between them in a semi-back2back fashion. Other than that, my eyes are open… except,
this energetic post encourages me to dive right in! Not sure if that will happen (already 25 episodes backlogged in Spring09 D: )
Also, Eden of the East is another one I’m stocking batches; and FMA and Pandora Hearts.
@ghostlightning, I like where you are going with this! More so, I want to ponder a way to implement such a system, but have it sort of decentralized or at least meaningful wide-across the Web. /searches for mention O.o in order to reply
Haha, I totally understand where you’re coming from. When a new anime season comes rolling in, I choose in a way not dissimilar to ghostlightning, though not as ordered. Friend recommendations (quite rare, I’m the otaku of my friendship circle), blog recommendations (e.g. Scrumptious, Random Curiosity), general publicity or the fact that it is subbed by a well known group are the typical flag raisers for me. I usually just give anything that comes across my radar a shot.
After watching Saki, TBH I was slightly disillusioned with anime based on sports/RL activities. I suppose mainly because I have zero interest in mahjong (haha, see what I did there? ;] ), or maybe it was because there was too much moe…I don’t know, but I was extremely turned off. But hell, I’m so glad I ended up watching Cross Game. I was hooked on the first episode. Then again, I’m one of those people who do enjoy slice of life shows. I loved Natsume and Aria, and had a good time watching Sketchbook.
The desire to share something good with those you know is pretty common. Be it a particular dish in a good restaurant, a book you just read or anime you just watching, when you experience something good, you want to share it, and whenever that friend either rejects your recommendation or thinks that your recommendation wasn’t that great, it’s easy to be downcast. Almost none of my friends watch anime beyond the big well known shows (e.g. Dragon Ball Kai atm, and Gundam/Geass in the past), which means I have no one to share my thoughts with…but finding out someone else here enjoys Cross Game brought a smile to my face =]
Hah, it took me about 2 years to start watching Aria, and WHOA. Anyways, I used to be a really passionate recommender of anime to my RL friends (”THIS SHOW IS AWESOME YOU MUST WATCH IT”) but then it came to me that badgering people to watch something is extremely difficult, so I’ve eased up a lot.
Everything I’ve heard about Cross Game tickles my fancy, but I’ll have to wait until I’m done with the mountain of stuff I’m watching right now.
Could it be the time of year? Last year it was ToshoSensou… (That COULD be the reason for me tho…)XD
Joking aside, if i wasn’t for the uncertainty factor of Eden of the East and the yumminess of Ristorante Paradiso (*coughs*) Cross Game would be hands down my favourite show this season. There’s just an undeniably ‘goodness’ to this kind of show – the best way I can describe it is that it’s the kind of show that a person wouldn’t like only if they said it’s not their cup of tea or perhaps they’re ‘not at the right time of their life to appreciate it’, but definitely NOT because it ’sucks’.
Plus there’s something about the characters that despite not being immediately relatable or perhaps even real (see the 1st screenshot in this post. That scene still impresses me with how unexpectedly CONTROLLED Kou was during the scene and subsequently drama was diffused – a rarity in fiction these days) makes them totally likeable.
And… Oh crap, I think I’ve rambled long enough to do a post on my own on the show – oh wait, I just did -_-” Err, anyways, no worries, you’re certainly NOT the only one who thinks Cross Game is awsum stuff
To those who don’t well, they obviously have other shows to enjoy like you note so they won’t know what they’re missing anyhow 
I didn’t read the manga but I was smitten by the 1st episode. The unexpected happened and it hooked me. It helped that Wakaba was so cute, as were the other children. It’s good she appears in flashbacks. And to top it all, I was also smitten by the ED song. I really like it!
@voodoomage: ah yes, I know exactly what you mean. I was so much more emotional during my rewatch of episode 1 last Saturday, and I keep having this nagging feeling of wanting to rewatch that episode for who knows how many times lol. Great stuff.
@ghostlightning: I feel honored that you trust me that much TT___TT You won’t regret watching Cross Game! And I know for a fact that you’re the kind of person who can enjoy it for what it is
and wow, your list of ‘influence factors’ just blew me away. This deserves a follow-up! (or an actual ‘application’) Certainly something to keep in mind, and would go along well with Diego’s tips list.
@Diego: drop the superficial lens already!
@zzeroparticle: I heartily concur.
@Baka-Raptor: sellout!
@double: haha, it’s their loss really
@Ryan: lol, well as much as I want to cartwheel I’m afraid I’m not acrobatic enough haha.
As for Cross Game, I think it’s a wise choice to watch this the batch-processing way. Marathoning this series on a fine sunny day would be such a bliss, but I just can’t contain the excitement. That could only be the overzealous ones like me though
Then again it also has its own kind of moe, the slice-of-life natural kind lol.
@KayDat: Saki is entertaining, but there’s nothing much else going for it except for the total Entertainment Factor. Cross Game, on the other hand, is a breathe of fresh air from all the moe-ness
@schneider: take your time, just don’t forget about it
or it will haunt you, if not I will!@issa-sa: I gotta admit, my Toshosen fangirling was a little too overzealous and delusional hahaha. But what am I saying, Toshokan Sensou FTW! I should rewatch that soon and talk about it in a more “sane mode”
couldn’t have said it any better. And it might sound elitist that we can pinpoint what’s Absolutely / Objectively “good” at this point, but that’s what Cross Game really is! Can we proudly say that our ‘anime tastes’ have become mature that we’re able to enjoy slice-of-life animes and the likes of the biseinens of Ristorante Paradiso? *cough*
@hayase: Show ▼
and yes, the ED is LUVVV! (it especially goes well with the ending of ep1, despite how bittersweet. makes me love it more.)
I totally agree with you… I’ve been having a tremendously difficult time convincing my family members and friends to watch Cross Game, even though many of them also watch anime. Not to mention trying to interest people in the blogosphere to blog about it. Heck, I even wrote to ANN’s Answerfans column praising Mitsuru Adachi.
At first, I was tempted to blame it on the artwork as well, based on other people’s comments. But after a while, that didn’t make much sense. If artwork was the cause, then Rumiko Takahashi’s Ranma 1/2 and Maison Ikkoku wouldn’t be received any differently from Adachi’s works. But they are. And there should be a difference between people who appreciate ARIA and people who appreciate Cross Game. But there isn’t.
But just an appreciation for slice-of-life doesn’t quite cover it. Compare Yotsubato! and Hotman with Cross Game. All three belong to the slice-of-life genre, but the first is cutesy and childish-comedic (the world is a weird and wonderful place), while the second is realistic and grimly-dramatic (life is a struggle to keep the family together despite obstacles), and the third is about youthful dreams, romance and the power of the past. And I noticed that the key difference is “dreams”.
Having thought about it some more, I’m starting to think that what will determine whether a person likes or dislikes Adachi-sensei’s works is an appreciation for the dreamy, poetic side of life. By this, I don’t mean the actual liking for poetry, but rather the usage of subtlety and symbolism to convey a variety of abstract meanings that are not necessarily obvious in the text. In other words – people who like to read in-between the lines, to interpret expressions and gestures as having deeper significance than just being there, to appreciate what pauses in the narrative can mean… those are the people that will enjoy Adachi.
On the other hand, people who prefer “sensible” prose – those that just want the story to “tell it as it is”, without any deeper meaning or thought, who just want to see the sequence of events without wanting to read into the symbolism of it all, who prefer plot over mood… they won’t get the full enjoyment of what Adachi-sensei brings to the table. At best, they will read/watch his stories like just any other straightforward tale they like – focusing on what happens, rather than why it happens and what that signifies. At worst, they won’t get it at all, or be bored to death because there’s not much happening on the surface.
Is it a function of age? Perhaps. I don’t find many young people who are interested in Adachi’s works. Most of them are at least in their twenties. It’s not a function of amount of anime watched as well… I have one friend who has watched nothing but Naruto and School Rumble, but when I showed her Touch and H2, she completely fell in love with them. So “maturity as an anime-otaku” isn’t it. Again, I think it comes back down to an appreciation for subtle nuance. Younger ones may not appreciate it as much because they haven’t the skills or life experiences to spot and grasp the subtleties in the story yet. A pause is just “a time where nothing is happening” to them, rather than “a moment of surprise where someone is changing their perception of another person’s character and dealing with conflicting emotions resulting from that unwanted change.”
So, ultimately, what I think is… search for the people who love to live on dreams and can appreciate poetry. And there you will find your audience.
and you, my friend, might just have solved one of the biggest mysteries of all. This comment is more than worthy to be a blog post in itself!
Well, I just marathon’d Cross Game manga from start till end of Part 2 over the past ~9 hours, and I must say, I’m even more excited about the anime now! I really appreciate how they wove in so many scenes from Part 1 of the manga in the anime as flash backs, and I can’t wait till more comes out. Been rewatching all episodes of Cross Game several times already, and I still thoroughly enjoy it.
I hope there will be a second season though, there’s a lot of material to cover, especially once they get further into the actual baseball material.
Edit: Wow, I missed your post dizzcity. That is a fantastic insight, which I’m inclined to agree. I’m 21 now, not as young as I was (or like to think I am), so the fact that I like this show means that I fall right into your demographic description. =]
I think you’re onto something dizzcity. I like my stories with a deeper meaning behind them. One that you don’t see on the surface , but you know it’s there. You can feel it building and you wait for the moment it explodes out into the open.
Despite my fangirling over EotE, I’d have to say I also think Cross Game is the best series this season. It’s simply awesome. I love the dialogue and the flow of story. In fact, I wouldn’t mind if it goes over 50 episodes. I’d happily watch it and rewatch it. I even marathoned the manga (all 148 chapters in one day) and ended up sleeping at 4 am after seeing episode 1. Yep, that’s how much I’m loving CG!
Must also make a fangirl post about it soon to spread the love. ^^
Manga marathon! wow… I better get to that soon
And yes, more fangirl posts are always welcome! Remember, you can never be delusional with Mitsuru Adachi!
What a great explanation dizzcity, thank you for that. Real food for thought.
I’ve been monitoring the anime blogosphere (I don’t know what else to call it :P) for a while now. And I was becoming fairly confused by what’s considered a “good anime” – some emphasize pacing and action, others character development, etc. Or in real life– shows that really captivated my attention (such as Planetes) would make my little sister literally fall asleep sitting up.
But like you were describing… it all comes down to individual personality and the tastes that come from that.
PSGels at Star Crossed blog has been looking at believability and characters in his reviews; watching people go through hard situations, realistic or fictional, and seeing them and the story evolve from that is something that really gets his attention. Calm slice-of-life has little appeal to him, unless you put the characters in a dangerous or hard situation. He enjoys watching the stories of people moving forward.
While others like Josh from Hop Step Jump! blog really – and I mean really loves the entire slice-of-life genre. Even if nothing is happening or changing, remembering the trials of high school life, or watching the relationship build between friends, or just laughing at the randomness of life, he enjoys it all. Aria, Hidamari Sketch, Lucky Star, K-on, etc. It is because of escapism or something else? I don’t know, but his passion for slice-of-life is what made me take interest in it too.
Of course, these aren’t absolutes. I admittedly don’t know these people well. And one of the few absolutes is that people are always changing. I was a little bit shocked to see PSGels love for Angelic Layer when wrote about it.
But I agreed! Misaki’s just so dang cute! – and the choreography is awesome – how can you not root for her?
Or looking at myself… I guess I’m a tourist at heart? Lol, that is, I enjoy seeing everything and loving it just as it is, for what it is.
Eh, I’m just gonna rant:
* I love “thinker’s anime”- where the plot is not explained out like an open book, but encourages you to think about what’s happening and why- just like the characters themselves are- such as in Ergo Proxy or RahXephon.
* I also enjoy open-book cliche “shounen” like Bleach and Naruto and Hunter x Hunter. These shows can become surprisingly addicting.
* The “slapstick comedy” of Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu / “subtle character comedy” of Kanon ‘06 / “just everyday weird and funny” Azumanga Daioh.
* The “beautiful animation” of Girl Who Leapt Through Time, or the “ridiculous animation simplicity” of xxxHolic.
* The “lovable characters” in Nodame Cantabile, or the “everyone’s an idiot I want to slap but I love this show” of Gankutsuou.
* “For some reason, I feel more relaxed” mood of Aria or Fruits Basket, or the “Why is every episode a cliffhanger? How did a kid’s show turn so tense?” of Dennou Coil.
* The “there’s a plot?” story of Angelic Layer or Genshiken / The “so-over-the-top-and-cliche-that-it’s-cool” story of TTGL / The “good old fashioned adventure” story of Crest of the Stars / The “HOLY CRAP, that was some memorable story” of Monster.
Anime is so varied, I love it!
As such, I don’t like to approach an anime with expectations or requirements if possible.
For instance, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya has outstanding ratings like it’s the ultimate-peak of anime. Then people watch and are like “that’s it? I expected more”. Little did they know, high ratings were because it was an all-around ‘just plain good‘ comedy that almost anyone could enjoy, not because it was epic. Watch TTGL or Vision of Escaflowne for that (personal opinion).
But… not everyone thinks like me. It’s doubtful I’ll ever convince my little brothers and sisters to enjoy a non-action anime. Conversely, I doubt I’ll ever find a show that my eldest brother doesn’t enjoy as much as I do.
What does it take to make a person enjoy the same show? Well it’s very hard to make people like something– people just don’t have the power to change other people’s minds and hearts that easily.
That’s why it’s usually better to just invite and beckon them, let them make the choice on their own.
If they like the same show, great. If not, still great, they’re still your friend and it shouldn’t change your enjoyment of the show. It really doesn’t matter as much as we *feel* it does.
At the risk of sounding “preachy”, I’ll say this… Whenever people see something potentially good (be it friendship, romance, money), they like to rush to it, think about it, worry about it; but if they understood it at all, they’d know that it’s not a goal unto itself. Truth is, you never have to fret.
Sharing something in common like anime is always good, but it’s not a goal unto itself. The truth is that your friend is still there, the anime is still there, your fangirlism is still there, everything is still more than fine. That’s the truth: even when we feel like sharing the gift of anime with our loved ones, that’s fine, but whatever happens it’s not worth fret. Living by what you know and not by what you feel is always a hard lesson, but worthwhile.
So don’t worry! I can’t say I have all the answers, but enjoy the anime, feel free to share it, feel free to invite others to enjoy, but no expectations about acceptance (it also shouldn’t have anything to do with their acceptance of you– usually when I invite people to watch, I feel like it’s more like I want them to approve of me and my tastes, than the show itself– but I’m working on that! :D).
Anime is great, but it’s not a great matter. Having something special like an anime in common with a friend is great, but it’s not a great matter. Just live your present life to the fullest while walking forward to the future. Besides, almost everyone here approves of you and shares your anime passion, or we wouldn’t be commenting.
I actually think that’s one of the best ways to enjoy an anime for all its worth, but that we often forget / neglect. And yes, in the end, anime is one teeny portion of our lives, no need to fret when people don’t enjoy what we love. There’s more to life than anime! Though of course, anime makes it all the more colorful
I agree Cross Game is amazing. For me this season it’s EotE and Cross Game.
I was hooked by the first episode, avidly awaited the second, and by the third I just could not wait any more! So I read the manga and I could. Not. Stop. Seriously.
Suffice to say that now, two months later, I am an Adachi Mitsuru fan and I’ve read almost all of his work. Cross Game, H2 and Katsu are now absolute favorites. Nine, Touch, and Rough are good too despite the oldness of the art.
I agree Adachi’s characters look alike but once you’re into the story you realize that Kou, Kunimi and Satoyama may look the same but they’re actually very different. Kudos to Adachi.
My advice for looking for someone to gush to about something you love, go to the forums.
I just wanted to let you know that your pimping and Star Crossed Anime Blog’s successfully managed to get me to start on the show! And I was hooked pretty fast! Haven’t watched anime tell a GOOD story in a long time. No flashy concepts or bizarre ideas, just solid story and characters. Love it!
@Kriyn: awww, seeing more Cross Game ‘converts’ is always a joy to see. Enjoy the ride~~