Touch

If you ask a Japanese person, “What’s the most iconic baseball manga?” — especially someone born in the 1990s — chances are they’ll answer Touch. Touch tells the story of high school students aiming for victory in the national high school baseball tournament known as Koshien. Held every summer and broadcast nationwide, Koshien is a cultural phenomenon in Japan, comparable to the college football national championship in the U.S. To fully appreciate Touch, it's helpful to understand Japanese school traditions. In high school, it’s common for students to join after-school club activities, or bukatsu. These range from sports (like baseball, basketball, soccer) to cultural clubs (like music or drama). Girls often join as managers to support the boys' teams — a trend said to have surged due to Touch’s influence, despite the heroine Minami not technically being the team's manager. So what makes Touch so captivating that it inspired an anime and even a live-action film? The biggest draw is its pure love triangle, brilliantly portrayed through subtle expressions and unspoken emotions rather than direct dialogue. Touch is written by Mitsuru Adachi, a master of romantic storytelling. His ability to communicate the inner workings of characters' hearts through their expressions and gestures gives the story a deeply emotional and human touch. The dynamic between the twins Tatsuya and Kazuya, and their childhood friend Minami, is both tender and thrilling. Each volume leaves readers excited about how their relationship will evolve. (Personally, I sometimes found myself frustrated with Minami’s mixed signals—but in a good way!) Adachi is a veteran manga artist with many beloved works, and even the fictional Meisei High School featured in Touch appears in some of his other stories—creating fun crossovers for longtime fans. Though Touch was serialized in the 1980s, it hasn’t aged a bit. It remains a beloved classic in Japan and is perfect for anyone who wants to relive the innocence of youth, the excitement of first love, and the thrill of high school baseball.

July 27, 2025