Touch (1981) by Mitsuru Adachi: An Analysis

Let's get the stats out of the way. Don't quote me on any of these, I will provide sources wherever I can but I am not confident the data is 100% accurate. 

1. Tied for no. 11 -  best-selling manga of all time. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_manga 

2. 2nd best selling sports manga of all time - just behind Slam Dunk (I'm confident it would have been no.1 if the data was Japan-only)

3. One of the first manga (can be anywhere from first - fourth) to cross 100 million sales.

4. 1982 Shogakukan Award for Best Shonen Manga. 

(Fun Fact: Mitsuru Adachi is tied with Naoki Urasawa for the most Shogakukans at 3 each)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shogakukan_Manga_Award

5. Tied for no. 12 - most popular Japanese anime of all time by TV ratings with an average rating of 31.9 (That means 31.9% of all Japanese households on average watched Touch during air; for context One Piece averages ~7) 

https://nendai-ryuukou.com/article/110.html

6. The most popular sports anime of all time by the above metric, closely followed by Ashita no Joe at 31.6  

7. For at least 2 years (1985-87), 'Tatsuya' and 'Minami' were the most popular baby names in Japan. 

8. The MIX adaptation (a time-skip sequel to Touch), despite being very mediocre, consistently traded places with One Piece for 5-7th on weekly TV ratings during it's run. 

9. Still the most popular baseball manga in Japan after 40 years, though this isn't saying much.

https://en.gigazine.net/news/20100820_baseball_manga_top_10/

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That's an extremely impressive record, especially for something that many readers outside Japan have never heard of. But what the stats fail to describe is the impact it had - on the original readers, on the career of it's author, on baseball manga, on sports manga and most importantly, the Shonen 'pseudo-genre'. To understand that we need to go back in time to a time and place very different yet similar to ours - the period is the 80's, the country is Japan and the stage is, of-course, the action-packed Koshien. 

Top Mitsuru Adachi Panels

18. Kine gets a girlfriend.

Panel Breakdown: It is ironic that the relationship between two comic-relief characters gets fleshed out more than the two main couples and can even be considered one of the better Adachi romances. Despite that, it feels like something one would expect from an Adachi manga

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17. Hirota meets his match.

Panel Breakdown: No one saw that coming, not even Hirota. Classic Adachi

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16. That is Uesugi Tatsuya.

Panel Breakdown: Tatsuya finally gets back in form and Harada confirms it with his famous one liner as he watches Tatsuya display his signature clumsiness.

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15. Spank!

Panel Breakdown: Adachi's perverse humor at its peak.

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14. Kine pitches till the end.

Panel Breakdown: It is a problem when your comic-relief meme character gets more development than the main protagonists. But Kine has earned his moment. Senkawa has won the quarter-finals.

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13. Hirota watches the ball and his ego pass by

Panel Breakdown:  Hirota misses the ball and Senkawa beats Eikyo to qualify for the Koshien! But we still have 170 chapters left. 

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12. The 160 mph "Ball"

Panel Breakdown:  Hyped for 158 chapters, the 160 ball ended up being a "ball" and never appeared on the speed-o-meter. This is  Adachi at his best.

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11. Meisei wins the Koshien.

Panel Breakdown:  The upper chamber of the double  bed, Kazuya's chair and his portrait, a cup of tea by the window and Meisei has won the Koshien. 

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10. Hirota loves baseball.

Panel Breakdown: Hirota pretends to not care about the Koshien since his team didn't' qualify but in his final on-page moment, Hirota finally shows his true love for baseball as he is seen secretly listening to the game commentary.

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9. I love Hikari

Panel Breakdown: They both love Hikari and they both want to beat each other in Baseball. Yes, it's time for Senkawa vs Meiwaa Ichi. Finally.

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8. Watch where you step. 

Panel Breakdown: Hiro does his best to not crush the hand of his "fan" and ends up injuring himself. The next game is against Meiwa. But first they have to beat Ibasho and this game is anything but predictable.

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7. We are twins after all!

Panel Breakdown: In typical adachi fashion, he manages to set up the main conflict of the manga in just one page using art that looks simple but has multiple layers under it. 

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6. Goodbye Kazuya

Panel Breakdown: Mitsuru Adachi kills the Ace leaving the useless older brother to fulfill the heroine's dreams. Sports manga will never be the same again.

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5. We will go to the Koshien!

Panel Breakdown:   Kahiwaba is done trolling. Nothing stands between Meisei and the Koshien anymore..well except Nitta Akio. 

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4. Hikari's Tears

Panel Breakdown: Misunderstood, misinterpreted and arguably the most controversial Adachi panel. But that doesn't deter from its significance. The Monster, Hideo Tachibana has lost and Senkawa has cemented itself as the best team in Japan. And for the first time in manga, the MC doesn't end up with the childhood friend.

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3. Off to the Big Leagues.

Panel Breakdown: With Meiwa behind them, Team Senkawa gets on the bus. Its time for the finals of the Summer Koshien, the most anticipated event in Japanese baseball. THE END. 

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2. Perennial of the legume family, a four-leaf specimen is said to bring good fortune.

Panel Breakdown: "The stage is the action-packed Koshien. Kou is the pitcher and Akaishi is the catcher. " Mitsuru Adachi pulls his signature stunt for the second time and watching Akaishi cry was probably the most surprising yet impactful moment for both Kou and the audience.

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1. The Ace. (no pun intended)

Panel Breakdown: The final pitch of the final game: The panels that define an entire manga. And by extension, an entire genre. Not even Adachi could escape the template he set. 

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