#Kou Kitamura

[kouxaoba]

Can I lie ? Breaking down one of the best romantic confessions ever

Koh (and Aoba in a sense) finally confessing their love for each other is one of, if not THE best moment of the series. This is truly Adachi at his best, so many things are said using very few words. This is my interpretation of the events :

The context

We know Aoba talked to Akane the night before. The details of that conversation are never revealed to us, but we can guess what was said. Akane is about to have what is possibly a life or death operation and throughout her time on the show, she has been trying to get our two stubborn idiots to admit their mutual feelings for each other. The conversation was most likely her telling Aoba that there is actually nothing going on between her and Koh and that Koh is most probably in love with someone else... I feel like this context is important to keep in mind when Aoba asks her first question.

A liar turning a lie into a fact

The truth is, Aoba already knows the answer to her first question. When Koh replies "yeah", Aoba and we as readers can guess Koh is not being fully honest because he overthrows his ball (It's subtle but clear in the anime and even in the manga, Adachi makes a point to show us the ball he threw back went slightly higher than normal...) This is also why Koh asked her for a form check because baseball is their love language and the only instance where they are honest with each other.

What Aoba really wants to ask him is if he loves her or if he's still harboring feelings for Wakaba. But because of her personality and her insecurities, she can't outright ask him that, so she deceptively uses Akane for comparison. However, Koh understands her very well and replies that he can't compare Akane to someone that's no longer alive. This is also an interesting throwback to an earlier conversation they had when Aoba asked him if he liked Akane, and he replied "she's very similar to Wakaba". So Koh can, and has in fact already compared Akane to Wakaba.

So why does he reply differently this time ? Well, because this is Koh's way of getting Aoba to stop dancing around the subject and, most importantly, to stop her internal comparison to Wakaba, he understands this isn't really as much about Akane as it is about her. Which is why she finally asks THE question :

Which is followed by Koh's iconic line "Can I lie?" Since we/Aoba can guess everything he said beforehand was not the exact truth, Aoba understands that whatever it is he will say next is most likely the truth. That's why when she shows up at the game later, although she calls him a liar, she still refers to him pitching 160km/h as "a promise" he made to her. However, because of her insecurities, she doesn't quite believe his statement "I love Tsukishima Aoba the most" until the previous two statements come true.

When Seishu wins and Koh pitches his fastest ball yet, she's so flabbergasted by that statement she actually forgets to celebrate her sister's dream coming true. Koh turned a non-tangible statement (loving her more than Wakaba & Akane) into a fact by making sure his previous two statements turned out to be true.

I'm not kidding when I say this is Adachi at his best. Great storytelling and Koh, what a man !

#kou kitamura #koh kitamura #ko kitamura #aoba tsukishima #cross game #adachi mitsuru #manga #anime and manga

[luffysus]

I need to talk about Cross Game - Part 1

Lately I've been feeling a bit nostalgic of the old anime/mangas I used to read, so I decided to re-read Touch by Adachi Mitsuru and that not being enough i needed to re-read Rough by the same author. And just like that I was like fuck it I just can't get enough of this author so I decided to give another one of his mangas a try and OMG I am floored. Btw I have some issued with the tropes Adachi overuses in his storytelling and his artstyle but that's for another post. Anyway, Cross Game is absolutely brilliant, this is Adachi at his best dealing with emotions, grief just like he knows. I actually haven't watched the anime adaptation so I'm just going to focus on the manga for now. I'll try to keep it short but I don't think that's even possible cause I have a LOT to say...

While looking for opinions on the series, I came across lots of reviews but mostly from anime watchers and I was often confused because a lot referred to Wakabe as Kou's girlfriend and I was just sat there like huh ??? Did i missread something in the manga that the anime captured lol ? I mean Kou did love Wakabe but the author from the very beginning of the manga went out of his way to show us their relationship was a bit one-sided. Wakabe loved Kou (mind you they were just like 10 year olds at this point in the story so i feel a bit weird calling it "love" lol) but Kou on the other hand was always more interested in her sister Aoba.

The instances are subtle a la Adachi but there are almost in every chapter. It's the way he sets up his panels, the dialogue or silences that sometimes can be so mundane but highlight obvious human emotions, like longing.

Starting from Chapter 1, Kou and Aoba are the first two characters we are introduced to and already in that introduction we have Kou staring at /taking interest in whatever it is Aoba is doing.

And mind you right before this, is a page of Kou staring at bathing suits, and when his father scolds him he basically replies he is a maturing boy so staring at things regarding the opposite sex is normal...almost like the author is outright showing us the what interests this hormonal pre-teen...

The first part of the story being focused on Wakabe and Kou's relationship actually highlights and cements the fact that Kou always liked Aoba differently. It's in the way he wasn't really intereted in keeping that tradition Wakabe wanted of them buying each other gifts every year.

It's the way he would almost always mention Aoba while with Wakabe (I started taking screenshots of the different instances but there were actually like so many I gave up lol I can't post all of them). I will however just touch upon imo the biggest giveaway depicted. It is when they are exchanging birthday gifts and Wakabe spots a newlywed couple. She's obviously emotional and she mentions how the couple will definetely be happy since they got married on a special day (her and Kou's birthday). When I tell you Adachi has a way of setting up his panels...because what comes next is kind of a brutal hint that only Wakabe was in "love". As she is mesmerised by the bride and imagines herself in that position...one day most likely with him... Kou is not listening and is basically thinking about Aoba and trying to emulate her pitching. You can't make this up...

Now this could absolutely be my head canon, but Wakabe being the very perceptive young girl she was, imo figured out Kou liked Aoba that's why she tells Aoba not to take him away from her when he grows up to be the kind of man she knows Aoba will like (aka a pretty damn good baseball player).

When Wakabe tragically dies at that young age, Aoba could never forget that request from her late sister. That's what makes Aoba's struggling to come to terms with her feelings for Kou as they grow up so poignant. Not only does she have to come deal with the grief of losing the sister she was closest to, she also has to fight her growing attraction for Kou so she literally forces herself to exgerrate feelings of hatred him because falling for him meant betraying the late sister she loved so much.

Kou too has some internal conflicts he has to deal with before accepting that he loves Aoba. While he was not romantically interested in Wakabe, he still loved her very much. She was the only constant in his life, always pushing him to become a better person. It's a love that's in a way so much deeper than romantic love. It's the kind of love you feel for a twin (and knowing Adachi this is exactly what he was going with, by setting their birthday the same day and place). Plus like I said because their relationship was bit one side he felt that much more guilt, that she was the one always loving him, always doting on him during their time together. On top of that his feelings for sisters just kept growing...

This is what makes Cross Game so damn heartfelt. The emotions the characters go through are so complex, so human it tugs at your heart. Seeing these two heartbroken people try to cope with the death of loved one while coming into adulthood and dealing with their survivor's guilt, growing emotions... Damn.

I titled this part 1 because I still have so much more to say lmao. I'll stop here for now. Well done to anyone who manages to read all this and if you did I hope this makes you want to watch/read Cross Game.

#cross game #Kou Kitamura #aoba tsukishima #adachi mitsuru #I might not recover from this for a while #sorry to my OP followers for this random post lol

[choujinx]

CROSS GAME (2005-2010) by adachi mitsuru

#cross game #akaishi osamu #kitamura kou #fysportsanime #oldanimeedit #shounenedit #*nikki

[rosesinbloom7love]

Reprise of The Spear Hero Au: MotoFumi has an argument (Motoyasu killed someone despite Naofumi's protest) and Motoyasu accidentally says something that royally pisses Naofumi off.

Naofumi: Kids. Bed. NOW. I wanna talk to Your father.

Motoyasu: *Realizing he fucked up* No kids. Stay. Please stay...

Naofumi: Go!

Motoyasu: Stay.

Naofumi: Go!

Motoyasu: Stay!

Naofumi: You Go!

Motoyasu: Yuki stay!

Naofumi: Now!

Yuki: *Leaves*

Motoyasu: Kou don't move!

Naofumi: YOU GO!

Kou: *Leaves as well*

Motoyasu: SAKURA STAY!

Naofumi: GET OUT OF HERE!

Sakura: *Also leaves*

Motoyasu: DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!

#the rising of the shield hero #the reprise of the spear hero #MotoFumi #naofumi iwatani #motoyasu kitamura #yuki #kou #sakura #chat #bob's burgers reference

[sarahsedserio]

literally the only kouba fic on ao3 and it had to be a fucking grand slam of a one-shot alsjfksajflkdsjfld;ksaa fucking enjoy cross game nation

#cross game #kitamura kou #tsukishima aoba #im sososososososososososososososososososososoooooo normal about them it's hahaha insane #i am shooketh #i was not prepared. for that to be good. i was wholly unprepared. i didn't. know. #they're my otp. for anyone who cares. #i owe this author my firstborn child

[actiaslunaris]

#kitamura kazuki #fukuyama masaharu #shibasaki kou #gif:mine #kitamura-san showing up in the most casually dressy way #being boss and comfy #taking selfies and filming the crowd #our three stars everyone #showing off their personalities in the most them way #flashes cw

[don-dake]

尋日去睇咗一場戲。自從新型冠狀病毒大流行開始時（如果上一次去咗睇歌劇唔算嘅話），呢次係我第一次捧場返戲院！值得講一下，做個記錄。

今次有咁大嘅吸引力可以吸引我返去戲院一趟嘅就係 《神探伽利略：沉默的遊行》 嘞。

我係幾鍾意東野圭吾小說嘅，小說有讀過一，兩本。而佢 「伽利略～湯川 學」 嘅角色我都好熟悉；以前有睇過所有 「伽利略」 嘅電視劇，電影翻拍片，包括幾受歡迎嘅 《嫌疑犯X的獻身》 。

同 《嫌疑犯X的獻身》 嚟比，《沉默的遊行》 係幾失望嘅。雖然主要演員都冇變（同樣係福山雅治，柴咲幸，北村一輝帶領），配角演員都係日本娛樂圈嘅老手，包括我欣賞嘅吉田羊同檀麗小姐，但係，可惜，故仔疑案唔夠奇妙，步測亦都太過慢，到揭穿兇手時已經對佢嘅動機都冇咩興趣囉…

影片雖然失望，但做得喺四年以來第一次去返一趟戲院，起碼可以慶祝呢方面！「三條化骨龍」 同佢哋嘅新狗狗朋友，暱稱 「波奇」 喺尋日玩到好開心嘛！（笑）不單止可以同我同表姐出去玩，仲可以同我哋分享食士多啤梨🍓疏乎厘班戟🥞添！

四隻嘢（忘咗影小龍嘅相，但佢嗰日都有份嘅！）尋日就巴閉囉！都未輪到我同表姐食，你哋卻有口福先！（笑）

講到食嘅，雖然諗過下一次出去我一定要去食燒肉飯，始終未食到。睇嚟我同燒肉飯嘅約會要再約嘞！（笑）

新詞：疏乎厘 (so1 fu4 lei4)

#Dake Rambles #Canto Practise #Canto I learn? #Cantonese #My Snapshots #Food #Merch #Chocolet #Pufflet #小龍 #Pochi #Japanese Movies #Galileo Silent Parade #Detective Galileo #Fukuyama Masaharu #Shibasaki Kou #Kitamura Kazuki #Movies #Chinese Language #Language

[polkadotmotmot]

Kou Kitamura - Humanimal-The Martens in Snow Mountain, 2021

#up

[tamariku1]

#2 icons

#cross game #aoba tsukishima

#kou kitamura #clover liars

[bearbearlook]

Kofuku Radio Night One (12/09/2022)

F: Special radio show for the premiere of “Silent Parade” on 16th September, starting now!

(Clapping)

F: I am Fukuyama Masaharu and I play Yukawa Manabu.

S: I am Shibasaki Kou and I play Utsumi Kaoru. And we’re on air!

F: This show is a mix between a radio show and a TV show.

S: Yes.

F: This is my home ground!

S: Your radio shows are recorded here aren’t they?

F: Yes, I go to work here.

(Laughter)

F: The new Galileo movie is premiering on 16th September, and in this show, we’ll be talking both about the movie and ourselves.

(Title card)

F: We have messages from our fellow cast and crew on set.

S: So they will be exposing secrets? 😉

F: Exposing? Well maybe 😂 First let’s watch this message from Kitamura Kazuki, who plays Detective Kusanagi.

K: Masha-sama, Kou-chan, hello! I’m Kitamura Kazuki. Now that you ask me what wishes I have… well me, I really want to become a singer. I wonder if I can join you both as KAZUKI-… You both must be thinking that I’m joking aren’t you? But look into my eyes…

I’M SERIOUS

PLEASE

(😂😂😂😂)

F: So that’s the message. He’s actually talked about it before during filming.

S: Yes!! He wants to make music.

F: He said that he wants, for once, to stand on stage and sing in front of an audience.

S: Yeah, and we all said that he should.

F: I was thinking when would be a good time to invite him to be my guest in my concert. 🧐🧐

S: !!!! Really!!!!😆😆😆

F: Well he really wants to!

S: I want to see this!

F: You do?

S: Of course I do!

F: 😆 Do you want to come along?

S: To sing?

F: Yes.

S: Huh? Not to watch?

F: No x3

S: But I want to watch in the audience.

F: Well then you can watch in the audience, then think, “Oh is it my turn now?” then come up and sing.

S: Ok that’s possible…

(Laughter)

F: We formed KOH+ because of the TV series, but our first concert (debut live) was in Tokyo Dome. (Translator notes: 2017 Kanpai Japan live. Performance included in one of the deluxe versions of the new album)

S: 😂😂😂😂

F: *markets the new album*

F: Kou-san's performance of "KISSして" was mesmerising. I could watch it on loop.

S: Really? I haven't really watched it though.

F: What?

S: Perhaps I should buy the album. (amused Masha noises) There's so much KOH+ content in the new album that I want to enjoy as an audience.

F: (salesman mode) We have 3 versions of the album, please consider.

S: Yes, yes I will go over all of them.

(Translator: top notch sales act here huh! but I'm too poor to buy the deluxe version guess I'll never watch the special live :( )

F: Change of topic. This is a message from crew member edachin. I am a big fan of Ms. Shibasaki.

S: Really? (looks around)

F: My daily motivation is to become a man worthy of Ms. Shibasaki. To make sure that I am on the right track, I would like to know what Ms. Shibasaki's type of man is.

S: So the writer is here in the studio?

F: Maybe?

S: Isn't that great?

F: (looking around) Wait who is it? How old? Is he young? (laughter)

Panel Master: late twenties

F & S: OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

F: Worth thinking over.

S: Great!!

F: (sincerely advising) Go for it, Kou-chan go for it!

S: Go for what!😂😂

F: So passionate even in the late twenties!

S: I'm so happy!

F: What a passionate fan letter, love letter! So what's your type?

S: I'm sapioromantic.

F: What's that?

S: It means that you get charmed by one's intellect... say like, you Masha with glasses.

F: OH

S: Someone like Yukawa sensei. Someone who digs into the whys and researches things. I find that very charming.

F: So you like researchers?

S: Love it. My type is like Takeshi Yoro (an intellectual and doctor)

F: Cool. Beauty and the Scientist.

S: Yeah, but I don't think it's a good match. Cuz I'm an intuitive person.

F: But that's probably the reason. Imagine two intuitive people together, that's no good.

S: True, but when one suddenly has an idea and goes YAY!!! it's great.

F: It's great if they agree on these sudden sparks, but if they each have a different idea and go YAY!!!

(matching hand gestures by F&S) separately, they'll split.

S: So with someone who thinks in a different way, someone can step on the brake.

F: So that's the end of the first night. We have a guest tomorrow night. See you next time!

#tantei galileo #galileo #fukuyama masaharu #shibasaki ko #koh+ #silent parade #YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY #mirroring chaotic hand gestures and yelling #concerned masha noises #kitamura kazuki #someone form a band with this poor man #PLEASE HE WANTS TO SING #beauty and the scientist #how blessed we are that masha ships yukaoru more than anyone in this world #kazuki- #me #translations

[kouxaoba]

When did Kou and Aoba fall in love ?

I feel like this is the first question people ask themselves when they finish the series. I believe he was always in love with her, and I'd like to offer my interpretation based on different things that point to that. I'll be analyzing different events and interactions (mostly from the manga as I'm more familiar with it than the anime and well, because it's the source material).

The answer is in Wakaba's "do not take him away from me" : a person cannot be taken away by someone who does not want to be taken away. Wakaba here was already admitting that Kou liked Aoba and was acknowledging her as her rival for Koh's love. Her statement just doesn't make sense if she was confident Koh was as in love with her as she was with him.

Everyone always mentions how much Wakaba loved Koh but no one ever states Koh loved Wakaba. If the feelings were mutual, we would have more statements like "those two were so in love", but instead it's always "Wakaba loved him so much" or "Koh monopolized Wakaba". It doesn't make sense for the author to have the side characters constantly emphasize this point if the romantic love was mutual.

The closest Koh came to ever stating he loved Wakaba was in his conversation with Yuhei. Note that even this exchange starts with him saying "She was totally in love with me". Again, a strange way to talk about someone you loved that passed away. This is why Yuhei can't help but ask "were you in love, too ?".

The pause/silence followed by the "..." imo speaks volumes. Compare this to when Senda asks him if he likes Aoba and then he answers "yeah" straight away with no hesitation. And we know it's not a lie because he throws his pitch perfectly.

Back to the conversation with Yuhei, he follows Koh's answer by stating "dealing with you guys is tiring".

"You guys" here means Koh and Aoba. Again, it's little tidbits like these that jump out and make me question the author's intent. There is no reason for Yuhei to bring up Aoba and Koh in a conversation about Koh's love for Wakaba, unless being the perceptive character he is, he understood the hesitation in Koh's answer meant something else. Mind you, at this point in the story he hadn't spent that much time with them to fully grasp their complicated relationship, so imo this says a lot...

4. Koh and Aoba are the same : this is a statement that Ichiyo and Yuhei (the two most perceptives characters) kept repeating throughout the show. When Aoba admits that she has always "hated" him, we understand what she means is she always loved him. When Ichiyo says they are the same, it's not just in terms of personality but in terms of their feelings for each other. So if we believe Aoba love Koh from the beginning, so did he.

5. Their love/relationship is everlasting : during the flashback of them at the cemetery, they are seen fighting, throwing mud over two graves. The names on the grave are "Kudo" and "Takeda". Now I admit my Japanese is non-existent so take this with a grain of salt. But the "Ku" in Kudo means "long time, old, long-cherished" and the name Takeda is synonymous with hard work, resilience and determination, all things that remind us of our 2 protagonists, right ? I admit I could be reaching, but I can't help but feel like this isn't a coincidence, and it's the author telling us in a subtle way that these two hard-working people have been in love since the beginning.

The beauty of Cross Game though, is that Adachi Mitsuru wrote a very subtle work that is open to interpretation. I'm not claiming my interpretation is the only correct one btw, but I just love re-reading the manga because every single re-read I notice the dialogue, pauses may mean something else. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter when they fell in love just that they both love each other, probably "More Than Anyone in the World"... My heart flutters

#Koh kitamura #kou kitamura #aoba tsukishima #cross game #adachi mitsuru #anime #manga #baseball

[annapoofle]

Hello dears I'm here to announce that both of these baseball prodigies are arospec

That is all. 💚🖤⚾️

#they're both bi too #aoba's cupioromantic & graysexual #kou's demiromantic #cross game my beloved #kou kitamura #aoba tsukishima #cross game #cross game anime #cross game manga #arospec #aromantic

[choujinx]

CROSS GAME (2005-2010) by adachi mitsuru

#cross game #kitamura kou #fysportsanime #oldanimeedit #*nikki #nakanishi daiki #maeno sentarou #makihara

[animecaps]

cross game – ep 17

#kou kitamura #cross game #anime #anime screenshot #anime screencap #spring #2009

[official-crossgame]

Hello! fan of this blog and I wanted to ask something. why do you think aoba slapped Kou when he hugged her and then started crying when he said that he knew and let hersef go to his chest???

Wow this was asked ages ago–I’m sorry, the other mod left, and it must have slipped by me. 

You know, I said in our earlier post on when I think Kou and Aoba fell in love here:  (https://official-crossgame.tumblr.com/post/116474221594/kou-and-aoba-when-did-they-fall-in-love-so) that I think for both of them coming to terms with their feelings was an act that went hand in hand with coming to terms with Wakaba’s death. To accept their feelings for each other was also to accepts that the people they were had changed since she died, and to accept that she was gone and they had been changed by that in itself.

I think Kou realizes he loves Aoba first, but doesn’t say anything as he works to come to terms with what that means and overcoming his grief. Aoba on the other hand is in utter denial until the last few episodes, and even then struggles with it a lot. She really doesn’t want to move on from Wakaba’s death in the end. I think Kou doesn’t do anything about his feelings in part because he realizes this, because he knows Aoba so well. So the hug is really the first explicit move Kou makes to express this too her–both his feelings in a way, but also acknowledging the grief that they share, that they can move on from, and that makes it real. That makes Wakaba being gone real.

When Aoba slaps him I think it is equally parts how dare you, as in, how dare you suggest we move on from Wakaba’s death–and you knew this whole time? There’s a sense of embitterment that he’s really known how he felt about her for much longer, while she’s been struggling with her feelings. I think this is why she slaps him and says she hates him, and when Kou says, “I know,” it’s an acknowledgment that he knows what this really entails for Aoba, for her grief, and for letting go of the death of her sister. When Aoba cries, it is her coming to terms with this too, and that’s something she needs to do to be with Kou. It’s also only something she can do because of Kou, and that’s kind of what’s beautiful about them.

There’s so much unsaid between these two, so I could be really far off, but that’s also what’s so lovely about their relationship. In the end, that scene is a testament to how well they understand each other, despite everything, and despite all of their doubts.

#cross game #clover liars #kou kitamura #Aoba Tsukishima

[actiaslunaris]

#fukuyama masaharu #official poster #chinmoku no parade #kitamura kazuki #shibasaki kou #instagram #link #official website #tantei galileo