Cross Over is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese manga

Manga

Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...

 written an illustrated by Kouji Seo

Kouji Seo

is a Japanese manga creator. He debuted in 1996 with the one-shot "Half & Half" in Fresh magazine. His two hits, Suzuka and Cross Over, both mixed the genres of sports with high school romance. Suzuka focused on track and field while Cross Over used basketball...

. The series primarily follows the St. Mariannu boy's basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 team led by the freshman Ogata Natsuki to defeat the prefecture's best team, Fujiwara Academy. This story takes place in the same universe as other Kouji Seo's works do: Suzuka

Suzuka (manga)

is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Kouji Seo. The series is a character-driven romance story that uses the athletics of track and field as a subplot...

 and Kimi no iru machi (A Town Where You Live).

Cross Over was serialized in the Japanese magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine

Weekly Shonen Magazine

, also known as Shōnen Magazine, is a shōnen manga magazine published by Kodansha, first published on 17 March 1959. Despite some unusual censorship policies , it's mainly read by an older audience, with a large portion of its readership falling under the male high school or college...

 published by Kodansha

Kodansha

, the largest Japanese publisher, produces the manga magazines Nakayoshi, Afternoon, Evening, and Weekly Shonen Magazine, as well as more literary magazines such as Gunzō, Shūkan Gendai, and the Japanese dictionary Nihongo Daijiten. The company has its headquarters in Bunkyō, Tokyo...

 from 2002 to 2003. It has since been compiled into seven bound volumes

Tankobon

, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...

.

Plot

Ogata Natsuki loves to play basketball. His passion for the game and his effort compensates his short stature. Encouraged by his Junior High teammates to tryout for the top High School basketball team, Fujiwara Academy. After his tryout, he meets Tachibana Mitsuki who is St. Mariannu High School's basketball team's manager. Ogata goes to watch St. Mariannu 's exhibition game

Exhibition game

An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...

 against Fujiwara Academy. After an injury of St. Mariannu player, he decides to substituted in for the player so the game can continue. Afterwards he finds out that he made the team for Fujiwara Academy by their coach. After seeing the difference in sportsmanship

Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors...

 between the teams, Ogata decides to attend St. Mariannu and try to help them defeat Fujiwara Academy.

St. Mariannu High School

A coeducation

Coeducation

Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...

al high school that is known for their cheerleaders

Cheerleading

Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...

 squad that had won national three years in a row. The school normally has a weak basketball team because the good players go to Fujiwara Academy, which is close by.

Basketball Team

• Ogata Natsuki - He is a freshman small forward
  Small forward
  The small forward, or colloquially known as three, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically somewhat shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers, but on occasion are just as tall...
  
  , who is relatively short, being only 159 cm (about 5'2) tall. This is made up by the fact that he is fast, skilled, and is determined to win. He can be thought of as obsessed with basketball and therefore dense to other things. He often impresses people with his speed and skill. Ogata sometimes hides his true feelings, so that he doesn't have others worry about him. Ogata states that he declined his acceptance to Fujiwara because he rather defeat a strong team than play on one. Ogata lives with his aunt and is often caught peeking at the cheerleeding squad when they bathe, but unlike Katayama, it is on accident.

• Katayama Eiji - He is a freshman, who plays the position of center
  Center (basketball)
  The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
  
  . He only plays this position because he is the tallest on the team and would prefer to play shooting guard. He is highly competitive with Ogata on and off the court. Katayama is known as a pervert, often peeking at the cheerleeding squad when they bathe and flirting with them and the manager. In America he was considered a genius shooting guard and a trickster. He used to attend Houtei High and was a starter for their basketball team but later left the team after Chris was kicked off the team.

• Christopher Knight - He is a freshman Power Forward/Center, who is American. He is very tall and great shot blocker until he injured Kain. Along with Katayama, they were starters in America but was later kicked off the Houtei High team for refusing to jump. He refuses to jump because him jumping was the reason Cain was injured, though he later starts to jump again thanks to Ogata. He decided to join Katayama at Mariannu High.

• Toude Higushide - He is a senior point guard
  Point guard
  Point guard , also called the play maker or "the ball-handler", is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position – essentially, he is expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that...
  
   and the captain of the basketball team. He often scouts their competition and comes up with the team's strategies. He often helps out the Nanba and Umeda during practice who are less experienced then the other players. Toude is considered a weak captain because can't be strict and controlling.

• Nakajima - He is a senior power forward
  Power forward (basketball)
  Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. The position is referred to in playbook terms as the four position and is commonly abbreviated "PF". It has also been referred to as the "post" position. Power forwards play a role similar to that of center in what is called the "post" or "low...
  
  , who is sensitive about his forehead. He often practices fast break drills with Ogata and Katayama. In the beginning he refuses to play or accept Christopher but later they get along and become friends.

• Nanba - He is a freshman shooting guard
  Shooting guard
  The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
  
  , who lacked self-confidence and often made excuses for not making the extra effort when he played sports. Inspired by Ogata, he is determined to change this part of himself.

• Umeda - He is a freshman shooting guard
  Shooting guard
  The shooting guard , also known as the two or off guard, is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. Players of the position are often shorter, leaner, and quicker than forwards. A shooting guard's main objective is to score points for his team...
  
  , who is much like Nanba, lacks self-confidence.

• Tachibana Mitsuki - She is the sophomore manger of the basketball team. She is friends with the cheerleaders, but when asked to join them she claims that she is too slow. She cares greatly about the basketball team and goes as far as making bento
  Bento
  is a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine. A traditional bento consists of rice, fish or meat, and one or more pickled or cooked vegetables, usually in a box-shaped container. Containers range from disposable mass produced to hand crafted lacquerware...
  
  s for Ogata and Katayama so that they eat healthy. She often worries about Ogata.

Cheerleader Squad

• Usesugi - She has the most reserved personality of the cheerleaders. Being the leader of the squad, she gets annoyed if people are looking down on her school. She has a crush on Toude and often lends her advice to him.

• Miki Shibata - She takes the role of enforcer of the cheerleading squad against boys' perverted actions and severely punishes them, especially Katayama. When excited by watching good games, she often bear hug
  Bear hug
  In wrestling, a bear hug, also known as a bodylock, is a grappling clinch hold and stand-up grappling position where the arms are wrapped around the opponent, either around the opponent's chest, midsection, or thighs; sometimes with one or both of the opponents arms pinned to the opponent's body...
  
  s Ayumi.

• Carie - She is an Eurasian
  Eurasian (mixed ancestry)
  The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent....
  
   and has spent time in the US cheerleading but had to go to Japan for Highschool. Ari worries about Christopher after seeing how much he has changed since they met in America. She is also the older sister of Cain whom she cares deeply for. She is very sociable and seem to follow basketball in which she likes to root for the black sheep teams.

• Asakura Moe - She is a shiest of the cheerleaders and has an crush
  Limerence
  Limerence is a term coined c. 1977 by the psychologist Dorothy Tennov to describe an involuntary state of mind which seems to result from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one's feelings reciprocated...
  
   with Ogata. She tried to confess to Ogata but after a series of bad events, she decided not to tell him yet. She is easily saddened when seeing Ogata with Mitsuki, but she decides not to tell anyone.

• Ayumi - She has childlike personality of the cheerleaders. She often is at the mercy of Miki when she gets excited during game.

Fujiwara Academy

An all-boys

Single-sex education

Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education, is the practice of conducting education where male and female students attend separate classes or in separate buildings or schools. The practice was predominant before the mid-twentieth century, particularly in secondary education and...

 high school that is known for their basketball team which has won 134 straight games in their prefecture and participated 23 times in the inter high tournament.

Basketball Team

• Fujiwara Coach - He's very demanding of his players and does not tolerate failure of meeting his expectations.

• Kitsukawa Kyouichi - Fujiwara's team captain and the senior point guard. He is consider by the fans to be the best basketball player in Japan. He often tries to help Maeda realize the difference between him and Ogata.

• Okuyama Kenjirou - Fujiwara's senior center, who is known for his dunking
  Slam dunk
  A slam dunk is a type of basketball shot that is performed when a player jumps in the air and manually powers the ball downward through the basket with one or both hands over the rim. This is considered a normal field goal attempt; if successful it is worth two points. The term "slam dunk" was...
  
   ability.

• Arai Kazuki - Fujiwara's shooting guard and is known for his shooting ability.

• Kimura Youichi - Fujiwara's power forward and is known for his rebounding
  Rebound (basketball)
  A rebound in basketball is the act of successfully gaining possession of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw. Rebounds in basketball are a routine part in the game, as all possessions change after a shot is successfully made...
  
   ability.

• Maeda Hayato - Fujiwara's freshman point guard, who was personally recruited by their coach. He is similar to Ogata in many ways such as height
  Human height
  Human height is the distance from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head in a human body standing erect.When populations share genetic background and environmental factors, average height is frequently characteristic within the group...
  
  , speed, and skill. They differ in their playing style, which Maeda plays a calculated game and Ogata plays with passion. Since Ogata and himself had the same opportunity, he is curious why Ogata made a different decision than himself.

Other Characters

• Mayor Yamano Hatari - A big supporter of the best sport teams in his city. He even set up a basketball tournament to showcase the Fujiwara Academy basketball team. At first he does not like the St. Mariannu basketball team, but after seeing how good they are he decides to help them out by setting up a training camp for St. Mariannu basketball team and cheerleader squad.

• Amamiya Shizue - The Mayor Hatari's secretary. She is very professional about her job and very little upsets her.

• Mr. Sanada - A lazy ancient martial arts
  Martial arts
  Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
  
  master, who was St. Mariannu basketball training camp coach, even though he knows nothing about basketball. By incorporating his martial arts, St. Mariannu learned to increase their speed and stamina.

• Kain - Carie's younger brother. In the past when Christopher was still in America, Kain begged Christopher to teach him basketball after hearing how good he was from Carie. Christopher agreed to teach him, but during practice Christopher jumped to block the ball and accidentally collided with Kain, severely injuring him. Since Kain's injury he has acted like he hated Christopher but still sees him as his hero and forgives him.

• Miyanaga - After Katayama left the Houtei basketball team, Miyanaga became Houtei's ace shooting guard. He hates Katayama. Miyanaga can see through most of Katayama's tricks, but he still finds himself losing to him.

Manga

External links

• Kouji Seo website