Position: Catcher   Akaishi is a childhood friend of Kō and Wakaba, the same age as them. In Part One, he has a crush on Wakaba and is jealous of the time Kō spends with her. In elementary school, he was kept from pitching on his Little League team because he got into fights with opposing teams. He was able to throw a 100 km/h fastball while in elementary school, but Kō could hit a home run off one of his pitches. However, since Wakaba's death, he plays as a catcher to fulfill Wakaba's last dream in which he and Kō reach Kōshien with him being the catcher and Kō the pitcher. He is currently have feelings for Akane who look a lot like Wakaba. Because he did not take the placement test for the baseball club, he is on the prefab team with Kō. His father owns a liquor/sake store.   (Source: Wikipedia) 

The main character is Kou Kitamura, son of the owner of Kitamura Sports. In the same neighborhood is a batting center run by the Tsukishima family. Due to their proximity and the relationship between their businesses, the Kitamura and Tsukishima familes have been close for many years, with their children going back and forth between the two homes like extended family. Because Kou and Wakaba were the same age and always together, Aoba was jealous of all the time Kou spent with her older sister. Aoba is a natural pitcher with excellent form, and Kou secretly trains to become as good as she was, even while publicly showing little interest in baseball.

__Hobbies:__ Baseball, Guitar, Tennis    
__Non-anime Roles:__ Iron Tager (TR-0009) in "BlazBlue" (Fighting Game) , Reinhardt (Overwatch)

Cross Game is a moving drama that is heartfelt and true, yet in the brilliant hands of manga artist Mitsuru Adachi, delightfully flows with a light and amusing touch. The series centers around a boy named Ko, the family of four sisters who live down the street and the game of baseball. This poignant coming-of-age story will change your perception of what shonen manga can be.
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(Source: Viz Media)

Osamu Akaishi