Natsuzora and Run

The one big flaw this manga suffers from... is the romance.

As a sportsmanga it is pretty straight forward and cool. The author doesn't waste any time explaining the rules of the game and throws you right into it. It might be a tad intimidating if you never followed a baseball game before, but slowly you'll get accustomed to the positions and terms of the game. Which I actually enjoyed about Natsuzora and Run. The artstyle is dynamic in game scenes and those games can become really tense.
Another enjoyable thing is the MC: Chiaki is not bad at baseball, but he's also no prodigy. He's just a passionate guy living for the game. So there's a lot more leeway for the story and games to develop, instead of having everything depend on one single player. Which this manga manages in a lovely manner: It is all about the team. Even the sidecharacters have their own quirks and add something to the team.

So yes, as a sports manga Natsuzora and Run can be recommended. As a romance manga... well...

This might get a teeny tiny bit *spoilery*, so read at your own risk.

The "romance" takes up quite a big chunk of the story. But calling it "romance" might be exagerrated, because all there is, is a constant back and forth between the MC and the other person in question. The status quo shifts every other chapter into one of the two directions, and it feels like a bit of a waste having this nonsense going on for so long. There's not much to gain from it in terms of character development - it's more or less just there.

Yet, I still recommend Natsuzora and Run, and if it's just for the baseball action. The rest *can* be tolerated, since there's some lovely sidecharacters making up for that.

Alright so i am writing this right after i finished binge reading the whole thing in a day and i am not gonna lie this was a pretty decent story. Characters weren't too deep but you grew to like them. It wasn't too long as to were you just beg it to end or you want to drop it, but it could have used about 10 more chapters cause the ending feels rushed. (It works though). Another thing it did which i did not like is that towards the end it basically became a sports only manga and the romance got pushed to the side till the very end. (last 4 chapters are like that). This is not a story you will think about as one of the greatest ever but it defiantly is a story worth reading.

Side note: If you hate sports or student teacher relationships this might not be the best one for you. Even if you don't, i would give it a try because of the length. Hope this helped.

Another good sports manga which includes romance. Strange mix, huh? After reading Cross Game, I was looking for another sports romance when I landed on this, and boy, it sure is good.

The story is a bit generic. Our hero, Chiaki is a good baseball player in high school. He's a bit energetic and also an airhead sometimes. Touko, is the school teacher, young and pretty. He sees him, she sees her, and it's love at first sight. Great, right?

The art is superb. Absolutely terrific. The baseball scenes are almost realistic. Touko sensei looks great and she's definitely ending up in my best girl list. The other characters are also well drawn.

The characters are pretty cliche. It almost feels like your average shojo hero and heroines. Is that a good thing? If you hate shojo, then yes, but for me, a romance lover, they are the ideal. The forbidden essence of love is just great. The side characters also have a bit of the role, unlike other manga, so you do get to see them developing.

I'd give this a 9/10 and would recommend it to anyone who's in for a cute short romance read.