''Cross Over'' is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

written an illustrated by Kouji Seo. The series primarily follows the St. Mariannu boys'

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

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, including '' Suzuka'', ''

A Town Where You Live is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōji Seo. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from May 2008 to February 2014 and the chapters collected into 27 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series follows the dai ...

'' and '' Fuuka''. ''Cross Over'' was serialized in the Japanese magazine ''

Weekly Shōnen Magazine is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...

'' published by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

from 2002 to 2003 and compiled into seven bound volumes.

Plot

Ogata Natsuki loves to play basketball. His passion for the game and his effort compensates his

short stature Short stature refers to a height of a human which is below typical. Whether a person is considered short depends on the context. Because of the lack of preciseness, there is often disagreement about the degree of shortness that should be called '' ...

. Encouraged by his Junior High teammates to try out 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 An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against Fujiwara Academy. After an injury of St. Mariannu player, he decides to substitute 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 is an aspiration or ethos that a sport, or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake. This is with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors. A "sore loser" refers to on ...

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

Characters

St. Mariannu High School

: A

coeducation Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

that is known for their

cheerleaders Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

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 The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

, who is relatively short, being only 159 cm (about 5 ft 2 in) 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 cheerleading squad when they bathe, but unlike Katayama, it is by accident. * Katayama Eiji - He is a freshman, who plays the position of

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. 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 cheerleading 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 The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

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 than the other players. Toude is considered a weak captain because can't be strict and controlling. * Nakajima - He is a senior

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

, who is sensitive about his forehead. He often practices

fast break Fast break is an offensive strategy in basketball and handball. In a fast break, a team attempts to move the ball up court and into scoring position as quickly as possible, so that the defense is outnumbered and does not have time to set up. The ...

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 The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

, 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

, who is much like Nanba, lacks self-confidence. * Tachibana Mitsuki - She is the sophomore manager 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 A is the Japanese cuisine, Japanese iteration of a single-portion take-out or home-packed meal, often for lunch. Outside Japan, it is common in other East and Southeast Asian culinary styles, especially within Chinese cuisine, Chinese, Korean c ...

s for Ogata and Katayama so that they eat healthy. She often worries about Ogata.

Cheerleader Squad

* Uesugi - 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 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 bot ...

s Ayumi. * Carie - She is a

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

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 seems to follow basketball in which she likes to root for the

black sheep In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...

teams. * Asakura Moe - She is shyest of the cheerleaders and has a crush on 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 the childlike personality of the cheerleaders. She often is at the mercy of Miki when she gets excited during the game.

Fujiwara Academy

An all-boys

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 considered 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 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 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 Height is measure of vertical distance, either vertical extent (how "tall" something or someone is) or vertical position (how "high" a point is). For example, "The height of that building is 50 m" or "The height of an airplane in-flight is abou ...

, 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 are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

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.

Release

References

External links

''Kouji Seo website''
* {{Weekly Shōnen Magazine - 2000–2009 2002 manga Basketball in anime and manga Kodansha manga School life in anime and manga Shōnen manga Works by Kōji Seo