SPORTS: Ookiku Furikabutte

Ookiku Furikabutte
Genre: Sports, Seinen
Read @ OneManga
Summary: Ookiku Furikabutte is the story of a timid young man who was made an ace pitcher in middle school because of family connections. Now he's in high school and it's his time to shine as an ace in his own right.

What I really like about Ookiku Furikabutte is how it explains the mechanics of baseball while telling the story. After reading the chapters in this series, you will know what a catcher does, strategies (why they bunt, squeeze plays), having parents go out and film competitors games, and other details such as training regimens. Having read through OF, I've grown to understand what and why plays are made.

Another great thing about this series are the characters - they've all got their own personalities and the dynamics are great. The main focus is on the two main characters Abe and Mihashi but the rest get their time to shine. The art-style may be a turn off to some people but stick with it and it'll grow on you. If you still can't stomach it, there is an anime of this series which is pretty good (it sticks to the story most of the time and I've only seen it deviate in one episode).