Harukaze Mound has made its debut as the newest ongoing manga series at Shonen Jump. The latest Shonen Jump manga comes from mangakas Togo Goto and Kento Matsuura. Goto and Matsuura previously collaborated with the 30-chapter manga series Phantom Seer, which was also both their debuts as mangakas. Their newest work comes at an interesting time for Shonen Jump. There have been many mangas that have been ending, whether being natural conclusions of their runs or being cancelled. So in such an important transition period for Shonen Jump, Goto and Matsuura’s begins a possible new generation of mangas. Can they do that? Let’s find out with Harukaze Mound Chapter 1: Opposite Twins.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Togo Goto
Artist: Kento Matsuura
HARUKAZE MOUND SUMMARY
“”We twins were born on the same day and share the same dream! And we’ve made a promise to each other!” Nobody’s more passionate about baseball than the Kuzumi twins. Younger brother Aokaze and his golden right arm is a once in a generation talent! Older brother Nagiharu is a lefty bench warmer. These two have walked the same dream since birth, but when they meet a certain catcher, their destinies will begin to change. The creators of Phantom Seer bring you a serious baseball epic!” – Shonen Jump
REVIEW
Translating sports into a written or illustrated form is a difficult one. There is a balance that needs to be hit as the creative team needs to bring in non-sports fans, those that don’t know the rules, fans of sport, and, in a manga’s case, Shonen Jump readers. That is not an easy thing to do, which makes what Togo Goto and Kento Matsuura are able to do with the debut of Harukaze Mound even more impressive.
Right away Goto and Matsuura make sure that the mission statement of this manga series is clear. That is Nagiharu and Aokaze Kuzumi having the same dream of playing for the Hojitsu High School baseball team and winning a championship together. From there Goto and Matsuura can get into what it means for two characters having the same dream. Particularly when it comes to anything sports related that has so many different things that go into achieving a dream.
The dream of playing for the same high school baseball team works as the perfect set-up for how even twins could diverge. Goto and Matsuura do a great job quickly introducing the idea that no matter how much you may put into replicating another person’s style it won’t lead to the same results. This creates an opening for the rules of baseball to be told through the presentation of our twin lead characters.
The subtle hints at why Nagiharu can’t match Aokaze’s results through them being left- and right-hand pitchers, respectively. That is not something a reader would catch at the beginning if they don’t know anything about baseball. But for fans of baseball there you will immediately get the difference between Nagiharu and Aokaze isn’t a matter of talent. It is simply that Nagiharu and Aokaze both have a tunnel vision of how to reach their shared dream. This leads to them both hurting their respective potential in different ways.
Establishing this provided a good entry point for Ibuki Hayama to be introduced as a deuteragonist for the series. Ibuki immediately enters the equation and opens the twins and readers’ eyes to what is holding Nagiharu and Aokaze back. For Aokaze he has purposely not shown his full ability to give Nagiharu a chance to catch up. This in turn leads Nagiharu to continue down his path of copying his little brother thinking he can catch up by simply shadowing his style. The way Ibuki gets the twins to realize this at the same time allows his wild card persona to shine right away.
This makes way for Goto and Matsuura to homing in on what will be the compelling part of Harukaze Mound. That is, this is a story about not being one set path to achieve your ultimate dream. Yes, Nagiharu and Aokaze both dreamed of becoming baseball championship at Hojitsu High School. But even as twins Nagiharu and Aokaze are ultimately two separate people. It is understanding their own individuality where they will reach their full potential.
That also leads to the twist of Ibuki recruiting Nagiharu to attend Hinazakura High School and join their new baseball program. This twist plays well if Nagiharu and Aokaze neither one can live in the other’s shadow. It is an intriguing crossroads moment that life changes as it goes beyond their baseball dreams. What choices are made from here can create the groundwork for many future story arcs.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Harukaze Mound first chapter, titled “Opposite Twins”, is an excellent debut. This hits on everything you want from a debut chapter as you don’t have to be a baseball fan to get into the story. Togo Goto and Kento Matsuura focus on what it means for someone to achieve their dreams and how there are different paths to reach one’s full potential, even for twins. The twist at the end of this chapter immediately sets the foundation for big potential Harukaze Mound has to be a standout series for Shonen Jump.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating 9 Night Girls out of 10
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