49-625: Gurazeni: Money Pitch ( グラゼニ , Gurazeni ) is a Japanese baseball manga series written by Yūji Moritaka [ ja ] and illustrated by Keiji Adachi [ ja ] . The manga was serialized in Kodansha 's seinen manga magazine Morning from December 2010 to August 2014, with its chapters collected in fourteen tankōbon volumes. Three sequels have been released since then; Gurazeni: Tokyo Dome-hen (2014–2018); Gurazeni: Pa League-hen (2018–2021); and Gurazeni: Dai League-hen (since 2021). The series follows
98-476: A kendo practice-hall established by Seiji Noma in 1925. However, the hall was demolished in November 2007 and replaced with a dōjō in a new building nearby. The company announced that it was closing its English-language publishing house, Kodansha International, at the end of April 2011. Their American publishing house, Kodansha USA , will remain in operation. Kodansha USA began issuing new publications under
147-598: A companion magazine to the NHK children's show Okāsan to Issho . The two companies often clash editorially, however. The October 2000 issue of Gendai accused NHK of staging footage used in a news report in 1997 on dynamite fishing in Indonesia. NHK sued Kodansha in the Tokyo District Court, which ordered Kodansha to publish a retraction and pay ¥4 million in damages. Kodansha appealed the decision and reached
196-495: A double-tag-out by himself. This is the first major injury in Bonda's career. Itsuki is on a hot streak and The Spiders are in first place in the race for the pennant. Itsuki has been staying at a hotel and thinks this helps his concentration but Bonda tells him to go home to his family. After that Itsuki starts to struggle but Bonda tells him it's because other teams have been studying him and making adjustments. The next game against
245-471: A guest star in the final episode of the first season. A second season aired from October 5 to December 21, 2018, which included baseball player Masahiro Yamamoto and comedian Yuki Iwai in cameo roles. Sakota, the Spiders bullpen coach, observes that Bonda regularly retires hitters who have lower salary than he has and players who make more than 100 million yen but gives up hits up to batters with salary in
294-613: A playoff system, culminating in a championship held in October, known as the Japan Series . Corporations with interests outside baseball own most of the teams. Historically, teams have been identified with their owners, not where the team is based. However, in recent years, many owners have chosen to include a place name in the names of their teams; the majority of the 12 NPB teams are currently named with both corporate and geographical place names. Much like Minor League Baseball in
343-496: A settlement whereby it had to issue only a partial retraction and to pay no damages. Gendai ' s sister magazine Shūkan Gendai nonetheless published an article probing further into the staged-footage controversy that has dogged NHK. This is a list of manga magazines published by Kodansha. Kodomo (children's) manga magazines Shōnen manga magazines Seinen manga magazines Shōjo manga magazines Josei manga magazines Web magazines Kodansha organizes
392-572: A smaller baseball, strike zone, and playing field. Five Nippon league teams have fields whose small dimensions would violate the American Official Baseball Rules . Also unlike MLB, game length is limited and tie games are allowed. In the regular season, the limit is twelve innings, while in the playoffs, there is a fifteen-inning limit (games in Major League Baseball, by comparison, continue until there
441-643: A two-day strike, the first strike in the history of the league, to protest the proposed merger between the Orix BlueWave and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and the failure of the owners to agree to create a new team to fill the void resulting from the merger. The strike was settled on 23 September 2004, when the owners agreed to grant a new franchise in the Pacific League and to continue the two-league, 12-team system. The new team,
490-696: Is Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), which consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League , with six teams in each league. High school baseball enjoys a particularly strong public profile and fan base, much like college football and college basketball in the United States; the Japanese High School Baseball Championship ("Summer Kōshien "), which takes place each August,
539-526: Is a winner). Due to power limits imposed because of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami , the 2011 NPB regular season further limited game length by adding a restriction that no inning could begin more than three hours and thirty minutes after the first pitch. NPB teams have active rosters of 28 players, as opposed to 26 in MLB (27 on days of doubleheaders). However, the game roster has a 25-player limit. Before each game, NPB teams must designate three players from
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#1732779714707588-595: Is consistently ranked one of the best in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation . Kodansha Kodansha Ltd. ( Japanese : 株式会社講談社 , Hepburn : Kabushiki-gaisha Kōdansha ) is a Japanese privately held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō , Tokyo . Kodansha publishes the manga magazines Nakayoshi , Afternoon , Evening , Weekly Shōnen Magazine , and Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine , as well as
637-890: Is governed by the Japan Amateur Baseball Association (JABA). Players on these teams are employed by their sponsoring companies and receive salaries as company employees, not as baseball players. The best teams in these circuits are determined via the intercity baseball tournament and the Industrial League national tournament. The level of play in these leagues is very competitive; Industrial League players are often selected to represent Japan in international tournaments and Major League Baseball players such as Hideo Nomo ( Shin-Nitetsu Sakai ), Junichi Tazawa ( Nippon Oil ) and Kosuke Fukudome ( Nihon Seimei ), have been discovered by professional clubs while playing industrial baseball. Japan has won
686-601: Is nationally televised and includes regional champions from each of Japan's 47 prefectures . In Japanese , baseball is commonly called yakyū ( 野球 ) , combining the characters for field and ball . According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the atmosphere of Japanese baseball games is less relaxed than in the United States, with fans regularly singing and dancing to team songs. In addition, as American writer Robert Whiting wrote in his 1977 book The Chrysanthemum and
735-483: Is not happy with the idea but sees this as an opportunity to leave her rather seedy work as a hostess in a club in Roppongi . By October 2022 the overall series had over 3.5 million copies in circulation. The series was second on the 2012 edition of Takarajimasha 's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list of best manga for male readers. It nominated for the fifth Manga Taishō in 2012. It won the 37th Kodansha Manga Award in
784-627: The National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in the spring (also known as "Spring Kōshien") and Asahi Shimbun for the National High School Baseball Championship in the summer (also known as "Summer Kōshien"). These nationwide tournaments enjoy widespread popularity, arguably equal to or greater than professional baseball. Qualifying tournaments are often televised locally and each game of
833-525: The People's Honour Award ( 国民栄誉賞 , Kokumin Eiyoshō ) for their achievements and popularity. Baseball was first introduced into Japan in 1859 after the opening of the treaty ports , having been played alongside cricket by American and British expatriates in the foreign settlements until the 20th century. It was introduced as a school sport in 1872 by American Horace Wilson , an English professor at
882-702: The Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles , began play in the 2005 season . In Japan, high school baseball ( 高校野球 , kōkō yakyū ) generally refers to the two annual baseball tournaments played by high schools nationwide culminating in a final showdown at Hanshin Kōshien Stadium in Nishinomiya . They are organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation in association with Mainichi Shimbun for
931-557: The World Baseball Classic three times since the tournament was created. In the 2006 World Baseball Classic , they defeated Cuba in the finals and in the 2009 World Baseball Classic , Japan defeated its arch-rival of South Korea in 10 innings to defend their title. In the 2023 World Baseball Classic , they reclaimed their title by defeating the United States 3–2 in the Championship game. The national team
980-459: The 2005 takeover-war for Nippon Broadcasting System between Livedoor and Fuji TV , Kodansha supported Fuji TV by selling its stock to Fuji TV. Kodansha has a somewhat complicated relationship with NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai), Japan's public broadcaster . Many of the manga and novels published by Kodansha have spawned anime adaptations. Animation such as Cardcaptor Sakura , aired in NHK's Eisei Anime Gekijō time-slot, and Kodansha published
1029-729: The Bat , "the Japanese view of life, stressing group identity, cooperation, hard work, respect for age, seniority and 'face' has permeated almost every aspect of the sport. Americans who come to play in Japan quickly realize that Baseball Samurai Style is different." In Japan, Nippon Professional Baseball players such as Shohei Ohtani , Ichiro Suzuki , Hideki Matsui , Shigeo Nagashima and Sadaharu Oh are regarded as national stars, and their exceptional performances have boosted baseball's popularity in Japan. All of them received or were approached for
SECTION 20
#17327797147071078-631: The Kaisei Academy in Tokyo . The first organized adult baseball team, called the Shimbashi Athletic Club, was established in 1878. The Japanese government appointed American oyatoi in order to start a state-inspired modernization process. This involved the education ministry, who made baseball accessible to children by integrating the sport into the physical education curriculum. Japanese students, who returned from studying in
1127-623: The Miss iD pageant , which started in 2012. iD stands for "identity", " idol ", "I", and "diversity", and it is described as a pageant to discover diverse role models for the "new era" without being bound to conventional beauty and lifestyle standards. Married and transgender women are allowed to participate. The Miss ID title is awarded to more than one person each year, and holders of the title include actress Tina Tamashiro , singer Rie Kaneko , and musician Ena Fujita . Computer-generated character Saya and AI character Rinna were semifinalists in
1176-477: The Otowa Group, which manages subsidiary companies such as King Records (official name: King Record Co., Ltd.) and Kobunsha , and publishes Nikkan Gendai, a daily tabloid. It also has close ties with Disney and officially sponsors Tokyo Disneyland . Kodansha is the largest publisher in Japan. Revenues dropped due to the 2002 recession in Japan and an accompanying downturn in the publishing industry :
1225-520: The Tempters is decisive, if the Spiders win or draw they have clinched the pennant. As Bonda and Itsuki are going the stadium in a taxi Itsuki gets a phone call; his wife delivered a baby boy but there were some complications and the baby is in ICU . Bonda gives up a home run in the 8th inning but Itsuki saves him with a pinch home-run in the bottom of the ninth and the game ends in a draw. The spiders have won
1274-640: The United States captivated by the sport, took government positions. Clubs and private teams such as the Shinbashi Athletic Club, along with high school and college teams, commenced the baseball infrastructure. At a match played in Yokohama in 1896, a team from Tokyo's Ichikō high school convincingly defeated a team of resident foreigners from the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club . The contemporary Japanese language press lauded
1323-678: The United States on May 10, 2023. It started approximately with 400 titles, of which 70 were simultaneous publications of ongoing series. On October 21, 2024, it was announced that the service became available in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. On May 24, 2024, Kodansha announced that they acquired publisher Wani Books and turned it into a wholly-owned subsidiary. The Kodansha company holds ownership in various broadcasting companies in Japan. It also owns shares in Nippon Cultural Broadcasting and Kobunsha. In
1372-525: The United States, Japan has a farm system through two minor leagues, each affiliated with Nippon Professional Baseball. The Eastern League consists of seven teams and is owned by the Central League. The Western League consists of five teams and is owned by the Pacific League. Both minor leagues play 80-game seasons. The rules are essentially those of Major League Baseball (MLB), but technical elements are slightly different: The Nippon league uses
1421-476: The active roster who will not appear in that contest. A team cannot have more than four foreign players on a 25-man game roster, although there is no limit on the number of foreign players that it may sign. If there are four, they cannot all be pitchers nor all be position players. This limits the cost and competition for expensive players of other nationalities and is similar to rules in many European sports leagues' roster limits on non-European players. In each of
1470-409: The company into its wholly-owned subsidiary. On November 30, 2022, Kodansha announced an extended partnership with Disney to release anime originals based on its manga exclusively on video streaming service Disney+ starting with the second season of Tokyo Revengers . On March 21, 2023, Kodansha announced a manga distribution service called "K Manga" which was initially launched exclusively in
1519-587: The company posted a loss in the 2002 financial year for the first time since the end of World War II . (The second-largest publisher, Shogakukan , has done relatively better. In the 2003 financial year, Kodansha had revenues of ¥167 billion compared to ¥150 billion for Shogakukan. Kodansha, at its peak, led Shogakukan by over ¥50 billion in revenue.) Kodansha sponsors the prestigious Kodansha Manga Award which has run since 1977 (and since 1960 under other names). Kodansha's headquarters in Tokyo once housed Noma Dōjō ,
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1568-796: The country far away from Tōkyō were to be seen playing with bats and balls". Professional baseball in Japan started in the 1920s, but it was not until the Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club ( 大日本東京野球クラブ , Dai-nippon Tōkyō Yakyū Kurabu ) , a team of all-stars established in 1934 by media mogul Matsutarō Shōriki , that the modern professional game found continued success—especially after Shōriki's club matched up against an American All-Star team that included Babe Ruth , Jimmie Foxx , Lou Gehrig , and Charlie Gehringer . While prior Japanese all-star contingents had disbanded, Shōriki went pro with this group, playing in an independent league. The first Japanese professional league
1617-425: The final stage at Kōshien is televised nationally on NHK . The tournaments have become a national tradition, and large numbers of students and parents travel from hometowns to cheer for their local team. The popularity of these tournaments has been compared to the popularity of March Madness in the United States. Amateur baseball leagues exist all over Japan, with many teams sponsored by companies. Amateur baseball
1666-505: The general category in 2013. Mike Toole of Anime News Network praised the anime adaptation, in particular the main character Bonda but acknowledged it was difficult to sell to most western viewers. Baseball in Japan Baseball was introduced to Japan in 1872 and is Japan's most popular participatory and spectator sport. The first professional competitions emerged in the 1920s. The highest level of baseball in Japan
1715-603: The head administrator of the international branch, Kentaro Tsugumi, starting in September 2012 with a hardcover release of The Spirit of Aikido. Many of Kodansha USA's older titles have been reprinted. According to Daniel Mani of Kodansha USA, Inc., "Though we did stopped [ sic ] publishing new books for about a year starting from late 2011, we did continue to sell most of our older title throughout that period (so Kodansha USA never actually closed)." In October 2016, Kodansha acquired publisher Ichijinsha and turned
1764-511: The literary magazine, Yūben , ( 雄辯 ) as its first publication. The name Kodansha (taken from Kōdan Club ( 講談倶楽部 ), a now-defunct magazine published by the company) originated in 1911 when the publisher formally merged with the Dai-Nippon Yūbenkai . The company has used its current legal name since 1958. It uses the motto "omoshirokute, tame ni naru" ( 面白くて、ためになる , "To be interesting and beneficial") . Kodansha Limited owns
1813-537: The more literary magazines Gunzō , Shūkan Gendai , and the Japanese dictionary , Nihongo Daijiten . Kodansha was founded by Seiji Noma in 1910, and members of his family continue as its owners either directly or through the Noma Cultural Foundation. Seiji Noma founded Kodansha in 1910 as a spin-off of the Dai-Nippon Yūbenkai ( 大日本雄辯會 , "Greater Japan Oratorical Society") and produced
1862-550: The pennant but in the celebrations Bonda has mixed feelings because of his previous blunder. After Toku and Akemi return from Guam, they finally find out that Toku lost his job. Matsumoto manages to get him a job coaching an independent league baseball team in Fukui . Due to the long distance away from Tokyo，and a comparatively meagre 3.6 million-yen contract —still a significant pay raise compared to his salary at Otowa Radio— Toku worries that Akemi won't be willing to go with him. Akemi
1911-646: The previous season. Some members of the Carnavits' management are hoping Doteirai fails to get a hit so they'll have an excuse to retire him. The Spiders travel to Hiroshima to play the Setouchi Carnabeats . The Spiders are playing an away game in Nagoya. When the scheduled starter comes down with a fever Bonda is rushed in as a substitute. In a rare chance to play as a starter Bonda becomes over-eager and breaks his right-hand wrist when trying to perform
1960-430: The range between those amounts. Sakota wonders what will happen when Bonda pitches against a player with exactly the same salary. Ōno Yukio wears jersey no.3, traditionally given to the team's best hitter, but recently he has been in a slump. The Spiders are playing The Carnavits. Bonda is pitching against Doteirai, a 41-year-old champion with 500 home runs in his career. Bonda is nervous because he broke Doteirai's wrist
2009-580: The second one from March 3 to April 28, 2022; The third one from August 4 to October 13, 2022; the fourth one from February 2 to April 6, 2023; the fifth one from July 13 to September 21, 2023; the sixth one from December 28, 2023, to March 14, 2024; and the seventh one started on July 11, 2024. The first tankōbon volume was released on April 21, 2022. As of May 22, 2024, six volumes have been released. An anime television series aired from April 6 to June 22, 2018, on SKY PerfecTV! 's SkyPer! channel. Produced by SKY Perfect JSAT , Kodansha and Studio Deen ,
Gurazeni - Misplaced Pages Continue
2058-820: The second part started on May 19 of the same year. The first tankōbon volume was released on April 21, 2022. As of July 23, 2024, six volumes have been released. A spin-off manga, titled Gurazeni: Natsunosuke no Seishun ( グラゼニ 〜夏之介の青春〜 ) , written by Yūji Moritaka and illustrated by Yōsuke Uzumaki, was serialized in Kodansha's Evening from March 10, 2020, to November 8, 2022. Kodansha collected its chapters in six tankōbon volumes, released from July 20, 2020, to February 21, 2023. Another spin-off by Kawa, titled Shōwa no Gurazeni ( 昭和のグラゼニ ) , serialized its first part in Morning from October 7 to December 2, 2021. Seven more parts have been serialized since then;
2107-408: The series is directed by Ayumu Watanabe , with Hideo Takayashiki handling series composition and writing the scripts, Kenichi Ohnuki designing the characters and Akifumi Tada composing the music. The anime's theme song is "Merigo feat. SKY-HI" by Cypress Ueno to Robert Yoshino. The closing song is "Shadow Monster" performed by Asako Toki . Well known actor and film director 'Beat' Takeshi appeared as
2156-657: The team as national heroes and news of this match greatly contributed to the popularity of baseball as a school sport. Tsuneo Matsudaira in his "Sports and Physical Training in Modern Japan" address to the Japan Society of the UK in London in 1907 related that after the victory, "the game spread, like a fire in a dry field, in summer, all over the country, and some months afterwards, even in children in primary schools in
2205-481: The two Nippon Professional Baseball leagues, teams with the best winning percentage go on to a stepladder-format playoff (3 vs. 2, winner vs. 1). Occasionally, a team with more total wins has been seeded below a team that had more ties and fewer losses and, therefore, had a better winning percentage. The winners of each league compete in the Japan Series. On 18 September 2004, professional baseball players went on
2254-494: The unforgiving money-and-statistics-centric world of professional baseball, in a similar concept to Moneyball , but through the eyes of players: a relief pitcher and left-handed specialist, Bonda Natsunosuke, and Tokunaga, a retired pitcher turned color commentator. The fictional teams in the series are based on real teams in the NPB , particularly the Central League . A 24-episodes anime television series adaptation by Studio Deen
2303-478: Was broadcast from April to December 2018. Written by Yūji Moritaka [ ja ] and illustrated by Keiji Adachi [ ja ] , Gurazeni was serialized in Kodansha 's seinen manga magazine Morning magazine from December 9, 2010, to August 28, 2014. Kodansha collected its chapters in seventeen tankōbon volumes, released from May 23, 2011, to January 23, 2015. A second series, titled Gurazeni: Tokyo Dome-hen ( グラゼニ 〜東京ドーム編〜 ) ,
2352-542: Was formed in 1936, and by 1950 had grown big enough to divide into two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League , together known as Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). It is called Puro Yakyū ( プロ野球 ) , meaning professional baseball . The pro baseball season is eight months long, with games beginning in April. Teams play 144 games (as compared to the 162 games of the American major league teams), followed by
2401-618: Was serialized in Morning from September 25, 2014, to February 15, 2018. Kodansha collected its chapters in fifteen tankōbon volumes, released from January 23, 2015, to May 23, 2018. A third series, titled Gurazeni: Pa League-hen ( グラゼニ 〜パ・リーグ編〜 ) , was serialized in Morning from March 29, 2018, to August 19, 2021. Kodansha collected its chapters in thirteen tankōbon volumes, released from June 22, 2018, to October 21, 2021. A fourth series, titled Gurazeni: Dai League-hen ( グラゼニ～大リーグ編～ ) , started in Morning on December 9, 2021. The series finished its first part on February 17, 2022;
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