Touch Review Page

Touch
Type:
Genre:
No. Of Vol:
Fansubbed By:
Avg. Of Rating:
Fansub
Romantic/Comedy
25
NT Anime
9.2

Reviews:
David Seid 9.2

Fansub Rules
Fansub List
Fansub Price
Arrival/Depart
Mailing List
Review Index
Send In Reviews
My Top Ten
Front Page

Touch Review

Touch is one of those TV series that you don't expect to like, but get sucked into its web of drama, humor and romance. It is hard to place the series in a given category because it changes its focus midway. If I had to, I would place the first half of the series in the love triangle/romantic comedy vein, and the second half (including all three movies that are compilations of the TV series) in the inspirational drama category.

DESCRIPTION

Touch revolves around three main characters who begin the series in their last year of Junior High. The three people are Kazuya, his slightly older identical twin brother Tatsuya, and their next door neighbor Minami.

Kazuya, or Kat-chan as he is frequently referred to by Minami, is the school's ace pitcher, and extremely popular with the girls. It is kind of assumed by everyone that he and Minami will someday be married to each other. Their respective parents have already started looking at wedding dresses for the big event (talk about presumptuous!). Kat-chan is, of course, interested in Minami, as both of them (along with Tatsuya) have been close friends since early childhood.

Tatsuya, or Tat-chan as he is referred to as by Minami, is the less talented of the two when it comes to sports, school, or the girls. He is a bit of a joker at times, trying to hide his insecurities about himself. He too has a definite crush on Minami, but tries to hide it due to everyone (including himself) believing that Katsuya and Minami are destined to be together.

Minami is a close friend to both boys and is frequently seen with Kat-chan at home and at school. She is very popular with the boys at school and it seems that Katsuya and herself make the perfect couple, but things are not necessarily so straight and narrow when it comes to Minami's feelings for the two brothers. She loves many qualities of both brothers, but there are hints early on as to which she may have a stronger yearning for (and I am not telling which one either).

The first half of the series focuses on the funny antics that the two brothers get up to in their quest for winning Minami's heart (or in Tatsuya's case, ANY girl's heart).

At about the halfway point in the series, a major story arc occurs which changes the focus and direction of the series from love triangle/romantic comedy to drama. I wont reveal what happens, but it is a tear-jerker that resolves the love triangle in an unexpected way. The new focus of the series (being intentionally vague) is for the school baseball team to reach and win the finals.

EVALUATION

ART/ANIMATION

Nothing special here. The animation is crude at times, and the color palette is sparse. I did not mind, however, because of other elements in the series that made up for the lack of even average artwork.

CHARACTER DESIGN

Again, I was not impressed. If I were only concerned with visuals, I probably would have disliked Touch, but anyone who has read any of my reviews know that storyline is what I seek.

MUSIC

The opening song to the series was above average, and the ending song was sub par and slow moving. I guess it is a matter of personal taste on these.

STORY

This is where Touch really shines. I rarely come across a powerful storyline such as this one. At the start of the series, the humor and romantic tension was just so funny I could not stop laughing, and when the series turned somber and emotional, it maintained its powerful presence till the very heartwarming end. It has a range that is rarely seen in anime, humorous when it wants to be, but can be a real tear-jerker as well.

OVERALL

Touch is a superb series. I can not recommend it highly enough to all romantic comedy and drama fans, or anyone else for that matter. If you can forget about the art, and just concentrate on the brilliant storyline and great voice acting, then I am positive you will be in for a real treat. I would say that Touch gets my vote for "sleeper" series of the decade!

** One note: The TV series is very long, so if you don't want to wait for most of your lifetime for it to be translated, get the three Touch movies. All three are already subbed and available through select distributors. They focus on the drama aspects of the series, but are very well put together. I saw the movies first. However, I still believe that the TV series by itself is even better!

Review By:David Seid

Art/Animation:Storyline:Character Design:Music:
6.5
9.95
7.0
7.5