Review: NINJA BASEBALL KYUMA!

We move on from the world's most popular sport to Japan's favorite sport: baseball.  There are no shortage of baseball manga to choose from, but this one stood out for a few reasons.

NINJA BASEBALL KYUMA! (Kyuma!), by Shunshin Maeda.  First published in 2004 and first published in North America in 2009.

PLOT:

For years, the young ninja Kyuma has waited in the mountains, training for the day when someone will need his skills.  That someone turns out to be Kaoru, the captain of the Moonstone City Baseball Club team.  He needs someone strong to help his ragtag team to win games, and Kyuma agrees to follow his new "liege".  He may not understand the modern world (much less baseball), but he's ready and eager to learn and put his newfound talent to the test!

STORY:

It's always tricky to take on a manga made specifically for little kids.  As a reviewer, you can't be quite as harsh on thuddingly obvious morals, simple characters, and basic conflict because it's meant to be enjoyed by readers who aren't as familiar with these conventions.  That being said, children's manga still has to have some standards for quality.

So taking that into mind, what did I think of Ninja Baseball Kyuma!?  Honestly...it's fine.  It's not brilliant.  It's not terrible.  It's just...fine.

I will give it some credit.  Kyuma being a reclusive weirdo ninja boy lends the story a comic fish-out-of-water quality that livens up the otherwise standard sports narrative.  It's got a lighthearted tone, even at the most dramatic points.  The kids on the team all have silly (if one-note) gimmicks or personalities.  If there's a downside, it's that we don't get to see or learn too much about them.  We learn more about Kyuma's rivals than we do about his teammates, although I have to presume this will be fixed in later volumes.  Not shockingly, the emphasis of the story is on friendship, team-building, and good sportsmanship, all of which are perfectly fine morals.  An adult might find it all a bit too simple and silly, but I can easily see a child reading this and having a good time.

ART:

Maeda's art is a fine fit for the subject matter and tone.  The characters have mildly goofy designs that highlight their particular gimmicks, and I do like that Kyuma's team is a pretty even mix of boys and girls.  The backgrounds don't really get to shine until the kids take a trip to Kyuma's remote mountain home, but they are pleasant enough.  I just wish they didn't feel the need to drown every bit of action (sports or otherwise) in speedlines and giant sound effects.  They are such a distraction that it's hard to parse what goes on in those panels, and that's a major liability in a sports title.

RATING:

Ninja Baseball Kyuma! won't set the world on fire and could stand to have more coherent art, but it's good harmless fun for its target audience.

This series was published by Udon Entertainment.  This series is complete in Japan with 3 volumes available.  All 3 were released and are currently out of print.