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(No spoilers – unlike many Touch reviews) Whereas Maison Ikkoku beautifully portrayed the transition between teenager and adult, Touch is one of the most rewarding coming of age stories. I had occasionally heard excellent things about Touch for the past few years, but only finally sat down to watch it after learning that it holds the record for highest ratings ever achieved by an anime on Japanese television. This naturally made me very curious. This is a series that is almost completely unknown in the anglosphere – even more obscure than its contemporaries, Maison Ikkoku and Kimagure Orange Road. Yet, at the height of its run, Touch claimed over….

Many spoilers for these episodes ahead.

This post will contain spoilers for episodes 5 through 30. I really do not suggest reading it unless you’ve seen these episodes too, as they cover a major event that should be left for viewers to see on their own first.

So, it turns out that Touch doesn’t follow the exact path that I had presumed it would after the first few episodes…..

I will proclaim that the holy trinity of 80s slice-of-life will contain Maison Ikkoku, Touch, and Kimagure Orange Road. Of the three, I would say Kimagure is the weakest (sorry, KOR fans). Of the remaining two, it’s a toss up, as I have only begun Touch. The episodes I’ve seen so far have dragged me into the world and its characters as much as Maison Ikkoku has. Of course, it isn’t perfect, and still contains a few occasional juvenile tropes also found in these other two series. But overall, I find it …