Smash! (manga)
is a Japanese seinen manga written and illustrated by Saki Kaori, which was featured on Weekly Shonen Magazine (Kodansha) during its original run from 2006 to 2010. Smash! is a romance comic that revolves around the sport badminton in a middle school to high school environment. Some characters in Smash! resemble characters in Yamato's Feather, which is a previous work of Saki Kaori.
Synopsis
Shouta Azuma is a gifted badminton player that only plays for fun of the sport. Miwa, his childhood friend, tries to convince him to play seriously and apply to the high school known for its badminton team. Shouta brushes off Miwa's requests until one day he sees a young girl crying on the side of the badminton gym. After being defeated by her in a match, his life changes and he decides to pursue badminton and apply to that high school. Not knowing who the girl is(because she is MUTE), Shouta figures that the only way to find her again is to get better at badminton, and one day they will encounter each other again.
Characters
Main Characters
Shouta Azuma
- Height: 175 cm
- Weight: 65 kg
- Blood Type O
- Right Handed
- Racket String Tension: 25 lb
- From Tokyo
Shouta is a good-natured, friendly guy, who displays much enthusiasm in anything he does. Longing to play Yuuhi since their first encounter, he pursues badminton in order to catch up to her level and be able to play against her again. Shouta has a skill in memory, in the beginning of the manga he solves a Rubik's Cube in 56 seconds. Shouta has spatial cognitive ability in which he can remember the playing style and location of opponents and react accordingly. Later in the story he ruptures his achilles tendon and loses the semi-finals of the inter-high championships by defaulting for injury on the final point. During his recovery period he gains the support of his teammates and friends and then he is put on special training by the coach. He undergoes hard rehabilitation and watches many badminton games to learn new techniques and strategies. Eventually he recovers and is better than he was before. After recovering he makes it to the national level and travels the world playing international tournaments; and he becomes the first Japanese player in Olympic history to win gold in the men's singles event. At the end Shouta asks Yuuhi to marry him.
Miwa Okamoto
- Height: 160 cm
- Blood Type A
- Right Handed
- Racket String Tension: 22 lb
- From Tokyo
Miwa is in the same year as Shouta, and is Shouta's childhood friend who lives next door. Miwa is a strong badminton player and was the ace player in the middle school she and Shouta went to. Miwa always had a secret crush on Shouta but didn't admit it until it was too late. After being heartbroken she decides to quit badminton but is consoled by Anan Hashiba. Miwa was always jealous of Yuuhi but learns to live with the fact that she won't be able to get Shouta back. In the end Miwa and Anan become a couple.
Yuuhi Kitou
- Height: 166 cm
- Blood Type A
- Right Handed
- Racket String Tension: 25 lb
- From Tokyo
Yuuhi is a mute, but talented badminton player. After the incident when her family were running late to see her badminton game, they had a car accident and everyone besides her sister, Mika, died. Her parents last words were to become the best badminton player and not to give up on her goals. Since that event she has not been able to speak. She meets Shouta at an open gym in Tokyo and plays a match and defeats him, but he still wanted to play more. When he asked questions she ran away because she couldn't say anything. She has mental problems when she is faced by opponents she has faced in the past before the accident. Playing with Shouta gradually decreases this problem and she finds enjoyment in the sport. After the Interhigh Championships she is elected to join the national team in Singapore. With reluctance to move away from Shouta she is forced to move to Osaka for special training. After much time Shouta and Yuuhi are both at the Olympics and Yuuhi regains her voice during Shouta's men's singles match. Soon after Shouta proposes to Yuuhi and they are said to get married.
Anan Hashiba
- Height: 176 cm
- Weight: 62 kg
- Blood Type A
- Right Handed
- Racket String Tension: 28 lb
- From Tokyo
Anan is a strong player who comes from a family of four boys. His father dictates which sport is suitable for each of them. Anan's older brothers, (a top player in soccer) and (a top player in baseball), tease him for playing a low contact sport and not being good at it either. Anan's eldest brother, Genichiro Hashiba, was a badminton player as well, but he failed in his fathers eyes and was sent off to do business instead. Anan leaves his house out of rage one day because of his two brothers. He encounters Shouta at the open gym right after Shouta's encounter with Yuuhi. He makes a bluff that if Shouta can beat him in a match, he will tell him that girls name(Yuuhi). Anan takes out his rage on Shouta repeatedly defeating him, but notices that Shouta was improving on every point. Anan did not want to go home so he stays at Shouta's home for the night. In high-school Shouta and Anan are doubles partners until Shouta's injury, Anan is forced to play singles. Once Shouta recovered the both of them are enlisted for national level training and set off to become the top players in Japanese history. Anan is bad at expressing his emotions, but he gradually falls in love with Miwa, and they are said to get married at the end.
Other Characters
Mika Kitou
Yuuhi's elder sister. She was originally a major player in the badminton world, but she lost physical capability after a car accident in which she lost her parents and her lover. She decides to start coaching badminton after she is inspired by seeing the potential of middle school players (Shouta and Anan) playing at the open gym. She becomes the coach for Toujodaini the year that Shouta, Anan, Miwa, and Yuuhi enter. Mika does her best to keep Yuuhi on-track of badminton and not to get distracted. Although she fails to keep Shouta and Yuuhi apart, she learns to live with the fact that they can't be separated.
Genichiro Hashiba
The eldest son in the Hashiba household. Genichiro is the only person that understands Anan, who is isolated in the family. After their mother died, their father made sure that none of them became emotionally attached to anyone and put full focus into studying and sports. Genichiro was disinherited by his father because of failing at badminton and falling in love. Genichiro is married now and checks on Anan from time to time.
Toujodaini
Masayoshi Nohara
See also
Badminton Seinen Weekly Shonen Magazine