It's been almost an entire year since my Maison Ikkoku counting project so I thought I'd look for something that could hold my interest and be just as fun. With that said, Touch seemed like the perfect candidate. It would be my fourth time watching the series from beginning to end so I had plenty of experience already on my side. But I have to say, I completely underestimated the magnitude of how often specifics took place in this series. As always, I was up to the task and added plenty more along the way to up the challenge. So without further ado, I present The Touch Counting Guide!
[SPOILERS BELOW]
Tatsuya
Huh... huh... HUH? (when confused) - 34 times
Drinking coffee at South Wind - 16 times
Working at South Wind - 8 times
Attends the boxing club - 10 times
Oversleeps - 12 times
Sleeps in weird place (rooftop, under desk etc) - 8 times
Real name "Tatsuya" is spoken of - 263 times
Catches a glimpse of Minami (changing, upskirt etc) - 8 times
Mistaken for Kazuya - 6 times
Falls down (trips/falls off bed) - 22 times
Pretends to be Kazuya - 3 times
Watching TV - 5 times
On the school rooftop - 16 times
Shows signs of being out of shape - 10 times
Gets dragged away by Minami - 3 times
Doing road work on his own (running) - 12 times
Calls Koutarou "Ehtarou" - 3 times
*Tatsuya's Sports Stats*
- Gets punched (in sparring or by Kashiwaba lol) - 111 times
- Knocks someone out - 1 K.O
- Knocks someone down - 3 times
- Gets knocked down - 1 times
- Throws 424 pitches
Minami
Say Kacchan - 168 times
Says Tacchan - 519 times
Talks about Koushien - 40 times
Wakes up Tatsuya - 2 times
Yellow heart pajamas - 18 times
Outside on her deck - 22 times
Referred to herself in the third person- 126 times
Makes Tatsuya some food - 7 times
Massages Tatsuya (Ouch version)- 4 times
*Minami's Gymnastic Stats*
- Ball - 14 times
- Ribbon - 15 times
- Pins - 9 times
- Hoop - 9 times
- Rope - 3 times
Kazuya
Real name "Kazuya" is spoken of - 401 times
Doing road work on his own (running) - 6 times
Listens to classical music - 4 times
Pitches thrown - 144
Calls Tatsuya Aniki -79 times
Punch
Barks - 749 times (Couldn't beat out Soichiro-san heh)
Fights/plays with Tatsuya - 17 times
Laughs - 45 times
In his dog house - 64 times
Showing his thoughts via bubble (food/girl dog etc) - 17 times
Checking out the girl dog next door - 7 times
Harada
Says Naruhodo (I see) - 35 times
Steals food - 4 times
Says Uesugi - 33 times
Eating while walking - 5 times
Other
Curly unibrow- 81 times
Rains - 16 times
Snows - 1 time
Sunsets - 59
Stolen bases - 9
Home runs - 21
Number of hit baseballs (During Meisei games) - 254
Rail road crossing noise - 15 times
In the study room - 40 times
Flashbacks to when they were kids - 31 times
Meisei school song (sung/hummed) - 10 times
Sticking out tongue- 97 times
Koutarou
Calls Tatsuya baka aniki - 19 times
Fights with Tatsuya - 27 times
Shows signs of missing Kazuya - 7 times
Encourages Tatsuya - 12 times
Kashiwaba
Blurry eye noise - 22 times
Signs of blindness - 13 times
Resorts to violence - 21 times
Shows the dog some love - 8 times
Drinks alcohol - 5 times
Smokes - 11 times
Shows his eyes - 5 times
Smirks - 17 times
Laughs - 38 times
His song plays - 18 times
Goes to South Wind - 4 times
Goes to eye doctor - 4 times
Yoshida
Says Uesugi-kun - 29 time
Nishimura
Riding his bike - 16 times
Falls off his bike - 6 times
Asks Minami out - 5 times
Says Minami-chan - 95 times
Elbow pain - 9 times
Niita
Riding motorcycle - 11 times
Yuka
Shows up at Tatsuya's house uninvited - 4 times
Minami's father (Master)
Smoking pipe - 30 times
Parents
Flirting - 15 times
Q-tip weirdness - 3 times
Princible
Wipes his face - 3 times
*Best Character Award*
Kashiwaba Eijirou
Touch was already without a doubt one of my all time favorite anime series well before he made his first appearance in episode 57. But Kashiwaba single handedly took the story to a new level. He's one of those characters who's introduced at the perfect time and one that I later wouldn't be able to accociate the show without. I find myself interested in his every move, from something so simple as smoking a cigarette to just sitting on a bench. He makes it look important and any scene is instantly maximized whenever he's on the screen.
*Best Opening Award*
Second Opening
Well it's not like I need to say which is is, right? I'm a huge fan of the romance genre even though sometimes they make me want to pull out my hair in the process. But the relationship between Tatsuya and Minami is probably the most genuine I've seen. You can make a massive list of situations that took place over the 101 episodes where if it were another series, it would have been blown out of proportion. But in Touch... that kind of stuff damn near doesn't exist. I can't think of another relationship that is so... right in every single way. But my favorite aspect is that Minami was in love with Tatsuya from the very beginning. Compared to falling for him after a certain misfortunate incident which up to that point was the "assumed" love interest by those out of their little triangle. But for us the viewer it was obvious even without the early indication (Episode 4 - The Diary) as to what her feelings were. Now that's great writing.
*Laughs* Need I say more? Punch is the man and was probably responsible for 80% of the curly unibrows on his own. Punch isn't only my favorite animal in anime, but he's one of the best characters all around since he's so colorful and has a load of personality. The laugh makes me crack up every single time especially when he just has a big grin on his face for a good while before hand. In the end he wasn't able to beat out Soichiro-san (BEAST!) in terms of barks though. He sure was on pace to, yet he's not used nearly as much in the last 20 episodes. But the funny thing is that both dogs are voiced by the same seiyuu and also have a separate role in both series. Tatsuya-Kazuya's dad in Touch and Yotsuya in Maison Ikkoku. =)