Kou Kitamura

Kitamura Kou is the main protagonist of Cross Game series. He is the son of the owner of Kitamura Sports. He and Wakaba are inseparable ever since, being born on the same day and same hospital. Kou shows little interest in baseball. Although he doesn't play it, he has been batting since he was 3 years old at Tsukishima Batting Center. He started practicing after losing a game with Aoba, following Aoba's training sheet which Wakaba gave and continued to motivate him. He learned to love baseball after witnessing how well Aoba Tsukishima pitches and was later on trained by her.

Appearance
Kou is quite muscular as he began training every day at an early age. He also has a problem with his bed hairs.

Personality
Kou is very understanding and dependable. Most people tend to think that he is a capable person as he is able to hide his worries and troubles quite well. Because of this, he is also known to be good at lying, able to act calmly in any situation. Kou is also very humble and sometimes doesn't seem to see how great he is. It was quoted by Wakaba that "If you think of Kou as an ordinary boy, you'll get burned. If he puts his mind to it, it's no a pipe dream for him to become the greatest pitcher in Japan."

It is also known that he and Aoba Tsukushima are well alike. They have the same personalities, ideas, actions, and dreams.

Pitching
Kou is skilled at pitching, especially in fastball. According to Junpei, he has a good form because of his great mentor (Aoba). Kou also demonstrates in pitching breaking balls like Slider.

Batting
He is an excellent batter since 5th grade as he always plays at Tsukishima Batting Center ever since he was only three years old.

Fielding
He demonstrates an average skill in fielding during his high school baseball debut.

Voice Impersonating
According to his dad, Kou has a talent for copying voices.

Aoba Tsukishima
Kou and Aoba are almost alike and people tend to think that so. They also fight a lot as it had grown as a habit since Aoba really liked Wakaba and feels that Kou is taking away their time together. Kou and Aoba have a catchphrase that they "hate each other" in the long run, usually keeping things in denial.

Aoba mentioned to Wakaba that she likes a guy who can throw a 160 km. Kou begins to train and later on develops his love for baseball. He also takes a fascination with it after witnessing Aoba pitch. Kou copied her form and made it his own which is why they have a very similar way of pitching. Since Aoba really liked Wakaba, she took her distance from Kou and rarely shows kindness to him.

The hate they have for each is seen to be actually "like/love". They tend to hide this from others and even from each other but they know in themselves that they truly respect and understand one another. They use their "hate" as their way of caring for each other. No one knows them best but themselves and they are quick to realize the other person's problem easily.

On the last episode, when Aoba asked to choose over Wakaba and Akane, Kou answered that he can't compare someone to a dead person, so Aoba said herself instead. Kou asked if he could lie, meaning, he's actually telling the truth but he's going to lie about it as it is known that he's a good liar. He answered: "We'll go to Koushien, I'll throw 160 km, and I love Tsukishima Aoba the most!"--promising to hit a 160 km to Aoba.

After the game, Kou went to give Aoba a tight hug, resting his chin on her head. Aoba slapped him in return, whispering that all this time, she hated him. Kou replied: "I know, probably more than anyone in the world," with a smile. The people were dazzled by their action, those who knew them well--particularly Azuma, Akaishi, and Nikishima--simply knew what was happening. Aoba was tearing of joy on his chest while he looked down in happiness.

In the last episode, Aoba pulled his hands so he wouldn't have to come back to the cafe and ask for a copy of the picture they have together (since she did it herself already), and thought: "why does he always do the same thing?" implying of how similar they are. Kou then asked how much longer is she going to hold his hand and she responded: "If you don't like it, you can let go." And they continued to hold each other's hands.

The very last words in the show are: "I hate him more than anyone in the world."

Wakaba Tsukishima
Wakaba has a huge crush on Kou and would always drag him with her. They are known to be inseparable as they were born on the same day, in the same hospital. Wakaba is very clingy around Kou and has huge hopes for him. She basically drew his future for him in which Kou simply followed.

Since they have the same birthday, they have a thing wherein they exchange presents for each other. Kou gets lazy in it so Wakaba made a gift list for each year. She dreams of marrying Kou one day and puts "engagement ring" on the very last one. Even after Wakaba's death, Kou continued to do it and collects them inside a box. It was quoted by Akaishi that Kou has a seasonal attitude where he gets unapproachable and avoidant in a particular time every year. This is when Kou gets the gifts for Wakaba and would do it at all cost.

Wakaba really likes Kou and even told Aoba to not take him away from her.

Akane Takigawa
Akane resembles Wakaba so much that Kou mistook her for Wakaba, yet he knows very well that she is not her. Though Kou still managed to find proof of her childhood and is convinced that she is an entirely different person. They quickly developed a strong bond due to this. Akane is also shown to be fragile and often targeted by strangers hence Kou tries to protect her. She sometimes tries to act like Wakaba and say things about what Wakaba would say if she were here. This gives Kou a strong presence of Wakaba from her despite knowing reality.

Kensaku Kitamura and Kimie Kitamura
Parent of Kou and the owner of Kitamura Sports.

Yuuhei Azuma
Azuma usually forgets people's names, disregarding people who seem unworthy of his acknowledgment. Yet despite Azuma and Kou's few glances, he was able to remember and memorize how he exactly met him. Kou was easily beaten by Azuma from having the highest home runner in Tsukishima Batting Center. He begins to work harder afterward to redeem himself as he hates losing.

Azuma never once underestimated him. Despite being in the Pre-fab group, he is aware of Kou's potential as a player. He sees how much Kou trains and respected him for his efforts. When the scouted teams left Seishu High School, Azuma stayed. He said that it was because Kou was there. And because of this, Azuma had to stay at Kou's place since there are not a lot of people at Seishu's dormitory for him to be there. Azuma eventually learns the house more than Kou himself.

When Azuma was asked who he would date, he said it would be Aoba "potentially". He later on admitted to liking Aoba. In the end, Azuma gave-up as he saw the kind of friendship Kou and Aoba has. Kou has known Aoba longer than Azuma and can fully understand her thoughts and feelings even when she's hiding them. After the game, he told Kou to hug Aoba as hard as he can. Azuma was not surprised by their reaction when they did, in fact, he rather expected it.

When Nakanishi said if he keeps prioritizing his male friends, there wouldn't be cute girls around him soon. He answered: "It's fine, there aren't many of them. Important male friends, I mean"--valuing his friendship with Kou more than his interest in Aoba.

Nomo
Tsukishima Family house pet. Kou plays with Nomo sometimes.

Trivia
-Kou used to want to become the director of a zoo

-Kou used to like big fish and wanted to be the director of an aquarium

Quote
"I see. It was simple. I just had to cry." - Kitamoura Kou to himself