Yoban Sādo
is a Japanese sports manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. It was published in Shogakukan's manga magazine Shōnen Sunday Zōkan from 1991 to 1993, with its chapters collected in a single volume. The story depicts the final tournament of high school baseball, at the Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya. The story's main characters are the high school baseball players Shigeo Nagashima and Kazuhisa Inao, whose names are taken from real-life Japanese baseball players Shigeo Nagashima and Kazuhisa Inao.
Aoyama referenced the story in his Case Closed manga in volumes 43 and 44.
Plot
Shigeo Nagashima is a high school baseball player who shares the name of a prolific baseball player. Initially underperforming, his fortune change when he acquires the God's Bat, a supernatural artifact containing the power of Babe Ruth. Empowered by the bat, Shigeo propels his team to Kōshien, displaying incredible prowess at the plate. However, the final match introduces a formidable opponent, the pitcher Kazuhisa Inao, armed with a glove carrying the spirit of Eiji Sawamura, one of Japan's most revered pitchers. The story culminates in a high-stakes duel between two players wielding the essence of baseball legends, testing their skill, determination, and the limits of their supernatural gifts.
Publication
Written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama, Yoban Sādo was published for six chapters in Shogakukan's manga magazine Shōnen Sunday Zōkan from the January 1991 to the February 1993 issues. Shogakukan collected its chapters in a single volume, published under the Shōnen Sunday Comics imprint on March 18, 1993. A second edition was published under the Shōnen Sunday Books imprint on December 10, 1999. A third edition was published under the Shogakukan Bunko imprint on September 13, 2003.