Chapter 1

The Start of a Dream is the first chapter of the manga series Kowloon's Ball Parade.

Summary
The protagonist, Tamao Azukida, is introduced at the start of the story. After watching Hakuo Gakuin win the High School Baseball Tournament live, he was inspired. He trained hard daily for two years, and attends the Hakuo baseball team tryouts, where many famous players gathered, including Daichi Kunoshiro, a famous catcher from the United States. After making it through the initial test for fundamental skills, the candidates were split into two teams and played a short five-inning game as the second part of the tryouts. Tamao and Tao were assigned to Team B, while Daichi was assigned to Team A. Initially, an unnamed pitcher from team B refused to follow Tamao's signals because he had no established influence, and Daichi was able to get a home run on the very first pitch. After lagging behind by 3 points in the 2nd inning, Team B manage to stop the bleeding points with Tao's pitching and Tamao's pitch-calling, even striking-out Daichi in the process. Seeing their success, the other members of Team B were more receptive to Tamao's strategies, which they implemented and eventually achieved a victory against Team A. However, only Tao and Daichi made the Hakuo team, and Tamao did not make it since they only required one catcher. Mr Fukufukuchi, the head scout for Hakuo, explains that they were not looking for players who compensate their physical weaknesses with mental strength. Dejected, Tamao leaves and stops by the roadside to cry, thinking that his dream would end today. However, Tamao meets Tao, who rejected the offer from Hakuo, and instead makes a request to Tamao, the best catcher he has ever met, to form the best team ever.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * 1) Tamao Azukida
 * 2) Naoya Ogami
 * 3) Kei Kageyama
 * 4) Marcus Shiotani
 * 5) Mr Fukufukuchi
 * 6) Tao Ryudo
 * 7) Daichi Kunoshiro