The ball is your friend!" The world's most popular soccer comic "Captain Tsubasa" returns in an animated TV series! Press Conference Event Report

On Wednesday, December 13, 2017, a press conference was held at TV Tokyo to announce the decision to adapt the world popular soccer comic "Captain Tsubasa" into a TV anime.

Captain Tsubasa" is a soccer comic by Yoichi Takahashi that began serialization in Weekly Shonen Jump (Shueisha) in 1981. The manga depicts a young soccer boy, Tsubasa Ozora, who believes that "the ball is your friend," and how he grows through games against teammates and many rivals, triggering a huge soccer boom in Japan when soccer was still at a low ebb in popularity. The popularity of the series has spread outside of Japan, and it is a very popular work loved by soccer boys all over the world.

To date, three TV series, five theatrical productions, and one OVA have been produced.

At this event, the original author, Yoichi Takahashi, took the stage first. He was supported on stage by former soccer player Go Kitazawa and TV personality Sou Takei. They talked about their love for "Cap Tsubasa.

Mr. Kitazawa and Mr. Takei shared a story about how they were all baseball players before the original comic book was published, but when the popularity of "Cap Tsubasa" began to grow, they were immediately surrounded by soccer players. The talk showed how epoch-making and influential "Cap Tsubasa" was.

After the talk, the key visuals and PV images were shown for the first time. In the PV, new visuals of popular characters were introduced one after another, along with the names of the cast members, and famous scenes from the original work appeared.

Then, Yufuko Sanpei, who plays Tsubasa Ozora, and Kenichi Suzumura, who plays Genzo Wakabayashi, took the stage. From here, a five-person talk ensued.

Sanpei commented with joy, "To be honest, I never thought I would be able to call myself 'Tsubasa Ozora' from a national work that even I, who do not know much about soccer, am familiar with. I never thought I would get to play the role of Wakabayashi Genzo in the third TV animation series that aired in 2001. At the time, it had been 7 to 8 years since my debut. I met Genzo Wakabayashi in the year when I was able to eat a little bit of rice. I was a newcomer at the time, so I remember playing the role with a lot of enthusiasm.

As for the highlights of the new series, Sanpei said, "The staff loves "Captain Tsubasa" so much that once they start talking about it, they can't stop. I want to express that passion in the voices of the characters" and Suzumura said, "The highlight of the new series is that it is faithful to the original work. I tried to give as much attention to the nuances of the original lines as possible.

In addition, Mr. Takahashi revealed that he asked the staff to follow the original story in the TV anime adaptation, while changing the period setting to the present day instead of the 80s when the series was serialized. He also commented that the design of the soccer wear and terminology had been modified to match the modern era. He also said, "We asked them to depict scenes that might not be considered compliant, such as passing a ball under a bus or practicing passes on a station platform, as exactly as in the original story as much as possible. I think people who watched the film back then will be able to watch it with a sense of nostalgia," he said.

The main production staff for this film includes director Toshiyuki Kato, music by Hayato Matsuo, sound director Miwa Iwanami, and animation production by David Productions, all of whom have worked on the "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure" series. The cast has also been partially revealed.

Some of the cast members have also been announced. Ayaka Fukuhara will play Taro Misaki, Mutsushin Tamura will play Ryo Ishizaki, Takuya Sato will play Kojiro Hyuga, and Katsuyuki Konishi will play Roberto Hongo.

In addition, a portal site and official Twitter ( # ) have been opened. The latest information on anime and projects will be posted here, so be sure to check it out as well.

Broadcasting is scheduled to begin in April 2018 on TV Tokyo affiliate. The series will be broadcast on TV Tokyo in April 2018, and will be the focus of attention in conjunction with next year's FIFA World Cup in Russia.

(c)Yoichi Takahashi/Shueisha, 2018 Captain Tsubasa Production Committee

Staff Information

Director: Toshiyuki Kato ("Level E" director, "JoJo`s Bizarre Adventure: Diamonds Will Break" series director)

Series Composition: Atsuhiro Tomioka ("Pokemon Series" scenario)

Character Design / Chief Animation Director: Hajime Watanabe ("Kick Off to the Galaxy! Ojarumaru" character design)

Music: Hayato Matsuo ("JoJo's Bizarre Adventure," "Final Fantasy XII" animation and game music)

Sound Director: Miwa Iwanami ("JoJo`s Bizarre Adventure", "Girls und Panzer", etc.)

Animation Production: David Production ("JoJo`s Bizarre Adventure" series, "Level E" production)

Cast Information

Cast Information】・Oozora Tsubasa: Sanpei Yufuko

Genzo Wakabayashi: Kenichi Suzumura

Ayaka Fukuhara as Taro Misaki

Mutsushin Tamura as Ryo Ishizaki

Takuya Sato as Kojiro Hyuga