Captain Tsubasa

Captain Tsubasa (Kyaputen Tsubasa) is a Japanese manga, or comic book, that was created by Yoichi Takahashi. The series began in 1981 and ended up becoming hugely successful, spawning a video game series and an anime to be created after it. It was first published in the popular weekly magazine, Weekly Shōnen Jump, in 1981. It ran until 1988 and had 37 volumes before the final story. A sequel was created in 1994 called: Captain Tsubasa: World Youth Saga. It became popular as well, running until 1997. Still another sequel was created in 2001 called: Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002. There is still a version of Captain Tsubasa in print, called Captain Tsubasa: Golden 23.

Synopsis

This story is centered on Tsubasa Oozora. He is an Elementary student in Japan who obsesses over soccer. His main desire in life is to play for Japan and to win the FIFA World Cup. Tsubasa and his mother move to Nankatsu, which is a small town that is known for the talent of the high school soccer players. Quickly, Tsubasa discovers Ryou Ishizaka. Ryou also loves soccer, and actually skips out on his chores in order to kick the ball around. Next Tsubasa meets Sanae, another soccer lover, and Genzo, a goalie who plays extremely well. Roberto Hongo is next, and Hongo is a bit different than the rest, as he is a Brazilian soccer player. He is a friend of Tsubasa’s family, and ends up living with Tsubasa and his mother.

Roberto is known as one of Brazil’s top soccer players, and it is he that winds up mentoring Tsubasa and the other kids. He teaches Tsubasa his famous overhead kick, and eventually leaves. Tsubasa also meets Taro Misaki, a boy who has traveled the entire length of Japan. His family is settling in Nankatsu, so he ends up joining Tsubasa and his friends in their soccer dreams. The series follows the kids as they grow, and try to reach their dreams of being the best soccer players in the world.

Characters

• Tsubassa Oozora – Tsubasa loves soccer. He plays as a mid-fielder, and is nicknamed Soccer Genius for a reason. It is obvious that he was born to become a great soccer player.

• Kojiro Hyuga – Kojiro wants to become a famous soccer player in order to help his family. He is a forward and is known as being the impulsive member of the group.

• Hikaru Matsuyama – This sweeper is one of the best defenders that any of the players has ever seen. He leads the crew with care and with commitment.

• Taro Misaki – Taro has played with most of the players before he moves to Nankatsu. He ends up becoming best friends with Tsubasa, and plays mid-field.

• Makoto Soda – Makoto Soda specializes in injuring other players while the ref is looking the other way. He is a mid-fielder and is the only one to have received a red card during the game.

• Jun Misugi – This defender is extremely strong. He ended up discovering that he had a bad heart, leading him to only be able to play in the game for short amounts of time. He discovered, though, that he enjoyed coaching almost as much as he did playing.

External Links

• Website (Japanese – Flash)