One Piece (ONE PIECE（ワンピース）, Wan Pīsu?) is a long-running shōnen manga written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda, that has been serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 4, 1997. The individual chapters are being published in tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, with the first released on December 24, 1997 and the 57th volume released as of March 2010. In 2009, Shueisha announced that they sold 176 million volumes of One Piece manga so far, making it the highest selling manga in history.[1] One Piece follows the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a 17-year-old boy who gained supernatural abilities by eating a magical fruit, and his ragtag crew of heroic pirates, named the Straw Hats. Luffy's greatest ambition is to obtain the world's ultimate treasure, One Piece, and thereby become the next Pirate King.
One Piece is licensed for an English language release in North America by Viz Media. The individual chapters are being serialized in Viz's Shonen Jump manga anthology and being published in tankōbon volumes. In the United Kingdom, the series was being released by Gollancz Manga, it is now released by Viz Media along with all of their other manga previously released by Gollancz Manga. Madman Entertainment is releasing the series in Australia and New Zealand.
The series was adapted into an original video animation (OVA) produced in 1998 by Production I.G. It was later adapted into a full anime series by Toei Animation that premiered in Japan on Fuji Television on October 20, 1999. Since then, the still ongoing series has aired more than four hundred episodes. The anime series was licensed for a heavily edited English dubbed broadcast in North America by 4Kids Entertainment. It has since been licensed for a full Region 1 DVD release and broadcast by Funimation Entertainment in its original and uncut form. In addition to the anime series and OVA, One Piece has been adapted into ten feature films by Toei and multiple video games based on the series have been released. A Japanese amusement park based after the series has been slated to open in March of 2010.[2]
Plot
A boy named Monkey D. Luffy, inspired by his childhood hero "Red-Haired" Shanks, sets out on a journey to find One Piece, the legendary treasure of the King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger. To accomplish this, he must reach the end of the most deadly and dangerous ocean: The Grand Line.
Luffy captains the Straw Hat Pirates first through the sea of East Blue and then through the Grand Line. He follows the path of the deceased King of the Pirates, Gol D. Roger, from island to island on his way to the great treasure One Piece. On his way his crew grows to have a swordsman - "Pirate Hunter" Zoro, a navigator - "Cat Thief" Nami, a sniper-"Sogeking" Usopp, a cook- "Black Leg" Sanji, a doctor- "Cotton Candy Lover" Tony Tony Chopper, an archaeologist- "Demon Child" Nico Robin, a shipwright- "Cyborg" Franky, and a musician- "Dead Bones" Brook.
During the course of the story, the crew contends with other pirate crews, the royal Shichibukai and the Navy . The latter are the subordinates of the corrupt World Government, who apparently seek justice by ending the Golden Age of Pirates. Many background story elements involve the delicate balance of power between the World Government and the world's most powerful pirate crews, especially the Yonkou, the four most powerful pirates in the world.
Setting
The fictional world of One Piece is covered by two vast oceans, which are divided by a massive mountain range called the Red Line (赤い土の大陸（レッドライン）, Reddo Rain?).[3] The Grand Line (偉大なる航路（グランドライン）, Gurando Rain?), a sea that runs perpendicular to the Red Line, further divides them into four seas: North Blue (北の海（ノースブルー）, Nōsu Burū?), East Blue (東の海（イーストブルー）, Īsuto Burū?), West Blue (西の海（ウエストブルー）, Uesuto Burū?) and South Blue (南の海（サウスブルー）, Sausu Burū?).[4] Surrounding the Grand Line are two regions called Calm Belts (凪の帯（カームベルト）, Kāmu Beruto?), which experience almost no wind and ocean currents and are breeding ground for the huge sea creatures called Sea Kings (海王, Kaiō?, "Neptunians" in the English manga). Because of this, the Calm Belts are very effective barriers for those trying to enter the Grand Line.[5] While navy ships, using sea stone to mask their presence, can simply pass through,[6] most have to use the canal system of Reverse Mountain (リヴァース・マウンテン, Rivāsu Maunten?), a mountain at the first intersection of the Grand Line and the Red Line. Sea water from each of the four seas runs up that mountain and merges at the top to flow down a fifth canal and into the first half of the Grand Line.[7] The second half of the Grand Line, beyond the second intersection with the Red Line, is also known as the New World.[8]
The currents and weather on the Grand Line's open sea are extremely unpredictable, while as in the vicinity of islands the climate is stable.[9] What makes it even harder to navigate is the fact that normal compasses do not work there.[10] A special compass called a Log Pose (記録指針（ログポース）, Rogu Pōsu?) must be used.[11] The Log Pose works by locking on to one island's magnetic field and then locking on to another island's magnetic field.[12] The time for it to set depends on the island.[13] This process can be bypassed by obtaining an Eternal Pose (永久指針（エターナルポース）, Etānaru Pōsu?), a Log Pose variation that is permanently set to a specific island and never changes.[14]
The world of One Piece is filled with anachronisms, like the transponder snails (電伝虫, den den mushi?, lit. electric transmission bug), snail-like animals that can be attached to electric equipment and function as rotary phones[15], fax machines[15], surveillance cameras[16], and similar devices.[16] Dials (ダイアル, Daiaru?), the shells of certain sky-dwelling animals, can be used to store wind, sound, images, heat, and the like and have various applications.[17]
Devil Fruit (悪魔の実, Akuma no Mi?, "Cursed Fruit" in the 4Kids dub) are a type of fruit which when eaten confer a power on the eater.[18] There are three categories of devil fruit.[19] Zoan (動物（ゾオン）, Zoon?) fruits allow the user to fully and partially transform into a specific animal.[20] Logia (自然（ロギア）, Rogia?) fruits give control over and allow the user "to change their living body structure into the powers of nature".[19] Paramecia (超人（パラミシア）, Paramishia?, called "Paramythia" in the English versions) is a catch-all category for fruits that give the user superhuman abilities.[21] Devil Fruit users cannot swim.[22] When even partially submerged in sea water, they lose all of their strength and coordination, although some abilities remain; such as Luffy still being able to stretch after being totally submerged. 'Moving' water such as rain or waves does not have this effect.[23]
Production
One Piece started as three one-shot stories entitled Romance Dawn[24]—which would later be used as the title for One Piece's first chapter and volume. The two one-shots featured the character of Luffy, and included elements that would later appear in the main series. The first of these short stories was published in August 1996 in a special issue of Shōnen Jump and later in One Piece Red. The second was published in the 41st issue of Shōnen Jump in 1996 and reprinted 1998 in Oda's short story collection, Wanted!.[25]
Oda originally planned One Piece to last five years, and he had already planned out the ending, but he found himself enjoying the story too much to end it in that amount of time and now has no idea how long it will take to reach that point.[26] Nevertheless, the author states, as of July 2007, that the ending will still be the one he had decided on from the beginning and he is committed to seeing it through to the end, no matter how many years it takes.[27]
When creating a Devil Fruit, Oda thinks of something that would fulfill a human desire; he added that he does not see why he would draw a Devil Fruit unless the fruit's appearance would entice one to eat it.[28] The names of many special attacks and other concepts in the manga consist of a form of punning, in which phrases written in kanji are paired with an idiosyncratic reading. The names of Luffy, Sanji, Chopper, Robin, and Franky's techniques are often mixed with other languages, and the names of a number of Zoro's sword techniques are designed as jokes; for example, some of them look fearsome when read by sight but sound like kinds of food when read aloud. Eisaku Inoue, the animation director, has said that the creators did not use these kanji readings in the anime since they "might have cut down the laughs by about half."[29] Nevertheless, Konosuke Uda, the director, said that he believes that the creators "made the anime pretty close to the manga."[29]
The creator of One Piece was "sensitive" about how it would be translated.[30] The English version of the One Piece manga in many instances uses one onomatopoeia for multiple onomatopoeia used in the Japanese version. For instance "saaa" (the sound of light rain, close to a mist) and "zaaa" (the sound of pouring rain) are translated into "fshhhhhhh."[31]
Manga
Main article: List of One Piece manga volumes
The One Piece manga series is written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It is available in various countries and languages. In Japan, the series is published by Shueisha – chapterwise in the manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since the magazine's issue of August 4, 1997 and in tankōbon format since December 24, 1997.[32] As of September 2008[update], the series spans over 500 chapters and more than 50 tankōbon volumes.[33]
In North America, Viz Media is publishing its English language adaptation of the series – chapterwise in the manga anthology Shonen Jump since the magazine's launch in November 2002 and in tankōbon format since June 2003.[34][35][36] In the United Kingdom, the tankōbon were published by Gollancz Manga, starting March 2006,[37] until Viz Media took over after the fourteenth volume.[38][39] In Australia and New Zealand, the English volumes are distributed by Madman Entertainment since November 10, 2008.[40] As of March 3, 2010 (2010 -03-03)[update], only 38 English language volumes have been published.[41] However, in July 2009, Viz Media announced its plans to release five volumes per month during the first half of 2010.[42]
Original video animations
Two original video animations (OVAs) have been produced thus far. The first, One Piece: Defeat The Pirate Ganzack! (One Piece 倒せ! 海賊ギャンザック, One Piece: Taose! Kaizoku Gyanzakku?), was produced by Production I.G for the Jump Super Anime Tour of 1998 and directed by Gorō Taniguchi. It is 29 minutes in length and features character designs by Hisashi Kagawa. Luffy, Nami, and Zoro are attacked by a sea monster, that destroys their boat and separates them. Luffy is found on an island beach, where he saves the little girl Medaka, from two pirates. All the villagers, including the Medaka's father, have been taken away by Ganzak and his crew, as forced laborers. After hearing that Ganzak also stole all the food, Luffy and Zoro rush out to get it back. As they fight the Pirates, one of them kidnaps Medaka. A fight starts between Luffy and Ganzak, ending in Luffy's capture. Meanwhile, Zoro is urged into giving up, by threatening to kill the village people. The people from the village rise up against the Ganzak and while the islanders and pirates fight, Nami goes and unlocks the three. Ganzak defeats the rebellion and reveales his armored battleship. Now it is up to the Straw Hats, to "Defeat The Pirate Ganzak!" and prevent him from destroying the island.
The second OVA, One Piece: Romance Dawn Story, was produced by Toei Animation Jump Super Anime Tour of 2008. 34 minutes in length, it is based on the first version of Romance Dawn, the pilot story for One Piece, but includes the Straw Hat Pirates up to Brook and their second ship, the Thousand Sunny. In search for food for his crew, Luffy arrives at a port town, defeating a pirate named Crescent Moon Gally on the way. He meets a girl named Silk in town, who was abandoned by attacking pirates as a baby and raised by the mayor, which has caused her to value the town as her "treasure". The villagers mistake Luffy for Gally and capture him just as the real Gally returns. Gally throws Luffy in the water and plans to destroy the town, but Silk saves him and Luffy goes after Gally. His crew arrives to help him, and with his help, he recovers the treasure for the town, gets some food, and destroys Gally's ship.
TV anime
Main article: List of One Piece episodes
Produced by Toei Animation, the One Piece anime series debuted in Japan on Fuji Television on October 20, 1999. Since then, the still ongoing series has aired more than four hundred episodes and it has been exported to various countries around the world.
4Kids Entertainment licensed the series for an English language dubbed broadcast and release in North America. The 4Kids episodes aired in the United States on the Fox network as part of the Fox Box block, premiering on September 18, 2004. The first 143 episodes of the original were cut down to 104 in the dubbed version. The remaining content was subject to heavy editing. Sanji's cigarettes for example were turned into lollipops,[43] and "the skin of a black pirate was changed to a tan mulatto / white color."[44] In December 2006, 4Kids cancelled production of the dubbed version for financial reasons.[45]
On April 12, 2007, Funimation Entertainment announced it acquired the license for the series. After producing a new English voice dub, the company released its first unedited, bilingual DVD box set, containing 13 episodes, on May 27, 2008.[46] Similarly sized sets followed with seven sets released as of December 15, 2009.[47] The Funimation English dubbed episodes premiered on the Cartoon Network on September 29, 2007 and aired until it was cancelled on March 29, 2008.[48] The remainder of Funimation's dubbed episodes continued being aired on Australia's Cartoon Network, and then shifted into reruns of the Funimation dub before being replaced by Total Drama Island. Funimation began streaming English dubbed episodes as well as subbed episodes on their website, onepieceofficial.com. New episodes were to be streamed an hour after their original airing in Japan on May 30, though were delayed until August 29 in order to resolve security issues.[49][50] One Piece episodes are also available for streaming at Hulu.com.
In Singapore, the anime is sub-licensed (not exclusive license) by Odex, who produced an English VCD dub which lasted 104 episodes. It was produced in two 52-episode seasons, with some of the original actors leaving in between seasons.[citation needed]
In the July 2008 issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump, it was announced that the prototype one-shot that preceded One Piece, Romance Dawn, is being adapted into an anime OVA as part of the Jump Super Anime Tour.[25][51][52]
The North American anime distributor Funimation, the Japanese studio Toei Animation, the Japanese publisher Shueisha, and the Japanese broadcaster Fuji Television Network had announced that they would simulcast stream the One Piece pirate anime series within an hour of the weekly Japanese broadcast. This free, English-subtitled simulcast is now available at www.onepieceofficial.com[53] Originally set to begin on Saturday, May 30, 2009, at 9:00 p.m. CDT with episode #403, a lack of security resulted in a leak of the episode, which lead to FUNimation delaying the offer until August 29, 2009 at which point it began with a simulcast of episode #415.[54][55]
Films
Main article: List of One Piece films
Since the debut of the series on television, Toei Animation has also produced ten One Piece feature films, traditionally released during the Japanese school spring break since 2000.[56]. Although the first three films were less than an hour long and played as part of a double-bill with other anime movies.[citation needed] The films feature self-contained, completely original plots with animation of higher quality than what the weekly anime allows for.
Additionally, three of these movies have had special featurette shorts, showcasing the characters engaged in various activities unrelated to the series. They were shown dancing in Jango's Dance Carnival with Clockwork Island Adventure; playing soccer in Dream Soccer King! with Chopper's Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals; and playing baseball in Take Aim! The Pirate Baseball King with Curse of the Sacred Sword.[citation needed]
The first, third, and ninth films were directed by Atsuji Shimizu. The fourth and seventh films were directed by Kōnosuke Uda. The fifth film was directed by Kazuhisa Takenouchi. The sixth film was directed by Mamoru Hosoda. The eighth film was directed by Takahiro Imamura.[citation needed]
Music
Main article: One Piece discography
A number of musical CDs have been created. Various theme songs and character songs were released on a total of 49 singles. Many of them were also released in collected form on the six compilation albums or the 16 soundtrack CDs, along with background music from the TV anime, the series' feature films, and video games.
Video games
Main article: List of One Piece video games
One Piece has been adapted into a whole series of video games published by subsidiaries of Namco Bandai Holdings. The games have been released on a variety of video game and handheld consoles. The series features various genres, mostly role-playing games—the predominant type in the series' early years—and fighting games, such as the titles of the Grand Battle! sub-series.
The series debuted in Japan on July 19, 2000 with One Piece: Mezase Kaizoku Ou!.[57] At the moment, the series contains 27 games, not counting Battle Stadium D.O.N, the title One Piece shares with its related anime series Dragon Ball Z and Naruto. Furthermore, two unnamed titles have been announced for the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable handheld consoles.[58][59]
Manga
One Piece is the highest selling manga in the history of Weekly Shōnen Jump in Japan[80] and the first manga to increase the magazine's sales in eleven years.[81] Volume 57 holds a manga publishing record in Japan, with 3 million units published in its first printing alone. In addition of breaking the previous manga record held by One Piece volume 56, it also broke Japan's all time first print publishing record of all books, passing previous record held by Harry Potter and The Order of Phoenix [82] Overall, the series has re-written Japanese record for first print manga publication 6 times in the row with Volumes 24, 25, 26, 27, 56, and 57. [83]The first week sales of 1,690,932 also breaks Japanese all time sales record for all book in it debut week and is the fastest book to reach 2 million mark in its second week for single volume book. It is also currently the highest selling manga series of all time with over 185.6 million copies sold. [84] It is the fastest manga series to reach sales of 100 million.[27]
One Piece was the best selling manga series during 2008 in Japan with 5,956,540 volumes sold. Volumes 50, 51 and 49 placed first, second, and fourth, respectively, on Oricon's list of best selling manga volumes, with sales of 1,678,208, 1,646,978, and 1,544,000 copies sold respectively.[85] Additionally, Oricon conducted a popularity survey with Japanese male and female readers between with ages ranging from ten to forty to determine the "Most Interesting Manga of 2008". In that survey, the four One Piece volumes published that year, volumes 49, 50, 51, and 52, placed first with an approval rating of 45.9%.[80] In ICv2's list of "Top 25 Manga Properties Fall 2008", One Piece made a 15th place.[86]
According to ANN, which gathers its rankings for Oricon, One Piece maintained it's top spot in 2009 with 14,721,241 copies sold, more than second [Naruto] and third place [Bleach] combined. [87] The four volumes released during that time frame 53, 54, 52, 55 ranked 1-4 respectively for single volume sales. [88]
Anime News Network comments that the art style of the One Piece manga requires "time to get used to" with its "very simple" artwork and its designs, which appear "very cartoonish" at first. They also note that the influence of Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball) shines through in Oda's style of writing with its "huge [sic] epic battles punctuated by a lot of humor" and that, in One Piece, he creates a "rich tale" without focusing too much on plot.[89] Active Anime describes the art work in One Piece as "wonderfully quirky and full of expression".[90] Splashcomics comments that Oda's "pleasantly bright and dynamic" (German: "angenehm hell und dynamisch") art style suits the story's "funny and exciting" (German: "witzigen und ... spannenden") atmosphere.[91] EX lauds Oda's art for its "crispy" monochrome pictures, "great use of subtle shade changes" on color pages, "sometimes exquisite" use of angles, and for its consistency.[92] Shaenon K. Garrity, who at some point edited the series for Shonen Jump, said that, while doing so, her amazement over Oda's craft grew increasingly. She states that "he has a natural, playful mastery of the often restrictive weekly-manga format", notes that "interesting things [are] going on deep in the narrative structure", and recommends "sticking through to the later volumes to see just how crazy and Peter Max-y the art gets."[93] Mania Entertainment writer Jarred Pine comments that "One Piece is a fun adventure story, with an ensemble cast that is continuing to develop, with great action and character drama." He lauds Oda's artwork as "imaginative and creative" and comments that "Oda's imagination just oozes all of the panels". He also comments that "Oda's panel work [...] features a lot of interesting perspectives and direction, especially during the explosive action sequences which are always a blast", though he complains that the panels can sometimes get "a little chaotic".[94]
[edit] Awards
The manga was a finalist for the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize three times in a row from 2000 to 2002,[95][96][97] with the highest number of fan nominations in the first two years.[98]
And the German translation of its 44th volume won the Sondermann audience award for international mangacategory, a yearly comic award given for 7 categories by the Frankfurt Book Fair, the Frankfurter Rundschau, Spiegel Online and comicforum.de[Comixene] since 2004, on the Frankfurt Book Fair Comics Centre in 2005.[99][100][101]
In a 2008 poll by Oricon, Japanese teenagers elected it the most interesting manga.[102]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Piece
Captain Tsubasa (キャプテン翼, Kyaputen Tsubasa?), also known as Flash Kicker,[1] is a popular long running Japanese manga, anime, and video game series, originally created by Yōichi Takahashi in 1981. The series mainly revolves around the sport of Football.
The story focuses on the adventures of a Japanese youth football team and its football captain Tsubasa Oozora[2] (大空 翼, Ōzora Tsubasa?), whose name literally translates to "Big Sky Wings". The series is characterized by dynamic football moves, often stylish and implausible. The plot focuses on Tsubasa's relationship with his friends, rivalry with his opponents, training, competition, and the action and outcome of each football match.
The Captain Tsubasa manga series was originally serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump manga magazine between 1981 and 1988, spanning a total of 37-tankōbon volumes. It was continued onto a sequel, Captain Tsubasa: "World Youth" Saga, which was serialized between 1994 and 1997 in Shōnen Jump, spanning 18 volumes, and another sequel, entitled Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002, which was serialized between 2001 and 2004 in Weekly Young Jump, which spanned 15 volumes. The manga is still running, with the latest sequel entitled Captain Tsubasa: Golden-23, serialized in Weekly Young Jump from 2005 to currently.
The original Captain Tsubasa manga series was adapted soon into an anime series, produced by Group TAC and Toei Animation, whose first season premiered in Japan on the TV Tokyo network between 10 October 1983 and 27 March 1986. This first series tells only the synopsis of the first 25 volumes. Four anime movies followed soon, between 1985 and 1986, continuing the storyline. In 1989 a new anime series, entitled Shin Captain Tsubasa, was produced by Shueisha and CBS Sony Group inc. and spanned 13 OAV. Shin captain Tsubasa tells the manga synopsis from volume 25 to volume 36. The anime series was followed soon after into a second sequel, entitled Captain Tsubasa J, produced by Nippon Animation, Studio Gallop, which aired between October 21, 1994 and December 22, 1995 in Japan on the Fuji Television network and spanned 47 episodes, as well an OVA series, Captain Tsubasa: Holland Youth, which was published in 1994. The anime series was continued on further into a third sequel, Captain Tsubasa: Road to Dream, also known as Captain Tsubasa ~ Road to 2002, the latest anime adaptation of the series, produced by Group TAC and Madhouse Studios, which aired in Japan between October 7, 2001 and October 6, 2002.
All of the versions of the Captain Tsubasa anime series has been broadcast by the anime satellite television network, Animax, across its original network in Japan and later across its respective networks worldwide, including East Asia, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and other regions. It has also been broadcast across several other regions over the world, including South America, Europe and the Middle East. The success of the series also spurred several Nintendo Super Famicom video game adaptations. Enoki Films holds the United States license to Captain Tsubasa, under the title Flash Kicker.
Captain Tsubasa
Tsubasa Ozora is a young Japanese Elementary school student who is deeply in love with football and dreams of one day winning the FIFA World Cup for Japan. He lives together with his mother in Japan, while his father is a seafaring captain who travels around the world.
Tsubasa Ozora is known as the Soccer no Moshigo which translates as "heaven-sent child of soccer". When he was only barely a year old, he was almost run over by a rushing bus while playing with a football (soccer ball). However, Tsubasa had held the ball in front of him which served as a cushion for most of the impact. The force of the bump blew him away, but he was able to right himself over again with the ball. Hence, Tsubasa Ozora's motto of "The ball is my friend". Ever since he was little, he always went out with a football. His mother now having concluded that he was indeed born only to play football. At a very young age, Tsubasa Ozora already has amazing speed, stamina, dribbling skills and shotpower, astounding anyone who sees him play.
At the beginning of the story, both of them move to the city of Nankatsu, a town well-known for their talented high school football teams, and where Tsubasa meets Ryo Ishizaki, a football-loving young student who often sneaks out from his mother's public bathrooms and chores in order to play football, Sanae Nakazawa (also known as Anego), a young enthusiastic girl who also loves football and helps cheer the Nankatsu High team on, and Genzo Wakabayashi, a highly talented young goalkeeper whom he soon challenges to a game in Nankatsu's annual Sports Festival. He also meets Roberto Hongo, one of the best Brazilian football players, who is a friend of Tsubasa's father, and who arrives in Japan and starts living with Tsubasa and his mother. Roberto becomes a mentor to Tsubasa and helps him to harness his football skills, convincing him to join Nankatsu Elementary and its fledgling high school football team, which Roberto coaches later as he passes his techniques onto Tsubasa.
Tsubasa also meets Taro Misaki, who has travelled around Japan due to his father's job and soon joins Nankatsu, and the two become the best of friends in both the pitch and real life, forming a partnership soon to be renowned as the "Golden Duo" or "dynamic duo" of Nankatsu. Soon Tsubasa and his Nankatsu team start taking on the best of high school football, meeting such talented players as Kojiro Hyuga,[2] Ken Wakashimazu, Jun Misugi, Hikaru Matsuyama, and many others. His Nankatsu squad wins numerous youth national championships, and wins the U-16 World Championships for Japan, before leaving the country to play in Brazil.
World Youth
Tsubasa leaves Japan for Brazil, and starts playing, with his mentor Roberto as the manager, for São Paulo[3] (F.C. Brancos in the anime[4]) , in Brazil's premier professional league, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, winning the final against Flamengo (F.C. Domingos in the anime), 4-3. While in Brazil, Tsubasa gets to meet several talented Brazilian players, such as his teammate and roommate Pepe, who comes from humble backgrounds to become one of the primary playmakers in the squad along with Tsubasa, and Flamengo playmaker Carlos Santana, a prodigious talent.
Enthusiastic football-loving youngster Shingo Aoi, whom Tsubasa once played against while in the high school national championships, leaves Japan to play football in Italy, where he hopes to play for a major Italian professional team. After arriving in Italy, however, Shingo gets tricked by a man who gives him fraudulent promises of getting him selected for an Italian team, but after Shingo is taken to a badly-furnished field, the man runs away, stealing all his money in the process. Shingo realizes that he is swindled, and tries hard to get his money back, doing such jobs as shoeshining, and his enthusiastic attitude catches the eye of one of the coaches of Inter Milan (Intina in the CTJ Anime), who sign him to play for their squad as an attacking midfielder.
The Japan's youth side plays the first phase of AFC Youth Championship without Taro Misaki, Makoto Soda, Hiroshi Jito, Shun Nitta, the Tachibana brothers Masao and Kazuo, and Kojiro Hyuga. After Tsubasa, Wakabayashi and Shingo join the team, it defeats Thailand 5-4 after being 4-1 down at one stage. In the second phase Japan beats Uzbekistan 8-1, China 6-3 and Saudi Arabia 4-1. In the semifinals Japan beats Iraq 3-0. The Japanese win the Asia Youth title beating South Korea 2-0 and qualifying for the FIFA World Youth Championship.
In the first phase Japan defeats Mexico 2-1, Uruguay 6-5 and Italy 4-0. In the quarterfinals, they beat Sweden 1-0 and Netherlands 1-0 in the semifinal. The Japanese win in the "Great Final" the World Youth Championship, defeating Brazil 3-2 after extra time with Tsubasa scoring a hat-trick and the golden goal despite the fact that Brazil used a new player at the extra time called Natureza, who became the third person to score a goal on Wakabayashi from outside the goal area - the first being Karl Heinz Schneider of Germany, and second being Sho Shunko of China.
Tsubasa moves from São Paulo to F.C. Barcelona[5](FC Catalunya in the anime), in the Spanish Liga, after the end of the FIFA World Youth Championship final, taking his childhood friend and now wife, Sanae. He asked her out before moving to Brazil, and the couple maintained a long-distance relationship before he proposed to her after the World Youth Championship.
[edit] Road to 2002
While Tsubasa moves from São Paulo (Brancos in the anime) to Barcelona[5](Catalunya in the anime), Kojiro Hyuga is bought by Juventus (F.C. Piemonte in the anime). Tsubasa plays very well in training, displaying all his skills, but the Dutch coach Van Saal (Edward in the anime, inspired by Louis van Gaal, who coached Barcelona at the time) demotes him to FC Barcelona B,[5] the reserve team that plays in the second division, because Tsubasa and Rivaul (inspired by Rivaldo) cannot play together whilst Rivaul holds a key position for playmaking.[4]
Meanwhile, Kojiro Hyuga plays for his first game for Juventus (Piemonte in the anime) against Parma in the Italian Serie A, but does not score because of his physical imbalance. Juventus coach Carlo Monetti replaces him with David Trezeguet (David Tresaga in the anime), who scores the winning goal as Juventus beat Parma 1-0.
In Germany, Genzo Wakabayashi[2] and his Bundesliga team, Hamburger SV (Grunwald in the anime version), play against Bayern Munich (Routburg in the anime version), led by Karl Heinz Schneider. Wakabayashi makes many great saves, impressing players and coaches from both teams. But in an attempt to win at the final moment despite the coach's decision to aim for a draw, Wakabayashi left the goal area to take a free kick shoot that was stopped at the last second, which give Bayern a chance to counter attack on an undefended goal, allowing them to win 2-1.
In Spain the liga championship begins and the match between Barcelona (led by Rivaul) and Valencia (San Jose in the anime) (who have just bought Tsubasa's old rival Carlos Santana) ends 2-2. Tsubasa watches the match from the tribune (in the anime version Tsubasa plays as a substitute in the match and scores a goal).
In the 2nd stage of the Japanese J. League, Júbilo Iwata, led by Misaki, Gon Nakayama (inspired by real player Masashi Nakayama), Ishizaki and Urabe, defeat the Urawa Red Diamonds led by Igawa and Sawada, 2-1. In other J. League matches, F.C. Tokyo, led by Misugi, draws 1-1 with Consadole Sapporo, led by Matsuyama.[6] In Italy, Hyuga and Aoi are bought respectively by Reggiana and Albese.
In Spain, Tsubasa plays three matches with FC Barcelona B and he records 12 goals and 11 assists in three matches. Tsubasa is inserted in the Barcelona lineup because of an injury of his rival Rivaul and the disastrous results of the Barça (one point in four matches), and plays the Súper Clásico against Real Madrid, who have just bought his old rival Natureza. Tsubasa ends the match with three goals and three assists and Barcelona wins 6-5.
Go For 2006
This is the epilogue of Captain Tsubasa Road to 2002. It is composed of five chapters. This manga follows Kojiro Hyuga and Shingo Aoi in Italy. In this manga, Kojiro Hyuga plays in AC Reggiana while Shingo Aoi plays in Albese. Kojiro Hyuga makes a hard training and he makes his debut scoring a hat-trick.[7]
Golden-23
While Tsubasa plays for Barcelona against Real Valladolid, recording a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win, the 23 players of Japan's U-22 national team ("The Golden-23") are convoked to play two friendly matches against Denmark and Nigeria.
Two futsal players, Kazami and Furukawa, join the national team and display great skills, scoring two goals in a training match. Meanwhile, the Japan U-20 side led by Takeshi Sawada win the AFC Youth Championship, defeating South Korea 6-5 on penalty kicks in the final. In Brazil, Minato Gamo, the former coach of the U-20 national team, tries unsuccessfully to convince Soga, a Japanese player who plays in Vasco da Gama, to join the national team.
Tsubasa's wife Sanae informs him that she is pregnant. In Japan the match with Denmark begins. At the end of the match Japan-Denmark Japan defeats Denmark 4-2 (scorers: Misaki (J), Haas (D), Nitta (J), Nitta (J), Matsuyama (J), Haas (D)).
In Germany Hamburger SV plays a Bundesliga match and Genzo Wakabayashi isn't in the line up because of the bad relationship with the coach Zeeman. In January probably Hamburg will sell him to another team. A lot of teams want buy Wakabayashi such us ACF Fiorentina, A.S. Roma, Bayern Munich and Werder Bremen. Minato Gamo meanwhile wants to convince Igawa, a player who can play in all the roles (Goalkeeper, Defender, Midfielder, Forward), to join the national team. In Spain FC Barcelona plays a liga match against Real Betis and Tsubasa scores two goals and makes an assist for Rikaar. In Japan Genzo Wakabayashi joins the national team.
The match Japan-Nigeria begins and Nigeria plays very well. It has two champions Ochado (that plays in Paris SG) and Bobang (that plays with Shingo Aoi in Albese). After some minutes from the beginning of the match Nigeria has the first great opportunity to score the first goal in the match with a penalty kick but the Japanese goalkeeper Genzo Wakabayashi saves in corner kick. Wakabayashi saves another shot and makes an assist for Ken Wakashimazu who scores a goal with an overhead kick. However Nigeria scores two goals with Bobang and Ochado. Nigeria at the end of the first half is winning 2-1. Meanwhile Minato Gamo convinces Gakuto Igawa to join the national team. The second half begins, the Japan attacks and during the injury time Misaki scores the equalizing goal. The match ends 2-2.
In Spain Barcelona wins 3-2 the match against Valencia led by Carlos Santana
In Japan, the match Japan-Paraguay begins, at the end Japan defeats Paraguay 3-0(scorers: Gakuto with his Bullet Shoot, Wakashimazu with a Jumping Head, Nitta with a Running Volley Shoot).
In Spain, Barcelona plays against Atlético de Madrid, this team is very good and Fersio Torres (inspired by Fernando Torres) quickly scores a goal. But Barcelona replies quickly and Tsubasa scores a goal with his famous Overhead Kick and another goal with a Twin Shoot Tsubasa-Rivaul.
The Asia qualifications begins and Japan beats Malaysia (6-0 for the first match and 5-0 for the return match), Thailand (2-0 for the first match, 3-0 for the return match), and Bahrain (score unknown for the first match and 5-0 for the return match) and qualifies to the third round. In the third round Japan beats Vietnam 5-0, draws against Saudi Arabia 1-1 and loses against Australia 3-1. Standings after Day 3 (of 6): Australia 9; Japan and Saudi Arabia 4; Vietnam 0. Only the first classified is admitted to Olympic Games.
In the Day 4, Japan defeats Saudi Arabia 2-0. Unfortunately, Australia defeats Vietnam 5-0. In Day 5, Japan defeats Vietnam 4-0 and Australia draws against Saudi Arabia 1-1. Standings after Day 5 (of 6): Australia 13; Japan 10; Saudi Arabia 5; Vietnam 0. In the last day Japan plays against Australia. If Japan defeats Australia 3-0, 4-1, 5-2, 6-3 etc. qualifies to Olympic Games. If Japan wins 3-1, 4-2, 5-3 etc. plays a playoff against Australia. The match against Australia begins and Japan scores the first goal of the match with Tachibana brothers's skylab hurricane; unfortunately Tachibana brothers gets injured and are substituted by Wakashimazu and Nitta.
Nitta scores another goal. Japan tries to score the third goal but unfortunately all their shots hit the bar or are saved by the goal keeper. In the second half Australia scores the goal of 2-1 but Japan reacts and scores two goals (scorers: Igawa and Misaki). Japan wins 4-1 and qualifies to Olympic Games.
Kaigai Gekito in Calcio
One-shot released in Japan in 2009. It's composed by 24 chapters. This one-shot tells the Serie C-1 match between Reggiana and Albese. This match is the challenge between the tiger Kojiro Hyuga (Reggiana) and The Prince of the Sun Shingo Aoi (Albese). Hyuga scores two goals in the first half, showing to be strongly improved in physical game. However in the second half, Albese reacts and scores two goals. Hyuga eventually scores the victory goal in the last minute, allowing his team to be promoted into Serie B. Albese is disapointed for its defeat because they wrongly think that Albinoleffe won against Ravenna and overtook them in standings. Actually Albinoleffe lost 2-1 to Ravenna, and this means that both Reggiana (1st) and Albese (2nd) are promoted. Both teams celebrate their promotion.
Tsubasa Oozora (大空 翼, Ōzora Tsubasa?)
* Date of birth: 28 July
* National team jersey number: #10
* Position: Mid-fielder
* Nickname: Heaven Sent Child of Soccer, Soccer Genius, Field Samurai
* Tsubasa, the title character, is a boy whose was destined to become a born football player. His name translates to “Wings”. His love and dedication towards the game is truly great. With his cheerful and positive personality, he overcomes many hardships in his quest to become a world-class star player. He made many friends every where he goes; even some ill-tempered players are fascinated by his friendliness. All his shots were powerful and his techniques are unique and were difficult to follow. The name Ozora can also be romanized as Ohzora (as used in some video games), Oozora (as used in some English translations) or Ōzora (as used in traditional Hepburn), although the official romanization is Ozora.[8] He is renamed Oliver Hutton in the European adaptations and Oliver Atom in the Latin American ones.
* Main Techniques: Drive Shoot, Flying Drive Shoot, Skywing Shoot
o Other Techniques (some of them he learnt while playing with others): Barcelona Roulette (In Barça team), Heel Lift, Golden Combi (with Taro Misaki), Golden Trio (with Taro Misaki and Shingo Aoi), Sky Dive Shot, Japan Dive (with All-Japan in world youth), Overhead Kick (from Roberto), Drive Pass, Flying Drive Pass, Twin Shoot (with Taro), Drive Tiger Twin Shot (with Hyuga), Chokkaku Feint (from Shingo), Green Cut Pass (from Misaki), Back Spin Pass, Counter Arrow Shoot, Foul Inducing Dribble, Gamnen Block (from Ishisaki), Back Flip and acrobatics (from Dias), Sorachû Soccer Tachibana Kyô (from Tachibana Bros.), Jumping Pass, Rolling Overhead Kick (from Santana), Santana Turn (from Santana), Skylab Defense (from Tachibana Bros.), Rivaul Turn (from Rivaul)
Genzo Wakabayashi (若林 源三, Wakabayashi Genzō?)
* Seiyū: Kōichi Hashimoto (Captain Tsubasa); Shinichiro Miki (Captain Tsubasa J); Kenichi Suzumura (Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002)
* Date of birth: 7 December
* National team jersey number: #1
* Position: Goalkeeper
* Nickname: SGGK (Super Great Goalkeeper)
* Genzo Wakabayashi is an extroardinary goalkeeper who can catch almost anything thrown at him. Not many shots can come past Genzo. A charismatic guy, Genzo is also loyal to his friends and he is firm with his decisions. Genzo always keeps his feelings to himself and people close to him as seen in Shin Captain Tsubasa, when he's willingly criticize his teammates' performance in order to make them realize that football in Europe is different than what they play in Japan. His actions caused a lot of Japanese players to dislike him and Genzo only told Tsubasa his true intentions. From early childhood, he has aimed to be the best goalkeeper in the world. He tended to be selfish, and brag about his skills before he met and played a couple of games against Tsubasa. After his match against Tsubasa, he has learned to enjoy the game with his other teammates. The name Genzo can also be romanized as Genzou (as used in some English translations) or Genzō (as used in traditional Hepburn), although the official romanization is Genzo.[9] Called Benji Price in the European adaptations.
* Special Techniques: Straight Defense and Upper Defense
Kojiro Hyuga (日向 小次郎, Hyūga Kojirō?)
* Seiyū: Hirotaka Suzuoki
* Date of birth: 17 August
* National team jersey number: #9
* Position: Forward
* Nickname: The Moko, The Fierce Tiger, Tiger Striker
* To help his family, Kojiro Hyuga wants to be a professional player, an ace striker. His devotion to football and his persistence to shoot the goal is outstanding. He was both Tsubasa’s and Genzo’s top rival. A great guy, Hyuga is not only strong, he is also tough but at the same time caring. Can be a bit impulsive at times, though. He was once famous because of his roughness and many players were scared of him. But, Hyuga is actually a kind boy who cares about his family and friends. In the World Youth series, Hyuga was one of the 7 players to be excluded from the Japanese National team after they lost 3 group matches with Real Japan 7 (R.J.7). Determined to get back into the team, Hyuga developed a new shot, the Raijuu shot, a shot which is a bit similar to Tsubasa's Drive Shoot, except that Hyuga's Raijuu Shot is a ground shot that will curve upward, unlike Tsubasa's Drive Shooter which will go up then curve downward. Hyuga always plays with his shirt's sleeves rolled up all the way to the shoulders. The name Kojiro Hyuga can also be romanized as Kojirou Hyuuga (as used in some English translations) or Kojirō Hyūga (as used in traditional Hepburn), although the official romanization is Kojiro Hyuga.[10] Called Mark Lenders in the European adaptations.
* Special Techniques: Chokusenteki (Straight line) Dribble, Tiger Shot, Neo-Tiger Shot, Raiju Shoot, Overhead Kick and Toho Golden Combi
Taro Misaki (岬 太郎, Misaki Tarō?)
* Date of birth: 5 May
* National team jersey number: #11
* Position: Mid-fielder
* Nickname: Field Artist
* He came to Nankatsu a few days after Tsubasa, whom he becomes his best friend. Taro moves from one place to another, following his father who works as a traveling artist. Before he met Tsubasa at Nankatsu, he played with Hyuga, Takeshi and Ken at Meiwa and with Matsuyama at Furano. Taro is sweet, kind and loyal to his friends. He is also sensitive to everybody’s feelings. Taro is a tender-hearted boy who is always smiling. But don’t underestimate him because he is as skilful as Tsubasa. Taro is also one of the 7 members to be excluded from the Japanese National Team after they lost to R.J.7 in 3 group matches in the Captain Tsubasa J series. The Boomerang Shot and the Boomerang Pass was something Taro developed after he was excluded from the Japanese Team. On Captain Tsubasa Golden-23, he has proven that he can play without Tsubasa, assuming the position of playmaker. Called Tom Baker in the European adaptations.
* Special Techniques: Boomerang Shoot, Green Cut Pass and Golden Combi
Jun Misugi (三杉 淳, Misugi Jun?)
* Date of birth: 23 June
* National team jersey number: #24/#14
* Position: Defender / Part-time coach
* Nickname: Field no Kikoshi (Field Prince), Ace of Glass
* Jun Misugi is easily one of Japan’s best players. Unfortunately his failing heart condition forces him to play for only a short time almost every game. During Japan's match against Argentina, Japan's coach silently thought to himself that Jun would have been Japan's top player(even better than Tsubasa) if it wasn't for his current heart injury; indeed, Jun scored Japan's final goal in that match. He completely recovered in the World Youth Series though. Jun is strong-willed and dedicated besides being kind and clever. Jun can read the opposing team’s formation and tactics even when he is not playing on the field; not to mention his ability on how to control his opponent’s movements. Called Julian Ross in some European adaptations, or Andy Johnson in others.
* Special Techniques: Drive shoot, Overhead Kick and Off-side strategy
Hikaru Matsuyama (松山 光, Matsuyama Hikaru?)
* Date of birth: 21 June
* National team jersey number: #12
* Position: Sweeper (defending midfielder)
* Nickname: Wild Eagle
* Hikaru Matsuyama is one of the best defenders in the world. He can intercept many passes and shots from the opposing team. Matsuyama is selfless and he is a smart leader. But he can be very reserved sometimes. Matsuyama is well-known for his great ball control and accuracy. It was stated in an episode of Captain Tsubasa that he is considered to have the best footwork among the Japanese players. Any team would be very lucky to have him as a defender. His trademark shot called Eagle Shot or Arawashishot(Wild Eagle Shot), a powerful ground shot. In the Captain Tsubasa original series, it is said that Matsuyama's Arawashi Shot was inspired when he watched a group of girls playing volleyball with the Furano team manager and later his girlfriend, Yoshiko Fujisawa. However, in the Road to 2002 / Road to Dream series, the Arawashi Shot was something Matsuyama thought up himself to defeat Tsubasa and Nankatsu FC. Called Armand Callahan in some European adaptations; others change his first name to Philip, retaining the Western surname.
* Special Techniques: Eagle shoot, Eagle tackle, Avalanche strategy
Shingo Aoi (葵 新伍, Aoi Shingo?)
* Date of birth: 12 March
* National team jersey number: #20
* Position: Mid-fielder
* Nickname: Prince of the Sun, Green light,Midfield's Dynamo
* Excellent player who debuted in the series in the World Youth saga, previous number 12 of Nakahara FC and later went to train to Italy but previous to that he received three coins from Tsubasa that Aoi keeps as luck charms. He played in FC Inter Milan and became friends with Gino Hernandez, and he developed a grude against Gentile. After two years of training in that team, he was called to go back to the Japanese Youth Team to play against Thailand. He left Inter to go to play for a Serie C1 team, Albese. He's very fast and has excellent techniques, even becoming friends with Tsubasa and Misaki to made a "Golden Trio". Called Rob Denton in the European adaptations.
* Special Techniques: Overhead Kick, Chokkaku Feint, Chokkaku Tornedo Feint, Golden Trio(With Tsubasa and Misaki), Chokomaka Defense(One-Shot All Stars), Hinotama Press(One-Shot All Stars), Shinkansen Shoot, Twin Shoot, Heikaku Feint, Fake Chokkaku Feint, Chokkaku Dribble, Matanuki Shoot, Matanuki Rovesciata, Various Angle Feint.
Makoto Soda (早田 誠, Sōda Makoto?)
* Date of birth: 10 July
* National team jersey number: #7
* Position: Defender
* Nickname: Ace Killer, Kamisori Fighter
* Makoto Soda is a fearsome defender who knows how to injure people with tackles without the referee's knowledge. He is quite fast and he tends to put effects on his balls when he passes or shoots. A bit like Hyuga and Napoleon, he is an impulsive person and can get into a fight with someone. His various techniques include Kamisori Shoot, Kamisori pass and Kamisori tackle.
* Special Techniques: Kamisori Shoot, Kamisori Centering and Kamisori Tackle
Shun Nitta (新田 瞬, Nitta Shun?)
* Date of birth: 22 March
* National team jersey number: #18
* Position: Forward
* Nickname: Speed Star, Falcon Fighter
* Shun Nitta is one of the youngest player in Japan. But he is the fastest runner there. Being a forward in Japan national team, Nitta has an incredible speed. It is said that he can run 100 metres in 11 seconds or less. Nitta is very kind and he respected all the players on the team. Although he is a bit arrogant and impulsive at first, Nitta can be considered as one of the most talented forward in Japan.
* Special Techniques: Falcon Shoot, Jumping Falcon Volley Shoot, Running Falcon Shoot and Left Falcon Shoot
Ken Wakashimazu (若島津 健, Wakashimazu Ken?)
* Date of birth: 29 December
* National team jersey number: #17
* Position: Goalkeeper, Forward
* Nickname: SGKK (Super Great Karate Keeper)
* Ken Wakashimazu is one of Japan’s top goalkeepers. He used to be a karate fighter before becoming a goalkeeper. Known as the“ Karate Keeper ”, Ken uses his karate skills and speed to his advantage as a goalkeeper. A cool guy, Ken is faithful to his best friends, which are Hyuga and Takeshi. He is a bit conceited at first, though. Ken is calm and can read one team’s tactics very quickly. However, he always gets competitive with Genzo in seeing who is a better goalkeeper. In the new Golden-23 series he becomes a forward and scores a goal in a friendly match against Nigeria. Called Ed Warner in some European adaptations, and Richard Tex-Tex in others.
* Special Techniques: Shuto Defense & Sankaku geri defense, Overhead Kick
Ryo Ishizaki (石崎 了, Ishizaki Ryō?)
* Date of birth: 1 April
* National team jersey number: 4
* Position: Defender
* Nickname: Monkey
* Ryo is Tsubasa's best friend since the story's very beginning. Though Ishizaki's soccer techniques are far from Tsubasa's level, his strong will and relentless personality has won himself a position in the national team. A demonstration of this is shown during World Youth Cup Finals when Ishizaki was knocked out-cold by blocking an extremely powerful shot at close distance with his face. Called Bruce Harper in the European adaptations.
* Special Techniques: Face Block Defense, Banana Shoot
Takeshi Sawada (沢田タケシ, Sawada Takeshi?)
* Date of birth: 2 January
* National team jersey number: 15
* Position: Mid-fielder
* Nickname: Star of Next Generation, Extension of Golden Age
Masao Tachibana (立花 政夫, Tachibana Masao?)
* Date of birth: 6 October
* National team jersey number: 2
* Position: Mid-fielder, Defender
* Nickname: Air Monkey
* Special Techniques: Aerial Soccer, Skylab Hurricane (with Kazuo or Jito)
Kazuo Tachibana (立花 和夫, Tachibana Kazuo?)
* Date of birth: 6 October
* National team jersey number: 3
* Position: Mid-fielder, Defender
* Nickname: Air Monkey
* Special Techniques: Aerial Soccer, Skylab Hurricane (with Masao or Jito)
Hiroshi Jito (次藤 洋, Jitō Hiroshi?)
* Date of birth: 29 April
* National team jersey number: 5
* Position: Defender
* Nickname: Giant
* Jito is a huge player. Because of this he always guards the other team's tallest player, as in the World Youth series he had to defend China's tallest member, Hi Sho, despite lack of jumping power, and Saudi Arabia's Vulcan, who is 210 cm. At first, he was a terrifying rival for Tsubasa. In the Shin Captain Tsubasa series, he scored a goal for the Hirado Football team by blowing Morisaki into the net with the ball. Tsubasa repaid him by doing the same, getting Jito in the net with his Drive Shoot.
* Special Techniques: Hirado Combi (with Sano), Skylab Hurricane (with Tachibana twins)
Mitsuru Sano (佐野 滿, Sano Mitsuru?)
* Date of birth: 2 August
* National team jersey number: 16
* Position: Mid-fielder
* Nickname: Field Acrobat
* Sano is a brilliant Midfielder. He and Jito form the Hirado Combi. He keeps the ball very skillfully from opposing players. His ball keeping ability can only be edged by Matsuyama.
* Special Techniques: Hirado Combi (with Jito)
Mamoru Izawa (井沢 守, Izawa Mamoru?)
* Date of birth: 20 December
* National team jersey number: #8
* Position: Mid-fielder
* Nickname: Field Soldier
* Mamoru Izawa is a substitute of Japan. He is a specialist at headers and usually wins most of his heading duels. He also has a good team play especially with Kisugi and Taki. The three of them form the Shutetsu Trio which is a combination of fast passes to each other. Izawa is the most skillful in the Shutetsu Trio. Although Izawa is only a substitute of Japan, he has proved himself several times that he was a good defender. In the new Golden-23 series, in a match vs Denmark, he replaces Jito and showed that he was capable of defending.
* Special Techniques: Shutetsu Trio
Hajime Taki (滝 一, Taki Hajime?)
* Date of birth: 8 August
* National team jersey number: #13
* Position: Forward
* Nickname: Excellent Wing
* Hajime Taki is a substitute of Japan. His best friend is Kisugi and they have always been together since primary school. Together with Kisugi and Izawa, The three of them form the Shutetsu Trio which is a combination of fast passes to each other. He is reasonably fast and his favourite technique is to run straight along the right side line of the field.
* Special Techniques: Shutetsu Trio and Nankatsu Silver Combi
Teppei Kisugi (来生 哲兵, Kisugi Teppei?)
* Date of birth: 15 May
* National team jersey number: #19
* Position: Forward
* Nickname: Maintainer of Score of Shutetsu
* Kisugi Teppei is a substitute of Japan. His best friend is Taki and they have always been together since primary school. Together with Taki and Izawa, the three of them form the Shutetsu Trio which is a combination of fast passes to each other.
* Special Techniques: Shutetsu Trio & Nankatsu Silver Combi
Yuzo Morisaki (森崎 有三, Morisaki Yuzō?)
* Date of birth: TBD
* National team jersey number: #22
* Position: Goalkeeper
* Nickname: STGK (Super Tenacity Goalkeeper), SGGK (Super Ganbari Goalkeeper)
* Yuzo Morisaki is the third-string goalkeeper of the team. At first, he doesn't standout very much. He was just a replacement keeper for Wakabayashi in Nankatsu. In The World Youth series versus Thailand, he was the starting keeper, as Wakashimazu left the team and Wakabayashi is still injured and in Germany. Even if he took 4 goals, which was a 4-1 start for Thailand, he held his own until Wakabayashi miraculously went to the game and praised him for his efforts, in which he managed to crash on the goal bar just to save a shot, where he got his nickname, STGK.
Foreign
Karl Heinz Schneider (Germany)
* Date of birth: 4 July
* National team jersey number: #11
* Position: Forward
* Team: Bayern Munich (Germany)
* Nickname: The Kaiser, King of German football
* He is the captain and ace striker of the German team. He is also the guy whom Genzo admired the most when he was in Germany since many shots from Schneider were untouchable. He can be called the European version of Tsubasa since they're surprisingly similar in looks (their only real differences are the eye and hair colors; Tsubasa has black hair and brown eyes, while Schneider has blond hair and blue eyes). Schneider is very sweet and kind in real life (he loves his family dearly, specially after his parent's close divorce), but he is very dangerous on the field and is a very noble and dignified rival to Genzo.
* Special Techniques: Fire Shot, Non-Fire Shot, Chokusenteki Dribble
Carlos Santana (Brazil)
* Date of birth: May 1
* National team jersey number: #11
* Position: Forward
* Team: Valencia CF (Spain)
* Nickname: Son of the Soccer God, Soccer Cyborg
* Special Techniques: " Arrow Jumping Overhead(Inspired by Tsubasa), Rolling Overhead, Rising Arrow Shoot(Inspired by Tsubasa), Santana Turn, Skywing Shoot(From Roberto), Tornado Arrow Skywing Shoot(Inspired by Roberto,Tsubasa and Hino), Twin Shoot(With Natureza)
Elle Sid Pierre (France)
* Date of Birth: August 16
* National team Jersey Number: #10
* Position: Mid-fielder
* Team: Paris Saint Germain (France)
* Nickname: Field Artist, Beautiful Beast
* He is the Captain, and Play maker of the France team. El Sid (Alcide) Pierre is the son of a multi-millionaire, he was disgusted with how he was treated because of this whether it was with favoritism or discrimination. His only outlet was football, he practiced football because in football there are no relations, poor or rich, the rules are the same for everyone, and everyone's objective is the ball. Pierre is very patriotic and places enormous pressure upon himself to perform well for France. He has developed a rivalry with Misaki of Japan.
* Special Techniques: Slide Shoot, Off-side Strategy, Eiffel Attack(with Napoleon)
Juan Diaz (Argentina)
* Date of Birth: January 25
* National team Jersey Number: #10
* Position: Mid-fielder
* Team: Argentinos Juniors (Argentina)
* Nickname: Heaven-sent Child of Soccer, Soccer Genius
* He is the Captain and top scorer of the Argentina team. At first Diaz is arrogant and conceited, but he is somewhat humbled after his match with Japan and duel with Tsubasa. Diaz has been playing football since he was 7 months old, and is considered to be a Soccer Genius. Throughout Argentina no one of his age group could compete with him, at 12 years old he was recruited by his hometown's club along with his best friend Alan Pascal. Diaz is very talented and has been deemed to be the next generation superstar of Argentina Soccer, even being compared to Diego Maradona. Because of their talents and similarities he has developed a rivalry with Tsubasa of Japan.
* Special Techniques: Drive Shooter, Argentina Golden Combi(with Pascal), Drive Shoot, Acrobatics
Gino Hernandez (Italy)
* Date of Birth: February 4
* National team Jersey Number: #1
* Position: Goalkeeper
* Team: Internazionale FC (Italy)
after Gino recognized Aoi's potential and determination. Gino's skills as a keeper is superb as he is able to stop many great shots from many great players. Gino also has the ability to remain calm in dire situations and create strategies as he displayed in Italy's match against Japan.
Natureza (Brazil)
* Date of Birth: -
* National team Jersey Number: #10
* Position: Forward
* Team: Real Madrid FC (Spain)
* Nickname: King of Soccer
Brazil, by been born in there he never play in any club of soccer and only train in his village with his friends. He is nicknamed the King of Soccer because of his great ability with the ball, he has all the attributes to be the greatest soccer player in the world, only compared to Tsubasa Barcelona. He is still playing for the Real Madrid and we can see that a second confrontation with Tsubasa is about to happened in a chapter of the Golden-23 but the result is remain unknown.
* Special Techniques: Aurora Feint, Back Heel Pass, Kakudo 0 no Shoot (angle 0 shoot), Nidan Flying Drive Shoot, Rabona Feint, Flying Drive Shoot, Heel Lift, Jumping Volley, Overhead Kick, Handoshusoku Jinho (Reverse Shoot), Twin Shoot(With Roberto Carolus and Santana), Basketball Ball Keep, Brazil Golden Trio (with Santana and Rivaul)
Non-players
* Sanae Nakazawa (中沢 早苗, Nakazawa Sanae?) (known as Anego -"older sister"- in the anime series): Ozora Tsubasa's cheerleader, team manager, girlfriend and later wife. In the new Golden-23 series she is pregnant.
* Yayoi Aoba: Tsubasa's first friend and Sanae's and Jun Misugi's close friend.
* Yoshiko Fujisawa: Hikaru's assistant and later girlfriend. She moved to the United States, to return some months later.
* Kumi Sugimoto: Sanae's close friend, who joins the Nankatsu club because of her crush on Tsubasa. When she declares her love for him but he tells her that he loves Sanae, she accepts it and encourages him to tell her.
* Yukari Nishimoto: Originally from Nagasaki, she's the cousin of Jito Hiroshi and the best friend of Sanae. In the WYC manga, she falls for Ryo Ishizaki and they later start dating.
* Kaori Matsumoto: First the castout for the Toho team, later Hyuga Kojiro's manager.
* Roberto Hongo (ロベルト本郷, Roberuto Hongō?):A former Brazilian player who was forced to retire after an eye injury. Trained Tsubasa and Nankatsu's Team, and later, became the coach for Brazil.
Manga
Main article: List of Captain Tsubasa chapters
* Captain Tsubasa (1981-1988 in Weekly Shōnen Jump; 37 volumes)
* Captain Tsubasa Boku wa Misaki Taro (lit. I am Taro Misaki) (one-shot)
* Captain Tsubasa: Saikyo no teki:Holland Youth (one-shot)
* Captain Tsubasa: "World Youth" Saga (1994-1997 in Weekly Shōnen Jump; 18 volumes)
* Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002 (2001-2004 in Weekly Young Jump; 15 volumes; 144 chapters)
* Captain Tsubasa Millennium Dream (one-shot)
* Captain Tsubasa Final Countdown (one-shot)
* Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002 - Go for 2006 (5 chapters included in the 15th volume of Captain Tsubasa Road to 2002)
* Captain Tsubasa FCRB (one-shot)
* Captain Tsubasa Golden Dream (one-shot)
* Captain Tsubasa: All Star Game (one-shot; 5 chapters)
* Captain Tsubasa: Golden-23 (2005-2008 in Weekly Young Jump; 12 volumes)
* Captain Tsubasa Japan Dream 2006 (one-shot)
* Captain Tsubasa Kaigai - Gekito in Calcio (May 2009-September 2009 in Weekly Young Jump)
* Captain Tsubasa Kaigai - Gekito Hen En La Liga (February 2010-Present in Weekly Young Jump)
Anime
* 1983 ~ 1986: Captain Tsubasa (TV Series)
* 1985/07/13: Captain Tsubasa: Europe Daikessen (Movie)
* 1985/12/21: Captain Tsubasa: Ayaushi! Zen Nihon Jr. (Movie)
* 1986/03/15: Captain Tsubasa: Asu ni Mukatte Hashire (Movie)
* 1986/07/12: Captain Tsubasa: Sekai Daikessen! Jr. World Cup! (Movie)
* 1989 ~ 1990: Shin Captain Tsubasa (OVA Series)
* 1994: Captain Tsubasa Saikyou no Teki! Holland Youth (OVA)
* 1994 ~ 1995: Captain Tsubasa J (TV Series)
* 2001 ~ 2002: Captain Tsubasa Road to 2002 (TV Series: officially known as simply Captain Tsubasa and "Road to Dream")
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Tsubasa
Monkey Turn (モンキーターン, Monkii Taan?) is a shōnen manga by Katsutoshi Kawai. The manga was serialized in Shōnen Sunday. The manga spawned two anime series, "Monkey Turn" and "Monkey Turn V". The series won the Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2000.
Plot
The series follows Kenji Hatano, a young man who sets out to master conquer the world of kyōtei (hydroplane racing). Over the course of the series he develops a serious rivalry with fellow racer Hiro Doguchi.
Characters
Masaya Funebashi
Initially a high school student who was dreaming of being a professional baseball player but then quit after losing this match against this other school. His teacher saw talent in Funebashi then introduces him into the world of motorboat racing. He promises to become the top racer in Japan within three years. He realizes this feat by mastering the "monkey turn" a type of high speed cornering used in boat racing.
Takehiro Doguchi
Masaya's principal rival, his style of racing is much reviled by other racers on the circuit.
Sumi Ubukata
Masaya's childhood friend and romantic interest. She is very supportive of Masaya, and attends all of his races.
Ranks
The ranks is as follows from ascending order. B2 - Beginner Level B1 A2 A1-Top Level
Competition
Every year there are competitions in motorboat racing.Beginners will start at B2 they will slowly rank up by their winning percentage rate. At A1 they have a chance entering the Special Grade Cup(SG Cup)They need a certain percentage rate to go in the SG Cup. The people who can enter the SG Cup is 4 people from each area in Japan. There is also a Prize Money Cup . The prize money cup lasts for four days. And the people who can enter the Prize Money Cup is the top 12 prize money winners. Prize money cup is the last match for the whole year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_Turn
Keroro (ケロロ, Keroro?) is a fictional manga and anime character and the main protagonist of Mine Yoshizaki's Sgt. Frog series. In the anime, he is voiced by Kumiko Watanabe. In the English dub he is voiced by Todd Haberkorn. In Cantonese he is voiced by Joyce Luk.
Overview
Keroro is a sergeant of Planet Keron's Army, and the commander of the Keroro Platoon.
According to Earth's Gregorian calendar, Keroro's birthday is December 9.[1] His blood type is O. Watanabe, Keroro's seiyū, has stated that she played Keroro as someone who was about 45 years old. Keroro described himself to be a child when Nintendo started selling the Game & Watch systems.[2]
Keroro's name comes from the Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound a frog makes ("kerokero").
Physical appearance
Keroro's body is green, accompanied with a yellow headgear with a red star in the middle (a yellow star is also seen on Keroro's stomach). According to Lieutenant Garuru, the star is the symbol of the Keron Force as well as its commanding officers[3]. The star itself has the ability to lend it's dignity to the wearer. However, since Keroro lacks character, the effect is nullified while he wears it. [4]When Keroro is met with an explosion, he suddenly grows a large black afro as a running gag reference to "Afro Gunsou", the anime's first ending theme song.
Personality
Despite his role as leader, Keroro can be lazy and cowardly at times. He can be extremely selfish, sometimes sacrificing his friends wellbeing for his own safety. Keroro constantly schemes plans to siphon money from the people of earth to either fuel his invasion schemes, or to buy more Gundam models. Despite a vow he made to keep the Hinata's separate from his invasion of earth,[5] their constant meddling in his plans usually has him restraining them, and occasionally trying to bully Natsumi.
Hobbies
Keroro's hobbies include manga/television (his favorite being "Captain Geroro") and internet surfing, but is especially enthusiastic about the creation and compilation of Gunpla (Gundam plastic models), possessing numerous models in his room. In addition, whenever Keroro sees a banana peel on the ground, Keroro steps on it without fail, as it is apparently his devout wish to entertain the masses.[6]Keroro also enjoys tormenting and playing pranks on Giroro and Natsumi. As seen in an episode where he doodles on Natsumi's face and he pours chilli sauce in his nose.
Childhood
Long ago on Planet Keron, Giroro, Pururu, and Dororo were childhood friends of Keroro. Keroro had a "Go to the place where one is told not to go, and enter the place where one is told not to enter" way of life, which often led the four friends on numerous, often dangerous, adventures. Inspired by his Father, famed war veteran, Keroro had his sights toward becoming a soldier. He would often wear a fake Keron Star on his chest, hopeful of achieving the rank of captain. Sometime between his time on Keron and on earth, he met Kururu and Tamama and formed the Keroro Platoon.
Life on Earth
Upon arriving on earth, the Keroro Platoon somehow got separated. Keroro lurked in the Hinata household until he was discovered by Natsumi and Fuyuki, after which he was captured. With the Kero Ball, his weapon, taken from him by Fuyuki and his army having abandoned him, Keroro easily surrendered. The freeloader (formerly a prisoner of war) becomes troublesome for the Hinata Family. Each time he is found guilty of something, Natsumi physically abuses him to no end. But now, through being the housekeeper of the Hinata household, Keroro has become familiar to living an adventurous life on Earth. Keroro remains a love and hate relationship with the family members, the hate with Natsumi and the love with Fuyuki and Aki Hinata.
Strengths
Because of his everyday life as the house cleaner in the Hinata household, Keroro is an exceptional cleaner and curler.
Though Keroro often displays no combat prowess whatsoever, he was responsible for the scar across Giroro's eye. [7]
If Keroro is exposed to an environment with high humidity, he will slip into a state of mind where he is his former self from "Back Then". During which, he will actually act as a more competent captain, issuing Natsumi's restrain and going forth with the invasion of earth. He also gains the ability to throw Keropa enregy balls in this form. While in this state, Keroro is more powerful than any of his subordinates, as it is implied that sometime in the past (presumably "Back Then") he was an exceptional soldier. The only thing that can free him from this mania is an attack by a Nyororo or being scared straight by Fuyuki's anger.
Keroro is also an excellent pilot with mechs, shown when he and his squad face and defeat the rampaging Shurara's mutated helmet, which had by then consumed Shurara.
Weaknesses
According to the anime, Keroro's biggest fear is his own father. Furthermore, Keroro slips on any banana peel laid out in front of him. Whenever Fuyuki says the word 'friend', Keroro becomes consumed with feelings of guilt. In addition, he dislikes capsicums[citation needed]. Keroro is also a drooling otaku for all things Gunpla, which is by far his biggest weakness.
Relationships
Keroro gets along well with Fuyuki, unlike with Natsumi who considers the invaders a nuisance. Keroro is the son of the famously powerful Demon Sergeant. He is idolized by Tamama who has a type of possessive affection for him while Angol Mois has a more mutual affection, though Keroro doesn't realize Mois' attempts to get closer.Giroro thinks Keroro wasn't cut out to be leader. Another of Keroro's closest friends is Aki Hinata who, though she at first considered the invaders as just an idea for a new manga, now considers them as part of her family. He is childhood friends of Giroro and Dororo (formerly Zeroro), though he seemed to abuse and take advantage of Dororo at every turn through their early years. He is also in love with Pururu.
Speech mannerisms
Keroro mostly speaks in the first person. In his more high-strung moments, he speaks with a Kumamoto tone.
Keroro usually ends his sentences with 'de arimasu', which roughly translates to 'sir yes sir' and is a standard military sentence ending.
Whenever Keroro is scheming, he emits a raspy "Ge~ro gero gero...". Lastly, whenever he speaks English words, such as 'radio' or 'no problem', he rolls any R's in it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keroro_%28character%29
Bleach (ブリーチ, Burīchi?, Romanized as BLEACH in Japan) is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Tite Kubo. Bleach follows the adventures of Ichigo Kurosaki after he accidentally obtains the power of a Soul Reaper—a Japanese death personification similar to the Grim Reaper—from Rukia Kuchiki. Gaining these abilities forces him to take on the duties of defending humans from evil spirits and guiding departed souls to the afterlife.
Bleach has been continuously serialized in the Japanese manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump since August 2001, and has been collected in 43 tankōbon volumes as of October 2009[update]. Since its publication, Bleach has spawned a substantial media franchise. The manga has been adapted into an animated television series produced by Studio Pierrot which is still ongoing in Japan as it adapts the story from the manga. The series has also spawned two original video animations (OVAs), three animated feature films, seven rock musicals, and numerous video games, as well as prompted the release of many types of Bleach-related merchandise.
Viz Media licensed the manga for English-language publication in the United States and Canada and has released 28 volumes as of September 2009[update]. In addition, it has been publishing the chapters in Shonen Jump since November 2007. On March 15, 2006, Viz obtained foreign television and home video distribution rights to the Bleach anime. Cartoon Network began airing Bleach as part of its Adult Swim block on September 9, 2006, in the United States. The first film, Bleach: Memories of Nobody was released in North America on Region 1 DVD by Viz on October 14, 2008, with the second film Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion released in North America on Region 1 by Viz on September 15, 2009.
Compilation volumes of the manga have sold over 50 million copies in Japan and reached the top of manga sales charts in the United States. The anime adaptation has been similarly received, rating as the 7th most popular anime television series in Japan in 2006, and in the top ten anime for the US from 2006 to 2008. The series received the Shogakukan Manga Award for the shōnen demographic in 2005, and is among the best-selling manga properties in both Japan and the United States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_%28manga%29
