Captain Tsubasa (キャプテン翼) is the name of the first anime based in the original manga of the same name by Yoichi Takahashi.
The anime can be streamed on Vudu and Apple TV.
Description[]
It was originally broadcast from 1983-10-13 to 1986-03-27 in TV Tokyo (Japan). It has been released since then in several countries with huge success, being the most well known animated version of the franchise.
In North America, Enoki Films made the English dub and changed the name to "Flash Kicker".
Episodes[]
| # | Original title | Translated Japanese | English title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 001 | 大空へはばたけ | Spreading his wings into the sky | A new soccer freak comes to town |
| 002 | 燃えろサッカー小僧 | The passionate football prodigy | The lifelong rival |
| 003 | 明日に向って、キック・オフ | Kick off for tomorrow | Kick it off for tomorrow |
| 004 | ボールは友だち | The ball is my friend | Soccer ball is my best friend |
| 005 | ライバルはどこだ | Where is the rival? | Tsubasa's First Game |
| 006 | ゴールをかためろ | Fortify the goal | Block it in the goal! |
| 007 | 運命のロングシュート | Fate's long shot | Roberto's Dream |
| 008 | さわやかコンビ誕生 | Birth of a fresh combination | A perfectly combined duo |
| 009 | ラストチャンスにかけろ | Go for the last chance! | Go for the last chance! |
| 010 | 夢はブラジルへ | Dream of Brazil | A long hard way to Brazil |
| 011 | はぐれ狼小次郎あらわる | The stray wolf, Kojiro appears | Here comes a lone wolf, Kojiro |
| 012 | めざせ！日本一 | Aim for no. 1 in Japan! | Toward the All Japan Championship |
| 013 | 泥まみれの熱戦 | Heated game in the mud | A fast game in the mud |
| 014 | フィールドの貴公子 | Young Noble of the Field | Young noble in the field |
| 015 | 傷だらけのキーパー | A keeper full of wounds | Beat down Kobayashi! |
| 016 | 夢はひとつ燃えろイレブン | Eleven, one burning dream | The new Captain Hawk |
| 017 | 開幕！全国大会 | Begin! National Championship | The National Championship opens |
| 018 | 宿命の対決!翼VS小次郎 | Fateful confrontation! Tsubasa vs. Kojiro | Fatal confrontation; Tsubasa vs. Kojiro |
| 019 | 恐怖の弾丸シュート | The fearful bullet shot | The fearful shot |
| 020 | サッカーは俺の夢だ！ | Football is my dream! | Soccer is my dream |
| 021 | 泣くな!翼 | Don't cry, Tsubasa! | Tsubasa's tears |
| 022 | 双子のストライカー | Twin strikers | Tsubasa vs. the soccer freak |
| 023 | 石崎の大チョンボ | Ishizaki's big blunder | Ishizaki's big blunder |
| 024 | 空中大決戦 | Decisive battle in the air | Great midair battle |
| 025 | 俺が大会一のキーパーだ！ | I'm the best goalkeeper in the tournament! | I'm the best goalkeeper in the championship |
| 026 | ガラスのエース | Ace of Glass | The glass ace |
| 027 | ベスト４！激突 | Clash of the best 4! | Clash in Semi-Final |
| 028 | 北国の熱きイレブン | The fiery eleven from the northern region | Brave fighters from the north |
| 029 | 血みどろの対決 | Desperate confrontation | Fierce confrontation |
| 030 | 傷だらけの貴公子 | A young noble full of wounds | A wounded prince |
| 031 | 華麗なる対決 | Brilliant showdown | A brilliant fight |
| 032 | 翼をワナにかけろ | Tsubasa caught in a trap | Catch Tsubasa in a trap! |
| 033 | とべない翼 | Tsubasa can't fly | "I can't play!" |
| 034 | よみがえれ翼 | Tsubasa's resurrection | Rise from the dead, Tsubasa! |
| 035 | 淳死なないで | Don't die, Jun! | Don't die. Jun! |
| 036 | ボクの心臓まだ動いている | My heart is still pounding | My heart is still pounding |
| 037 | 奇跡の超ロングシュート | Miraculous super long shot | Miracle! An ultra-long shot! |
| 038 | 眠れる猛虎・小次郎 | The sleeping fierce tiger, Kojiro | Kojiro is a sleeping lion |
| 039 | 復活！天才キーパー若林 | Comeback! Genius keeper Wakabayashi | Revival! |
| 040 | 出た！先制のツインシュート | Fly! The head start Twin Shot | Head start with shots |
| 041 | 激突！若林対小次郎 | Clash! Wakabayashi vs. Kojiro | Wakabayashi vs. Kojiro |
| 042 | 猛虎よ牙をむけ！ | Show your fangs, fierce tiger! | Roar! The lion! |
| 043 | 危うし！ゴールデンコンビ | Dangerous! Golden Combi | Nankatsu falls in a crisis |
| 044 | 炎のダイビングヘッド | Flaming diving header | Courageous diving-head |
| 045 | ピンチ！エースなき戦い | Pinch! A battle without the ace | A game without the ace |
| 046 | やった！石崎得意の顔面ブロック! | Yes! Ishizaki's specialty, Face Block! | Nankatsu is in a big trouble! |
| 047 | 小次郎のＶサイン | Kojiro's V-sign | Kojiro's victory sign |
| 048 | 奇跡を呼ぶトリプルシュート? | A triple shot that brings miracle? | Could Nankatsu catch up? |
| 049 | 灼熱の延長戦 | Extra time in the scorching heat | Extra innings in midsummer |
| 050 | ああ幻のゴール!? | Aah, a phantom goal!? | The goal that had never been made |
| 051 | オレたちは負けない！ | We won't lose! | We're not going to lose! |
| 052 | 死闘！再延長戦! | Fight to the end! Extra time, again! | Hold tight! Nankatsu! |
| 053 | 復活！ゴールデンコンビ | Revival! Golden Combi | The golden pair is back |
| 054 | 最後の決戦!翼対小次郎 | The final battle! Tsubasa vs. Kojiro | Decisive battle; Tsubasa vs. Kojiro |
| 055 | 栄光そしてサヨナラ | Glory, and then farewell | Glory and then Farewell |
| 056 | それぞれの旅立ち | Each one's departure | Departure |
| 057 | オレたち中学三年生 | We're in the 3rd year of junior high school | We're in the 9th grade |
| 058 | Ｖ３への熱きスタート! | A hot start to the V3! | Let's get the 3rd victory! |
| 059 | 新たなるライバル | New rival | Nankatsu vs. Otomo School |
| 060 | 翼よ！フィールドの鷹になれ! | Tsubasa! Become a hawk of the field! | You're a hawk in the field, Tsubasa! |
| 061 | ノートラップ隼シュート! | No Trap Peregrine Falcon Shot! | No trap. Falcon shoot! |
| 062 | 挑戦者たちのララバイ | Challengers' lullaby | A lullaby of a challenger |
| 063 | 打倒・翼！オレがヒーローだ | Defeat Tsubasa! I'm the hero! | I'm your rival |
| 064 | 甦ったエース・三杉淳 | The resurrected ace, Jun Misugi | Hyuga vs. Mitsugi |
| 065 | 夢の対決！三杉対小次郎 | The dream confrontation! Misugi vs. Kojiro | To Tsubasa from Europe |
| 066 | ヨーロッパ発翼くんへ | To Tsubasa from Europe | Battle of Mitsugi and Kojiro |
| 067 | フィールドに散った貴公子 | The young noble fell on the field | The prince disperses over the ground |
| 068 | 若林からの手紙 | A letter from Wakabayashi | A letter from Wakabayashi |
| 069 | 牙をとぐ猛虎・小次郎 | Kojiro, a fierce tiger sharpening his fangs | Tiger sharpens his fangs |
| 070 | めざせＶ３！波乱の開幕 | Aim for the V3! A stormy opening | A stormy opening-game |
| 071 | 決めろ！ドライブシュート! | Go! Drive Shot! | You can do it! A drive-shoot! |
| 072 | 防げ！必殺のカミソリシュート | Defend! The surefire Razor Shot | Defense against a razor-cutting shoot |
| 073 | ライバルたちの熱き足音 | Passionate footsteps of rivals | Enthusiastic footsteps of opponents |
| 074 | 出た！スカイラブ・ハリケーン! | Fly! Skylab Hurricane! | Hurricane comes out! |
| 075 | 翼よ誰よりも高く飛べ | Tsubasa, fly higher than anyone else | Fly higher than anybody else |
| 076 | 立花兄弟・必殺のコンビプレー | Tachibana twins, deadly combination play | Tsubasa goes to battlefield again |
| 077 | 決めろ！スライディングシュート! | Go! Sliding Shot! | Go and make it - a sliding shoot! |
| 078 | 激突！ベスト８ | Clash! Best 8 | Clash of the best eight teams |
| 079 | 北の荒鷲・松山光 | The wild eagle of the north - Hikaru Matsuyama | The eagle of North - Hikaru Matsuyama |
| 080 | ベールをぬいだ怪童次藤洋 | Hiroshi Jito, the big young man that took off his veil | An unknown boy - Hiroshi Tsugito |
| 081 | 羽をもがれたフィールドの鷹 | The hawk of the field with broken wings | The hawk that lost his wings |
| 082 | 気迫の連続ドライブシュート! | Continuous Drive Shots of spirit | A high-spirited drive-shoot! |
| 083 | 激突！ゴール前の死闘 | Clash! A desperate struggle in front of the goal | Desperate struggle in front of the goal |
| 084 | 不滅のチームワーク | The immortal teamwork | The immortal teamwork |
| 085 | 燃えあがれ！ベスト４ | Burn up! Best 4 | Ardor of the best four |
| 086 | 若島津・無念の初失点 | Wakashimazu, conceding a regrettable first goal | First loss point of Wakabayashi |
| 087 | オリの中の猛虎・小次郎 | Kojiro, a fierce tiger in a cage | A tiger in a cage |
| 088 | 怒りのタイガー軍団!! | The anger of the tiger corps! | The tiger troop!! |
| 089 | 岬太郎のヨーロッパ便り | A letter from Taro Misaki in Europe | A letter from Europe |
| 090 | 夢のヨーロッパ遠征・選ばれるのは誰か!? | Who will be chosen for the dream European campaign!? | Guess who will be selected |
| 091 | フィールドに翔べ！鷲と鷹! | Fly onto the field! Eagle and hawk! | Fly over the soccer field! |
| 092 | 北の荒鷲・無敵のロングシュート | The northern wild eagle - invincible long shot | An invincible long shoot |
| 093 | 勝利への逆襲 | Counterattack to victory | A way to victory |
| 094 | 猛攻！四連続シュート | Fierce attack! 4 consecutive shots | Consecutive four shoots |
| 095 | 傷だらけの翼よみがえれ不死鳥 | Wounded Tsubasa - the phoenix resurrects | Phoenix rises again |
| 096 | さらば北の戦士 | Farewell, northern warrior | Farewell to the fighter from North |
| 097 | 猛虎の挑戦状 | Challenge of the fierce tiger | Challenge of the tiger |
| 098 | ヨーロッパの熱き誓いを思い出せ | Remembering the passionate vow in Europe | Hard time in Europe |
| 099 | 翼対イングランド重戦車軍団 | Tsubasa vs. English heavy tank corps | Tsubasa vs. English heavy tanks |
| 100 | あらたなる試練 | A new trial | Another ordeal |
| 101 | 燃えるフィールド翼対ピエール!! | The scorching field, Tsubasa vs. Pierre!! | Tsubasa vs. Pierre!! |
| 102 | 倒せ！ヨーロッパ・ナンバーワン! | Defeat them! Europe's number one! | Crash No.1 team in Europe! |
| 103 | 無敵の皇帝・シュナイダー | The invincible emperor - Schneider | Incredible attack of 'Emperor' Schneider |
| 104 | 栄光へのラストキック | Last kick of glory | Last kick of honor |
| 105 | 宿命の対決、ふたたび | Fateful confrontation, again | The fatal battle again |
| 106 | 世紀のラスト・ファイト | Last fight of the century | The last fight |
| 107 | 先制のスーパーショット! | Initiative super shot! | Control the mid-field! |
| 108 | 逆襲のドライブシュート | Counterattack with Drive Shot | Counter-attack with driving shoots |
| 109 | 火をふくタイガーショット! | Tiger Shot bursting into flames! | Exploding tiger shot! |
| 110 | 王者・南葛最大の危機 | The biggest crisis of the champion, Nankatsu | Nankatsu is in desperate trouble |
| 111 | 奇跡のドライブシュート | Miraculous Drive Shot | A miracle happens |
| 112 | 日向小次郎の反撃！ | Kojiro Hyuga's counterattack! | Challenge of Kojiro Hyuga! |
| 113 | 舞い上がれ！不死鳥 | Fly high, Phoenix! | Fly high, Phoenix! |
| 114 | 燃えろ！炎のチームワーク | Burn! Blazing teamwork | Blazing teamwork |
| 115 | 夢のダイビング・オーバーヘッド | Diving overhead of dream | Victory of play-for-the-team |
| 116 | ラストゴールは俺が取る！ | I'll get the last goal! | I'll get the last ball! |
| 117 | 守り抜け！俺たちのゴール! | Defend! Our goal! | Defend our goal to the end! |
| 118 | 走れ翼！勝利のゴールへ | Run Tsubasa! To the goal of victory | Run for the victory, Tsubasa! |
| 119 | 運命のタイム・アップ | Fate's time-up | The time is up |
| 120 | 駆けぬけろ！Ｖ３はオレたちの夢! | Run through! V3 is our dream! | Go and get V-3. It's our dream! |
| 121 | 奇跡をよぶフィールドの鷹 | The field's hawk that brings miracle | The hawk calling for a miracle |
| 122 | 復活オレたちのキャプテン | Revival of our Captain | Revival of our Captain |
| 123 | 翼の最終作戦!! | Tsubasa's last strategy!! | Tsubasa's last strategy!! |
| 124 | 傷だらけのヒーロー | The injured hero | The injured hero |
| 125 | 栄光そして新なる旅立ち | Glory... And a new journey | Glory... And a new journey |
| 126 | 最高の友俺と若林源三 | My best friend. Genzo Wakabayashi | My best friend. Genzo Wakabayashi |
| 127 | 永遠のパートナー俺と岬太郎 | My eternal partner. Taro Misaki | My eternal partner. Taro Misaki |
| 128 | はばたけ！輝ける戦士たち! | Spread your wings! Shining warriors! | Soar up in the sky, the glorious players! |
Production[]
The series was produced between 1983 and 1986 by Tsuchida Production, consisting in 128 episodes which tell only the story of the 25 tankobon of the original manga. Episode 066 adapts the special short story Boku wa Misaki Taro. Every episode lasts circa 24 minutes including the opening and ending themes. The opening theme is followed by a recap of the previous episode and the episode title, after which the episode starts, whose start could be re-narrated in a slightly different way from wheat happened at the end of the previous episodes. At the end of the episodes, the preview of the following episodes were aired alongside the ending theme.
About the character designs, Nobuhiko Okaseko refined Takahashi's original manga design by balancing the characters' proportions without straying from Takahashi's style (those stylistic choices would be carried over to the 1989 OVA and the 1994 film, in which Okaseko had a hand in the character design) and lowering the tone of some scenes of the manga (such as some players' jerseys being torn and/or stained in mud, blood, sweat or soil, wounds, sorrowful and painful characters), making the anime "cleaner", less rougher and the clashes between players resulting attenuated and less violent[1]. In terms of scene animation, due to the constraints resulting from the impossibility of drawing and animating various players on the field at the same time during the matches; as well to slow down the narration's pace and focus only on one player at time during the matches, it was decided to not draw the playing field in perspective, but representing it with curve lines to hide the superfluous players and distant parts of the field beyond the horizon, making the pitch look like as if it was made up of "hills" spanning several kilometers, in order to focus only on the nearest and necessary players in at the moment and making only the players behind appear later; said stylistic choice, ironically, gave birth to the "meme" known among Italian and Spanish-speaking fans of the anime about the "kilometer-long football fields complete with earth curvature" seen in this animated adaptation[2].
The 1983 TV series was successful, even reaching the 21% viewership in the Kanto region.
Differences with the manga[]
There are some differences between the 1983 animated adaptation and the manga due to the need of inserting some filler scenes (if not even entire filler episodes) in order to not reach the still-running manga: some anime-original parts were added, such as the U-13 International tournament filler arc (episodes 098-104) concerning the European rivals introduced in the animated films which were screened during the Toei Manga Matsuri; the need to slow down the narration's pacing brought ot the creation of various flashbacks which weren't originally present in the manga, besides the addition of game actions or the alteration of those also present in the manga in order to lengthen the matches' duration; moreover, most game actions were made in slow motion also to intensify the suspence[3]. Despite those devices, the manga was almost overtaken, so it was not possible to adapt the J Boys' Challenge arc (volumes 25-37 of the manga) in animated form, resulting into the anime concluding with episode 128 at the end of the final between Nankatsu middle school and Toho Academy middle school.
The addition of fillers however brought sometimes some inconsistencies. For example, in the episode 022, a filler scene shows Wakabayashi saw on the television the tie between Nankatsu SC and Hanawa SS as well as Nishio's injury; however, in a scene taken from the manga in the following episode, Wakabayashi was training and appears surprised when his personal coach Mikami informs him about Hanawa's tie, which contradicted the previous episode. Other inconsistencies were more a posteriori: for example, a filler flashback of episode 044 shows Hyuga's father dying from a non-specific ilness, while afterwards, in the World Youth arc of manga, Takahashi established that Hyuga's father died from a car crash. Also the use of anime-original European characters created for the animated films running at the same time of the TV series (partly inspired on those present in the manga from volume 25) in the U-13 International tournament filler arc contradiced the manga and the OAV Shin Captain Tsubasa, where Schneider does not recognise the All Japan Jr- Youth players when they arrived in Hamburg (while, according to the episodes 098-104 and the films, he already faced them various times). As a matter of fact, due to Tsuchida Production (which was in charge of the animation) declaring bankrupt in July 1986, it was not possible to adapt the J-Boys' Challenge arc, which was in progress during the manga's serialization at the time, the studio produced an alternative version of the Jr. Youth World Cup, won by All-Japan Jr. Youth by defeating United States Jr. Youth in the semi-finals and South America Jr. Youth coached by Roberto Hongo in the final. The third and the fourth films, even though following the 1983 TV series' canon, contradict the manga and the later TV series adaptations.
Describing in further detail the differences between the manga and the 1983 TV series:
- Tsubasa's initial inscription at Shutetsu (later changed during the episode) was first introduced in the anime, of which there was no mention in the Kids' Dream arc of the manga, although Takahashi decided in 2021 to make it canon in the Captain Tsubasa Memories special, which fleshed out Tsubasa's past.
- In the manga, the only member of Nankatsu elementary school Tsubasa knows when he arrived at the city of Nankatsu was Ishizaki, while in the anime he also knows the other members such as Sanae and Manabu, who in the manga he knew in the following days. Furthermore, since in the first part of the manga Sanae's name was not mentioned, she was named "Miyuki Namiki" in the anime credits until her name was not revealed in the manga.
- In the anime, Roberto arrives at the place of the challenge between Tsubasa and Wakabayashi following Tsubasa, Ishizaki and Sanae, while in the anime, to follow the trajectory of the ball kicked by Tsubasa from the hill to Wakabayashi's garden, Roberto sneaks into Wakabayashi's house to be later chasen by Wakabayashi's dog, John, and later follows Wakabayashi and Mikami to the challenge's place.
- In the manga, when Roberto scores with an overhead kick after the ball hit the goalpost, Tsubasa trains himself all the day to mimic the technique, while in the anime, said scene was replaced by a dream where Tsubasa scores a goal with an overhead kick against Wakabayashi.
- During the match between Nankatsu SC and Meiwa FC, Hyuga's second goal is different between the anime and the manga: in the manga, Hyuga dribbles Misaki with an unexpected feint and scores with a Bullet Shot despite Wakabayashi tried to stop the shot, while in the anime, Hyuga scores exclusively with his brute power with a shot which blew Misaki (who tried to stop Hyuga with a tackle) away and making Wakabayashi's glove fall to the ground.
- In the Boys' Fight arc, in the manga two characters were introduced: the boxer Koshi Kanda (who was in love with Sanae) and Carlos (Tsubasa's private Portuguese teacher), who weren't present in the anime, even though Kanda's role was taken by Kanazawa, a member of Nankatsu Photography Club who occasionaly took photos of Sanae and mused about how pretty she was.
- Also in the Boys' Fight arc, in the manga, Manabu is a fixed substitute for Nankatsu middle school, of which he watches their matches from the reserves' bench, while in the anime he was a simple fan just like in the elementary school team.
- Kisugi and Taki's roles during the Nankatsu's 4-3 goals against Hirado middle school were inverted: in the manga, Taki dribbled Jito and Kisugi scored, while in the anime, it was the other way around.
Videos[]
External links[]
- Series info at AniDB
- Series info at Enoki Films