Jun Misugi (三杉 淳, Misugi Jun) is a major character in Captain Tsubasa and a libero from Japan, known as the "Young Noble of the Field".
Description[]
Misugi was first introduced in Captain Tsubasa (1981), chapter 15. He is one of Japan's pivotal players and is considered a "football genius", similar to Tsubasa Ozora. When he captained Musashi, he wore the jersey #14, then #24, #6 and #14 at present for Japan. The #14 on his back was after the Dutch superstar Johan Cruyff — his idol. In the 2018 anime, Misugi is depicted to be left-footed although he is proficient to dribble and pass with both feet. Being an allrounder, over the years Misugi has proven himself the true leader and backbone of Japan's defense with his good technical ability, savvy tactics and immense courage as well as determination.
It was once affirmed that if it wasn't for the heart disease that hampered his early career; Misugi would have become the best Japanese player of his generation, even better than Tsubasa himself.
Personality[]
Misugi is strong-willed and dedicated besides being kind and clever. As one of All-Japan's best players notwithstanding his imperfect heart, he has a keen perception that enables him to 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. He has proved to be very kind, caring, and selfless on many important occasions, such as offering help when Hyuga's family was in trouble, caring about Wakabayashi's injured hands, and Tsubasa's conditions during matches. Misugi's medical knowledge also allowed him to save many people's lives, as in Mikami's and Wakabayashi's case.
Biography[]
Captain Tsubasa story[]
Misugi was first presented as the very talented star of Musashi elementary school, but he had a heart disease, preventing him from playing a full match without endangering his life, a secret that was only known to Yayoi and the coach. He then decided to play full time in the elementary school tournament's semifinal against Nankatsu, eager to give it his all against Tsubasa, who found out that Tsubasa will go to Brazil after the tournament. His performance was stellar (although it almost brought him to the point of collapse), although, in the end, his team lost 5-4 in a comeback loss, where he crushed Tsubasa's spirits after putting the team 3-1 ahead. Despite his loss, Misugi was happy to have fought Tsubasa with all of himself, and he thanked Yayoi for her precious advice during the game.
In Boys' Fight arc, he fought against his heart disease in rehabilitation with Yayoi for two years, and came back on the field for his last year of middle school (although he was still limited to playing for 30 minutes per match), with the two of them eventually becoming close and beginning to date each other. Misugi wanted to have a rematch against Tsubasa again in the national tournament, however, his team lost in the finals of the Tokyo prefecture tournament against Toho and Hyuga, and again being crippled by his illness; he expressed frustration at not being able to play and improve his skills like everyone else during these years. Misugi was at his limit after already playing for 30 minutes for Musashi MS, when he was chasing the ball with Hyuga he collapsed all of a sudden. Thanks to Hyuga getting distracted, Misugi used his head to push the ball to one of his teammates. He pleaded them to score, but in the end, the ball was saved by Wakashimazu.
In J Boys' Challenge arc, he was still offered a position of assistant coach in the All Japan Jr. Youth team, which he accepted, and his keen tactical sense was a precious addition to the team (for example, it was Misugi's idea to try to have Matsuyama play as a defender). He was also registered as a player in the International Jr. Youth tournament where he would serve well as a super substitute in the matches against Argentina and France. His heart condition prevented him from playing the final match, but he felt that his heart had become stronger. After the tournament, he decided to keep on playing football while studying medicine, like the Brazilian player Sócrates.
Battle of World Youth arc[]
Misugi spent the next three years of high school without playing, only giving tactical advice to Japan Youth for a friendly match against Netherlands Youth; this allowed him to fully recover from his heart disease, and he successfully took a selection test to be part of Japan Youth. Having played like a midfielder before (inspired by the Dutch player Johan_Cruyff), given that there were many other talented players for that area of the field, he took the decision to play as a libero (like the Italian player Baresi). Enduring Gamo's harsh training, despite many years of inactivity, he perfected his comeback with a decisive equalizing goal against Thailand with his Drive Shot. During the second round of the Asian preliminaries, he was considered, with Matsuyama, as a reliable wall by Wakabayashi. His genius football sense allowed him to be the only one to understand and support Tsubasa in his Skydive Shot against Mexico.
Road to 2002 arc[]
Prior to Road to 2002, Misugi joined Bellmare Hiratsuka, but later transferred to FC Tokyo, a J1 League club. An all-round player, he was used by the team as a right midfielder. In a match against Consadole Sapporo led by Matsuyama, which ended in a tie, Misugi expressed his admiration at Matsuyama's shooting power.
Golden-23 / Rising Sun arc[]
In Golden-23 arc, Misugi was selected in the Japanese Olympic team. Coach Kira put a lot of trust in Misugi as well as Misaki and Matsuyama (the "three Ms", as was called the ensemble), entrusting the team's balance to them in the Asian preliminaries. He believed that Misugi's calm discernment would be important in Japan's qualification to the last round of the Asian preliminaries, belief vindicated by his splendid performance.
In Rising Sun arc, Yayoi mentions that she is waiting for Misugi to propose to her. It seems, however, that Misugi's persistent health problems may be the biggest obstacle. During the match against Germany, Misugi tries to stop Schneider's Fire Shot with his own body, but the impact causes him to collapse. He even has a brief out-of-body experience as the game stops and Tsubasa desperately applies CPR to him, begging him not to die. Michael from the Spanish Team loudly pleads with God to not take Misugi away, and then his soul "returns" to his body and he recovers consciousness. He then convinces the referees to let him stay in the fields, promising to stop playing as soon as he begins to feel bad. In the extra time, Misugi has continued to persevere and show his true abilities in order to assist Tsubasa and his teammates to score against the German team.
Techniques[]
- Main article: Jun Misugi/Techniques
Gallery[]
- Main article: Jun Misugi/Gallery
Etymology[]
- The name Jun means "genuine, pure" (淳).
- Misugi's surname means "three" (三) (mi) and "cedar trees" (杉) (sugi).
Trivia[]
- He is named Andy Johnson in the Latin American dub, Julian Ross in the European dub, and Mazen in the Arabic dub.
- Like Pierre and Schester, Misugi is very popular with the female spectators as his refined good looks usually steal their heart at first glance.
- As he tires from extended play, he would drop back to defensive midfielder or as far as a defender/libero role, even as far back as leaning against one post.
- Wakabayashi once commented that Misugi and Stefan Levin have similar styles when playing.
- Despite medical and technological advancements, it was revealed that he never had a pacemaker put into his body, suggesting his heart condition isn't irregular heartbeat. There is even a medical article to suggest that it was congenital angina.
External links[]
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