Netflix on the ball with new season of football anime legend Captain Tsubasa

As the 2022 World Cup in Qatar fast approaches, the world is busily keeping up. Netflix, which never wastes a moment to seize such an opportunity, will soon be offering its viewers the latest season of the immortal football anime series Captain Tsubasa, known in the Arab world as Captain Majed.

The latest series of Captain Tsubasa airs alongside three other football anime series, all released in 2022: Aoashi, Shoot! Goal to the Future, and Blue Lock, which can be found on the Disney, Crunchyroll and Netflix streaming platforms. The deluge comes after a few years in which hardly any anime shows about football were released, and the four new series are receiving big success.

Football anime's long history in Japan

Captain Tsubasa is far from being the first football anime series – this was Akakichi no Irebun, released in 1970, which in Arabic was called Abtaal al-Malaa'ib (translating to "heroes of the pitch").

At that time, baseball was a much more popular sport in Japan, and football was not played widely. Abtaal al-Malaa'ib did not noticeably boost the game's popularity, and it was not until Captain Tsubasa appeared on the scene, first as manga comic in 1981, then as an anime series in 1983 – that football began seriously attracting the younger generation.     

"It was not until Captain Tsubasa appeared on the scene, first as manga comic in 1981, then as an anime series in 1983 – that football began seriously attracting the younger generation"

At the time, Japan had no notable sporting credentials, apart from having won a bronze medal in the 1968 Olympic Games, and didn't even have a professional football league – this only formed in 1992.

By 2008, over 70 million copies of the Captain Tsubasa manga cartoon series had been sold in Japan alone. Circulation worldwide was around 80 million in 2018. In 2001, Captain Tsubasa was ranked 49 in a list of the top 100 anime series ever made. It was also translated into multiple languages, including Arabic and Kurdish.

Captain Tsubasa: Inspiring a generation

Captain Tsubasa is a young boy who dreams of Japan qualifying for the World Cup. His dreams were depicted in a manga comic series which stretched to 15 seasons, which followed his story over many years. It was also turned into five seasons of an anime series, the last of which aired in 2018-19, in addition to several films.  

The football-loving kid joins a junior football team, with the help of a former professional player from Brazil, and dreams of Japan becoming like Brazil. The audience comes to dream alongside him, as they watch him grow and develop over time, until he ends up a professional footballer. An entire generation grew up with Captain Tsubasa, sharing his dream that Japan would one day play in the World Cup.

The anime inspired Japan, which went from having no professional league, to forming one in 1992, and ten years later Japan co-hosted the World Cup.

Former Japanese professional footballer Hidetoshi Nakata played with AS Roma, and has been ranked one of the best Asian players of all time. He played in the World Cup with the Japanese team in 1998, 2002 and 2006. He stated that Captain Tsubasa was the reason he chose to play football as a boy instead of baseball.

In an interview in 2005 with Talk Asia on CNN, after signing with the Bolton Wanderers, he said: "When I first started playing football, baseball was a more popular sport, but there was a manga cartoon about football that was really well known at that time. I read it and got inspired to play football."

"Spanish footballer Alejandro Garnacho who plays with premier league club Manchester United has a tattoo of Captain Tsubasa and his friends on his leg"

Nakata wasn't the only one inspired: Captain Tsubasa influenced Nakata's whole generation, inspiring countless youngsters to get into football. Moreover, it wasn't all one-way – Nakata was to influence anime too; in the 2008-2011 anime series Inazuma Eleven (in Arabic, Abtaal al-Kura, or "heroes of the ball"), one of the characters is called Hidetoshi Nakata.

However, it was the Japanese women's football team who would see Japan win its first World Cup title in 2011, when Japan won the FIFA Women's World Cup. In their honour, Yoichi Takahashi, the creator of Captain Tsubasa, released a manga series on women's football called Soccer Shojo Kaede ("soccer girl Kaede").

Not just in Japan

But Captain Tsubasa's fame was not confined to Japan – world-famous players like Andres Iniesta, Fernando Torres, Ronaldinho, Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane have said the series influenced their decision to play professional football. Likewise, innumerable other players have expressed their love for the show, including Julian Draxler, James Rodriguez and Alexis Sanchez. Spanish footballer Alejandro Garnacho who plays with premier league club Manchester United has a tattoo of Captain Tsubasa and his friends on his leg.

Alongside Nakata, Zinedine Zidane has also made an appearance in anime, with his character appearing in Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002, a series of the show aired in 2001.

Manga artist Yoichi Takahashi believes the show's popularity is due to the fact that it was shown across the world, and had an influence on a generation of children who would become major international players. These footballers now remember watching the series and trying to imitate Captain Tsubasa at school the next day, according to an interview Takahashi did on Al Jazeera English.

Between the oldest football anime, Akakichi no Irebun (Abtaal al-Malaa'ib), and the most recent, Blue Lock, Japan has released many legendary footballing animes which have become famous across the world. As well as Captain Tsubasa, there was popular series Shoot!  in the nineties (a new season came out this year) and others like Inazuma Eleven, Offside, and Captain Rabeh, all of which were released in Arabic.

"Captain Rabeh doesn't end up playing in the World Cup with his national team. Instead, he plays in a multi-national team, brought together by a love of football, which transcends the idea of nationality and homeland"

Captain Rabeh differs from Captain Tsubasa, and the other football anime TV shows because it doesn't follow a dream around football based in Japan. The protagonist Rabeh is an Arab trying to become a professional footballer in Italy.

Moreover, Captain Rabeh doesn't end up playing in the World Cup with his national team. Instead, he plays in a multi-national team, brought together by a love of football, which transcends the idea of nationality and homeland. Captain Rabeh took the Arab world by storm when it was shown on the ART Teenz channel, gaining similar acclaim in France.

Blue Lock: A different path

Japan still uses the medium of anime to conjure up its dream of a football team which can compete with the biggest teams in the world. The newest anime Blue Lock depicts a different path towards achieving this dream, far from the rosy picture projected in previous anime series, where team spirit was shown as important above all else.

Saudi Arabia's women's football team played their first-ever game on home soil during a friendly match against Bhutan on Saturday ⚽ https://t.co/Cs2QK8q5p3

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) September 25, 2022

In contrast, Blue Lock follows the story of a soccer enigma, Ego Jinpachi, who is hired to lead Japan to stardom after the national team finishes 16th in the 2018 World Cup. To improve the team's performance, a ruthless training regimen is designed, promoting self-centred competition among a group of teenagers obsessed with becoming the perfect striker for the future of Japanese football.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition. To read the original article click here.

Translated by Rose Chacko   

This article is taken from our Arabic sister publication, Al-Araby Al Jadeed and mirrors the source's original editorial guidelines and reporting policies. Any requests for correction or comment will be forwarded to the original authors and editors.

Have questions or comments? Email us at: info@alaraby.co.uk