Captain Tsubasa J

Made in the mid 90's, this anime is fun to watch, just like the original. For those who've seen the original, you can pretty much skip to episode 35, since the first 33 are recaps and episode 34 is quickly summed up in the first few minutes of 35. If you're new to the anime, watch the whole thing, and if you want more detail, go to the corresponding episodes in the original.

Now, from episode 35 on is pure bliss, because the character development of this fantastic newcomer, Shingo Aoi, is well done. If you can get a dub or sub, do it, since ... the dialogue is actually pretty important. This is unlike the original, which could have had no dialogue whatsoever and still been pretty much understood (except for a hilarious backhand smack that NEEDED dialog for effect, but I digress).

The entire series is only 46 episodes long (45 in some dubs; I've seen the Arabic and Spanish ones), which means only a dozen new episodes total. But that dozen is absolutely fantastic- namely the internal feud at training camp and the epic match vs. Thailand.

The music, in an absolute sense, is great, but compared to the original, it's somewhat disappointing. You just don't get the same feel. For comparison, if the original is DBZ, than Captain Tsubasa J is DBGT on steroids. Make of that what you will. The animation, however has me torn. It's different than the first series, but it's more pronounced (crisper) in both a good way- brightness, lack of blurriness- and a bad way; the original is easier on the eyes. I gave it a 7/10.

All in all, this is great marathon fodder. It does leave you at a sort of cliffhanger, though, which is universally bemoaned, but at least it's good while it lasts. Here's hoping the next remake (aired 2001-2002) clears up that distasteful part of this anime for us.

---Dcm18's quick reviews---

Story: 7 (Tipical story, but not bad at all)
Art: 5 (Lousy visuals)
Sound: 5 (Kind of annoying)
Character: 9 (The strong point of the show)
Enjoyment: 8 (Repetitive but has it's moments)

Overall: 6.8 (Your tipical sports-shonen anime)

Welcome to the 90s with this series of 'CT'!

Looking at this series, you'll find yourself a little in those and you'll find, part of the manga story that is written in those years.

The first 33 episodes are a remake of the 'elementary arc' of '80 with some original anime content.
In this series you can find also Taro Misaki's story, exactly like in the series of '80, in a completely new guise .

In the second part you will find the first part of 'Captain Tsubasa World Youth', the part written by Yoichi Takahashi in '90, with the arrival of new characters, which will be fundamental ... to the story.

The only problem is that, this series, stops abruptly just when the game starts to get really interesting and leaving many fans with a bitter taste.

You will wonder why!?

Because the Japanese national football team, at that time, failed to qualify for the '94 World Cup in U.S.A .

In fact, 'CT', is the only anime/manga whose destiny seems to be boundlessly linked to the fate of the Japanese national football team.

The graphics are really better than the 80s version, like the music too.

Aniway 'Tsubasa & Co.' are always the same!

As a teen I loved it!