Area no Kishi (The Knight in the Area)

Kakeru and Suguru are brothers who both have a flaming passion for soccer. However, while Suguru becomes a rising star in the Japanese youth soccer system, Kakeru decides to take on a managerial role after struggling on the field. But due to a cruel twist of fate, Kakeru ends up reevaluating the role he has chosen.

In hopes of one day being able to enter the World Cup by becoming a member of the national team, Kakeru trains harder than anyone else. He isn’t alone in this quest for glory, though. Kakeru's childhood friend, Nana, is a soccer prodigy of her own, with the wicked nickname “Little Witch”. She is a top-ranked player and is already playing for Nadeshiko Japan, the Japanese women’s national team. Nana's success gives Kakeru the extra push he needs to reach for his goals.

Soccer and adolescent fervor combine for an epic, emotional ride. Check it out for yourself in Area no Kishi!

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Adaptation:

Area no Kishi

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Characters & Voice Actors

Aizawa, Kakeru

Main

Sanpei, Yuuko
Japanese

Mishima, Nana

Main

Itou, Shizuka
Japanese

Aizawa, Suguru

Supporting

Fukuyama, Jun
Japanese

Araki, Ryuuichi

Supporting

Ishida, Akira
Japanese

Murasaki, Mai

Supporting

Sudou, Saori
Japanese

Aizawa, Mito

Supporting

Shindou, Kei
Japanese

Silva, Leonardo

Supporting

Shiratori, Tetsu
Japanese

Oda, Ryoma

Supporting

Namikawa, Daisuke
Japanese

Matoba, Kaoru

Supporting

Yonaga, Tsubasa
Japanese

Takajo, Akira

Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Ogura, Hirofumi

Director

Urakami, Yasuyuki

Sound Director

Ookuma, Akira

Sound Director

Miyake, Kazuo

Episode Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"Higher Ground (ハイヤーグラウンド)" by S.R.S

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Reviews

Nov 15, 2014

Ddortp

Recommended

As a MASSIVE Football/Soccer fan I was thrilled to see that there was a Football/Soccer anime, and to my surprise it was actually very good.
- Decent Story
- It had a good OP
- It had good artwork and animation (My opinion)
- Actually followed football rules
- Most characters were enjoyable
- A good mixture of genres
- Serious when it needed to be and fun when it needed to be
Whether your a football fan - like me - or not, you should* enjoy this anime

...

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Jan 15, 2012

Alpharon

Mixed Feelings

Esta review también está en español.

Football Chronicles, Chapter 2: Area no Kishi
Note: some football animes will be named in this review for the sake of comparison. This is, mostly, to see how the game is faced in each series. Of course, no spoilers.
Also, football as the real, english one (aka soccer), not the american one.

For a loyal follower of the world's most popular sport like me, there's nothing better than the news of a new football anime Area no Kishi/The Knight in the Area is the more recent bet... what can we expect from it? Let's see...

The story of this anime focus in Kakeru Aizawa, ...

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Mar 14, 2023

PixelB

Not Recommended

Preliminary (13/37 eps)

Area no Kishi is very similar to Cross Game. Slight spoilers ahead, but these happen in the first few episodes.

Both Cross Game and Area no Kishi feature the death of a loved one that both the male lead and female lead feel devastated by. The repercussions of this person's death reverberate through the series and propel the main characters to pursue their respective sports because the loved one's dream was for them to become the greatest.

However, the two series diverge eventually, and Area no Kishi definitely branches in a better direction. The Knight in the Area is definitely more of a character-centric series rather than ... a super sports-focused one, and they focus on many characters rather than just the main couple's relationship like in Cross Game. Rather than have highly detailed football plays, you're going to have more emotional monologues than actual strategy being told in games. Most of the time, the players showcase their ball skills rather than have a coach tell an overarching strategy. This can be fine if the individual showdowns are exciting and the characters are good enough to stand on their own. They're not. While I do complain when sports shows only focus on a limited amount of team members on a show just about football, at the same time, Area no Kishi has the exact opposite problem. There are too many characters that get screen time. There are multiple subs for each position and even multiple conductor-type players. As such, not a single character gets too much development and they're all still not beyond their generic archetypes in episode 13.

Animation does not do this show any favors. Have fun watching slideshow decks and as many crappy animation-saving techniques to cut costs, because there are virtually no good choreographed shots. It's just white/blue backgrounds on top of low-cost movement loops. When a player outplays someone, the shot is very fast, and doesn't feel like they're actually doing something amazing. There's just not enough smooth movement to make the football interesting.

I don't too much care for the main character, Kakeru, much, but the amount of character development he goes through, in the beginning, makes up for his lame personality later on. The character dynamics with his brother are quite realistic, and the internal turmoil and drama he goes through at the time are also good. The beginning arc certainly makes Kakeru a good character, and Mishima is no different.

The romance is honestly the only remotely good thing about this show. Kakeru and Mishima are the only two characters that get enough screen time to be actually relevant characters, and the relationship isn't an afterthought. Mishima isn't joined at the hip with Kakeru and isn't completely dependent on him, either. She's a better football player than he is at many times, but also has Kakeru's moral support since day one. Mishima goes out and tries to go pro in football herself and Kakeru's the one that has to catch up to wear the blue uniform with her. Unlike Aoba in Cross Game, Mishima's desire to play her sport shines through. While Aoba chooses to give up that opportunity to better Kou's chances at Koushien, Mishima grabs it and tries to become the best that she can be, which I think tells all the difference you need to know between the two characters. The interactions between Kakeru and Mishima are better than most romance shows, but it's pretty clear that romance is only a subplot rather than the main theme of the show. It's one of the types of shows where it's pretty clear that they're a couple, but they only reveal their feelings at the very end (I checked, and chapter 495 of the manga is when this shit happens). A shame that romance, of all things, was the only redeemable thing about the show.

The lack of details in the games, too many characters diluting the focus, romance not being a bigger theme, and lastly, the animation truly breaks this show.

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Poll: Area no Kishi Episode 37 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Fantassy - Sep 28, 2012	70 replies	by Zekkenshin »» Dec 5, 2022 2:39 PM
Poll: Area no Kishi Episode 21 Discussion Stark700 - May 25, 2012	24 replies	by Zekkenshin »» Nov 18, 2022 3:04 PM
Poll: Area no Kishi Episode 18 Discussion Stark700 - May 4, 2012	31 replies	by Zekkenshin »» Nov 18, 2022 1:07 PM
Poll: Area no Kishi Episode 17 Discussion Stark700 - Apr 27, 2012	20 replies	by Zekkenshin »» Nov 15, 2022 11:11 AM
Poll: Area no Kishi Episode 16 Discussion Stark700 - Apr 20, 2012	17 replies	by Zekkenshin »» Nov 15, 2022 10:23 AM

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Aizawa, Kakeru

Mishima, Nana

Aizawa, Suguru

Araki, Ryuuichi

Murasaki, Mai

Aizawa, Mito

Silva, Leonardo

Oda, Ryoma

Matoba, Kaoru

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Area no Kishi

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Information

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Available At

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Streaming Platforms

Synopsis

Background

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Staff

Opening Theme

Ending Theme

Reviews

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