Captain Tsubasa (2018)

I wasn't sure what to think about new Tsubasa series when I first heard about it. But then when first episode aired it bring so many memories from my childhood that I'm more than happy to watch it. Even if I know the story I'm enjoying all of it and I like that creators choosed original path and they gave us one more time all characters that we love. Tsubasa, Wakabayashi, Roberto, let's just wait for Misaki and Kojiro then I bet all fans even the young ones will fall in love with this anime. If I should rate it as an hardcore anime fan ... I will rate it with 8 maybe 9, but because of all memories, because of characters that I remember from time when I was a kid I rate it with highest 10!

“I will score a goal but first let me remember my entire life”
-Tsubasa Ozora

Some of the criticism I’ve seen up to now about Captain Tsubasa is how unrealistic it is. As a person who has grown up watching and playing football, it’s obvious I’ve never seen –and will never see- some of the skills certain characters display on the show. Still, it is because of these that the show is exciting.

Based on the manga by Takahashi Yoichi, Captain Tsubasa displays the addictive story of Tsubasa’s football career while in elementary and middle school, first stone in he’s odyssey pursuing the dream of ... playing in Japan’s national team and becoming the best footballer in the world.
And it is in Nankatsu city, place which hosts some of the best elementary schools of the country, where our leading characters’ journey, Tsubasa (also known as Oliver or Majid), starts.

The pace, while not being as slow as in the original series, also takes its time, circumstance which makes possible the introduction of most of the characters, letting these show their different skills and motivations for playing "the beautiful game" and making the viewer become really attached to some of them; moreover, the scorching pace, contrary to what one might expect, doesn’t sacrifice any momentum during games, making some iconic matches as thrilling as they were on the original series. This does not imply that, as it occurred in the original series, sometimes one might actually think they are dedicating too much time to something that they do not have the need to.

At the same time, one might expect a huge improvement in terms of the paragraph artistic and sound section of the show (compared to the previous ones) and, despite its evident improvement, its quite lackluster. Repetitive character designs, poor setting/scenery development, “not-as-fluent-as-you-would-expect” animation, besides a quite unappealing OST, do nothing to help the show.
However, not everything is going to be bad at this segment, as voice acting and sound effects are quite on point, doing their job of keeping the viewer immersed in the action.

To make things simple, “CT” is a fun anime to watch even if you are not into football. The common recipe of the underdog team going for the top and exceeding expectations, the main character that surpasses himself in order to overcome the problematic situations and the thrilling games full of incredible goals, saves and spectacular skills does not disappoint.
Last, but not least, if you were introduce to the Captain Tsubasa franchise when you were a kid, you will probably enjoy it even more, as it might bring some memories from childhood back.

I have watched every episode with much gusto, and this is the best adaptation of Captain Tsubasa, even though there were some areas that David Pro could have done differently.

Many people do comment on how the soundtrack isn't as good as the previous adaptations, and while I can agree partly, it's definitely also not the complete bore that people are making it out to be. The music in the second arc (29 to 52) greatly improves the dramatic flair. The tracks aren't as present, but on the whole, they complemented the animation pretty well. Also, every time Hyuga had the ball, they played a particular ... track that I'm in complete love with.

Other areas of contention include cutting dialogue content and a few scenes in order to fit the first 25 volumes of the manga in 52 episodes. For example, they had to cut Kanda out, the boxing dude who falls in love with Sanae. More importantly, the Boku ha Misaki Taro one shot which gave important character development to one of the main characters (Misaki) was also missing, which is a shame.

The other big issue with this series is the reuse of animation. I think I've noticed too many times where David Pro reused the animation, but I think I can forgive them for it, because those new animation pieces are frankly the best of the franchise yet. For the first time ever, the special shots look as good as they were in the manga.

Which brings me to another point. Tsubasa 2018 is the only adaptation that has been able to bring Takahashi's dynamic and intense art style into animation. Maybe Tsubasa doesn't have "fluid animation" all the time, but it gladly made up for it with a lot of really well-drawn shots. Even the stills that often match those in the manga look like there was a lot of effort put into them. You can pause the series at any point, and you will simply not find a lot of "QUALITY". It's just great to look at.

To be honest, I'm quite satisfied with this series. It doesn't have the super amazing soundtrack of the original or Road to 2002, but is it honestly that important especially when you consider the fact that Takahashi's vision (story and art) has been successfully transcribed to anime format? It's all there without the useless extra baggage of the other adaptations.

The final episode teases us for a future adaptation of the third and final arc of Captain Tsubasa which was sadly missing here. If it doesn't happen, it'll be the biggest blueball in anime history, especially after the last 2 failed remakes.

This is my first exposure to anything Captain Tsubasa related. Honestly, I'm not impressed with this anime, but I neither find it outright terrible. I find it below-average and just "meh". This is out of 10 episodes and honestly I'm losing interest to keep watching.

Story: 4
Captain Tsubasa's story is a simple one. The story of a young prodigy who as a young child survived a potentially fatal hit-and-run by having his Soccer Ball serve as cushion. Now, I found that scene stupid in the anime with the way they presented it. It's so unrealistic and...hilarious. The story is typical based off the 10 episodes I've ... watched. Extremely talented Main Character moves to a new town to revive an untalented soccer club by giving them hope to defeat their rivals and create a rivalry between MC and Ace of Rival Club which becomes the driving force or main highlight of the game (In the beginning of the anime). This isn't bad to have a story like this and I don't want to give that impression. It's just the way it's done isn't exactly interesting or new. I don't think it's bad, but it's not great nor good and it falls into the realm of "Meh" for me. The story does change directions after a certain period and if you watch the opening you could easily predict it was always going to change. I do like the scenes where the characters develop their skills despite it being in a form of a montage and the anime gave me a sense of time and showed improvement to atleast give me the sense they did improve as players. I found the games to be underwhelming due to the fact they skim over a portion of them which takes the intensity away for me. If a player scores a goal they then just skip a good or an amount that you thought was going to be full of action. I don't understand why this anime hypes up, give it this build up, make some moments feel intense, but then skip a good portion of it. I'm not talking all games, but just ones that are important.
I think some moments are fine like the setup of the rivalry between our MC and the Rival in the beginning. I also think the setup to build up our rival legitimized him. I think they prevented the rivalry from being one-sided and the reasoning for the match was typical for a show like this.

Story is just typical, but the execution lowers its quality of it being better than what we got here.


Art: 3
The art...is uninspiring. I never noticed anything that caught my eye during the anime when it came to its art. Again, I don't mind that, but at the same time the worst aspect was the characters faces. I felt like sometimes most characters have the same faces. At one point, I mistook a character for the Main Character due to how similar their faces were. I thought this character was the Main Character due to the fact our Main Character just moved, so I thought it was a flashback, but I didn't realize I was watching a character introduction until I saw things that would contradict facts about the MC. I don't know if this is from the manga and the studio is trying accurately portray the faces of the characters, but in the anime...they change certain things to make them differentiate, so we can recognize them. Extras in the show have the same face design. MC's mother and another character's mother LOOKED ALIKE! I tell you man I was thinking, "She looks just like the MC's mother".
Nothing about the setting, the town, the scenery stands out. It's typical and I don't think stuff like this is a huge detriment to the enjoyment, but it doesn't elevate the show. This is just a viewer's perspective. I am not an expert.

Art is ok except for the repetitive character designs and seemingly stupid looking faces that makes you think they were dropped on their head.


Sound: 4
Sound is decent overall, but music is generic. You get this...what do you call it? Positive? Uh, typical soundtrack? My apologies for my inability to describe the music. Some sound effects I've heard from JoJo Bizarre Adventures, which is to be expected from the same studio that produced the show. I don't take issue with the sound effects as they do their job to keep me immersed in the action.

Sound is decent, but music is generic.

Character: 4
The characters in this show...are one-note...one dimensional...and generic? or....kinda blend in with each other than have something that differentiates themselves? The one trait that defines these characters is what stands out the most aside from their character designs. Also, some of these characters are idiots. One is how do you LEAVE A GOD DAMN BABY UNCHECKED WITH A SOCCER BALL!? Two, WHY DO YOU ALLOW A MAN WHO WAS A DRUNKARD TO LIVE WITH YOUR WIFE AND YOUR SON!? Three, YOUR WIFE AND THE MAN ARE DEFINITELY BANGING WHEN YOUR SON IS ASLEEP! A character I just saw in the 10th episode is laughable. They try to have me respect this character despite him being a dick. The reason for the guy to be a dick isn't connected to his personal life in anyway. This is like Bakugou without the nuances involved to give context to his attitude. He's a dick just because he's a dick.
One character is literally JUST LIKE OUR MC!!!!! Other characters have no defining trait aside from their looks or how good/bad they are at soccer.
I will say one character who is the Goal Keeper's coach stands out to me. Not standout alot, but just someone I recognize who isn't a main character.

Characters....uninteresting or just typical..


Enjoyment: 5
The enjoyment of this anime is mediocre. The action scenes can atleast be engaging, but the lack of animation really hurts it. Many and many times through the show there is ZERO animation. Nothing moves and it makes you wonder if they were lazy, if they didn't have enough time or if there was a lack of budget, or maybe there was a lack of passion and enthusiasm involved...I don't know. It's just many times there is Zero Animation. Moments like MC learning a new move was nice to watch. Moments where characters improve gives a good sense of progression. However, moments where a referee (this is minor and something I don't think people will notice or pay attention to) shows up out of nowhere at a practice game despite there never being a referee there in the first place is hilarious. Matches sometimes have animation, but many times they montage it. It's annoying because you thought that this would matter as they're showing intensity, but decide to just gloss over it like it didn't hurts the enjoyment for me. Characters looking stupid hurts the enjoyment because for 20 minutes each episode visually you have to look at them look stupid.
Sometimes unfair BS like "LETS SEE HOW GOOD YOU ARE! LETS SEE IF YOU CAN BEAT ME, BUT YOU HAVE TO FACE 11 OTHER PLAYERS ALL ON YOUR OWN WHILE I PLAY GOAL KEEPER! HIT A GOAL ON ME TO PROVE YOUR WORTH WHILE THE OTHERS WHO CHALLENGED ME DIDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT!"
Like come on, dude.
Also, another thing that hurts it is a character who obviously is playing too rough somehow a threat when everyone should be betting on how fast he'll get a red card during a game.
Training and The Matches are the most enjoyment I got from this while the matches not exactly being great. I like the characters coming together and putting in the work to get better.

Overall: 4
You can enjoy Captain Tsubasa (2018), but it's an anime that is lacking. If you want a typical show that does typical things you're familiar with then I think this is an anime you can enjoy, but if you're someone who doesn't tolerate certain things, nitpicks certain things or have simply watched better(In your opinion) then I don't think you'll have the best experiencing watching Captain Tsubasa (2018).

So far so good!!!

The pace is also much slower than in Road to 2002, for example in Road to 2002 the first episode started at the 6th episode of the current airing of it. So, if you don't enjoy that then maybe wait for a few more episodes to air before watching. Personally I loved road to 2002 but its also great to see more development of Nankatsu, which I didn't personally get to truly enjoy when Misaki was already partnering up with Tsubasa and started hammering their whammies on everyone.

Looking back at the old series, man the art is a blessing, when we ... get to the more intense parts of the story and Tsubasa starts whipping out some mad skills this will definitely better capture the greatness of Captain Tsubasa, and hopefully more so than the older runs. Can't wait for the badass skywing shot to occur and see it animated, its gon be great.

From Hunter X Hunter, Digimon Adventure, Dragon Ball and now it's Captain Tsubasa's turn. Feels old yet? All of our childhood-happiness become new series again in the mid of our life but they make us feels like never get old. Captain Tsubasa, being an inspirational football series for worlds-best footballer like Zinedine Zidane, Alessandro Del Piero, Andres Iniesta, Neymar Jr, and many more.

The story start from Tsubasa's (main character) story since he was child to explain the reason why he was attached to football and continue to Tsubasa's football-career from elementary school. Tsubasa is a talented small kid footballer (his presence remind me a ... lot of Lionel Messi), by meeting Ishizaki (support character), a character who can make you laugh easily and the best friend material, his football-chapter start from there. The first rival who makes appearance is Wakabayashi, genius goalkeeper who has so much confidence in his skill.

The legend-scene from Captain Tsubasa is still as good as ever, Tsubasa's inhuman shoot to send challange-ball to Wakabayashi will give you goosebumps like good old-days.

Looks like it takes original-story route, my adrenaline go wild because of nostalgic feel, but I'm pretty sure for the new watcher, it's still an enjoyable series especially for the sport-genre fan in general. Starting to wonder what kind of story which can inspire legends and one of the best footballer in the world? Try watching this, I'm sure it will give you a lot of fun.

It was my precious childhood memories since elementary school. I watched it with my family and spending the evening together. This is almost a show I never skip when I was little.

The new production seem to master that area, while being an easy animation for kids, the excitement from the play is beyond excelent.

I kind of like the voice of each character, while it's not on the list, my favorite seiyuu-san Tomoaki Maeno is taking part to be the commentator of the game play. I knew this since the beginning but kinda confused since it's not mention.

The building of the story is based on ... the previous anime, and not really modified, and character design is the same as the old one too. With just a few of cleaning and matching. the game is supposed to be amazing with the effect of it.

I remember my father commented on the old version while watching this together. "Tsubasa never going to lose." haha... what a heartwarming memory.

Truly, this is one of the best piece in Television history.Captain Tsubasa 2018 is a reboot of the classic football anime series that first aired in 1983. The new series follows the story of Tsubasa Ozora, a young boy with a passion for soccer, as he works to become the best player he can be.

The animation in Captain Tsubasa 2018 is top-notch, with vibrant colors and fluid movements that bring the soccer matches to life. The character designs are faithful to the original series, while also incorporating modern elements to give the characters a fresh look.

One of the strengths of the series is its focus ... on character development. Tsubasa and the other characters are given depth and complexity, with backstories and motivations that make them more than just football players. The series explores the relationships between the characters, both on and off the field, which adds an emotional depth to the story.

Another strength of the series is its attention to detail in the football matches. The matches are well-choreographed and reflect the strategies and tactics of real games. The use of special moves and techniques, which are a staple of the series, are also well-executed and add an element of excitement and spectacle to the matches.

Overall, Captain Tsubasa 2018 is a well-done reboot of the classic football anime series. It offers beautiful animation, engaging character development, and exciting football matches that will appeal to fans of the genre. However, its focus on soccer and pacing may not be for everyone.I cannot wait to see the enthralling and magnificent new season in the October of 2023!!!!!

English Version

General (5.6 / 10)

This has been all for me ...
First of all I want to clarify that this review was based on the basic knowledge that I have of the industry and the respective adaptations that I saw in my childhood under this title that were "Road to 2002" complete and some chapters of the 94 'series.
To start honestly, I don't know, if it is due to the passing of time and when I grow up, this story does not transmit the same thing to me, or if it was just a bad adaptation by "David Production", but if they rush me, I would ... be encouraged to say which is a percentage of 30% my responsibility, against 70%.
In general, this anime does not really stand out, but we go in parts, the different fields.
Story: (7/10)
I do not want to get too extensive with something that most of us already know. It is a typical soccer story with a protagonist who was "touched" by the magic wand to be the best and tells us his events since he was a child. So far everything normal nothing really striking, but it is not expected to be the core of the series.
Art: (6/10)
This is where I feel that the cheerleader house begins to make mistakes, although they have used a nice palette of pleasant colors, most events on the playing field are static, you really see everything between cuts and without giving that fluidity that one expects to the plays.
Sound: (5.5 / 10)
Another point that could have been a great catalyst to boost the series but it was one of the weakest, with an opening that goes unnoticed and an ED that turned out to be the best in the sound aspect, returning to bring the classic "Moete Hero". Unfortunately the rest of OST is unnoticeable, and leaves no representative or epic sound at crucial moments
Characters: (4/10)
We literally got to the worst, since while it is known that the strong and varied cast of characters that this installment represents, most of them do not delve into anyone. We get a lot of variants of Stories and personalities, but they only last a chapter at most and most of them become a discard and they do not seriously get any development or depth greater than 5 minutes, which means that when it comes to showing us the matches just give us some empty shells that don't convey any true feeling to the viewer or wanting to support them to win.
Enjoy: (5.5 / 10)
The reality of this Show is that I was only attracted to what the nostalgia of seeing Tsubasa and his classmates could mean again because history, especially in these primary and secondary stages, I learned by heart with the infinite number of adaptations that have done in all this time.
The real hope I had in the production work is good and we could dream that they finally show the continuation of this title once and for all in the future, and we do not continue collecting intermediate adaptations with the same bows as always, unfortunately with this work I They wanted to see a sequel by "David production", I hope that one day they really take this series seriously and receive the adaptation it deserves


Version en Español:

General (5,6 / 10)

Esto ah sido todo para mi...
Primero que nada quiero aclarar que esta revisión se basara en los conocimientos básicos que tengo de la industria y las respectivas adaptaciones que vi en mi infancia bajo este titulo que fueron "Road to 2002" completo y algunos capítulos de las serie de los 94'.
Para comenzar sinceramente no se, si se deba al paso del tiempo y que ya de mayor no me transmite lo mismo esta historia, o si solamente fue una mala adaptación por parte de "David Production", pero que si me apuran me animaria a decir que es un porcentaje de 30% responsabilidad mio, contra un 70%.
En general no destaca realmente nada este Anime pero vamos por partes, los distintos campos.
Historia: (7/10)
No me quiero poner demasiado extenso con algo que la mayoría ya conocemos. Es una historia tipica de futbol con un protagonista que fue "tocado" por la varita magica para ser el mejor y nos narra sus eventos desde niño. Hasta aqui todo normal nada realmente llamativo, pero tampoco se espera que sea el nucleo de la serie.
Arte: (6/10)
Aqui es donde siento que comienza a cometer fallos la casa animadora, si bien han empleado una linda paleta de colores agradables, la mayoría de eventos en el campo de juego es estática, realmente se observa todo entre cortado y sin dar esa fluidez que uno espera a las jugadas.
Sonido: (5,5/10)
Otro punto que podría haber sido un gran catalizador para impulsar la serie pero fue de los mas flojos, con una apertura que pasa desapercibida y un ED que resulto ser lo mejor en el aspecto sonoro, volviéndose a traer el clásico "Moete Hero". Desgraciadamente el resto de OST es imperceptible, y no deja ningún sonido representativo o épico en los momentos cruciales
Personajes: (4/10)
Literalmente llegamos a lo peor, ya que si bien es sabido que el fuerte y variado cast de personajes que representa esta entrega, en su mayoría no profundizan en nadie. Obtenemos un montón de variantes de Historias y personalidades, pero que solo duran un capitulo a lo maximo y la mayoría se vuelve un descarte e no obtienen seriamente ningún desarrollo o profundidad superior a 5 minutos, lo que logra que a la hora de mostrarnos los partidos solo nos den unos cascarones vacios que no transmiten algún sentimiento verdadero al espectador o de querer apoyarlos a ganar.
Disfrute: (5,5/10)
La realidad de este Show es que solo me atraia lo que podía significar la nostalgia de volver a ver a Tsubasa y sus compañeros por que la historia, sobre todo en estas etapas de primaria y secundaria me las aprendí de memoria con la infinidad de adaptaciones que han echo en todo este tiempo.
La verdadera esperanza la tuve en el trabajo de producción sea buena y podríamos soñar con que finalmente muestren la continuación de este titulo de una vez por todas a futuro, y no sigamos coleccionando adaptaciones intermedias con los mismo arcos de siempre, desgraciadamente con este trabajo me sacaron las ganas de ver una secuela por parte de "David produccion", espero que algun dia realmente tomen esta Saga enserio y reciba la adaptacion que merece.

This is the animated series of 'CT' who better follows the manga and, here, you can find some charas who are only in the manga or in the original series of '83.
Personally I think that 'CT is a sort of 'time machine' and by watching'reading 'CT' you could be in the '80, '90, '00 and, recently, in 2018.
It's funny to see 'CT and co' with i-pad and i-phones, even, if the story, is always the same.
This version of 'CT' is more focused also on 'feelings', the last OP 'Ai ai ai' is really different and innovative respect to all the others OPs of 'CT'.
I think ... that with 52 episodes will reach volumes 24/25, but I hope that David Production will animate also the next two arcs, in 'season 2'.
My dream is that to see animated all 'CT', 200 episode should be enough, but, maybe, because of Fifa, this will remain a dream.
But, I think positive, and I hope to read as soon as possible 'Captain Tsubasa Kids dream' In Italian.
Finger cross!

Captain Tsubasa

It brings many memories to see this series in its remastered edition. It seems to me that the rhythm is quite well related to the classic editions where each game could last much longer, it is quite enjoyable, simple and digestible, so a purely recreational anime does.

Nothing outside the original plot, which is not so bad, but if I am curious about the future of Oozora with which players will get along on their way. As in the classic edition, we will surely see several players referenced, after so many years, it is quite interesting to know who they will refer to in the ... current era.

The art is very similar to the original, which makes the change less visually shock, and the audio is pretty standard. A good classic that returns to steal our hearts like it did so many years ago.

Positive vote here!