Captain Tsubasa Season 2: Junior Youth-hen

Wow. Simply Extraordinary. The magnificent world created by Yoichi Takahashi has yet again gazed our eyes. The deft, unique and world-class manga that has inspired many around the globe returns. As I opened the television, the new theme song alongside its introduction hits with a new, exhilarating yet nostalgic feeling. The storyline, constructed by Takahashi as per usual and expected was sublime, engaging the audience with the use of various different anecdotes and backstories as Tsubasa and his teammates faces a new challenge. Characters that had appeared in season 1 was well-developed, such as Hygua, Wakabayashi and Masaki. Taking Hygua as an example, his personality ... clearly changed as he weaves through obstacles that he encounters. Still hot-heated with a strong determination to victory and everlasting glory, he is no longer the "caged tiger" both on and off the pitch, actively communicating with teammates. He now accepts defeat as a motive to hone his skills further and understands the importance of teamwork as seen with more frequent passing and the acknowledgement of Tsubasa as captain.

Apart from these, the animations in later episodes were also catchy and engaging. Fire shoot from Schneider captures precisely his fury and strength of his shot, making use of imagery to allow the audience to understand his emotions behind each and every kick of the ball. His fire, fueled by his will to reconnect his family. Genius Dribbler Diaz shows similar trait. His delicate, skillful yet cheeky South American dribbles were captured by a flashback to his childhood and upbringing under poverty in Argentina. By engaging with this backstory, Takahashi reflects the will and hope of every Argentinian audience alike. A prominent footballing country, where all levels of people play the sport.

If I had time, I would dive in further but overall I strongly recommend a watch to this nostalgic-inducing masterpiece as you are able to relive all emotions and skills alongside the Japan National Team with everyone's favourite Tsubasa Oozora.

I'm usually not the type to complain about ''bad animation'' or what not, but isn't this anime just a slideshow at this point? I've read the manga and you know it's bad when even that feels like it's moving more then whatever this collection of still images is. YOU DON'T EVEN GET TO SEE THEM PROPERLY KICK A BALL TO ONE ANOTHER IT'S THAT BAD. Why even reboot it if you're going to give it this treatment? Who is this adaptation supposed to make happy? I doubt this adaptation would get anyone new into the franchise and the diehard fans are just hurt by this. ... Season 1 was absolutely fine animation-wise so I'm just confused as to what the hell went wrong in the production of this. I enjoy the franchise and the characters don't get me wrong but this adaptation is simply mediocre.

To begin with, Captain Tsubasa is one of the pillars of soccer sports manga. The series aroused the curiosity of many fans all over the world during the 80’s & 90’s with its fun, unrealistic and entertaining approach to the football games, And some decent soundtracks that came with its anime adaptations mixed with memorable moments as well as childhood memories which brought out the passion of this sport in little kids & adults alike. Additionally it opened the door to several sport titles that came after it. Captain Tsubasa 1983, tsubasa J & Road to 2002 adaptations were the go to for fans of ... the genre, in the times when TV had a selected few animated shows airing way before the Interwebs. Also, to this day it has maintained a solid fan base that remained loyal throughout the years. After a pleasantly aesthetic reboot of Captain Tsubasa 2018 which had a promising initial birth, contrariwise, Captain tsubasa junior youth hen has fallen to mediocrity.


After that Tsubasa Ozora won the national school tournament in japan while playing for Nankatsu SC whilst not taken to brazil by Roberto Hongo, he joins with team japan to win the junior youth tournament's cup situated in France playing against opponents from European & south American national teams.

-I tried to summaries the most important points written bellow in this review for the people that don’t want/like to read everything, it’s a first time so hope it’s clear.

*The strong points:

- A continuation to the previous season.
- Voice acting is decent.
- The grass quality is improved. (soccer stadiums)
- The pace of the soccer games is balanced.

*The weak points:

- Bellow average production
- Almost non existing atmosphere which feels like the real life football games from 2020 (Covid’s empty stadiums)
- Cheap looking CGI when the players shoot at the keepers which symbolizes each ones special move (strike) that lost its charm and hype.
- Soundtracks not up to standards, the selection is lacking tremendously and there’s no variety.
- Cheap visuals and the lack of quality presentation of the matches, capitalizing on short edit cuts to minimize the clunkiness of movements of team plays either on passes or defense.
- Nothing improved from the classic manga, which made certain scenes look like it was made by record of ragnarok’s production team.
- Not as fun to watch in comparison to the older Tsubasa animes.




This adaptation is awful in comparison to the 2018 version where there at least captured the spirit of the old series in a modern way. It’s pretty clear that the overall execution is night and day between David Production and Studio Kai. It is plagued with inconsistencies throughout, along with the cheap CGI used when players shoot at the GK, like Hyuga’s tiger shot, Tsubasa’s Eagle shot, Matsuyama’s Wild Eagle Shot etc... whereas those were the most enjoyable moments in the series back then which they definitely butchered, it’s kinda similar to the signature moves that you see in martial arts anime. Changing studios always sux and the entertainment value is lost completely. Sure the matches aren’t as long as its predecessors but loses at everything else be it key moments hype or the emotion conveyed through the action of the main team characters.


There are some reused scenes from the 2018 version and you can easily spot the differences, this season have a lot of inconsistent art and the overall direction is obviously different. Unfortunately even the sound is bellow the standard which normally is the least you can expect to be good; It feels lazy and lacking overall. The adaptation does not add nor improve anything from the manga where it leaves the most important aspect which made the franchise popular which is the dynamic approach to soccer games in term of team play and a huge lack of sakuga in the majority of this season. The plays are generally dumbed-down to short edit cuts for each pass, crossing or shooting motion. It’s like a slideshow that is the equivalent of stills of colored manga panels during the impact-full moments. As a result, it detracts all the fun aspects and emotions from those actions. The atmosphere is non existing during most of the matches which reminded me of the 2020 pandemic football where no one was allowed in stadiums. As a consequence, you could only hear coaches, staff members & players voices on the ground.

If you watch sports of any kind you may know that the cheering part is crucial in them. It is an important part and it is always present either from small teams to the bigger ones. There’s no chants or songs made for the teams playing. Slam dunk & Haikyuu as an example use crowds that cheer their teams on and off the battle ground which ultimately adds some succulent flavor to the matches as I like to call it. Furthermore, accentuating the sound can elevate the experience. It’s just the bare minimum imo that is required but is underwhelming here. It is your typical bellow average production, sure nostalgia sometimes can cloud your judgment on shows you used to love. However when it isn’t entertaining and it doesn’t respect the hierarchy of what a good product should be, you get an anime like captain tsubasa junior youth arc.


All in all, keep your expectation low. It is a bare minimum plain adaptation that serve only as a continuation unfortunately. Although, the 2018 adaptation gave me a slight hope of a new fresh start with huge improvements on its predecessors, Captain Tsubasa junior youth hen takes one million steps backwards with passable wonky graphics and bellow standard sound design... Thus, nothing is improved upon either from the manga or older adaptations. If you’re craving some captain tsubasa juice sure go ahead give it a shot you may like it. However, if you’re a picky person or you have a limited time on your hands, choose a better sports adaptation from a known studio e.g. Production I.G, David pro or similar.
“This season feels like an unexpected breakup with your first love, and it does sadden me a bit.”