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.

Captain Tsubasa has been an absolute and total disappointment. I truly loved the previous 2018 anime, animated by David Production, but the current studio is just terrible. I don’t know what happened, but everything is bad from A to Z. The animation, sound effects, sound design, music, and even the opening theme are all lackluster. The voice acting and dialogues are dreadful. Having skimmed through the manga, it's clear that the anime significantly deviates, often in a childish manner, especially with the introduction of Karl. This anime has so many flaws; it's unbelievable. I can't even point out one good aspect. I continue watching it ... out of desperation, confused about the series' distribution and wishing to explore the older anime series and the manga. However, I detest the author's style. The 2018 anime touched me deeply with David Production's style, which was fantastic. But now, they’ve produced something completely disrespectful.

It feels like a deliberate sabotage of Captain Tsubasa. My conspiracy theory is that Tsubasa didn't meet their expectations in 2018 despite the mobile game, video game, etc., so they aimed to just fulfill a quota with a subpar anime.

When comparing to the works of David Production on series like Undead Unluck or what’s seen in Jujutsu Kaisen by MAPPA, even though MAPPA has its issues, this is a letdown. Even compared to other anime like Kishin or football-themed anime like Inazuma Eleven, the treatment of Captain Tsubasa is disappointing. I don’t demand extraordinary animation or phenomenal elements, but I expect a minimum standard. It’s heartbreaking to see years of anticipation culminate in such a flop. We waited over 5 years for this season 2, and it's a catastrophe. This anime disrespects the series and its legacy.