Captain Tsubasa

Genre: Sports (Football)

Written by: Yōichi Takahashi

Published by:  Shueisha 

Demographic: Shōnen

Magazine: Weekly Shōnen Jump

Original run: 1981 – 1988 

Volumes: 37 (List of volumes)   

Captain Tsubasa

Tsubasa Ozora is a young Japanese Elementary school student who is deeply in love with soccer and dreams of one day winning the FIFA World Cup for Japan. He lives together with his mother in Japan, while his father is a seafaring captain who travels around the world.
Tsubasa Ozora is known as the Soccer no Moshigo which translates as "heaven-sent child of soccer". When he was only barely a year old, he was almost run over by a rushing bus while playing with a soccer ball. However, Tsubasa had held the ball in front of him which served as a cushion for most of the impact. The force of the bump blew him away, but he was able to right himself over again with the ball. Hence, Tsubasa Ozora's motto of "The ball is my friend". Ever since he was little, he always went out with a soccer ball. His mother now having concluded that he was indeed born only to play soccer. At a very young age, Tsubasa Ozora already has amazing speed, stamina, dribbling skills and shotpower, astounding anyone who sees him play.

At the beginning of the story, both of them move to the city of Nankatsu, a town well-known for their talented high school soccer teams, and where Tsubasa meets Ryo Ishizaki, a soccer-loving young student who often sneaks out from his mother's public bathrooms and chores in order to play soccer, Sanae Nakazawa (also known as Anego), his future wife, a young enthusiastic girl who also loves soccer and helps cheer the Nankatsu High team on, and Genzo Wakabayashi, a highly talented young goalkeeper whom he soon challenges to a game in Nankatsu's annual Sports Festival. He also meets Roberto Hongo, one of the best Brazilian soccer players, who is a friend of Tsubasa's father, and who arrives in Japan and starts living with Tsubasa and his mother. Roberto becomes a mentor to Tsubasa and helps him to harness his soccer skills, convincing him to join Nankatsu Elementary and its fledgling high school soccer team, which Roberto coaches later as he passes his techniques onto Tsubasa.
Tsubasa also meets Taro Misaki, who has travelled around Japan due to his father's job and soon joins Nankatsu, and the two become the best of friends in both the pitch and real life, forming a partnership soon to be renowned as the "Golden Duo" or "dynamic duo" of Nankatsu. Soon Tsubasa and his Nankatsu team start taking on the best of high school soccer, meeting such talented players as Kojiro Hyuga, Ken Wakashimazu, Jun Misugi, Hikaru Matsuyama, and many others. His Nankatsu squad wins numerous youth national championships, and wins the U-16 World Championships for Japan, before leaving the country to play in Brazil.