It was a time of change, and in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, a teenager, Yo Takahashi, witnessed the frenzy of soccer. Since then, the magic of soccer has been firmly locked in his heart, and he aspires to convey the passion of soccer and ignite the flame of Japanese soccer through manga.
However, the Japanese passion for soccer was still thin, and in 1982, the Japanese team unexpectedly lost a World Cup qualifier, and the shame of back-to-back defeats disappointed the nation to no end. At that time, it was difficult to find decent stadiums and coaches in Japan. Even naturalized player Ramos Zhu Wei laughed at himself: "If Japanese soccer is like an elementary school student, I am a doctor."
Nonetheless, high school students of the same age have a strong interest in soccer, thanks to the solid foundation of school sports in Japan. But few high school students dream of becoming professional players, and the reason is obvious: no professional teams are willing to take them on. Yang Takahashi is convinced that it is crucial for people to understand the nature of soccer.
The booming soccer scene in Shizuoka Prefecture inspired Yo Takahashi to combine his hometown of Katsushika Ward in Tokyo with Shizuoka Prefecture to create the fictional city of Minami-Katsushika, which serves as the backdrop for the manga's story.
Before Jiji Press decided to publish Soccer Boys, Yang Takahashi encountered a number of obstacles. Japanese publishers were generally uninterested in the soccer genre, and CIB even voted to decide whether to publish it or not. As a result, Baseball Heroes received the most support, and only then did Ciba make up its mind.
But Yo Takahashi didn't exactly follow Tiburon's guidance; he wanted the story to start with Omakasu's love affair with soccer at the age of one and show his growth to help the development of Japanese soccer.
In the early stages of creation, Yang Takahashi lacked a dedicated editor and couldn't afford an assistant, resulting in the drawings of the soccer boys often being criticized. Problems such as imbalanced character proportions, one-dimensional expressions, simple hair designs, and similarities in characterization were frequent. However, with its exciting story, it quickly became a pillar of Jiji Press and was all the rage, with the anime version setting a ratings record of 21.2%.
The popularity of Soccer Boys is also due to the fact that many of the characters are based on popular players of the time, creating a strong sense of immersion for the reader. For example, retired Japanese-Brazilian footballer Roberto Hongo is based on two Japanese-Brazilians, Saikio Echigo and George, who contributed greatly to the professionalization of Japanese soccer.
Okaeki is always aiming for "Japan's No. 1", but he always has a harmonious relationship with his opponents and forms deep friendships during the matches. Yoh Takahashi describes each character's experience in detail, and the story of Taro Kaikaku has even been adapted into a collection of short stories.
Players from rival teams, such as Kojiro Hyuga, Kin Ken Wakashima, and Jun Misugi, also impress the reader. Jun Misugi was once more popular than Wings Oko, emphasizing the fact that soccer is a team sport and that unity and cooperation is its soul.
In the 2019 serial, Jun Mitsurugi was almost kicked to death by Germany's Schneider in an attempt to steal the spotlight, revealing his image as a "beautiful, strong, miserable man".
In the mid-1980s, Yo Takahashi shifted the story from Japan to foreign countries, and Omikazu's goal changed from "Japan's No. 1" to "The World's No. 1". Many foreign characters were added, and they had their own archetypes, such as Schneider, Platini, and Brolin.
With the opportunity of the World Cup in Korea and Japan, the 2002 animated version of the soccer boy ushered in the 2002 chapter, because the soccer boy comic book in China failed to synchronize in time, so that 2002 has become the last impression of Chinese fans.
From today's aesthetic point of view, the plot of Soccer Boys does have some problems. For example, some characters are added to the story based on active players, resulting in old characters that can't be removed and overlapping archetypes that create a sense of dissonance.
Then there's the slightly clichéd drama of the soccer teens always falling behind the team and then turning it around to win thanks to the efforts of Wings Okoi.
In fact, Soccer Boys did bring victory to Japanese soccer. Back in the late 1980s, after Soccer Junior became popular, many children dreamed of becoming the next Omakasu. To this day, there are still children who harbor such dreams.
Saburo Kawabuchi, the godfather of Japanese soccer and former president of the Japan Football Association (JFA), also said when formulating the JFA's program, "Soccer juniors also reflect the real expectations of the Japanese people for the level of Japanese soccer. What do we need to do to fulfill their expectations? How can we really make Big Sky emerge?"
Soccer boys portray a bright future for all Japanese. For decades, generations of Japanese soccer players have worked hard for this future. With the belief that "success is not necessarily in me, but success is in me," Japanese soccer continues to grow and improve.
A few years ago, Yoichi Takahashi created a team called "Team Nango" in Tokyo based on the manga, and many believe he broke the dimensional wall. Today, Japan's victory over Germany is no longer just an anime scenario, but a reality.
The world line of soccer boys and the real world line are closing in at an alarming rate, not even keeping up with the rate of progress of the Japanese men's soccer team.
The 100-year plan is being implemented and the 14 seconds in Rostov made the Japanese suffer for four years. Possessing a work ethic, a humble attitude, and world-class business development, shouldn't such a Japanese team have won Germany?
