New 'Captain Tsubasa' Anime Latest News: Upcoming Reboot Licensed by Viz Media, Premieres in April
Viz Media has licensed the upcoming "Captain Tsubasa" anime series that is set to premiere in April.
The series, which is based on the popular 1981 sports manga written and illustrated by Yoichi Takahashi, will consists of 52 episodes and will reportedly be a fresh new adaptation of the classic soccer manga series.
Viz Media's license will include digital streaming of the anime, as well as electronic sell-through (EST), home video releases, and merchandise rights for both North America and Latin America. Moreover, Viz Media has also just partnered up with Televix Entertainment to showcase the upcoming series to Latin American buyers during the National Association of Television Program Executives (NAPTE) that was held in Miami, Florida last Jan. 16–18.
The upcoming series will be animated by David Production under the direction of Toshiyuki Kato, who has previously worked on "Full Moon o Sagashite" and "JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable." Atsuhiro Tomioka, whose previous works include "Inazuma Eleven" and "Pokémon XY," will be handling the series scripts, while Hajime Watanabe, who has previously worked on "Ginga e Kickoff!!" and "School Rumble" will be serving as both character designer and chief animation director.
The new series will be retelling the story of the original "Captain Tsubasa" manga that ran from 1981 to 1988, right down to the very beginning of 11-year-old Tsubasa Oozara's dream of becoming the best soccer player he can ever be and to one day play at the prestigious World Cup.
Yuko Senpei will be providing the voice of Tsubasa, while Kenichi Suzumura will be reprising the role of Genzo Wakabayashi, whom he has previously voiced in "Road to 2002" installments.
The reboot series will also be updated to feature modern gadgets like mobile phones, which have not been around when the manga series was first adapted into anime in the 1980s.
"Captain Tsubasa" is scheduled to be released sometime in April on TV Tokyo. Information on the series' official broadcast schedule will be available on its official site at a later date.