Shueisha gave sports fans a pleasant surprise by offering the entire Captain Tsubasa manga library for free for a limited time. Sports fans can read all 113 chapters of the prestigious soccer manga on the Shueisha-run Manga Plus app or website. The series will remain free to read for a week before heading behind the paywall at the end of April 12th. These free programs are often created to hook fans on a specific service or product. Shueisha is sharing Captain Tsubasa for free to the public to help promote its Manga Plus service and potentially cultivate new fans for the series. The manga led to several popular animation adaptations, video games, and spin-off titles.
Captain Tsubasa continues to be one of Japan’s most enduring sports series, with Shueisha citing the manga as one of the instigators to make soccer popular in the country. The manga is praised for its dynamic storytelling and genuine enthusiasm towards the sport. Original manga author Yoishi Takahashi wrote the series in the same manner as a Shonen manga, imbuing the manga with zestful artwork and dramatic plot development. It’s Takahashi’s treatment of soccer that influenced how future manga would handle sports, giving weight and stakes to every game.
[RELATED – Captain Tsubasa Creator Announces Retirement, Series Finale]
New Series Drop!
Don’t miss this GOALden opportunity!
ALL 113 chapters of #CaptainTsubasa are on #MANGAPlus and available to read for FREE for one week!
“The ball is my friend.” Follow Tsubasa’s #soccer journey as he fights his way through intense battles against his… pic.twitter.com/yrxeXj28NJ— MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA (@mangaplus_o) April 5, 2025
Captain Tsubasa is a Must Read for Sports Fans!
Captain Tsubasa stars the titular preteen Tsubasa Oozora, who, after being saved from a potentially fatal accident by holding onto a soccer ball, becomes determined to compete in the FIFA World Cup. Tsubasa treats the ball as his friend, joining his school’s soccer team and competing in tournaments. The manga initially ran from 1981 to 1988, becoming one of the most popular series in the 80s, selling over 90 million copies worldwide. The manga was soon adapted into a renowned anime series that ran for 128 episodes from 1983 to 1986. Several anime films would be released before Takahashi released a follow-up manga called World Youth in 1994.
Several manga spin-offs and original video animations for Captain Tsubasa were released throughout the 90s and 2000s before a new long-running anime series began airing again in 2018. The first season was produced by David Production, the same company behind the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure anime. The Captain Tsubasa remake had an unprecedented 52-episode first season, covering the Elementary School Arc and Middle School Arc. The second season only lasted 39 episodes and was produced by Studio Kai. The second season only covered the Junior Youth Arc, the final storyline in the original manga.
H/T: Manga Plus on X (formerly Twitter)
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