the father of the manga “Olive and Tom” to conquer professional football – Liberation

by time news

Yōichi Takahashi, the author of the manga “Captain Tsubasa”, is about to close the series to try to raise his football team to the J-League, the Japanese professional championship.

It is a manga that has inspired generations of footballers. Captain Tsubasa, better known in France under the name of Olive et Tomtells the adventures and the rise in the world of football of Olivier Atton (Tsubasa Ozora in its original version), a child passionate about the round ball who, very quickly, befriends Thomas Price known as “Tom” (Genzo Wakabayashi), reputed to be the best goalkeeper of all time.

However, the author of this manga – who has inspired children who have become legends of sport, like Zidane, Mbappé or Messi – wishes to put down his pencils and close the series to devote himself to Nankatsu SC, his real football team. and try to raise his team to the J-League, the Japanese professional championship.

The next arc of the manga will therefore be the last he will draw, even if his characters continue to live on other media. Takahashi doesn’t seem unhappy to say goodbye to the pressure of having to turn in new boards every week. “That doesn’t mean that I completely stop creative work, livre Takahashi. I would like to start something new while I still have energy”.

Popularize football

First published in 1981 in the Japanese weekly Shonen Jump, this manga and its animated adaptation have been a worldwide success, also inspiring video games and even statues in the Tokyo ward where its author, Yōichi Takahashi, is from.

And the author himself became addicted to football while watching the 1978 World Cup on television, organized and won by Argentina. So, by creating Captain Tsubasa, he wanted to popularize the sport in Japan, where the J-League was only established in 1993, unaware that manga volumes would sell over 80 million copies.

He now dreams of Nankatsu SC, of ​​which he became president in 2013 and owner in 2019, climbing the rungs of the Japanese football pyramid, as they currently play in the fifth division. “In Europe it’s only natural to support your local club, but we didn’t have that culture in Japan,” observes the mangaka, before continuing: “I didn’t have a local club, so I wanted to start one myself.” The name of the club is a tribute to the one where manga heroes Olivier Atton and Thomas Price evolved.

At the top of the Japanese football hierarchy are the three divisions of the J-League. Launched in 1993 with just 10 clubs, the national professional league will begin its 30th season this month and now has 60 teams. Nankatsu SC have recruited big-name players to help their promotion efforts, signing former Japan internationals Junichi Inamoto (82 caps, 43) and Yasuyuki Konno (93 caps, 40).

Inspire “beyond the superstars”

Last month, the Tokyo borough where the club trains announced it would buy land to build a new stadium – a condition for promotion to the J-League – which could be called ‘Captain Tsubasa Stadium’., slide the mangaka. It is even planned to include a museum dedicated to the characters of his work, in order to attract tourists from all over the world. Being a club owner is “sometimes fun, but most often difficult”, recognizes Takahashi, however. “With a manga you can lock yourself in and draw whatever you want, but when you’re an owner you have to meet a lot of people and strategize.”

The mangaka believes football can develop further in Japan, which he believes is capable of winning the World Cup in his lifetime, saying he sees similarities between young striker Takefusa Kubo and main character Tsubasa Ozora. Delighted to have been able to attend the World Cup final in Qatar in December and see Messi lift the trophy he has coveted for so long, the artist believes that Captain Tsubasa has the ability to inspire “beyond the superstars”.

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