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Captain Tsubasa Series Has 70 Million Copies in Print
posted on by Karen Ressler
The sixth volume of Captain Tsubasa: Rising Sun, which shipped in Japan on Friday, is the 100th volume for the overall Captain Tsubasa series, including the sequel manga and novels. Within Japan, the series has more than 70 million copies in print.
The original soccer manga revolves around 11-year-old Tsubasa Ōzora, a boy who loves soccer and is recognized by his coach Roberto due to his skill of the sport. Tsubasa goes with his coach to Brazil in order to train for the World Cup.
Takahashi's original 37-volume Captain Tsubasa manga ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1981 to 1988, and it inspired three television anime series, four anime films, several OVAs, and an upcoming stage play. The manga is available in about 20 countries — including France, Italy, and Mexico — and an Arabic edition shipped in the Middle East in January.
The manga spawned additional sequels and spinoff series, including Captain Tsubasa: World Youth Tokubetsu-hen Saikyō no Teki! Oranda Youth, Captain Tsubasa: World Youth, Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002, Captain Tsubasa Golden-23, Captain Tsubasa: Kaigai Gekitō-hen in Calcio, and Captain Tsubasa: Kaigai Gekitō-hen En La Liga. A new oneshot for the series was later published in Shonen Jump in 2008. The manga has also spawned three novel volumes.
Takahashi launched the ongoing Captain Tsubasa: Rising Sun manga (pictured at right) in December 2013. The manga revolves around Tsubasa as he aims to participate in the Olympics as a representative from Japan.
Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web
