The creator of the globally renowned football manga ‘Captain Tsubasa’ was originally a baseball fan and didn’t know the rules of football

“Captain Tsubasa, the beloved football manga worldwide. Due to its eccentric plays, there are often rumors questioning whether the author, Yoichi Takahashi, actually knows the rules.”

In fact, tracing the author’s career, during his school days, he was a member of the baseball club. It was in 1978 when he graduated from high school and aimed to become a manga artist. He was deeply impacted by the Argentina World Cup held around that time, which led him to choose it as the subject for his manga.

In Japan at the time, sports manga mostly focused on baseball, and football wasn’t well-known. The lack of football-themed manga inspired the author to choose it as the subject. As a result, he wasn’t very familiar with the rules. This led to creating unique and captivating super plays that even football players or fans wouldn’t expect. For example, the goalkeeper’s Triangle Jump, Sky Hurricane, Twin Shoot, and more. I used to mimic them a lot when I was a child.

Thanks to the popularity of this manga, the football player population in Japan saw a significant increase (doubling in the year following the start of the anime), later contributing to the establishment of professional leagues. Many star players in Japan’s football scene began their journey inspired by Captain Tsubasa. It’s not an overstatement to say that Captain Tsubasa played a big part in lifting Japan, once a weak football nation, to the 17th rank in the FIFA rankings. This manga’s influence goes beyond Japan; it’s been made into an anime and aired worldwide. World-class players like Neymar, Messi, Zidane, and others have openly said in interviews that they were influenced by Captain Tsubasa, impacting the global football scene.

In short, although the manga showcases unrealistic and potentially rule-breaking plays, I believe discussions about whether the author knew the rules are insignificant compared to the manga’s positive real-world impact.