Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002 (2001) — Story, Release Date, Rating

Synopsis:

The series follows Tsubasa Oozora, a young man completely consumed by the world of soccer. From childhood dedication to his current position with Barcelona, every aspect of his life is geared toward achieving his ultimate ambition: participating in the World Cup. The narrative traces his rigorous training and competitive spirit as he navigates challenging matches and climbs the ranks within professional soccer.

Beyond on-field action, the story explores Tsubasa’s origins in Nankatsu, hinting at formative experiences that shaped his intense drive. The anime emphasizes perseverance and the pursuit of excellence through athletic competition. It offers a grounded perspective on the demanding path to professional sports, examining both individual ambition and teamwork within a high-stakes environment.

Streaming Platforms:

Netflix

Episodes:

Episode 1: Road to Dream (Aired: 10/07/2001)
Episode 2: Tsubasa meets Roberto (Aired: 10/14/2001)
Episode 3: Taro Misaki is Back (Aired: 10/21/2001)
Episode 4: Blazing Kojirou (Aired: 10/28/2001)
Episode 5: Birth! Captain Tsubasa (Aired: 11/04/2001)
... and 47 more episodes

Characters:

Hyuuga, Kojirou (Main) - Voice Actors: Koyasu, Takehito, Matsumoto, Rica, Lucindo, Fábio, Schulz, Sebastian, Markovics, Tamás, Mendoza, Ricardo, Guerrieri, Vittorio, Giraldi, Silvio, Antoine, Adrien
Misaki, Tarou (Main) - Voice Actors: Yukino, Satsuki, Toriumi, Kousuke, Barrero, Jesús, Bösherz, Konrad, Boulad, Luc, Vivio, Paolo, Andreatto, Rodrigo, Padilla, Luis Alfonso
Nakazawa, Sanae (Main) - Voice Actors: Enomoto, Atsuko, Azevedo, Sandra Mara, Keplmair, Tatiane, Barba, Liliana, Giraudon, Marie, Baldini, Antonella
Oozora, Tsubasa (Main) - Voice Actors: Seki, Tomokazu, Inoue, Kikuko, Sablik, Nico, Molnár, Levente, Araújo, Márcio, Saudinós, Jorge, Vidale, Fabrizio, Rivera, Benjamín, Nouel, Antoine, Richter, Ricardo
Wakabayashi, Genzou (Main) - Voice Actors: Suzumura, Kenichi, Campos, Marcelo, Kahnmeyer, Robin, Szokol, Péter, Carabias, José, Borghetti, Giorgio, Arenas, José
Aimor (Supporting)
Alaberdo (Supporting)
Almieja, Marcos (Supporting)
Andrea (Supporting)
Aoba, Yayoi (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Gabia, Carol, Suzuki, Masami
Aoi, Shingo (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Morikubo, Shoutarou, Vivio, Marco, Wirthgen, Jesco, Monteiro, Dado, Mora, Moisés Iván, Barioni, Thiago
Asada, Takeshi (Supporting)
Banchi, Marco (Supporting)
Bara, Barsole (Supporting)
Barbas, Diego (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Lima, Mauro Eduardo
Baroli (Supporting)
Bassi, Nicola (Supporting)
Blueno (Supporting)
Bossis, Alain (Supporting)
Carbonara, René (Supporting)
Conti, Giovanni (Supporting)
Delpi, Alessandro (Supporting)
Diaz, Juan (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Oohata, Shintarou, Laffey, Luiz, Escobar, Ricardo, De Filippis, Alessio
Esnander (Supporting)
Fonseca, Pedro (Supporting)
Fujisawa, Yoshiko (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Bullara, Fernanda
Fujita, Takamasa (Supporting)
Galtoni, Julio (Supporting)
Galvan, Gabriel (Supporting)
Haranishi, Keisuke (Supporting)
Harukawa, Shunta (Supporting)
Hernandez, Gino (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Kikuchi, Masami, Alto, Massimiliano, Corsetti, Sérgio
Hongo, Roberto (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Rollo, Alfredo, Miyamoto, Mitsuru, Maggi, Angelo, Kluckert, Tobias, Pacôme, François, Vásquez, Gerardo
Honma, Minoru (Supporting)
Ichijou, Isamu (Supporting)
Ichinose, Akira (Supporting)
Ishida, Tetsuo (Supporting)
Ishizaki, Ryou (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Takano, Urara, Balas, Javier, Manfredi, Massimiliano, Mercado Jr., Arturo, Barioni, Rafael, Barazzoni, Vincent, Bonilla, Carlos Enrique
Itao, Susumu (Supporting)
Iwami, Kenichi (Supporting)
Izawa, Mamoru (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Mizuma, Maki, Usui, Takayasu, Rada, Blanca, Fernandes, Samira, Vivio, Marco
Jito, Hiroshi (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Bosch, Eduardo, Takatsuka, Masaya, Castro, Mauro, Nouel, Antoine, Kröger, Marco, Hosang, Andreas, Ferraro, Luigi
Junguang, Xiao (Supporting)
Kaltz, Hermann (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Monteiro, Dado, Amajones, Affonso, Lima, Wellington, Berenz, Johannes, Chevalier, Davide
Karl-Heinz's Mother (Supporting)
Katagiri, Munemasa (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Abreu, Marco Antônio, Nouel, Antoine, Siebeck, Oliver, Boccanera, Fabio
Katou, Masanori (Supporting)
Kawakami, Goro (Supporting)
Kira, Kouzou (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Amajones, Affonso
Kishida, Takeshi (Supporting)
Kisugi, Teppei (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Fagundes, Vagner, Kamei, Yoshiko, Sakaguchi, Shuuhei, Concepcion, Priscilla, Ortiz, Gabriel, Baldini, Nanni
Kitazume, Makoto (Supporting) - Voice Actors: Costha, Faduli, Staudinger, Stefan
Kurita, Goro (Supporting)
Levin, Stefan (Supporting)
Margus, Manfred (Supporting)
... and 45 more characters

Staff:

Imakake, Isamu (Director, Episode Director, Storyboard)
Sugii, Gisaburou (Director, Episode Director, Storyboard)
Fujiyama, Fusanobu (Sound Director)
Hong, Hun-pyo (Episode Director, Storyboard)
Itagaki, Shin (Episode Director, Storyboard, Animation Director)
Kimiya, Shigeru (Episode Director)
Mikuriya, Kyousuke (Episode Director)
Miyake, Yuuichirou (Episode Director)
Nakagawa, Satoshi (Episode Director)
Nitta, Yoshikata (Episode Director)
Oota, Tomoaki (Episode Director, Key Animation)
Aranishi, Daisuke (Script)
Kawashima, Sumino (Script)
Salva, Laurence (Script)
Souma, Kazuhiko (Script, Series Composition)
Kobayashi, Osamu (Storyboard)
Kohanawa, Tameo (Storyboard)
Nanba, Hitoshi (Storyboard)
Ooya, Mitsuko (Storyboard)
Seo, Yasuhiro (Storyboard, Animation Director)
Takada, Kouichi (Storyboard)
Tsuji, Shinichi (Storyboard)
Andou, Takahiro (Theme Song Composition)
D'Avena, Cristina (Theme Song Performance)
Enomoto, Atsuko (Theme Song Performance)
Imai, Eriko (Theme Song Performance)
Vanni, Giorgio (Theme Song Performance)
Deguchi, Toshio (Key Animation)
Eguchi, Marisuke (Chief Animation Director)
Fudeyasu, Kazuyuki (Screenplay)
Furukawa, Masashi (Editing)
Hyoudou, Takashi (Key Animation)
Iida, Hiroyoshi (Key Animation)
Iwasaki, Yasunori (Music)
Kanemura, Katsuyoshi (Art Director)
Katou, Shouji (Sound Effects)
Kurosaki, Kaoru (Screenplay)
Maeda, Minoru (Character Design)
Matsuzaki, Hajime (Animation Director)
Minami, Shinichirou (Animation Director)
Murakami, Tsutomu (Animation Director)
Saitou, Yuuko (Color Design)
Sakurai, Konomi (Key Animation)
Scalvi, Patrícia (ADR Director)
Tada, Akifumi (Music)
Takahashi, Yoichi (Original Creator)
Yamagata, Aki (Animation Director)
Yamasawa, Minoru (Animation Director)
Yoneda, Hiroshi (Key Animation)

Reviews:

User iorime (Score: 9/10):
Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002 tells the story of the fictional Japanese national football/soccer team and how they came to represent Japan in the 2002 World Cup held in Japan and Korea. It combines purely ridiculous (in a good way) football with classic anime action. The series places a strong emphasis on the progression of a few select characters- from talented middle school students to playing for top European football clubs as adults; Tsubasa Oozora, the title character's journey being most prominent. That said, there are asides about pretty much every minor character's origins as middle school footballers, or their struggles as they try to makea pro career and break in to the national team. There is also a love interest which is very much a secondary thing in the story and feels a little trite, though I'm sure anyone who's ever fangirl/fanboy/fanwhatevered over anything: a person in their lives, sporting heroes, a TV or anime character, etc., can relate to her passion.nnIf you ever played a sport competitively, you should enjoy this series. Even people who don't understand the appeal of the game or sports in general will get a feel for what it's all about (or otherwise further affirm that sports are the new opiate of the masses; I understand both sides of it). Football fans in particular will probably smirk at a few football clubs, players, and managers who are clearly send-ups of the real thing.
User Sanae28 (Score: 8/10):
This series was created on the occasion of the soccer world championships that took place in Korea and Gaippone in 2002. As you will have understood by now, this story inevitably binds and intersects with the real life of Japan, but not only. In fact this series is full of references to real soccer players and real football teams. It can be divided into two parts of 26 episodes each: - 'Elementary arc' + 'middle school arc'( personally I think they cut a little too much of the story) + 'shin captain tsubasa arc' (quite good) - first part of 'CTWY' (Tsubasa in Brazil) and the first part of 'CTRT2002'(Tsubasa in Europe): it is as if they had taken these two parts of the manga e. for some strange reason and mixed them togethernnThe perspective is completely new, in fact the story begins with Tsubasa who is playing his last game in Brazil and remembers his football career, from the beginning.nnThis match continues to be present in the first part of the story, as the episodes continue.nnIn the second part you can admire a completely new match, Japan vs Holland, with all our beloved heroes lined up on the field.nnThere's only one special manga, based on this game, and, a movie, which is only found in Japanese with subtitles.nnAt the end of the 52nd episode it's already possible to see which challenge will await 'Tsubasa & Co.' at the end of their journey, which just seems to never end in the manga ...nnThe new graphics are very appealing and music is exciting.nnWe must admit that 'CT' we can also admire the evolution of Japanese animation and find the reflection and magic of past times.nnWhat can I say ... I wanted them to continue where it ended ...nnNothing to say 'CT' is always the same, even if the years pass!
User LeonardoRJ12 (Score: 9/10):
Captain Tsubasa road to 2002 shows the history of the Japanese team's formation to show the world the excellence of their football and technique. In the person of Tsubasa, all the art and greatness of football are shown in a unique and fantastic way. It's an exciting sport that makes everyone who wants to play real football well. Captain Tsubasa road to 2002 is in fact the football anime. Tradução: Captain Tsubasa road to 2002 mostra a história da formação da equipe japonesa para mostrar ao mundo a excelência do seu futebol e técnica. Na pessoa de Tsubasa, toda a arte e a grandeza do futebolsão mostradas de modo único e fantástico. É um esporte empolgante que faz todos os que assistem almejar jogarem bem o verdadeiro futebol. Captain Tsubasa road to 2002 é de fato, o anime do futebol.
... and 1 more reviews

Forum Topics:

External Links:

Related Anime/Manga:

Captain Tsubasa J (anime - Prequel)
Captain Tsubasa (manga - Adaptation)
Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002 (manga - Adaptation)

Genres: Shounen, Sports, Team Sports
Themes: Team Sports
Demographics: Shounen
Studios: Group TAC
Producers: Avex Mode, Dentsu, Madhouse, TV Tokyo
Rating: 7.46 / 10
Rank: #2157
Popularity: #3044
Users Listed: 62,380
Users Scored: 38,681
NSFW: No
Last Updated: 11/28/2023
Aired: October 7, 2001 – October 6, 2002 (Fall)
Type: tv
Source: manga
Age Rating: PG 13
Episodes: 52

Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002