Captain Tsubasa seemed hell-bent on remaking its anime until it got it right. It took 30 years to do that, and now we are left with one of the legitimately most confusing anime/manga continuities ever made.
So put on those reading glasses and soccer cleats, we’re going Tsubasa deep-diving.
Alternative Titles:
- キャプテン翼
Year Anime Premiered: 1983; 2018
Animation Studio: Tsuchida Productions; David Production
Number of Seasons: 3 + 14 OVA + 4 Movies + 2 Reboot
Source Material Country of Origin: Japan
Source Material Available: Manga
Is It Officially Licensed Past Where The Anime Ends?: No
Is It Fan Translated Past Where The Anime Ends?: Yes
Entry Last Updated: April 15th, 2025
Where To Start The Captain Tsubasa Manga After The Anime?
Where does one start the Captain Tsubasa manga after the anime? Well, that fully depends on what anime you watched.
Captain Tsubasa 1983
If you watched the original Captain Tsubasa 1983 anime, you can start the manga at:
- If you watched the Captain Tsubasa 1983 anime – You can start the original Captain Tsubasa manga at Volume 25, Chapter 85
- If you watched Shin Captain Tsubasa OVA – You can start the original Captain Tsubasa manga at Volume 36, Chapter 109
- If you watched the Holland Youth OVA – This covered the single-volume Holland Youth one-shot manga, you should still go back and read the final volume of the original manga, since it was skipped (starting at Chapter 109). After that, you can start the Captain Tsubasa: World Youth Arc manga series.
- If you watched Captain Tsubasa J Episodes 35 through 47 – You can start the Captain Tsubasa: World Youth Arc manga series at Volume 8, Chapter 32.
- If you watched Captain Tsubasa Road to 2002 Episodes 20 through 32 – Road to 2002 adapts through the end of the original Captain Tsubasa manga, but skips the World Youth Arc sequel manga and starts adapting the sequel to the World Youth Arc manga called Road to 2002. So you should start at Chapter 1 of the World Youth Arc manga instead.
*Important note: Captain Tsubasa J and Road to 2002 both start off as remakes of the story covered in the original Captain Tsubasa + Shin Captain Tsubasa anime. The episodes listed above are specifically where those series start adapting more of the story not seen in the original Captain Tsubasa anime and its sequel OVA Shin Captain Tsubasa.
It is recommended you get the original manga’s story from the 1983 anime or the 2018 remake rather from J or Road to 2002, because they do pretty much just a quick summary of it. Road to 2002 is particularly bad as it skips a full arc of the original manga and a full 18-volume sequel manga worth of content.
Captain Tsubasa 2018
Lucky for you, the 2018 Captain Tsubasa anime makes it much easier to get into the manga.
- If you finished the Captain Tsubasa 2018 Season 1 anime – You can start the original Captain Tsubasa manga at Volume 25, Chapter 85
- If you finished the Captain Tsubasa 2018 Season 2 anime – You can start the manga at the Captain Tsubasa: Holland Youth single-volume manga and follow that up with the World Youth Arc manga.
Captain Tsubasa Manga Read Order
This is included because I feel like it will help with some much-needed clarity to those wholly unfamiliar with the series and how very long it has been running.
The Captain Tsubasa manga read order is:
- Cpatain Tsubasa (Complete, 37 Volumes, 114 Chapters)
- Captain Tsubasa: The Strongest Opponent! Holland Youth (Complete, 1 Volume, 11 Chapters)
- Captain Tsubasa World Youth Arc (Complete, 18 Volumes, 64 Chapters)
- Captain Tsubasa Road to 2002 (Complete, 15 Volumes, 145 Chapters)
- Captain Tsubasa Golden-23 (Complete, 12 Volumes, 113 Chapters)
- Captain Tsubasa – Oversea Games in Calcio (Complete, 2 Volumes, 24 Chapters)
- Captain Tsubasa International Overseas Games En La Liga (Complete, 6 Volumes, 58 Chapters)
- Captain Tsubasa: Rising Sun (Complete, 20 Volumes, 158 Chapters) – This finished in 2024, so more manga may be coming.
Captain Tsubasa Manga Side Stories
- I am Misaki Taro (1 Volume, Complete) – Side story about Misaki that was also adapted in the 1983 Captain Tsubasa anime.
- Captain Tsubasa Short Stories Collection: Dream Field (2 Volumes, Complete) – Side stories for the Captain Tsubasa manga. Considered not part of the canon.
- Captain Tsubasa KIDS DREAM (5 Volumes, Complete) – Captain Tsubasa remake set in the present day (present day as in 2018)
- Captain Tsubasa Memories (3 Volumes, Complete) – Side stories about childhood Tsubasa to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the series.
What to Expect From The Captain Tsubasa Manga?
Captain Tsubasa is an anime series made wildly confusing because the anime keeps remaking the beginning of the story and then keeps adapting a little bit further on top of that.
The 1983 original anime does have a bit of filler to it and it has a slower pace, but otherwise is still a great anime to watch. The 2018 anime has no filler, good pacing, and modern animation. As to what anime to watch, that depends almost purely on preference.
If you don’t want to hunt down a sequel OVA and still have to read the final volume of the manga that was not adapted, then watch the 2018 anime.
It is really not recommended to try to start the Captain Tsubasa manga after watching J or Road to 2002. J is actually a fine anime adaptation, but it adapts so little of the next manga that you mind as well read the series from the beginning to get the best story fidelity. Road to 2002 is all-around a pretty bad anime as an adaptation.
Will There Be A Captain Tsubasa 2018 Season 3?
There has been no official announcement of a Captain Tsubasa 2018 Season 3.
The second season finished airing in 2024, so there is still very much a chance for one.
