"GIANT KILLING" Review: The appeal of soccer and tactics

GIANT KILLING - A comprehensive review and recommendation

■ Public Media

TV anime series

■ Original Media

comics

■ Broadcast period

April 4, 2010 - September 26, 2010
BS hi April 4, 2010 to September 26, 2010 (Episodes 1 to 26) Every Sunday 9:25 to 9:50
NHK BS2 April 4, 2010 to September 26, 2010 (Episodes 1 to 26) Every Sunday 23:00 to 23:25
NHK Educational TV September 25, 2010 - April 2, 2011 (1st - 26th episodes) Every Saturday 18:25 - 18:50
NHK General TV April 5, 2011 to October 25, 2011 (Episodes 1 to 26) Every Tuesday 1:05 to 1:30 (Monday night)

■Broadcasting station

NHKBS2, Bshi, NHK Educational, NHK General

■Frequencies

half an hour

■ Number of Episodes

Episode 26

■Original Story

Tsujitomo

■ Director

Red Yu

■ Production

・Animation Production: Studio Deen ・Production: Sogo Vision ・Production, copyright: NHK

■Works

©Tsujitomo, Masaya Tsunamoto, Kodansha/NHK, NEP

■ Story

The strategy of the weak defeats the strong.
"It's a giant killing!!"

A man is appointed as the manager of ETU, a small and struggling Japanese professional soccer club.
The man's name is Takeshi Tatsumi.

He is a man of skill who led an amateur club in the fifth division of England to the round of 32 in the FA Cup and pushed a Premier League club to the brink.

His former club chose him, but there had been a lot of turmoil within the team even before the start of the season.

Will this appointment prove to be a blessing or a curse?

■Explanation

The unique soccer manga "GIANT KILLING" currently being serialized in Morning Weekly is being made into an anime!
Coming to NHK-BS on Sunday, April 4th!
As the title "Giant Killing" suggests, the film depicts a small Japanese professional soccer club led by a charismatic manager taking on strong teams.

*Quoted from Studio Deen's official website

■Cast

・Tatsumi Takeshi/Seki Tomokazu/Tsubaki Daisuke/Mizushima Hirotaka/Murakoshi Shigeyuki/Okiayu Ryutaro/Luigi Yoshida/Ono Daisuke/Natsuki Yotaro/Kusunoki Daisuke/Goto Tsuneo/Kawashima Tokuai/Nagata Yuri/Asano Masumi/Hiraizumi/Arimoto Kintaka/Mochida/Kanna Nobutoshi/Tanuma Goro/Tadano Yohei/Fukasawa Shige/Hirota Minoru/Matsubara/Uoken/Josai/Mikami Satoshi/Hori/Kurosawa Takeshi/Chairman Nagata/Fukumatsu Susumu/Haneda/Miyauchi Atsushi/Vice Chairman Nagata/Goto Tetsuo/Old man/David Reggis/Kaneda/Saito Jiro/Kuroda Kazuki/Ito Kentaro/Sugie Isamu Written by: Daisuke Kirii, Ryo Akasaki, Masashi Muto, Kazumi Kiyokawa, Keiichi Nakagawa, Osamu Ishihama, Tomoyoshi Fukatsu, Kyohei Sera, Taketoshi Kawano, Satoshi Tamba, Keigo Manaka, Yoshinori Sakai, Shinji Kawada, Kenji Hotta, Tetsuya Oka, Hiroshi Midorikawa, Hideo Fuji, Shingo Yano, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Kota Tanuma, Yuko Gibu, Yoshio Fukazawa, Saeko Kuragae, Tetta, Tamako Nohama, Tokui, Takeshi Kurosawa, Kaga, Minoru Hirota, Goro's wife, Kujira, Mamiya, Minoru Hirota, Yuji, Jiro Saito, Katchan, Takeshi Kurosawa, Yama-san, Hayato Nakata, Tokoro, Takeshi Kurosawa, Fuwa / Masayuki Komuro Zeubert / Gibo Aguinaldo Carlos / Nozaki Oziel Itagaki / Jiro Saito and Tsuyoshi Miyano / Kensuke Sato and Suzuki / Sato Sato and Takeshi Kamei / Tokuai Kawashima and Tatsuo Ishigami / Hayato Nakata and Dulfer / Anton Lebel Sonoda / Hayato Nakata and Brun / Laurent Thessel-Brun's interpreter / Keiichi Nakagawa and Kuramochi / Toshihiko Kojima and Yamai / Tetsuya Oka and Fujisawa / Hiroe Oka Zeubert / Boa Aguinaldo Zeubert / Tomoyuki Shimura and secretary / Sayaka Kinoshita and Dulfer / Kusunoki Ken Naoki and Sonoda / Nakata Hayato and Katayama / Tanaka Kazunari and Kubota / Yamanaka Mahiro and Hata / Fukuda Kenji and Shimura / Takase Yukimitsu and Hiraga / Ida Kunio and Terauchi / Kurosawa Takeshi and Sumita / Mikami Satoshi and Carlos / Ogino Haruo and Tani / Nakata Hayato and Koga / Kurosawa Takeshi and Sekine / Ida Kunio and Sakamoto / Mikami Satoshi and Komuro / Shimazaki Nobunaga and Katsuragi / Manaka Keigo and Imai / Saito Jiro and Hauer / Mike Zyberg and Hauer / Miyake Kenta and Bran / Nakano Yutaka and Tanabe / Ida Kunio and Ibata / Ida Kunio and Furuya / Kurosawa Takeshi and Motoki / Hirota Minoru

■ Main staff

・Original work / Tsujitomo・Original concept, research cooperation / Tsunamoto Masaya・Series composition / Kawase Toshifumi・Director / Kurenai Yu・Character design / Kumagai Tetsuya・Art director / Azuma Junichi・Color design / Kitazume Eiko・Director of photography / Kondo Shinyo・Editor / Matsumura Masahiro・Sound director / Takahashi Tsuyoshi・Music / Mori Eiji・Animation producer / Urasaki Norimitsu・Production supervisors / Hirooka Atsuya, Shibata Yuji・Chief animation director / Kumagai Tetsuya・Action animation director / Takaoka Junichi・Concept design / Takahashi Shinya, Nanjo Yosuke, Yamada Maya・Sound effects / Wada Toshiya・Sound recording adjustment / Aoki Masatoshi・Animation production / Studio Deen・Production / Sogo Vision・Production, copyright / NHK

■ Main Characters

Takeshi Tatsumi will be the new manager of ETU from this season. Tatsumi was a former Japan national team player and star player of ETU, but after moving overseas, he retired from playing and became a manager. Until recently, he led FC East Ham, an amateur club in the fifth division of England, and pulled off a major upset by defeating a professional club and advancing to the round of 32 of the FA Cup.
Daisuke Tsubaki is a young midfielder who has been a regular in the top team since this season. He was a completely unknown player before joining ETU. While he attracts the attention of the crowd with his outstanding stamina and speed, he is very weak under pressure and there are many games where he is unable to show his true potential. His uniform number is 7.
・Shigeyuki Murakoshi Captain and known as "Mr. ETU". Not only does he steer the team as a defensive midfielder, but he is also the team's spiritual pillar and the face of ETU. Although he was highly praised by other teams, he joined the team after recognizing Tatsumi's ability during his active days. Jersey number 6.
Luigi Yoshida is often called Gino, but he prefers to be called Prince. He is a talented player who has shown outstanding talent as an attacking midfielder, but his carefree personality and insistence on his own playing style has prevented him from making a solid record. He wears the number 10.
・Hiroshi Midorikawa The oldest member of the team. He was also selected for the Japanese national team while playing for Shimizu. With his wealth of experience, he is the leader of ETU's defense, calmly managing the final line.
・Kazuki Kuroda
He is one of the CBs who is in charge of the central defense of ETU, which uses a four-back formation as a basic system. Although he is smaller than his CB partner Sugie, he makes up for that with his determination. He never flinches.
・Yusaku Sugie
A regular CB. Unlike fellow CB Kuroda, who plays with all his heart, he has a calm observational eye. He has the inner strength to listen to his teammates and offer suggestions.
Tatsuo Ishigami: This season, his appearances have decreased due to the change in manager and the emergence of the young Ishihama. Although he doesn't make a flashy appeal, he does have something hidden in his heart.
Kenji Hotta: Last season, he played as a double defensive midfielder with Murakoshi, and as an attacking midfielder, making him a capable player in multiple positions. His contributions to ETU were great.
・Yoshinori Sakai is a forward who has not been given many opportunities to play. However, he has a strong and honest personality and is strong enough to face the current situation head-on. He is strict, but his warm comments suggest his virtue.
Yotaro Natsuki is an ace forward who is currently out of the team due to a knee ligament injury. He has a bold personality and is very sensitive. Last season, he saved the team by scoring valuable goals whenever they were in trouble.
Satoshi Tamba
A utility player who can play both midfielder and forward. At ETU, he often plays as a left half. Along with Akazaki on the right, he plays on both wings of the team.
Ryo Akasaki is one of the more radical young players this season. He is a player who exudes the sharp edge that comes with youth. He is good at both midfielder and forward, and was selected as a right wingback due to his speed.
・Kazumi Kiyokawa
He works as a left back for ETU. His long dyed hair gives him a modern look at first glance. However, he is not the type to show off in public, and he has a strong desire to play in the game.
・Tsuyoshi Miyano
He is often deployed on the right wing at ETU, where the team often uses one striker. Although he is a quiet person, he is sincere and does not go against the policy, and is always aiming for a starting position.
Kyohei Sera is a young forward who scored the team's first goal in the league and cup this season. His easy-going personality is a positive thing when things are going well, but it can also make him feel impatient when things are negative.
・Shingo Yano: Left SH. He is a member of the young team who has been given a chance by Tatsumi, and is currently relegated to being a backup for Tanba, who also plays in the same position.
・Shuuichi Ishihama is the SB. At the beginning of the season, he was a reserve for Ishigami on the young team, but under Tatsumi's management, he became a regular. His mental weakness sometimes shows.
・Masamasa Sano The second goalkeeper after Midorikawa. He rarely shows his ego and is a mood maker who is always considerate of his teammates.
Takeshi Kamei
A reserve CB. Although he is physically blessed, he is not as good at marking or getting to the ball as the regulars.
・Tsuneo Goto
ETU's GM (General Manager). He was teammates with Tatsumi at ETU during their active playing days, and brought him back from England after seeing his talent. As the person in charge of the club's operations, he has high expectations for the skills of manager Takeshi Tatsumi.
・Yuri Nagata
ETU Public Relations. Her father is the president of ETU and her uncle is the vice president. Yuri has been an enthusiastic supporter of ETU since she was a child and is one of the people who knew Tatsumi well when he was still an active player. Currently, she is busy trying to make Tatsumi's ideal team a reality.

■Subtitle

・#1(2010/04/04)
・#2(2010/04/11)
・#3(2010/04/18)
・#4(2010/04/25)
・#5(2010/05/02)
・#6(2010/05/09)
・#7(2010/05/16)
・#8(2010/05/23)
・#9(2010/05/30)
・#10(2010/06/06)
・#11(2010/06/13)
・#12(2010/06/20)
・#13(2010/06/27)
・#14(2010/07/04)
・#15(2010/07/11)
・#16(2010/07/18)
・#17(2010/07/25)
・#18(2010/08/01)
・#19(2010/08/08)
・#20(2010/08/15)
・#21(2010/08/22)
・#22(2010/08/29)
・#23(2010/09/05)
・#24(2010/09/12)
・#25(2010/09/19)
・#26(2010/09/26)

■ Theme songs and music

・OP1
・My story ~Towards an unknown tomorrow~
・Lyrics by KATUO
・Composer: HIROMITSU HOSOKAWA
・Arrangement: THE CHERRY COKE$
・Song: THE CHERRY COKE$

・ED1
・Get tough!
Lyrics: G.P.S.
・Composition: G.P.S.
・Arrangement: G.P.S.
・Song: G.P.S.

■ Evaluation and recommendation

"Giant Killing" is an anime series based on the original manga by Tsujitomo, which was broadcast on NHK in 2010. The story is set in the world of soccer and follows the story of a weak team taking on a strong team. In particular, it focuses on the struggles of ETU (East Tokyo United), led by a charismatic coach named Takeshi Tatsumi.

The greatest appeal of this anime is the realistic portrayal of soccer and the human drama within the team. Director Ben Yu carefully depicts soccer tactics and the flow of the game in detail, conveying the excitement to the viewers. In addition, character design by Kumagai Tetsuya is excellent, and the individuality of each player is well expressed.

The story follows Takeshi Tatsumi as he takes over as manager of ETU and rebuilds the team. Tatsumi is a man with experience leading an English fifth division club to the round of 32 in the FA Cup, and his strategy and leadership are key to the story. Viewers will be drawn in by the depiction of the growth of young players, the struggles of veteran players, and the building of trust between the manager and players.

The cast is also impressive, with the voice actors, including Seki Tomokazu as Takeshi Tatsumi, Mizushima Hiroyuki as Daisuke Tsubaki, and Okiayu Ryutaro as Shigeyuki Murakoshi, bringing the characters to life. In particular, Seki Tomokazu's brilliant portrayal of Takeshi Tatsumi's calmness and passion captures the hearts of viewers.

Music is also an important element in enhancing the atmosphere of the work. The opening theme, "My story ~Tomorrow we have yet to see~", is performed by THE CHERRY COKE$, and its powerful melody will inspire the viewers. The ending theme, "Get tough!", is performed by G.P.S, and creates a strong afterglow after the match.

This work is recommended not only for soccer fans, but also for those who like sports and human drama. In particular, the story of the weak challenging the strong will give courage to many people. Also, the episodes depicting the interpersonal relationships and growth process within the team are very moving.

Furthermore, "GIANT KILLING" is not just a sports anime, it also deals with social themes. For example, it depicts real-life soccer problems such as team management, relationships with fans, and the influence of the media, and has elements that make viewers think.

Overall, "GIANT KILLING" is a wonderful work that combines realistic depictions of soccer with deep human drama. This is an anime that anyone who wants to experience the excitement and emotion of soccer, or is interested in team growth and human relationships, should definitely watch. Even after NHK's broadcast ends, it will be available on DVD and streaming services, so if you haven't seen it yet, be sure to check it out.