This is a list of characters who appear in anime, videogames and manga of Captain Tsubasa. Due to differences between anime, manga, and games of Captain Tsubasa, some characters appear only in one series.
Characters Tsubasa Ozora
Tsubasa Oozora, aka Oliver Atom, is one of the series' main protagonists. The character is known to inspired real life professional players such as Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane and Fernando Torres.
Genzo Wakabayashi is the secondary protagonist, and the first rival to Tsubasa in the series and considered Japan's greatest goalkeeper. He first played as Shutetsu's goalkeeper and became a rival to Tsubasa, but after a match between Nankatsu and Shutetsu, they became good friends. An injury[knee injury]forbids him from playing most of the national championships along with his teammates at Nankatsu, but he returns, helping the team in defeating Meiwa. Wakabayashi later leaves for Germany to play for Hamburger SV where he meets Karl-Heinz Schneider and Hermann Kaltz, the former whom becomes a rival to him. He's later recruited by Mikami to play for the U-16 World Cup in France, but only plays in the finals against West Germany since Ken Wakashimazu was injured. He also joins the U-20 Japanese team in the World Youth arc, but injuries on both hands caused by Stefan Levin and Bryan Cruyfford prevent him from playing any matches. Fully recovered after the match with Italy, he gets his revenge on Levin and Cruyfford in the matches against Sweden and Holland and also plays in the finals against Brazil, only to get injured in the second half and to be replaced by Wakashimazu. After a Bundesliga match between Hamburger SV and Schneider's Bayern Munich, he's suspended from playing any further matches. He joins the U-22 and Olympic Japanese teams in the Golden-23 and Rising Sun arcs after recovering from an injury in his eye. After Japan beats Germany in the Olympic Games, Wakabayashi decides to join Schneider at Bayern Munich so that they can win the UEFA Champions League.
Kojiro Hyuga
Kojiro Hyuga (日向 小次郎, kana: ひゅうが こじろう) is the secondary protagonist, a forward and the ace striker for the Japanese national team. Coming from a poor family from Saitama, Hyuga lost his father at a young age so he had to take part-time jobs to help out his family. Although he can be quite hot-headed and arrogant, he's a very nice person, particularly towards his family and his teammates Takeshi Sawada and Ken Wakashimazu. After losing the elementary school tournament against Nankatsu, Hyuga, along with Sawada and Wakashimazu, joins Toho Academy, but fails to win the middle school tournament two times, only managing to get a win, sharing it with Nankatsu. He's recruited for the U-16 Japanese team and plays in all the matches, scoring the most goals. Later in high school, he wins three consecutive tournaments for Toho. He's taken off from the U-20 Japan team because he lacked post play. Aside from developing post play, he creates the Raiju Shoot, a shoot more powerful than his Tiger Shoot and develops a relationship with Maki Akamine, a softball player. He returns to the team and plays in the subsequent matches of the Asian preliminaries and the World Youth. He then signs a contract with Juventus FC but is taken off the team because of his poor balance and is loaned to Reggiana from Serie C.
Taro Misaki Taro Misaki (岬 太郎, kana: みさき たろう) is the secondary protagonist, a midfielder for the Japanese national team, who forms the Golden Combo with Tsubasa. He's the son of a landscape painter who travels around the world. Because his father is always travelling, he's unable to make long-term friends. Before meeting Tsubasa and the rest of the Nankatsu players, he played with Meiwa and Furano. During the national championship, he and Tsubasa became close friends aside from forming the Golden Combi. After winning the national championship, he left with his father to France, not wanting to live with his mother, who had married another man and gave birth to a daughter. He reunites with Tsubasa in the International Junior Youth Tournament in France and also finds a rival in Pierre. He returns to Japan and plays for the Nankatsu team in high school for three years, only to lose three times for Toho Academy. In the World Youth arc, he's taken off from the team by Coach Gamo, but returns to the team after travelling around the world. Unfortunately before the World Youth, Misaki gets his left leg broken in a car accident while saving his half-sister. Despite his leg not being fully healed, he plays in the finals against Brazil, assisting in Tsubasa's hat-trick. He currently plays for Jubilo Iwata in the J-League and in the Golden-23 and Rising Sun arc, he plays for the U-22 and Olympic Japan teams.
Hikaru Matsuyama Hikaru Matsuyama (松山光, kana: まつやま ひかる) is the secondary protagonist, either a defender or a midfielder for the Japanese national team. Whenever Tsubasa is not playing for Japan, he'll serve as captain. He first appeared in the national tournament as the captain of Furano and faced off against Meiwa in the semi-finals, but lost because his shot was stopped by Ken Wakashimazu. A few years later, he fought against Tsubasa's Nankatsu in the semi-finals, but failed once again. Matsuyama's then selected for the U-16 Japan team and serves as captain after a disastrous match against Hamburg SV, only to give the captain to Tsubasa. He continues to play for Furano in high school and begins to date Yoshiko Fujisawa (who had left for the United States because of her father's work). During the hard times of the Japan U-20 team, he contributes a lot to the team so that they do not fall apart. During the battle of World Youth arc, he was the first to find out about the RF7 challenge set by Gamo. He's absent for most of the quarter-finals match against Sweden because Yoshiko was involved in a car accident, but he returns to replace an injured Akai Tomeya and has a key in helping Japan win. In the Road to 2002 series, he plays for Consadole Sapporo and ties against Misugi, who now plays for FC Tokyo.
In Golden 23, Matsuyama was selected for the Japanese Olympics team as the captain. Coach Kira put a lot of trust in him, Misaki and Misugi, called the "3M" (3 Shooting Stars) of U-22 Japan, allowing them to handle the team's balance. He believed that Matsuyama's leadership would be important during the Asian preliminaries tournament.
Jun Misugi Jun Misugi (三杉 淳, Misugi Jun, kana: みすぎ じゅん) is the secondary protagonist, a Japanese player who is first introduced as a prodigy from the Musashi high school soccer team. Despite being one of the most skilled Japanese players of his generation, Misugi is pushed back by a heart disease that makes him only work for few time per matches. It's said that if Misugi was not hampered by his heart disease, he would have been the best Japanese player, even better than Tsubasa. He overcomes his heart disease by not playing for three years during high school and becomes a valuable player for the Japanese team in the Asian preliminaries and in the World Youth. At first, he played for Bellmare Hiratsuka, but then joined FC Tokyo. In the J-League, he faces off against Consadole Sapporo, led by Matsuyama, but they tie and both acknowledge each other's skills. He's currently playing for Olympic Japan in the Madrid Olympics soccer tournament and is not yet engaged to his girlfriend Yayoi Aoba.
Shingo Aoi Shingo Aoi (葵 新伍, Aoi Shingo, kana: あおい しんご) is a midfielder for the Japanese national team that forms the Golden Trio with Tsubasa and Misaki. He wanted to quit soccer after his team Nakahara FC lost against Nankatsu, but Tsubasa urged him not to. He joins Inter Juniors, but with the exception of goalkeeper Gino Hernandez and the kit manager Calimero, no one likes him and bully him so that he can leave. They finally accept him when he helps them win a match. Coach Minato Gamo of Japan U-20 calls him to help Japan in the first rounds of the Asian Tournament, claiming him to be his trump card. He remains a valuable member throughout the World Youth arc. He forms a rivalry with Salvatore Gentile, who is considered to be Italy's greatest líbero. He's disappointed when Italy's unable to defeat Uruguay because Hernandez and Gentile were injured by Ryoma Hino's Tornado Shoot. In the match against Italy, he plays full force that Hernandez and Gentile decide to play in the last minutes. In the final match against Brazil, he forms a trio with Tsubasa and Misaki. After Japan's win in the World Youth, he's bought by FC Albese from Serie C because he could not secure a place in Inter Milan. In the final match of Serie C, he faces off against Hyuga, who is playing for Reggiana, and although he fights with all he has, he loses. He's currently playing for Olympic Japan in the Rising Sun arc.
Ryo Ishizaki Ryo Ishizaki (石崎 了, kana: いしざき りょう) is introduced as the captain of the until then very unsuccessful Nankatsu elementary school team. He is one of the moral pillars of the grade school team and the Japan team. For Japan, he usually wears the jerseys #14 or #4. His position is that of a defense and often tends to block a ball with his face.
Biography
At first, he is not as good at football as the other players, prone to errors. This clumsy personality was even reinforced in the 1983 anime, but in later series specially the 2018 anime we can see that Ishizaki can make up for every mistake with his guts - at his nickname clearly states - and has grown up to win his place as a regular in Japan Jr., a feat recognized by both Tsubasa and the Nankatsu gang at the end of the 16th national tournament. Despite not having a special shot or dribble skills, his extra efforts on-field are compared to those Matsuyama's in terms of teamwork and strategy sense gained due to pure training. In Nankatsu Public, Ishizaki progressed much and became the captain of the football team. During the Madrid Olympics tournament, Ishizaki's overlaps are even more decisive, his individual technique improved to the point he can dodge and outsmart opponents, he helped in scoring important goals, even an assist is credited to him.
Personality
Ishizaki is Tsubasa's first friend in Nankatsu and known for his gutsy, cheerful and straightforward personality. In words of Tsubasa himself, he was the reason why he did not leave Nankatsu for entering Toho Academy. Much like Misaki & Wakabayashi, he can lift up Tsubasa when the latter is down. He has also some comic-relief moments, specially in the anime. He tends to have quarrels with both Urabe and his girlfriend Yukari due to their explosive personalities.
He is currently playing for Jubilo Iwata and Olympic Japan in the Rising Sun arc. Voice: Danilo Diniz (in Brazil)
Ken Wakashimazu Ken Wakashimazu (若島津 健, kana: わかしまづ けん) is one of the reserve goalkeepers and a forward for Japan. The son of a dojo owner, he uses his karate skills and speed as a goalkeeper. He helps Meiwa defeat Furano in the semi-finals of the national tournament, but loses to Nankatsu in the finals. Along with Takeshi Sawada, he joins Kojiro Hyuga to the Toho Academy where they lose two championships to Nankatsu, but manage to win the third, sharing the win with the other team. He's recruited to be part of the U-16 Japan team that will participate in the U-16 World Cup in France. During a match against Hamburg SV, he suffers an injury that only gets worse in the semi-finals against France. He later continues to play for Toho and is selected to be part of the U-20 team, but after refusing to be a reserve goalkeeper for Wakabayashi, he leaves the team to play for the Yokohama Fluegels in the J-League but later returns to the team, playing in the matches against Mexico, Uruguay and Italy. He currently plays for the Nagoya Grampus Eight and plays as a forward for the U-22 and Olympic Japan teams (something that Coach Kira always wanted, a two-top with Hyuga).
Takeshi Sawada