Japanese football comic "Captain Tsubasa" ended its 43-year print serialization on Thursday, but its creator said the stories that inspired Lionel Messi will continue on online. Yoichi Takahashi started the comic about an 11-year-old football prodigy in 1981 and it became a smash hit whose fans included future superstars Messi and Andres Iniesta. On Thursday the final installment of Captain Tsubasa Magazine hit the shelves in Japan, tightly sealed at bookstores to protect against spoilers.
The 43-year print serialization of the Japanese football comic Captain Tsubasa concluded, yet its creator assured fans that the stories that influenced.
For soccer and manga buffs, special “Captain Tsubasa”-themed murals that adorn Keisei Electric Railway Co.’s Yotsugi Station in Tokyo s Katsushika Ward have been replaced with new ones.
The Japanese creator of "Captain Tsubasa" said on Friday that he was blowing the final whistle on the beloved cartoon series after a run of 43 years. Yoichi Takahashi began writing the comic strip about 11-year-old football prodigy Tsubasa Ozora in 1981 and it grew into a global smash hit that inspired future superstars such as Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta. Known as "Holly e Benji" in Italy and "Super Campeones" in Spanish-speaking Latin America, it spawned animated films, video games and even statues in Takahashi's hometown in eastern Tokyo.