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.
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.But the 63-year-old announced in the latest edition of Captain Tsubasa Magazine that the series will end in April, citing his worsening health and changing conditions in the manga industry.