Whistle!

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Whistle!
Whistle!
ホイッスル！ (Whistle!)
Genre	Sports, Drama, Slice of Life
Manga: Whistle!
Author	Daisuke Higuchi
Publisher	Shueisha VIZ Media Culture Comics Elex Media
Demographic	Shōnen
Serialized in	Weekly Shonen Jump
Original run	July 1998 – March 2003
Volumes	24
TV anime: Whistle!
Director	Hiroshi Fukutomi
Network	Animax
Original run	May 5, 2002 – February 3, 2003
Episodes	39

Whistle! (ホイッスル！, Hoissuru!^?) is a manga by Daisuke Higuchi, which was adapted into a 39-episode anime television series, broadcast exclusively by the anime television network, Animax across Japan and South Korea.

The football (soccer) associated manga was published in Japan in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump. Whistle! is published in English by VIZ Media under the Shonen Jump label. The manga was written in homage to the 1998 and 2002 World Cup Finals tournaments which took place in France and Japan/South Korea respectively.

1 Story
2 Characters
3 Franchise
4 Differences between the anime and manga
5 Concepts
6 External links

[edit] Story

Whistle! is about a boy named Shōu Kazamatsuri. He transfers from Musashi no mori School to Sakura Josui Junior High School for better hopes to make the soccer team, since he never got a game at his old school due to his small stature. Yūko Katori, his teacher, introduces him as a former star of the famed Musashinomori team, causing his classmates to be wrongly ecstatic. Right after that, one of the players, Tatsuya Mizuno, reveals that he was never a regular. In other words, since he never got the chance to play, Shō is a poor player. Shō struggles to improve his skill so he can make the team at his new school and to ignore the drastic disadvantage he has due to his height.

[edit] Characters

Names are in Western order, with the given name before the surname.

[edit] Sakura Josui Junior High Soccer Varsity

[edit] Boys Team

Shō Kazamatsuri from episode 2

Shō Kazamatsuri (風祭将, Kazamatsuri Shō^?): Shō, while not that good at soccer, has a thirst to improve and never gives up. His determination is something that even Mizuno does not have and often inspires the people around him. He has a very optimistic attitude and is so open-minded that sarcasm and arrogant comments don't work on him, but rather takes it literally and usually agrees with the person, which either annoys them or humors them. Although, he can get very angry, and usually yells at the offender, though turning embaressed afterwards. He becomes a regular of the Josui High soccer varsity team and is one of the members to have the position of Forward next to Shigeki Satō. While he may not be the best nor the leader of his soccer team, he is the heart of it. He has an odd habit of slapping his cheeks with both hands to get himself motivated.; For a soccer player, Shō is pretty short(which is a bit of a hindrance), 146 cm to be exact. Shigeki calls him "Pup" or "Puppy" (pochi). Due to late night practices, Shō would often fall asleep in class, causing Shigeki to jokingly say that Shō has already given up on school. His jersey number is 9. Miyuki Sakurai has a large crush on the short guy, but Shō appears to have an interest in Kojima, friend and founder of the girl's soccer team. However, it may be because of her impressive soccer skills.; He later qualifies for the Junior Senbatsu Team, though only as a substitute player. Though many of the other Senbatsu players found him to be a less than average player, they soon realize his potential as a forward. He also becomes the one to bring the rest of the team together. After Tenjo leaves, Shō takes his place as the number 19 forward. He shows his real skills in a one-on-one battle with Tenjo, and in the final game.

Unbeknownst to his soccer teammates, Shō is the son of Kensuke Shiomi, one of Japan's most famous soccer players, known for scoring goals from a non-existing zero angle (a technique that Shō would later use in his match against Hiba Junior High). After his parents died in a car accident, he was adopted by his uncle and aunt, Mamoru and Reiko Kazamatsuri, which is where he received his family name. Originally, he never realized who his real parents were until he started playing soccer. Along with the fact that his brother, Kō, does not look anything like him, a relative told him that he could not go against blood, which at first seemed ambiguous to him. He found out the truth after transferring schools; he realized that there are different names for his parents on his family certificate, though he kept it to himself since he considers himself to have two mothers and two fathers.

Tatsuya Mizuno

Tatsuya Mizuno (水野竜也, Mizuno Tatsuya^?): Tatsuya is a second year student and is also the best player and team captain for Josui Junior High. Not only is he a talented player, but also an honor student. Tatsuya tutors the novice Shō after being impressed with his determination and hard work. Shigeki calls him Tatsu-bon, which always annoys him. Due to his handsome looks, he has the most fan girls in his school, even gaining the admiration of the opposing schools' girls, though he does prefer to ignore them. His jersey number is 10.; Tatsuya's father is the coach of the Musashinomori soccer team, Josui's rival school. He doesn't get along well with his father, however. He lives with his mom, Mariko Mizuno and his aunts, Takako and Yuki, in the Mizuno mansion, as he was under the custody of his mother after his parents were divorced. Also, it is later revealed that, during his first year, Tatsuya passed Musashinomori's qualifying tests to enter into their soccer club, but he rejected the offer due to not wanting to be his father's puppet. Though many consider him to be a cool-headed person with an indifferent look on his face, Tatsuya actually gets very hot-headed when it comes to things involving his father, once even trying to punch Shigeki when the latter said he acted like his father.

During the Junior Senbatsu Training Camp, he realizes that he's been overprotecting Shō and also underestimating him. He soon discovers Shō's potential and finally has a deeper understanding of Shō's personality. He becomes the first person to qualify as a regular on the Junior Senbatsu team, as their ace midfielder. During the friendly match with the Seoul Senbatsu team in Korea, he begins to enjoy the game (originally, Tatsuya took soccer too seriously and did not realize that he simply enjoys playing soccer; according to his coaches, this trait was the only thing keeping him from becoming the "perfect" player), and now finally understanding how the others feel, he can finally connect with them.

Daichi Fuwa

Daichi Fuwa (不破大地, Fuwa Daichi^?): Daichi 'Crusher' Fuwa is known in Josui as a genius, but many find him dangerous and eccentric. He is called the Crusher because he crushes people's pride by outdoing them and saying what they have done wrong, not realizing that he's hurting/irritating others. His way of speaking is very blunt and direct. Though he's a genius at almost everything he does, the only things he doesn't understand are the basics of socializing and the meaning of just having fun. He meets Shō when the latter thought he was going to commit suicide by jumping into a river and tried to intervene. Shō introduces Fuwa into the world of soccer and Daichi decides to join the soccer team in order to investigate Shō's smile.; When he was at first introduced to the team, he didn't get along well with most others on the team. After a while, however, Shō, along with a little help from Katsuro Shibusawa, manages to teach him the meaning of trust, and shows him how to get along better with others. He becomes the permanent goalkeeper, replacing Shigeki after Josui's first match of the series. Since he can easily calculate and predict the direction of the ball's trajectory, he is Josui's best goal keeper. Shō is the only person who understands him and is probably the only one who isn't afraid of him. His hobby is the activity of destruction and he dislikes things that cannot be explained scientifically. His jersey number is 1.; He was accepted into the Junior Senbatsu Camp, but failed to get a regular spot on the Senbatsu team, though, of course, he wasn't too disappointed. After Shibusawa was injured during practice, Fuwa became a substitute goalkeeper on the Senbatsu team.

Shigeki Satō

Shigeki Satō (佐藤茂樹, Satō Shigeki^?): Shigeki, or Shige, is a forward specializing in evasion and dodging techniques. He is said to be the one of the best players in the school. He quit the soccer club during his first year because the upperclassmen didn't play seriously, so he got bored playing. But after Shō joined the club, he decided it was interesting again and decided to rejoin. Shige is never serious and usually jokes around a lot. He enjoys making-up nicknames for his friends. He often calls Shō pochi ('puppy' or 'pup'), and infuriates his captain by calling him "Tatsu-bon". He was initially the goalkeeper, but was given the forward spot when Daichi came along. He has a thick Kansai-ben accent, and it is later revealed that he ran away from his home in Kyoto when he was young, making him a year older than most of his classmates. He now lives with monks at a shrine. His jersey number is 11.; Shigeki got an ivitation to go to the Tokyo Senbatsu camp, but Coach Matsushita decided to reject the offer as he didn't feel that Shige was serious enough about soccer. Though he pretended not to care, Shige decided to become a serious soccer player and go for the pros after a talk with his old friend, Naoki. He also went back to visit his mother, back in his hometown. Since he finally became serious about soccer, Matsushita gave him a chance to play in the friendly match with the Seoul Senbatsu team.

Kaoru Gomi (五味薫, Gomi Kaoru^?): One of the newcomers to the team after Tatsuya revamped it, he had thin nostrils that were easily mistaken for his eyes by most people, which appear to be vertical. A first year student and classmate of Hideomi and Yoshihiko. His jersey number is 8.

Hideomi Hanazawa (花沢秀臣, Hanazawa Hideomi^?): Tallest player in the soccer team and a first year student. Most of his teammates try to use his height as an advantage over the other medium-height players. He is a classmate of Kaoru and Yoshihiko. His soccer jersey is 2.

Noro Hideomi (浩美野呂, Hideomi Noro^?): A chubby player and first year student in the soccer team, he was originally a substitute who was threatened by Honma (listed below) to quit. Inspired by Shō's determination to be one of the best players in the soccer varsity, he gladly joined the team. For a short time, he encountered psychological issues on whether he was playing a part in the soccer team or not before sensing that he was still important. His soccer jersey is 4.

Masato Takai (高井　真人, Takai Masato^?): One of the substitute players who teamed up with Tatsuya, Shō, Yoshihiko and Hideomi to take on the original varsity players after Tatsuya issued a challenge for a mini-game. He was a Forward for a short time when the initial team was propped up before he was reassigned as a Wingback due to the fact that he had high stamina and his vision wasn't capable of handling the Forward position. He was replaced by Shigeki. A second year student whose jersey number is 12.

Yoshihoko Koga (, Koga Yoshihoko^?): First year student with Hideomi. He is an academically-driven student who has a liking for soccer. His mother scorns him for prioritizing soccer over his studies. He is a classmate of Kaoru and Hideomi. His jersey number is 3.

Yusuke Morinaga (, Morinaga Yusuke^?): One of the original soccer players and second year student, he quit with most of the players after they protested Tatsuya's revamping of the team. Coming to his senses, he agreed to be recruited back into the team. His soccer jersey is 7.

Mamoru Tanaka (, Tanaka Mamoru^?): Second year student and classmate of Ippei Toyama, he joined his classmate in the soccer team when Tatsuya recruited him to join their ranks. His jersey number is 5.

Ippei Tōyama (, Tōyama Ippei^?): A second year student and classmate to fellow soccer player to Mamoru Tanaka, he was one of the new recruits to join the revamped soccer team. His jersey number is 6.

Santa Yamaguchi (山口杉太, Yamaguchi Santa^?): A recent recruit and first year student who was placed as a substitute player in the team, who joined in order to impress the girls in Josui High, especially Miyuki Sakurai. He often refers to himself as the "Super Sub," but when he was placed in the game, he realized he wasn't as good as he thought. He gets jealous of Shō, due to his lack of skill, and the fact that Miyuki has a crush on the short boy. However, he grew to accept Shō as a valuable comrade in the soccer varsity team. He "proved" himself as a worthy member when he scored the second goal against Hiba High, though he did it when the ball Rokusuke Hata kicked accidentally bounced off the back of his head. His jersey number is 15.

Honma: Former captain of Sakura Josui's soccer varsity team. When Shō came to the school, he requested a match with him after seeing Shō practice his lifting skills, though he was disappointed to see that Shō was lousy. After being challenged by Mizuno, he and a few others gang up on the substitute team (which included Shō, Mizuno, Takai, and Yoshihiko), since he wanted to target Mizuno. Later on in the series, after leaving the team, he spots Shō practicing and they both have a friendly mini 1-on-1 soccer game. Thus, during this game, Shō inspires him to start over again, but decided to do that after he gets into high school.

[edit] Girls Team

Yuki Kojima (小島有希, Kojima Yuki^?): Second year Yuki Kojima is the founder of the girls team after being club manager for the boy's team and being tired of sitting on the sidelines. Many of the club members think Kojima is scary because of her bluntness and often unlady-like attitude. However, she often uses her good looks and girly charm to get the boys to do things for her. She is a very skilled player, and encourages Shō and Masato to never give up on soccer. She is also very serious about soccer, even to the point of cutting her hair short in order to play in a game with the boys. When the girls team isn't going well, Shō turns that same positive encouragement around. It is implied that she has a slight crush on him.; Yuki was originally part of a soccer team at her last school, until she moved away with her family. When she arrived at Josui however, she could not continue playing soccer because she was a girl. Therefore, she became a person who sat in the sidelines and 'beat up' people who she did not think were worthy enough of playing soccer. She became infamous for this and everyone wondered who the mysterious soccer player was. She reveals her identity when she berates Masato for trying to quit the team, and plays a match against him to prove his worthiness. After the match, Shō convinces her to become a player rather than simply managing the boy's team, and thus she creates a girl's soccer team.

Miyuki Sakura (桜井みゆき, Sakurai Miyuki^?): A girl with an immense crush on Shōu. Since she is in the photography club, she often uses that excuse to take pictures of Shōu when given the chance. And like Yūko, she also lends her support in any way she can to encourage Shō to do his best. She becomes the manager for the boy's soccer team when Yuki becomes too busy with the girl's soccer team. Miyuki also became part of Yuki's soccer team in the manga, though in the anime, the tryouts for Josui's girls' soccer team is not shown, and she is shown only as a supporter for the boys' team. She is admired by Santa Yamaguchi, who joined the team to be with her, while she in fact joined the team because of Shō. She would often get angry at Santa for always coming between her and Shō or when he bad-mouths Shō, despite the fact that Santa only does those things because he is jealous. Of course, she is not aware of Santa's feelings for her, and is constantly just trying to get Shō to notice her more.

[edit] Musashinomori Junior High Soccer Varsity

Seiji Fujishiro (藤代　誠二, Fujishiro Seiji^?): Musashinomori's famous ace Striker. A forward with incredible technique, and passed 5 of Josui's defence during their game. He has a very optimistic attitude and is never seen despondent. Whenever he sees a game that involves Josui's team playing, he would immediately want to be a part of the action as well. His jersey number is 9.; He becomes a regular on the Junior Senbatsu Team.

Katsurou Shibusawa (渋沢　克朗, Shibusawa Katsurō^?): Musashinomori's famous Goalkeeper, known as the Guardian Deity of Musashinomori. He is a year older than most of the other Junior high characters except for Shige. He makes incredible saves, and, as some game viewers say, is inhuman at detecting shots and reading moves. He towers over many of the other characters at 183 centimeters tall. He's one of the few players in Mushashinomori who does not look down on Shō and/or Josui in general, and he once said that Musashinomori's game with Josui is one of the toughest games they had to play. As Musashi's captain, he is very respected and has excellent leadership skills. His jersey number is 1.; He becomes a regular on the Junior Senbatsu Team and is also chosen to become the captain by his teammates. However, he is hurt shortly before the Senbatsu team goes to Korea and gets replaced by another goalie.

Shigeru Mamiya (間宮茂, Mamiya Shigeru^?): This defense player is notorious for his skill at marking and restricting the movement of players. They often call him 'viper' because once he makes his mark, or his 'bite', he won't ever leave that player's side, sometimes even resorting to illegal moves to take the player down. Once, in Josui's game with Mushashinomori, he kicked Tatsuya purposefully when the latter was about to score a goal.; He becomes a regular on the Junior Senbatsu Team.

Akira Mikami (三上亮, Mikami Akira^?): This player is Musashinomori's midfielder. Since Mizuno would have gotten his position instead of Mikami had he joined Musashinomori, there is tension between the two of them when rumor gets out that Mizuno might be transferring. Akira tries to create a rift between Mizuno and his father, which results in Mizumo getting upset. Even though it is revealed later that Mizuno has no intention of transferring, Akira still considers him to be a rival and competes to defeat him. His jersey number is 10.; He fails to make the Junior Senbatsu Team.

[edit] Hiba Junior High Soccer Varsity

Tsubasa Shiina (椎名翼, Shiina Tsubasa^?): Transfer student from Asahiro Junior High, who passed the entrance exams with high scores and is considered to have a high IQ. Due to his appearance, many people mistake him for a girl. Though, his looks could fool people in believing that he is a sweet and cute kid, in actuality, Tsubasa is very arrogant, blunt, sarcastic, and often fierce. He considers himself a genius and often says that soccer just comes naturally to him, that's why no-one can beat him. Though he is only slightly taller than Shō, he doesn't let that get in his way and is actually a great fighter and a superb leader. His looks and attitude, unfortunately, also made him some enemies (and some really big fans). Among them were 3rd year, Naoki Inoue and Gosuke Hata, and two of their friends. Although, after saving them from a group of bully truck drivers, they soon realized that they were all alike and decided to follow Shiina. Later on, he was made the leader of the Hiba Soccer Varsity team. His uniform number is 4.; During the Senbatsu Training Camp, he becomes even closer friends with Shō and comes to truly understand him. He becomes a regular defender on the Junior Senbatsu Team.

Naoki Inoue (井上直樹, Inoue Naoki^?): Due to his temper, he would tend to pick fights with people and generally cause trouble at Hiba. One of these people was Tsubasa Shiina, who challenged Inoue to try to get the ball past him in a soccer mini-game. Inoue lost. Later on in the series, he goes to spy on Shigeki at his new home. Due to some circumstances, Shigeki immediately doesn't recognize him even though they knew each other in Kyoto when they were children. Like Shige, he has a thick Kansai-ben accent so they are both easy to single-out. Shige calls him 'monkey' as a sort of endeering term even though he does eventually remember his name. Later on when Shige comes to a crossroads, Naoki helps his friend face life head-on. Coincindentally, him and Shige ended up dying their hair blond after they separated during childhood.

Masaki Kurokawa (黒川柾輝, Kurokawa Masaki^?): The other midfielder wing along with Naoki. He has a defensive style of playing. He becomes a regular on the Junior Senbatsu Select Team.

Rokusuke Hata (畑六助, Hata Rokusuke^?): Rokusuke plays defense and his uniform number is 2. He's the brother of Gosuke (五助), who is also a defender with uniform number 3. Their names as brothers are funny because 'Go' means 'five' and 'Roku' means 'six'. Along with Shiina, these three form Hiba Junior High's famous defense team using the 'Flat Three' strategy.; He becomes a regular on the Junior Senbatsu Team.

Gosuke Hata (畑五助, Hata Gosuke^?): Gosuke plays defense and his uniform number is 3. He's the brother of Rokusuke (六助), who is also a defender with a uniform number of 2. The initial part of their names can be interpreted into numbers, as 'Go' means 'five' and 'Roku' means 'six'. Along with Shiina, these three form Hiba Junior High's famous defense team using the 'Flat Three' strategy.

[edit] Junior Senbatsu Team

Ryoichi Tenjo (天城燎一, Tenjō Ryōichi^?): Tenjo is a forward from Kokubu Junior High School. His style of soccer playing was very independent and cold hearted. His father was a major businessman who told him to take power with his own hands cause he wasn't going to help his own son. Therefore, Tenjo believed that he could be the best through his own actions and didn't like teamwork. Even though he has great power, due to his lack of teamwork he failed the qualifying tests into entering Musashinomori's soccer club (the same time as when Tatsuya passed the tests, but declined), which made him angry and bitter. Fortunately, things seemed to be brighter for him due to him confronting Shō after Josui defeated them in a really difficult game. The only person who he ever cared for was his nanny, Kazue. Unfortunately, after her death, he was contemplating on quitting soccer because he believed that he played only to see her smile and now that she's gone, there's no point in playing any more. Things for him seemed to heat up even more when Hiba's leader, Tsubasa Shiina, trash talks him to leave after beating his school in a game (a game in which Tenjo was not able to play in with full power since he was mentally damaged due to Kazue's death just before the game). After playing mini-soccer with Shō and his friends, against Tsubasa and his friends, Tenjo realized that he loves soccer and that Kazue would want him to keep playing what he loves.; He becomes a regular on the Junior Senbatsu Team. Although, after realizing that his mom didn't abandom him, he called her and she went to visit him in Japan. He found out that he is half German, though he already figured that he wasn't all Japanese, and that he also has a little sister. His mom wanted him to live with them in Germany, so with the help of Shō, Tenjo soon came to grips with the fact that he wanted to go. He quit the Junior Senbatsu Team and went to Germany, though he did say that he wasn't going to give up on soccer, but will be playing in Germany.

Taki Sugihara (杉原多紀, Sugihara Taki^?): Taki is a midfielder from Takinawa Junior High chosen to qualify for the Junior Senbatsu Camp. He doesn't have much stamina, but he has excellent ball control. His pinpoint passes are made to draw-out the potential of the receiver. Taki becomes good friends with Shō since they were in the same team during camp. Though Kaku doesn't acknowledge him as his rival, Taki looks to Kaku as his rival, having been on a team with him years ago.

Teppei Koiwa (小岩鉄平, Koiwa Teppei^?): Teppei is a second year forward and the only candidate from Edogawai Junior High School. His friends worked together to help pay his travel ticket. He was chosen to qualify for the Junior Senbatsu camp because of his incredible speed. At first he was considering quitting the camp because he saw himself as inferior compared to the rest, but was convinced to stay by the gardener of the camp.; He becomes a substitute player for the Junior Senbatsu team.

Kazuma Sanada (真田一馬, Sanada Kazuma^?): A forward who is a member of the elite Under-14 trio along with midfielders Eishi and Yūto. He seems arrogant, but actually loses confidence in his ability pretty easily. This weak-mindedness directly affects his performance on the field and sometimes tends to bring down his team of U-14; when things don't go his way, he will throw a fit. He always blames others (including Shō and his team in the soccer retreat). Eventually as time goes by, he will start to overcome his selfish attitude and when he sees Shō playing during the Korean Tournament, will start to befriend Shō and his team.

Eishi Kaku (郭英士, Kaku Eishi^?): Although he was born and raised in Japan, Kaku’s mother is Korean. His Korean name is Yeoung-sa. The rival he looks to for recognition is his cousin, I Yun-gyong, a midfielder and number 10 on the Seoul Senbatsu team. He is part of the Under Fourteen (U-14) trio of elites along with Yūto and Kazuma. He attends Zoushigaya Junior High.

Yūto Wakana (若菜結人, Wakana Yūto^?): Part of the U-14 trio along with Eishi and Kazuma. At first, he is very conceited because of his place among the three elite, but is humbled as he realizes the others who are chosen to attend Tokyo Senbatsu have their own unique talents. He attends Setodaisen Junior High.

Takashi Narumi: A very tall and talented soccer player from Meisei Junior High who plays aggressively, and later gets one of the forward spots. He has a big mouth and seems to be quite a womanizer. He claims to hate midgets, especially those like Shō, due to a previous incident where the girl he liked preferred a short guy instead. He eventually warms up to Shō when Shō proves his self-worth by playing a crucial role in helping the Junior Senbatsu team make a comeback.

[edit] Supporting characters

Kō Kazamatsuri (風祭功, Kazamatsuri Kō^?): Kō is Shō's older, but less mature cousin who occasionally offers advice to Shō. Though some questions do arise about their differences in appearances. He was thought to be Shō's older brother until it was revealed Shō is adopted and Kō is the son of Shō's aunt and uncle, who adopted him after his parents died. Even though the two aren't real brothers, they still help each other whenever a situation arises. He may seem like a slob at home, but he dresses quite professionally when he goes out, often wearing suits when he goes to work. He works as the vice-president of a modeling agency, which earns him a significant amount of money. Since he dropped out of high school, his father is sometimes bitter about him making more money than his own father.

Yūko Katori (香取夕子, Katori Yūko^?): Yūko Katori is Shō and Shigeki's English teacher and was also the soccer club's coach before Matsushita. She is a bit of an airhead but is very concerned for her students. After seeing that Shō wanted to be one of the best soccer varsity players, she tries her best to support him and his comrades by assisting in their retreat, despite not knowing much about soccer. Kō once tried to make advances on her, which may or may have not worked. Shigeki calls her Ane-san (Big Sister).

Oya-san: Oya-san manages a small Oden stand under the Inochi River Bridge. He initially had a rocky interaction with Shō, but later becomes one of his biggest supporters and encourages him in his dream to be a good soccer player. He, in fact, comes to all their tournaments with a big bannner and cheers them on with Kō.

Soju Matsushita (, Matsushita Soju^?): A frequent at Oya-san's Oden stand, and former professional soccer player, Matsushita is intrigued by Sakura Josui after watching their match against Musashinomori. He quit soccer altogether after a chilling experience with his teammate Amamia (from high school), but Sakura Josui's advisor, Katori, works hard to try and convince him to be the team's new coach. In the end, his old friend Amamia tells him to forget about the past and move on, stating that he still loves soccer even after that incident. Inspired by his friend, Matsushita becomes Sakura Josui's new coach. As their coach, he is very knowledgable, due to his prior soccer experiences. He's able to figure out the opposing teams strategies and come up with his own, often confusing the other team. Though he teaches his team on the field, he prefers to let them come up with their own life solutions off the field, but sometimes gives them advice when he sees that they're stuck.

Reiko and Mamoru Kazamatsuri (, Kazamatsuri Reiko, Kazamatsuri Mamoru^?): Shō's new parents since the tragic accident of his former parents (Shiomi/Kaori Kensuke). They both took him as their own son when he was two years old. Mamoru is the brother of Shō's real mother. He originally didn't approve of Kensuke since he believed that soccer wasn't a real job. Though, after talking to Kensuke, he soon had a positive outlook on the man and approved of him. Mamoru was against Shō playing soccer, but soon realized that Shō was just like his brother-in-law and approved of him going to Musashinomori.

[edit] Manga specific characters/teams

Kazu Kunugi (, Kunugi Kazu^?)

Shōei Takayama (, Takayama Shōei^?)

Maekawa: He appears twice during the training camp that Shō and his friends were at. Also in volume 15, he teaches Shō a new trick that he can use in future games.

Masahiro Suō (, Suō Masahiro^?) - J2 Pantera Fuchu (Vol.16): During volume 16, Shō, Shige, and Yuki head to a Futsal soccer court where they meet Fuchu's Masahiro Suō. Suō recruits Shō and Shige to play a match with other high school kids. Eventually, Shō's team wins, which prompts the other kids to also want to play. It turns out that Suō is a famous professional soccer player. He is known as Pantera Fuchu, and is part of J2 (bottom division of the J League). Later, Shō and Kō watches him on TV playing in a soccer tournament.

Kojima Akito (, Akito Kojima^?): Yuki's older brother; he appears in the manga twice. Once in an earlier volume when Yuki gets scolded by her mother and storms upstairs to her room, where she's surprised to see him home for time off until his next game starts. He appeared another time in volume 17, where he accompanies Kō and the rest of Josui's soccer team to see Shō and Mizuno off to their big game in Seoul, Korea for the Korean Selection game.

[edit] Franchise

[edit] Anime

Due to the success of Whistle! in Japan and its rising popularity among soccer fans in North America, Daisuke Higuchi took the helm of producing a 39-episode series based from the manga. The anime television network, Animax, has broadcast the series exclusively in Japan and South Korea.

[edit] Music themes

Opening theme: "DOUBLE WIND" by Minako Komukai

Ending theme: "Sweet Days" by Minako Komukai

[edit] Manga

Main article: List of Whistle! chapters

In Japan, all 24 manga volumes were published. In North America, 19 manga volumes have been published as of May 2008 with the remaining volumes being published every 4 months.

[edit] Video games

Games include: Game Boy Advance and Playstation versions.

[edit] Differences between the anime and manga

The following scenes are edited (or cut) from the anime/manga

Vol.1 - The scene involving Shō as a little kid and his parents doesn't appear in the manga
When Shō first comes to Josui, in the anime, it was Yuki Kojima rather than Tatsuya Mizuno who first saw him playing at the soccer field. This happened to introduce Yuki instead of her being the one beating the guys at soccer as the "mysterious great soccer player".
The scene involving Shiina, Rokusuke, Kurokawa, Gosuke and Shō playing Duct Tape tag does not appear in the anime.
During the riverbed scene, where Honma spots Shō -- In the anime, only Honma has a one on one game with Shō, but in the manga, Honma requests the help of another kid to play with them to further Shō's skills.
In the manga, Shige's first appearance is when he intrudes on the guy's locker room after Shō's game with Honma.
For the position of Forward; in the manga -- Shige challenges Shō to a one on one duel; in the anime -- Santa tags along to try and obtain this position as well.
Vol.4 - Yuki Kojima appears to Josui as the supposed guy that beat the kids in soccer, and she is also the one that attacked the group of kids that were going to ruin soccer balls in the soccer club room. This does not happen in the anime.
Vol.8 - When Tatsuya visits Shige's house; in the manga, there is some extra scenes where Shō contemplates why he did what he did, and that past memories haunt him, which is when his brother comes to comfort him. In the anime, it cuts straight to the conversation with Tatsuya, Shige, and Shige's sensei.
In the anime, it is said that the reason Tatsuya's father wants Tatsuya to join his soccer team is because he was in danger of losing his job. After hearing this, Tatsuya feels guilty. In the manga, this doesn't happen, and Tatsuya merely feels guilty after hearing that his father has a stomach ulcer condition.
Also in the manga, Shō goes to Tatsuya's father's house and sees him suffering from his ulcer. Not knowing what to do, Shō contacts Katsuro Shibusawa for help. This makes Akira Mikami, who was with Katsuro at the time, feel guilty, since he felt it was his notion to create tension between Tatsuya and his father that led to it.
Volume 16 - Shō encounters a professional soccer player, Masashiro Suō, who asks Shō to play a futsal game with him, which they play against many other high school kids. Masashiro Suō does not appear in the anime.
In the manga, Shō encounters Maekawa, a star soccer player, twice; once in the training camp cafeteria, and again during soccer practice, where Maekawa teaches Shō a new trick he can use in future games. In the anime, the scene immediately switches back to Shō and Tatsuya arriving back at Josui.
Vol.17 - Kentaro's past and his dream to be a goalkeeper is only revealed in the manga and is not mentioned in the anime. Also when Shō visits Oya-san at the Oden stand - in the anime, Shō only comes to visit to give Oya-san a sweater for a gift. However, in the manga, half of the Josui members (including Yuki, her brother; Akito, Shigeki Satō and Shō's step brother; Kō and their coach) show up in one final reunion before Shō and Tatsuya head off to Seoul, Korea for the big match against the Seoul Select team. Though the manga goes past the Seoul match up, the anime ends right when the match ends.
In the manga, the Josui team found out that Yuki Kojima was good at soccer when she challenged Masato to a soccer match. In the anime, the team already knows how good she is, and the match with Masato happens later. Also in the manga, the match between Yuki and Masato happens in Volume 4 prior to Yuki deciding to create a girl's team in a later volume. In the anime, she decides to create a girl's team in Episode 11, and the match happens in Episode 12.
Vol.19 - During the Korean Senbatsu game; In the anime, Shigeki Sato flies to Korea to join in Sho's game and the game ends with Tokyo beating Korea. In the manga, however, this does not happen. But rather the game ends up in a tie. And Shigeki Sato does not join Sho's team. What happens instead is that he visits his mother and tells her that he's going to play soccer during the Tokyo Toreson Tournament. Eventually changing his last name to Fujimura. During the stay at J Village, Shigeki meets a familiar friend/former rival; Naoki Inoue of Tsubasa Shiina's Jr. High; Hiba. Reason why Shigeki wanted to play in the Toreson, is that he can get a chance to challenge his former teammates; Sho and Mizuno.

[edit] Concepts

According to Daisuke Higuichi's notes seen in the end of various Whistle! manga volumes, some of the characters were inspired or modeled from real-life people with the following.

Masato Takai - Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee
Oyaasan - Tommy Lee Jones
Katsuro Shibusawa - Tadanobu Asano

Whistle! was originally supposed to be a professional soccer or a high school manga/anime before Daisuke Higuichi decided to use a Junior High School soccer theme.

[edit] External links

Shonen Jump's Whistle! Site
Marvelous Entertainment's Official Whistle! site (Japanese)
Whistle! (anime) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia
Whistle! (manga) at Anime News Network's Encyclopedia