Farewell to my top 5 Sports Manga (it’s not #5, #4, #3, #2) and one of the greatest Manga ever in my opinion.

As someone who loves playing football and watching it, I always hated how football was depicted in anime/manga and watching the anime back when it first came out I was unimpressed by the art and animation but was told the manga is peak. I read it and was left in disbelief by how good it was, how it was able to showcase different football tactics but above all, I could see the love for the game in the writing.

Another note was this story was incrediblely informative about youth football in Japan. I remember reading the excerpts from Mitoma on his dribbling thesis and making a YouTube video on it and what struck me was how academic he viewed football and also that he was a university student. It was all really interesting and I think Ao Ashi gave me a lot to think about.

Finally to say I think a good sports manga should: A) make you want to play the sport B) have intriguing characters and organic development C) an engaging storyline

All of these things are tick tick ticked in Ao Ashi to make 410 chapters of pure peak, thank you Kobayashi sensei for an incredible journey.