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Ao Ashi

Ao Ashi is a sports Japanese anime and manga series. The manga is written and illustrated by the Japanese manga artist, Yūgo Kobayashi. Also, the manga was first serialized on January 5, 2015, in Shogakukan’s seinen manga magazine Weekly Big Comic Spirits.

Moving towards the anime, the anime was first aired on April 9, 2022, on Network, NHK Educational TV. The anime is directed by the director Akira Satō and written by Masahiro Yokotani.

Main Plot

The story proceeds with a boy, Ashito Aoi in a rural town who used to hold a junior high school football team.  Moreover, he used to show various skills that leads to difficulties for other teams. Even more, they were doing great in their preliminary tournament until Ashito was dragged into a fight. Further, he was made to change into violent from one of the opponents as he gets off the ground and they can win easily.

After the incident, his team lose and gets eliminated from the tournament. Later, he is found by Ashito a young coach who also used to be a great footballer. Ashito gives him an offer to go to Tokyo and try his luck in tryouts. The anime then shows is Ashito able to withstand other upcoming troubles or not.

Is Ao Ashi Similar to Haikyuu?

When you gradually start to watch the anime, it quite feels like watching Haikyuu. Though Haikyuu is a volleyball anime and Ao Ashi is about football. The matches in Ao Ashi also attract me to watch the anime like the matches in Haikyuu do. Following it, Ao Ashi can also become another sports anime to become the successor of Haikyuu.

Character Chart of Ao Ashi

The age and height of the characters are based on their first appearance in the series.

Main Characters And Their Cast

1. Ashito Aoi

Ashito Aoi is the main protagonist in the series. As well, he is enriched with various skill moves of soccer. As of now, he is reading in his first year at Tokyo City Esperion and playing there. Because of him, his high school football team was able to a good in the preliminary tournament for a certain period of time. In addition, when he dragged himself into a fight their team was knocked out. Additionally, he has a great ambition to become a great footballer from the forward position. Slowly, he comes to know that he still is lacking knowledge and skills compared to his other mates. Though, he has various talents within him he cannot hold the fight if someone says bad about his mom.

The Japanese voice for the character is provided by the Japanese voice actor Kōku Ohsuzu. Some of his projects include Platinum End, Pretty Boy Detective Club, and Tomodachi Game.

Moving towards the English dubbed version, the American voice actor Ciaran Strange provided the voice.

2. Hana Ichijo

Hana Ichijo is a supporting character in the series and she looks like a doctor on the football team. Besides, she also looks after the diet and meals of every player on the team. As of now, she is looking after players of the Tokyo City Esperion school division. In addition, the first person to become a fan of his gameplay of Ashito was her. Even more, she often gets annoyed by Ahito but she cares for and loves him too. Though she is a medical person on the football team, she knows all about nutrition and another thing that football player requires.

The Japanese voice for the character is contributed by the Japanese voice actress Maki Kawase. In this anime world, she is known for providing a voice for anime like Fruits Basket, The Faraway Paladin, and Talentless Nana.

Heading towards the English dubbed version, the American voice actress Marisa Duran provided the voice.

3. Tatsuya Fukuda

Tatsuya Fukuda is a young coach of Tokyo City Esperion FC’s Youth Football Team. In addition, he was the person who give try out to Ashito and even take him on the team. When he was the age of 23 he got a chance to play outside the country from the club named Sabadell FC. Now, the club has entered La Liga. Though he is a coach, most of the time he is seemed wearing a tracksuit.

The Japanese voice for the character is portrayed by the Japanese actor and voice actor Chikahiro Kobayashi.

Whereas, the English voice for the character is provided by the American voice actor Eric Vale.

4. Nagisa Akutsu

Nagisa Akutsu is reading in his second year in high school. Further, he is a football player who plays for a team named Tokyo City Esperion Youth A-team. On the pitch, he played as a center back. Even more, he leads his team as he is assigned as a team captain. During his batch, he was the only one to complete the selection process and be selected into the team. Additionally, as he plays a center-back he is very harsh on other players and often loves to tackle. Besides, he also does not like Ashito being selected for his team. Even after Ashito was assigned to his team, he still wants to crush him away.

The Japanese voice for the character is played by the Japanese voice actor and singer Shunsuke Takeuchi.

Also, the English voice for the character is provided by the American voice actor Brienne Olvera.

5. Shun Aoi

Shun Aoi is the brother of the main protagonist Ashito Aoi. He is a very supportive person as he supports the family economy. As well as, he also supports his brother in his football career. Further, he let his brother to go Tokyo to have his football dream with some money for his expenses. Even more, leaving his brother he also gets recruited into the Japanese League team.

The Japanese voice for the character is provided by the Japanese voice actor Yoshiki Nakajima. Some of his projects include Beast Saga, Psycho-Pass 2, and Classroom Crisis.

Heading towards the English dubbed version, the American voice actor Blake McNamara provided the voice.

You can also read the amazing facts about other sports anime like Futsal Boys!!!!!, Skate-Leading Stars and Burning Kabaddi.