Series focusing on Tsubasa's early years launches on April 25

The March issue of Shueisha's Grand Jump Premium magazine revealed on Tuesday that Yōichi Takahashi will launch a new spinoff of his Captain Tsubasa manga titled Captain Tsubasa Shōnen-hen (Captain Tsubasa Boyhood Arc). The manga will launch in the magazine's May issue on April 25. The spinoff will focus on Tsubasa's elementary school years.

The 37-volume Captain Tsubasa soccer manga ran in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 1981 to 1988, and it inspired three previous television anime series, four anime films, several original video anime projects, and a stage play. The manga is available in about 20 countries — including France, Italy, and Mexico — and an Arabic edition shipped in the Middle East in January.

The manga spawned additional sequels and spinoff series, including Captain Tsubasa: World Youth Tokubetsu-hen Saikyō no Teki! Oranda Youth, Captain Tsubasa: World Youth, Captain Tsubasa: Road to 2002, Captain Tsubasa Golden-23, Captain Tsubasa: Kaigai Gekitō-hen in Calcio, Captain Tsubasa: Kaigai Gekitō-hen En La Liga , and the ongoing Captain Tsubasa: Rising Sun in Shueisha's Grand Jump magazine. In total, the manga series has 100 compiled volumes and 70 million copies in print. A new oneshot for the series was later published in Shonen Jump in 2008. The manga has also spawned three novel volumes.

The franchise is getting a new television anime that will premiere in April on TV Tokyo and other stations. The anime will retell the story of Takahashi's original manga from the beginning. Viz Media has licensed the anime. The license includes digital streaming, electronic sell-through (EST), home video, and merchandise rights for North America and Latin America.