There are only a few legendary anime series left that are not available for streaming in Spain! This time, it is Prime Video that is adding one of the most historic series to its catalogue. And it does so by releasing all the episodes at once so that we don’t have to wait if we want to have an intense marathon or if we want to skip to the end because we don’t remember it.
It’s been great to see series like Dragon Ball or Kimagure Orange Road coming to streaming. And soon, we assume, Ranma ½ and Sailor Moon should also be available. But now it’s the case of another legendary anime: Captain Tsubasa, better known when we were kids like Oliver and Benji. The series, the original one, the one with the 5-kilometer goalposts and the episodes that left you more tense than a soap opera, has arrived on Prime Video. To watch it, you just have to sign up for Prime even with its free trial and enjoy its benefits.
128 episodes of football and entertainment
Back in the day, kids of that time enjoyed Oliver and Benji when we didn’t even know there was a manga or anything. Today we know that it is the anime adaptation of a manga that continues to receive sequels today and is known throughout the world. The television series came to star in the 128 episodes that Prime Video has released and that were broadcast in Japan between 1983 and 1986.
Four movies were also made, as the anime ended with volume 25 of the manga and the original series created by Yoichi Takahashi had 37 volumes. In any case, these 128 episodes are a spectacular journey that goes from Oliver as a young boy to when he has become a fully-fledged man playing internationally. Between tiger shots, infernal catapults and other atrocities, you are guaranteed fun whether it is the first time you see the anime or if you are going to see it again for the fifth or sixth time.
Some aspects to take into account
Let’s take it one step at a time. It’s true that Prime Video had a slip-up in the series’ debut in its catalogue, changing the first episode to episode 81, but it seems that they’ve already fixed it. On the other hand, what has disappeared is the original song, the legendary opening with “Oliver, Benji, the ball wizards…”. This type of situation is not the first of its kind in the world of anime. It may have happened for several reasons, such as the rights to the song itself, which was written in his time by Carlos Toro, who was also the lyricist for the Dynamic Duo. Another reason would be the interest of the Japanese producer in respecting the original openings, both for the montage of images and for the songs. After all, no one can escape the fact that, in the 80s, some adaptations of songs were made that were absolutely crazy. Possibly, the same would happen with series like Lupin III or City Hunter, whose songs had nothing to do with the Japanese originals.
On the other hand, the recovery of the original opening is also amusing, since the song “Moete Hero” is a classic in the world of anime. It is the kind of song that you still find today in Japanese karaoke rooms available to sing whenever you want.
Aside from that, the image quality with which Captain Tsubasa has been uploaded to Prime Video is not the best, but we are not in the mood to be picky about a release like this. And there is no Japanese audio track included either, which is quite shocking. In any case, once you meet Oliver, Benji, Mark Lenders and the other characters again, you will surely forget about any possible errors that this availability on Prime Video may have.
Now all that remains is that, if everything goes well, we will also end up finding ourselves with Saint Seiya, which would be the other great series from childhood that is still missing. Little by little, the great anime series that opened the door in Spain to this type of production are being recovered so that we can enjoy them as much as when we were young. Without a doubt, this is very good news!
