Interview: Captain Tsubasa Creator Yoichi Takahashi and Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team Producer Ooki

Back in September, the football simulation game Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team received a brand new story installment titled NEXT DREAM that is penned by none other than Captain Tsubasa's creator Yōichi Takahashi himself. Anime News Network had the opportunity to talk to Takahashi about his thoughts on the game as well as Dream Team's producer Ooki about NEXT DREAM's conception, reception among the fans, and future plans.

(For Yōichi Takahashi) How does your writing process for a video game compare to writing manga?

TAKAHASHI: The story as a whole has to be thought out and constructed for the manga to be fully realized. However, this differs greatly for the game. In the game, the story can be divided into shorter parts and characters, and shorter stories can be emphasized this way.

What is it like seeing your creations in a video game?

TAKAHASHI: The sheer speed at which everything can be set into motion and created leaves a strong impression on me as it is something I cannot do myself with the manga.

Are there any characters you have been particularly excited to explore in NEXT DREAM?

TAKAHASHI: I am excited to see all of the NEXT DREAM characters come to life including Reymar and Mbappa.

Did the KLab team make any story requests of you during the creation of NEXT DREAM?

TAKAHASHI: No, KLab did not make any specific story requests.

What do you hope NEXT DREAM will achieve?

TAKAHASHI: This was such a magnificent story to undertake with so many characters appearing and facing off against each other. I truly hope I was able to convey this story and that everyone will enjoy NEXT DREAM!

(For Ooki) What did you hope to achieve with NEXT DREAM after the success of Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team?

OOKI: "Relive the original" is one of the purposes of the app. The goal of the game is to help fans relive the original work. This has been well-received by users and I think it is one of the reasons why it has been successful for a long time.

In the early stages of the game's release production began based around the characters in junior high school and then continued to expand, much like the original story, and progressed to other series. Last year, we began producing the characters and their special moves based on the latest series "Rising Sun".

When we began production on the latest series we also wondered what we could make in the future. We wanted to create an original story for the game that could only be experienced in Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team, so we decided to consult Yōichi Takahashi-sensei.

While we continued to discuss how to go about creating an original story for the game, it was Yōichi Takahashi who suggested we try out his new story concept in-game, and this is how we were able to bring NEXT DREAM to life.

What has it been like collaborating with Yōichi Takahashi?

OOKI: I realized again that Professor Yōichi Takahashi-sensei's ideas for creating new stories and characters are something that no one can imitate.

When we started production, I was given an overview of the whole story including the plots for important episodes and ideas for new characters. It was a shocking amount of content that was hard to wrap your head around. Not to mention that each part was not only exciting but of an amazing caliber of quality.

What makes Captain Tsubasa unique to develop games for compared to other properties?

OOKI: First of all, it has a big advantage over other titles in that it is an IP that is already well-known all over the world. In addition, while it is a PvP (player versus player) sports game it does not require players to use advanced actions compared to other games of the same genre. Therefore it is accessible to players of all ages including Captain Tsubasa fans who are largely in their 30s to 50s today.

What makes the Captain Tsubasa community so special to work with?

OOKI: We launched our official Discord server last year and it already has over 25,000 users registered.

Originally, we wanted this game to be an opportunity to connect Captain Tsubasa fans. There was also the idea of listening to the opinions of users and disseminating more detailed game information. We are grateful to have users from all over the world but found it difficult to achieve these goals through social media alone as they differ by country. It was then that we came to the conclusion to create our own space instead of relying on social media alone and so we created the Discord server as a place for users worldwide to gather.

Our management team messages regularly on Discord including answering user questions, game update details, and more. Another major feature is that our team works hard to reflect the opinions of users in the game. Of course we cannot respond to all user requests but there are many features and updates we were able to implement thanks to these communications. Since we regularly post on Discord what kind of development our team is working on, we are able to improve on the game together with the users.

Can fans expect future competitive tournaments for NEXT DREAM like there were with Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team?

OOKI: We hold the worldwide Dream Championship tournament every year to decide the top Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team player in the world.

Some users have already used the characters from NEXT DREAM in this year's tournament. We believe that the ability to manage your own team from all the characters available in the game creates a fun experience for everyone. At the moment, we are not planning to make a tournament limited only to NEXT DREAM but if there are enough requests for it we would definitely like to take on the challenge.

This collaboration is not a one-time campaign but continually developing. Could you please share an outline about mid-term to long-term plans for the project?

OOKI: NEXT DREAM is not a limited-time campaign but a story delivered once a month like a regularly published manga magazine. It is such a magnificent story that you can't predict the end of or know when it will be completed.

The story begins with many of the characters moving to European clubs for the new season. We want to carefully illustrate how each character feels about the new season and how they will face any challenges first.

It will be a while before we create some of the matches that Captain Tsubasa fans are waiting for, but there are many surprising developments for the whole case, so please look forward to the future developments

Please let us know any future plans, even within 2021, for the game Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team.

OOKI: December marked the 4th anniversary for the global version of the game. For more information fans can check out our official press release (https://www.KLab.com/en/press/release/2021/1206/ctdt_gl4anniv.html) and the in-game information. We hope that everyone will enjoy the special in-game campaigns.

I can't say anything specific about the schedule for next year but we have received many opinions from users that there isn't a big variety of content in the game so we will focus on this point first.

How did the game users respond to NEXT DREAM?

OOKI: We received a lot of positive feedback from users on our official social media accounts and Discord expressing their opinions and words of gratitude.

This was something that fans had been waiting for: to see Tsubasa play against the other Japanese characters which has not been seen in the series since elementary school and junior high school. There was also a lot of debate among fans on what kind of chemistry the characters would have and the results of the unexpected combinations when they appeared in the same club teams.

Of course, I think that the fact that the setting is the Champions League has led to a big response this time too.

Do you have a message for fans of Captain Tsubasa and Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team?

OOKI: There are many Captain Tsubasa and Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team fans around the world who are very enthusiastic.

The game development team looks at and evaluates every little detail from the original series to the latest and never ceases to amaze with the detailed depictions. Naturally, the expectations for us are also high.

We strive to create a game that can exceed the expectations of these fans so they can continue to enjoy the game for a long time to come. We hope that fans of Captain Tsubasa and Captain Tsubasa: Dream Team alike will continue to enjoy the series with us.