Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions has released the main promotional video (PV) for the first part of Aoashi Season 2, the continuation of the TV anime adaptation of Yūgo Kobayashi’s Aoashi manga. In addition to the PV, the opening and ending theme songs of the anime were also revealed.
Rock band 10-FEET will perform the opening theme song “Fortress Defense” for Aoashi Season 2, while singer-songwriter Ai Higuchi will perform the ending theme song “Triangle.”
The artists also shared comments for their music:
“I fell in love with AOASHI through the manga, and I’ve followed it into the anime ever since,” said TAKUMA (Vocals & Guitar) from 10-FEET. “Its take on soccer is fascinating, but what draws me in just as much is how the main character relates to his family, his friends, and the people around him. It’s a real honor to be handling the opening theme song. We’ve made a seriously cool song, so please give it a listen.”
“For a lot of people, AOASHI might be their first time hearing a 10-FEET song, so I’m looking forward to those new encounters too,” said NAOKI (Bass & Vocals) from 10-FEET. “It’s a high-energy spark of a track with our live-show energy at full blast, and I hope it opens up the world of AOASHI even further. Trust that impulse!”
“As someone who played soccer all the way through elementary, junior high, and high school, nothing could make me happier,” said KOUICHI (Drums & Backing Vocals) from 10-FEET. “Give it a listen and get hyped!”
“No matter how high you climb, there is always something above you,” said Ai Higuchi. “Even if you become the best where you are, the next step means starting over at the bottom of the next level. That is painful, but the joy of it wins out, and you keep climbing. I have always felt a kind of stinging, aching longing for that world of AOASHI. This is a song for the dreamers who cannot let it end yet, who cannot allow it to end, who cannot give up.”
Aoashi Season 2 will premiere on October 4 on the NHK Educational channel and run for 24 episodes in a 12-episode, split-cour format.
The staff and cast of the anime include:
Staff
- Original Work: Based on the original graphic novel “Aoashi” by Yugo KOBAYASHI, published
by Shogakukan Inc. - Director: Kazuki Yokoyama
- Series Composition: Masahiro Yokotani
- Character Design: Manabu Nakatake, Asami Taguchi, Junko Yamanaka
- Sound Director: Shoji Hata
- Music: Masaru Yokoyama
- Animation Production: TMS Entertainment
Voice Cast
- Ashito Aoi: Kouki Osuzu
- Eisaku Otomo: Tatsumaru Tachibana
- Soichiro Tachibana: Seiichiro Yamashita
- Keiji Togashi: Taku Yashiro
- Kampei Kuroda: Shun Horie
- Martis Jun Asari: Wataru Kato
- Yuma Motoki: Junya Enoki
- Ryuichi Takeshima: Kentaro Kumagai
- Nagisa Akutsu: Shunsuke Takeuchi
- Haruhisa Kuribayashi: Yuichiro Umehara
- Taira Nakamura: Kensho Ono
- Yoichi Kiriki: Koki Uchiyama
- Eita Takasugi: Makoto Furukawa
- Kenta Yoshitsune: Kazuyuki Okitsu
- Enshin Akiyama: Hiromichi Tezuka
- Hana Ichijo: Maki Kawase
- Anri Kaido: Reina Ueda
- Tatsuya Fukuda: Chikahiro Kobayashi
- Nozomi Date: Hiroki Yasumoto
Based on an original story concept by Naohiko Ueno, Kobayashi launched the Aoashi manga in Weekly Big Comic Spirits in January 2015. A total of 40 volumes has been released.
Crunchyroll streamed the first season of the Aoashi anime series as it aired in Japan. The anime premiered in April 2022. Here’s an overview of the anime series, via Crunchyroll:
After a loss in his last junior high school soccer tourney, Ehime Prefecture’s ace player, Ashito Aoi, is devastated but in every loss there’s a victory. Tatsuya Fukuda, manager of an organization that trains students for one of the leading clubs in the J-League, sees Ashito’s raw talent and offers a tryout to his group. Together they’ll bring the youth club and Aoshi’s talents to new heights!
