News

Futsal Boys!!!!! Anime Rescheduled to January 2022

The live-streamed "SalBo Channel!!!!!" program for Bandai Namco Arts, Bandai Namco Entertainment, and diomedéa's Futsal Boys!!!!! multimedia project announced on Saturday that the television anime has been rescheduled for next January. The staff had announced in August that they were delaying the anime from this year to next year. Saturday's streamed program also presented the anime's first key visual of the story's main leads, teammates Haru Yamato and Seiichiro Sakaki:

The cast will compete in the project's first in-person tournament event, "Get Ready!! Futsal Boys!!!!! Hi-Fi Cup ~Boku-tachi no Debut-Sen!" (Our Debut Match!) at Tokyo's Futsal Stage on December 29. There is a drawing until November 28 for free tickets to attend the event, as well a planned live stream of the event.

The newly announced staff members include:

• Embellishment: Tamaki Higashi
• Character Design: Tomomi Ishikawa
• Sub-Character Design: Hitomi Tsuruta
• Art Director: Si Man Wei
• Art Setting: Maho Takahashi, Toshiko Kaizu
• Color Key Artist: Hironori Nochi
• Compositing Director of Photography: Yasuyuki Itou
• 3D Director: Yukie Yamamoto
• Editing: Akari Saitō
• Sound Director: Ryousuke Naya

The project's smartphone game was also delayed to an unannounced release date, although the staff still lists the game for this year.

The project includes a planned anime, smartphone game app, and actual futsal matches between the cast members, with the results of the matches affecting the story of the anime and game app. Futsal is a variant of football similar to soccer, but played indoors.

The franchise's story is set in a world over a decade after futsal has skyrocketed in global popularity. Protagonist Haru Yamato watches the championship of the U-18 world cup and is inspired by a Japanese player named Tokinari Tennōji. He joins the Koyo Academy High School's futsal team with the goal of becoming a player like Tennōji. There, he finds friends, and together they face their rivals.

The previously announced cast of the project includes:

• Ryota Takara as Haru Yamato
• Shuto Ishimori as Seiichiro Sakaki
• Kohei Yoshiwara as Toi Tsukioka
• Ryotaro Yamaguchi as Tsubaki Yukinaga
• Kazuki Furuta as Ryu Nagumo
• Yasunao Sakai as Taiga Amakado
• Hiromu Mineta as Louis Kashiragi
• Yuya Arai as Shin Yuki
• Satoru Murakami as Takumi Kuga
• Junpei Baba as Kaito Kazanin
• Naoya Miyase as Sei Kyogoku
• Tomoya Yamamoto as Tomoe Futaba
• Kazuki Ura as Kyōsuke Aiba
• Keita Tada as Rio Hanamura
• Takao Sakuma as Nozomi Kōmori
• Mizuki Chiba as Natsuki Sogō
• Minato Kamimura as Yukimaru Kurama
• TAKA as Ren Kiryu
• Nobuaki Oka as Shun Shirakawa
• Shōichirō Ōmi as Togo Tachibana
• Ayato Morinaga as Ayato Imazono
• Takeru Kikuchi as Asa Minase
• Takuya Tsuda as Soya Akiduki
• Keito Okuyama as Ao Asahina
• Yoshitsugu Kawashima as Tokinari Tennoji
• Sousuke Shimokawa as Ryutaro Sera
• Takahide Ishii as Ryosuke Minase
• Ryosuke Kozuka as Emilio Garcia
• Tsubasa Kizu as Saku Hasumi

Mao Marita is credited with the original work. The project features original character design artwork from illustrators Mizuki Kawashita (Koyo Academy), Utako Yukihiro (Adalbert Academy), Tanaka Marumero (also known as Ogeretsu Tanaka; Momomi High School), Ruka Urumiya/Sata/Shirano (Amanogawa Academy), and Lily Hoshino (Okazan Academy) for each of the high school teams. Tomomi Ishikawa (PERSONA 5 the Animation) is adapting those artwork into the final character designs. Shoji Yonemura (script for Fairy Tail, Pokémon, Digimon Fusion) is credited for "story construction." R.O.N (FLCL Alternative, FLCL Progressive) is composing the music.

Sources: Futsal Boys!!!!! project's website, Comic Natalie