"Tokyo City Esperion" (
Summary[]
Ashito heads to Tokyo to join the Tokyo City Esperion tryouts.
Synopsis[]
After arriving in Tokyo for the tryouts, Ashito asks a bus driver to drive him to Tokyo City Esperion FC's grounds. We then get a little insight into Japan's youth system and the difference between club and high school football.
In the story, we rewind three days and see Ashito practicing football in Ehime. He gets a flashback of his mother berating him after he went missing. After telling him to eat, Ashito tells his mother about Fukuda inviting him to the Tokyo Esperion tryouts, which surprises his mother. We go back to him practicing football, and some girls notice him. They ask him questions about the incident during the match and the recommendation he lost. However, Ashito seems to be more interested in the girls than the questions they ask. His teammates invite him to join a football game; this time, others notice he's significantly better. While Ashito plays, he remembers his mom not allowing him to go due to their financial issues.
After Ashito's teammates thank him for being able to stay and attend Futami High, Shun picks Ashito from training and hands him an envelope. On the way home, Shun explains who Fukuda is to Ashito, explaining that Fukuda succeeded well in Japan, represented the national team, and went on to help SC Sabadell survive relegation in Spain. Fukuda then suffered an injury, which led to his retirement. Lastly, Ashito opens the envelope containing money Shun saved up for Ashito to go to the tryouts.
We cut back to Ashito arriving at Esperion's grounds. At first, he is impressed by the facilities but becomes nervous once he thinks of the challenges he might face during the tryouts. Hana Ichijō then accidentally bumps into Ashito, dropping a few stacks of cups. Hana recognizes Ashito as "The guy that looks like Valderrama". When Ashito asks who she is, Hana offers to lead him to the tryouts. Once they approach the ground, Hana names a few notable players in the tryouts, including Sōichirō Tachibana, Akinori Kaneda, Yuudai Hasegawa, Yoshiku Li, and Mamoru Izumi. She asks Ashito whether he has any notable achievements, which Ashito ignores. After telling him the registration fees, Hana notices Ashito is astonished at the quality of the football pitch.
Nozomi Date and Tatsuya Fukuda start giving speeches to those involved in the tryouts. They voice their aim and goals of Tokyo Esperion's youth program. They say they want to limit having to "steal" players from other teams and start raising a generation for the future of Japan. Fukuda ends with a bombshell, saying, "There is a high chance that no one will pass", which surprises Ashito.
Highlights[]
- Fukuda's background playing at SC Sabadell is partially revealed.
- Ashito makes it Tokyo for tryouts.
- Ashito is taken aback by seeing such a high quality pitch and the crowds surrounding it.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
- Ashito Aoi
- Noriko Aoi (Flashback)
- Shun Aoi
- Nanami Shiina
- Sawa Tamano
- Futami Middle School Kouhai (Debut)
- Hikaru Kogure
- Futami Middle School Coach (Background)
- Futami Middle School Assistant Coach (Background)
- Tatsuya Fukuda
- Hana Ichijō
- Sōichirō Tachibana (Debut) (Name Reveal)
- Akinori Kaneda (Debut) (Name Reveal)
- Yūdai Hasegawa (Debut) (Name Reveal)
- Yonshiku Ri (Debut) (Name Reveal)
- Mamoru Izumi (Debut) (Name Reveal)
- Nozomi Date (Debut)
- Daigo Benzen (Background) (Debut)
- Aki Tsukishima (Background) (Debut)
Chapter Notes[]
Trivia[]
- The scanned English translations contain errors regarding this name:
- Yonshiku Ri was incorrectly translated as Ueda Hiroshi.
References[]
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Chapters | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 | Volumes | 1 • 2 • 3 |
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Episodes | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 | Seasons | 1 |
Chapters | 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 | Volumes | 1 |
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