My name is Kakeru Aizawa.
After miraculously surviving that accident,
I was unable to quit soccer
and had been living my life aimlessly.
One day, I found out that my transplanted heart
belonged to my brother.
As the recipient of my brother, Suguru Aizawa's, last pass,
I decided to continue playing soccer with my brother.
I won't waver, I won't run away,
as long as the life he gave me lasts.
Enoshima High Football Club?!
What do you think, Brother?
This is the Enoshima High uniform.
Today's the inaugural ceremony.
I'm attending with Kakeru.
How do we look, Suguru-san?
Well, I'm heading out.
I'll see you later.
Inaugural Ceremony Enoshima High School
You'll finally get to meet Araki-san.
Yeah...
Real men play baseball!
Are you interested in playing basketball?
Come!! Recruiting!! Tennis Club
Karate Club Recruiting
We're the tennis club!
We're the badminton club!
Baseball Club
Feel the Youth of Adolescence! Now! Join the Tennis Club!
Clubs are so popular here.
I know. It seems like so much fun!
It'd be nice if there was
a girl's soccer team, too.
Then you would be the ace player, right away.
For now, I'll be fine in
the same soccer club as you, as a manager.
Yes, yes, yes!
I'll escort you two to the soccer club!
They're in a really remote location.
Ah, um... Senpai?
Huh?
I'm Makoto Hyodo.
Call me Mako.
Mako-san, I heard that there was
a second year midfielder named Araki-san in the soccer club.
Hmm? You know Araki?
Well, at least that he has an amazing pass...
His receivers have got it rough!
I've been running combinations with him for a year now,
but I never get a word in edgewise, what with his machine gun speed.
So he does have quite a bit of momentum.
Word in edgewise? Machine gun?
Hey, you're cute.
Have a flower.
No, thanks.
You wear soccer shoes all the time?
And pretty nice ones, at that.
I wear them all the time so they're broken in.
I just change the studs for matches.
I like this kid. You're quite unique.
Um... Mako-senpai?
Oh, sorry, sorry.
Second years, Kurebayashi and Horikawa.
What? Oh, n-nice to meet you.
Coach!
Enoshima High FC
I've brought along some freshmen hoping to join.
Soccer quiz!
If you get it right, you can join the club!
Here is your question:
What song do you sing on the field when it's raining?
Hey, answer, newcomer.
Uh, um...
Oh! Pitch, pitch, chappu, chappu.
Run, run, run!
Correct!
All right!
Congratulations. I permit you to join the club.
Write down your name, your class,
your cell phone number, and your email address.
O-Okay.
Was that all right?
It was perfect.
We've got to recruit members by any means necessary.
I'm by the window.
And I'm one away.
Keep it down.
Kota-kun?
What are you doing here?
What am I doing here? I'm a student.
You got a problem with that?
Now that you mention it, I heard your grades weren't too good
Congratulations This is 1-B \(^o^)/ Seating Chart ->
and you couldn't get into Kama High...
Yeah, I panicked, but luckily on the second application—
What am I telling you for?!
All right, everyone take a seat.
Everyone in 1-B, nice to meet you.
I'll be your homeroom teacher.
My name is Teppei Iwaki.
I'd like to start by explaining the schedule today.
He was the one who...
So he's our homeroom teacher.
After this, we'll go to the inaugural ceremony,
Quit whispering behind my back!
so once we go to the gym...
Enoshima High School 26th Inaugural Ceremony
...is what we believe.
Therefore, we'd like to recommend
that all incoming students explore the numerous clubs
which fall under the governance of the school.
He's in here, isn't he?
The midfielder my brother respected.
Araki-senpai...
In other words, the body and the mind
If they knew the truth, they'd quit, wouldn't they?
are like the front and back tires of a car...
We won't let them quit.
No matter what, we're pulling that Aizawa guy in.
We need every recruit we can get.
Want to go see the soccer club?
Yeah. I wonder if Araki-senpai will be there?
I've heard they're pretty good,
but I'll become a regular, Nana-chan.
That merciless comeback was great!
I'm from the comic duo research club.
I've been waiting for a newcomer
who can throw comebacks like that.
How about all of you join our club?
I'm sorry.
We've already decided on the soccer club.
The soccer club?
I wouldn't, if I were you.
They're totally boring.
I'm not joining to be bored
or to have fun, but to play soccer!
Let's go, Kakeru.
What was the deal with that fatty?
...especially if you want to play soccer.
Next!
Looks like a passing drill where you have to avoid the cones.
I wonder if they're all seniors...
He's pretty good.
Number 5, you fail. The test is over.
What?
Test?
This is the try-out test?
B-But... when I went to write my name down,
they all seemed to welcome me...
Um, why? Did I do something...
The coach told you to use an inside kick!
But...
Next!
That's so strict!
Boring, isn't it?
What?
In this soccer club,
they don't allow any low chance plays like heel passes.
Dribbles of longer than five seconds aren't allowed.
It's a style of soccer that incorporates long balls,
so players under 170cm aren't allowed to join.
Seriously?
Do you think it'd be any fun to play here?
U-Um, Senpai, why do you...
Get off your high horse!
Is it any fun being a quitter?
Mako-senpai!
Huh?
Watch out!
What?
Sea lion!
Don't make me do that!
It'll hit the glass!
Nice header, Kinjiro.
Was that on purpose?
If so, that was some amazing ball control.
And the softness of that trap earlier...
Who is this guy?
Hi!
I'm yellow card Mako!
I'm Arackie!
Together we're...
Exiting!
Exiting already?
That was fast!
Mako, focus on just the comedy club already.
Let's aim to perform on a national level together.
Yeah, well...
Um... Mako-senpai?
Oh, let me introduce you.
This guy is my partner in the comedy duo research club.
He's Arackie, or Ryuichi Araki.
Hi!
Arackie from the comedy club?
Ryuichi Araki-san...
Ryuichi Araki?!
What?
Th-Then, the Araki-senpai that I've been looking for
i-is him?!
I guess. What's up, Aizawa-kun?
Kakeru, keep it together!
Kakeru... Aizawa?
Suguru's brother?
What?
Hey, you guys!
Don't get in the way of the soccer club.
What?
Um, Iwaki-sensei.
What's going on?
Oh, I can see how this might be hard to understand.
Actually, Enoshima High has two soccer teams.
That's the school representative Enoshima High Soccer Club,
also known as SC.
We're the play-for-fun Enoshima High Football Club.
So, we call ourselves FC.
What? Play-for-fun?
Yes, congratulations on getting in.
I look forward to working together,
Mishima-san, and Aizawa-kun.
W-Wait a second!
If this is just-for-fun, then I won't
be able to compete in matches!
Who cares?
I'm in the comedy duo research club.
I-I joined a play-for-fun club...
and the Araki-senpai my brother respected
is a f-fat comedian...
Ka-Kakeru!
I-I'm sorry!
I'd rather be in the official club!
Please! Cancel my membership!
Why do you want to be in the official club?
B-Because, if I'm not in the official club,
I can't compete in competitive matches, can I?
Then I ask of you,
if you were to join the club, what are your goals?
Of course, I want to win regionals
and to compete in, and win, nationals.
I see...
You're thinking you want to put up with the boring SC
and play soccer because you're
caught up in such small dreams.
Nationals... winning nationals is a small dream?
Right.
Playing soccer aiming to win in such a small competition
is as small as Japan is to the rest of the world.
In other countries, where soccer is popular,
the dream that kids your age have
is to play as a national representative
and win the World Cup.
We, the Enoshima High FC,
play soccer on that sort of larger scale.
Still,
as a short term goal, winning regionals
and national tournaments is important as well.
Given the chance, this year
I'd like to represent Enoshima High!
Huh?
Actually, before a large match, the SC and the FC face off
to determine who will represent the school in the match.
What?
Defeat SC!!
The winning team is the representative club
and competes for the school.
How about it?
For just a week, want to practice with everyone
on the Enoshima High FC as a provisional player?
Brother...
Um... Is this the FC club room?
Hello.
That's the kid who heel passed.
Yes, that's right.
Are you interested in joining?
Yes. I failed the SC test,
but I want to play soccer no matter what!
So...
Of course, you can join.
Yes, yes, yes. What's your name?
Matoba Kaoru.
Kaoru, Kaoru-kun, right?
I'm Mako. Let's get along!
Nice to meet you all!
Let's join here, Kakeru.
Seven...
It seems fun, right?
Yeah.
My heart's stopped pounding.
I guess my brother feels the same way.
Iwaki-sensei! I'd like to come to practices—
I mean, please allow me to officially join your club!
All right! We've made it to 11 members!
We can actually play!
What? You didn't have enough?
Yeah...
But now, we can finally compete to represent the school.
When is that match?
In two weeks.
What?!
Well,
don't get your hopes up.
Araki-senpai!
Let me just say that the SC's strength is the real thing.
It's not the kind of club that a play-for-fun club can beat.
Kakeru!
Araki-san...
Araki-senpai—
Araki-senpai.
You used to play soccer for the FC, didn't you?
What about it?
Won't you try again?
I want to try to receive your pass! So...
Did your dead brother tell you something?
You're Suguru's brother, right?
It was in my brother's diary.
He said you had better pass intuition than him.
Cut it out!
He despised me.
Called me a spineless, selfish, naked king.
B-But...
The main reason I thought about quitting soccer
was your brother.
Enoshima High FC
Let's go to practice!
Put these on, freshmen!
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
How did this happen?
Sorry to keep you waiting!
Definitely a mascot girl.
Perfect size...
Bring it in!
As always,
let's start with some beach soccer scrimmage.
Break up into two teams of five.
Okay!
Beach soccer?
Unlike the official SC,
we can't use most of the school grounds.
Our beach soccer rules are a little different as well.
There's only one goal.
It's between those two flags.
If a defender steals the ball and kicks it into the ocean,
you switch sides and restart the game.
White team kick off!
Okay!
A bold, quick slide!
I see, the reason Coach Iwaki chose to practice
on the beach was to...
Shoot!
It's so hard to run!
Aizawa!
I'll take that!
Shit!
The sands keeps the ball from moving at all!
That's why this is great practice
to improve quick and strong passes!
Here I go!
Nice pass, Mako!
Okay, change-up.
Shit!
Hey, newcomer.
Are you going to be okay going all out like that?
Freshman!
That pass would be impossible for that newcomer.
I'll be taking—
What?
It's not over yet!
He's already caught up?
Did he predict where the ball
would go and run straight over?
Got it!
Amazing! Mako-san and Kurebayashi-san.
I've never seen a team use such bold moves.
Brother, this team's soccer is so much fun!
That's the first half. It's halftime.
Are you alive, Kakeru?
B-Barely.
But your leg muscles are twitching...
Hey! Hey!
Hey, cut it out, Seven.
What are you looking at?
That female manager's swimsuit...
That Aizawa's caught your eye, hasn't he?
He's Suguru Aizawa's brother, right?
That's why you...
Irrelevant.
I wonder about that.
So, what do you think?
In your eyes, he's...
Middle school level.
As it is, he can't compete in high school.
So strict.
I think he's got potential.
He's got a troubling weakness.
Weakness?
But his intuition in the penalty area is valuable.
That's not something you gain through practice.
He's a genius.
An incomplete genius.
Same as you, then...
Shut it.
Hey, Araki.
Everyone wants you to come back.
Aizawa, you, me, and everyone else...
Sure, each of us is incomplete.
But as a team, being able to cover for each other's weakness
is what soccer's all about.
I already quit. I don't intend to come back.
Araki!
What are you saying?
Then why are you always wearing soccer shoes?
When I first met you,
you said you always wore soccer shoes to break them in.
You said that, for a match, you'd change the studs.
You wear soccer shoes all the time?
I always wear them to break them in
and I just change the studs for matches.
A guy who says the same thing as you has joined.
Come back, Ryuichi Araki.
I'm home!
That my brother could despise Araki-san...
He's a naked king...
This is...
Play-for-fun club?
Yeah, I was recruited by this interesting guy, Iwaki.
We're still looking for players, though.
Are you underestimating soccer?
What?
What will you get playing like a king for a team
that won't even let you play in a real match?
Shut up!
I was genuinely disappointed.
If I'd known this would happen,
He's a naked king...
I wish I hadn't met him.
He's a naked king.
He misunderstood.
Araki-senpai chose to join the play-for-fun FC team
not because he was being selfish,
but because he believed he could
play his own soccer with that team!
The main reason I thought about quitting soccer
was your brother.
That's wrong!
Wrong!
By the way, Kota-kun, how did the SC test go?
I barely passed, somehow,
but then I panicked when I saw them practice.
They have an unbelievable team.
Excuse me.
Oda-san!
The practice match has been decided.
I don't think you'll play, but after school,
be sure to meet on the grounds wearing your uniform.
Understood!
That's all.
You're Aizawa-kun, right?
Y-Yes!
If you'd like, come watch our practice match.
Okay...
Kakeru, that guy...
A second year, Ryoma Oda-san.
He's the one wearing number 10 for SC.
This match...
Enoshima 0 Kaihin 0 Team First Half Second Half Total
Twenty minutes into the first half.
They're evenly matched, so far.
Is that how it looks to the brother of a genius?
Araki-senpai!
So, you're concerned about the representative
deciding match as well?
You shouldn't be so stubborn. Come back.
You want me to play beach soccer for three years,
with a team that can't even compete in matches?
We don't know yet.
I know.
At the match last year, it was etched deeply in my mind.
What kind of match was it?
Just like this one.
So high!
Stop him!
Takase!
The SC's strategy is always the same.
It's simple but, when mastered, effective.
The one who scored was the newcomer, Michiro Takase.
He's 190cm tall.
Enoshima 1 Kaihin 0 Team First Half Second Half Total
First half is over!
In other words, SC's soccer
involves using physically strong players
to their maximum potential.
How advantageous are the weapons they were born with.
But they never tire of their monotonous strategy.
In comparison,
we, who had tried to attack with detailed techniques,
used up our endurance until were completely exhausted.
Just like the Kaihin team now.
The second half was even more tragic.
They covered us completely,
and when we panicked and let our guard down,
they'd counter with another point.
We were caught in a vicious cycle, just like Kaihin is now.
In soccer, defense is the best offense.
5-0. Enoshima wins.
We lost 4-1.
Just as Suguru had said.
Who scored that point?
Huh?
It was 4-1, right?
Who scored that one point?
The middle, me.
Just before the match ended, I put it in.
You hadn't given up then, at that time.
Up until the end of the game,
weren't you trying to score?
Then why would yo—
You don't know what you're talking about!
No matter how hard I looked,
I couldn't find a pass route through their defense.
If you can't find one, make one.
What?
Let's make it together.
A pass route that will bring down
their iron defense in an instant.
It's not often that I get
a pass route that feels so great.
Yeah. You're something, all right,
but I know of an even better pass.
Huh?
A pass that you don't find by yourself,
but you make with someone else.
I'm serious!
I'm seriously aiming to win the national tournament!
So, Araki-san!
It's okay. You got through to him.
Your feelings got through.
Now it just depends on him, don't you think?
Yeah.
2 weeks later
Finally, the day of the decisive match arrived.
Next Episode: Clash! FC vs SC!!
Finally, the decisive match against the rival team, SC, begins.
Against the SC's perfect soccer,
the FC resolutely challenges with unrestrained expression.
But, unable to obtain a decisive feeling,
the FC is faced with a vast difference in strength.
However, continuing to fight and believing in victory,
Kakeru and the others, twenty minutes into the second half,
are faced with the biggest crisis.
What will you do, Kakeru?
Next time on The Knight in the Area:
the sixth episode, "Clash! FC vs SC!!"
Finish it, Kakeru!