Whistle!

Whistle! is a Shonen Jump! soccer manga by Daisuke Higuchi, about a soccer-mad Determinator, Sho Kazamatsuri, who, due to his short height, was left on the side-lines by his old school's soccer team, Musashi no Mori school. Unable to play the soccer he loves so much, Sho tranfers to Sakura Josui Junior High School, and from there, begins to hone his skills and realise his dream of becoming a professional soccer player. Along the way, he meets many friends and rivals, among them, teammates soccer genius Tatsuya Mizuno, Kansai boy Shigeki Sato, science geek Daichi Fuwa, and the Musashi no Mori players themselves, as they struggle together to improve their soccer skills, overcome their weaknesses, and find unity in their teamwork to be the best they can.

Well-written and well-drawn, Whistle! was written as a tribute to the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, and the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea/Japan, and has since been made into a 39-episode anime series.


 * A Father to His Men: The goalie Katsuro . Also, arguably Tsubasa Shiina, with the Hiba guys. Sho too, though never made captain, fits comfortably in this trope.
 * Angst? What Angst?: Subverted; Sho has a bit of a sad backstory, but there is not a huge emphasis on it (partially due to him being a Cheerful Child, too). Shigeki also had a bit of a difficult childhood, but purposely doesn't think about it and runs away from what hurts him, instead.
 * Badass: Shigeki.
 * Badass Bookworm: Daichi Fuwa
 * Badass Normal: Compared to a lot of his teammates, Sho's skills actually aren't anything special. However, he still manages to gain the respect of everyone he plays with AND against, with his persistence and his ability to read plays.
 * Big Fancy House: Tatsuya's. His teammates are well-impressed.
 * Bishonen:
 * Shigeki seems aware that he is good looking and popular and occasionally flaunts it a little
 * Tatsuya, though usually aloof, is also aware and even has an omake about him getting ready in the morning (which includes him washing up and trimming his eyebrows, and declaring, whilst looking in the mirror, "I look great as usual!")
 * Tsubasa is often mistaken for a cute girl.
 * Break the Cutie: Shigeki's backstory
 * Break the Haughty: Takashi Narumi gets taught a bit of a lesson every now and then.
 * Boke and Tsukkomi Routine: Naoki Inoue and Shigeki with a hilarious manzai skit (this had more emphasis in the anime).
 * Bunny Ears Lawyer: Shigeki, who is rather lazy, fools around a lot and often jokingly pretends to be scared of other skilled players, is one of the best players in Sakura Josui and . Seiji from Musashi no Mori is quite similar. Also, Shoei Takayama from Kyushu Select, who is a very naturally talented athlete but he too fools around very often.
 * But Not Too Foreign: Ryoichi Tenjo is half-Japanese and half-German, and can be seen trying to learn German during his time with Tokyo Select.
 * Butt Monkey: Santa Yamaguchi, and to a lesser extent, Naoki Inoue.
 * Celebrity Voice Actor: Sho is voiced by former gravure idol Minako Komukai, which was surprising [and rather appealing] to some. She also sang the OP and ED.
 * Character Development: Shigeki starts off as a slightly out-of-control and undisciplined Cheerful Child delinquent who liked fighting and generally doing whatever he wanted. He disliked having to deal with responsibility, and ran away from things that hurt him emotionally instead of facing them.
 * Chick Magnet: Tatsuya finds fangirls everywhere although he doesn't pay much attention, even though he is aware of them. Shigeki has his share of fans and even beat Tatsuya in the amount of Valentine's Day chocolate he received. Many female classmates also think Sho is cute (although that's slightly more little-brother-esque) and cool. Seiji (from Musashi no Mori) also has his share of admirers. Girls from Tsubasa (from Hiiba)'s class wanted to form a fanclub for him on his first day at school.
 * Cool Big Sis: Katori-sensei towards the Sakura Josui team. Coach Akira Saionji towards just about all the soccer players. Ko Kazamatsuri is a male example.
 * Cool Old Guy: Tatsuya's father, even said outright by one of his teammates. Also, Oyassan.
 * Crowning Moment of Awesome:
 * Almost anything Shigeki does. Off the field, there's when he helps beat up the gang of local delinquents at the arcade, and when he beats the crap out of the group of seniors who wanted to beat up . On the field, there is his awesome goal-saving cartwheel against Musashi no Mori, as well as , schooling   during the game against Hiba, and generally whenever he makes an acrobatic-cool goal.
 * Sho also often has his moments, like whenever he scores or assists a goal for his team.  The fact that he is height-disadvantaged, and was once just a third-tier member and had to struggle a lot in order to become a regular member, makes it all the better.
 * Teppei's assist in the game against.
 * Eishi being able to ignore his opponents' taunting, and score a goal against  is this and a CMoH.
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Not very often, but Sakura Josui does solidly kick the ass of one of the teams that looked down on them, to their dismay and shock. This was after a bit of a Shut Up Hannibal speech from Sho. To rub salt to the wound, the female students from said school all end up fangirling over Tatsuya.
 * Deadpan Snarker: Daichi, Tatsuya.
 * Determinator: Sho. And how!
 * Delinquents: Initially, Shigeki. Teppei also scares his roommates at first with his old-school-delinquent look, although they later find out it was just because he wanted to make a lasting impression.
 * Dramatic Wind: Happens rather often. When it happens around or with Sho, it's usually quite symbolic along with a play on words, as Sho's last name is "Kazamatsuri", with "kaze" meaning "wind" in Japanese.
 * Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Sho after suffering his first major injury, during the epilogue.
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: Akira Mikami of Musashi no Mori constantly rates highly in the character polls, despite not having much screentime, as well as being a bit of a Jerk Ass.
 * Eyes Always Shut: Played for laughs with Kaoru from Sakura Josui, when Takai finally realises where his eyes are.
 * Forgotten Childhood Friend: Played for laughs with Naoki Inoue when Shigeki finally remembers him.
 * Fridge Logic: In the anime, Shigeki  It makes no sense at all.
 * Game-Breaking Injury: Sho, during the match with Musashi no Mori. And again,
 * Generation Xerox: Sho
 * Heavy Sleeper: Sho just about dozes off anywhere. Shigeki can also be seen often dozing off in class.
 * Heir to the Dojo: Well, it's not a dojo, but Shigeki
 * Heel Face Turn: Arguably Shigeki
 * Heroic Resolve: Sho hates to lose because he wants to continue playing soccer for as long as he can. Part of the reason he is a Determinator.
 * Hot Shounen Mom: Tatsuya's mother sends the whole Sakura Josui team gawking.
 * Ho Yay: Shigeki is very friendly towards just about everyone, especially Tatsuya, whom he likes to annoy, which is thus taken one step further by the fandom.
 * Important Haircut: Yuki Kojima when she is confronted by  Also, Coach Matsushita when he
 * Instant Fanclub: A classmate declares this on Tsubasa's first day of school in Hiba.
 * Jerk Jock: Takashi Narumi
 * Junior High
 * Kansai Regional Accent: Shigeki and Naoki Inoue are both originally from Kyoto, thus speak with thick Kansai accents.
 * Kuudere: Tatsuya is portrayed as cool and composed on the outside, but often is more emotional on the inside. As the series progresses, he loosens up a bit and is able to express his emotions more (and is encouraged to do so).
 * Loads and Loads of Characters: Particularly egregious, as the plot is primarily concerned about the personal growth of the main Power Trio: Sho, Tatsuya, and Shigeki.
 * Mentors: Most of the coaches; in particular, Souju Matsushita and Akira Saionji. Oyassan and Ko Kazamatsuri also give Sho good advice from time to time.
 * My Soccer Is Stronger Than Yours
 * New Transfer Student: Sho at Sakurai Josui. He gets mistaken for a star soccer player from Musashi no Mori. It doesn't go well, but spurs him on to improve his skills.
 * No Koreans in Japan: One of the exceptions. In the anime, the Korean team is the Japanese team's final opponent.
 * One-Gender School: Subverted and Lampshaded; Musashi no Mori is originally thought to be an all-boys school, but the end of the last manga volume reveals that it is co-ed, though split into genders.
 * Paper Fan of Doom: Shigeki occasionally uses one.
 * Parental Abandonment: Shigeki's
 * Power Trio: Eishi, Yuto, and Kazuma. Also, Sho, Tatsuya, and Shigeki, although sometimes Daichi is added in as the fourth guy.
 * Put Me in Coach: Teppei during the match with
 * Put on a Bus: Towards the end of the anime, Shigeki
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: Shigeki (red) and Tatsuya (blue). Also helps that Shige usually wears warm-coloured clothing whilst Tatsuya wears cool-coloured clothes.
 * The Runaway: Shigeki
 * Sempai-Kohai
 * Sitting on the Roof: The Sakura Josui team have a meeting on the school roof during lunch.
 * Shorttank: Yuki
 * Shout-Out: There is a Captain Tsubasa reference in one of the omakes. Takai is also a homage to Jackie Chan.
 * Shrines and Temples: Shigeki resides in a shrine.
 * Sneezing: Katori-sensei, when Shigeki thinks that Yuki could probably do a better job as a manager.
 * Slasher Smile: When Shigeki has one of these, it means that the other party is about three seconds away from a severe beatdown.
 * Stepford Smiler: Shigeki is a Type A. It's pretty heart-breaking, actually.
 * Team Mom: Yuki as the manager, and Katori-sensei, too.
 * The Idiot From Osaka: Shigeki plays this up; he is from Kansai and often acts the role of the fool.
 * The Ace: Tatsuya, Shigeki, Seiji, Katsuro, Tsubasa, Tenjo.
 * To Be a Master: Just about all the soccer boys, most especially Sho.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Yuki and Miyuki
 * Tournament Arc: The schools' first tournament, and then the Toresen Tournament between the different regions.
 * Underdogs Never Lose: Averted with  Also subverted with Tokyo Select
 * When Things Spin, Science Happens: Daichi is a science geek who often notes the direction of the wind blowing, and the physics of the position and angle the opponent is shooting from, in order to save goals.
 * You Go, Girl!: Yuki Kojima