Ginga e Kickoff!!



Shou Oota loves soccer. Unfortunately, his team has broken apart after the core players - the notorious Triplet Demons - had a falling out with their coach and the upcoming middle-school entrance exams had the rest of the team leaving. Resolved to rebuild his team from the ground up, he starts the search for new members. He might not be very good at playing, he may be alone, but he has two weapons in his arsenal: he never takes "no" for an answer and he never gives up.

Things start looking up when he befriends Erika, an Osakan girl looking for a team, and he keeps meeting interesting people in the park like Misaki, a renowned professional soccer player, and a local drunkard who knows more about the game than is readily apparent...

Ginga e Kickoff!! (銀河へキックオフ!!, Ginga e Kikkuofu!!, literally Kickoff to the Galaxy!!, retitled Victory Kickoff!! in Europe) is part of the Spring 2012 Anime season.

"Erika, laughing: You're really something! You don't hold back at all! Oota: Really? I get that a lot. They say I'm loud and annoying."
 * Astronomic Zoom: Seen in the OP and scattered across the series. "Ginga" means "galaxy", after all.
 * The Beautiful Game: Soccer, of course.
 * Because Destiny Says So: Misaki gives a silly speech when refusing Oota and Erika's request for coaching about how the god of soccer made them meet per chance and eventually he'll give them the coach they request. And then coincidences start piling on.
 * Big Sister Mentor: Misaki quickly realizes that Oota and Erika have great potential, and mentors them as much as she is allowed to.
 * But Not Too Foreign: Aoto Gonzalez Takuma. Erika quickly notices his blue eyes.
 * Chekhov's Gunman: The drunk guy in the park in the first episode is there for a reason.
 * Cranial Eruption: Oota gets a couple of big head lumps after the little accident with the manager in the first episode.
 * Credits Running Sequence: Running colored silhouettes of the team against a soccer-themed photo background.
 * Cross-Popping Veins: Oota shows these when he gets really frustrated at being out-played by a dog.
 * Crush Blush: To make obvious Erika likes Aota.
 * Dare to Be Badass: Misaki encourages Erika to keep playing with boys.
 * Determinator: Oota will shrug off everything thrown at him in his quest to play soccer with his dream team.
 * Drowning My Sorrows: Masaru's way of coping with her soccer falling out.
 * Evolving Credits: Once the team is refounded, the credits substitute the Imagine Spot with a "Previously On..." Montage narrated by Oota.
 * Excited Show Title!
 * Eyecatch: Featuring the characters the current arc has the focus on.
 * Fallen-On-Hard-Times Job: Masaru doesn't even have a job at the beginning of the series.
 * Fat Girl: Reika.
 * Formerly Fat: Eventually.
 * Finishing Each Other's Sentences/Triplet Telepathy The Furuyas can guess correctly what any other brother is about to say.
 * Flashback Echo: Masaru has one to his times as an elementary school coach triggered by hitting the post in a goal.
 * Grasp the Sun: Done by Oota in the OP.
 * Grew a Spine: Reika joins the team despite Kota's hostility and her family's desires.
 * Half Truth: When recruiting Erika Oota glosses over the fact that the team at the moment has exactly one member. And he was a bench warmer.
 * Hot-Blooded: Erika would count as hot blooded, but compared to Oota she's a candle next to an inferno.

"Kota: Diet!? Are you making fun of soccer!?"
 * Hyper Awareness: Oota has an uncanny abiliy to keep track of details that comes very handy in game.
 * I Coulda Been a Contender: Masaru Hanashima got a Career-Ending Injury and had to retire just as his team hit it big. He went on to coach kids.
 * The Idiot From Osaka: Erika is from Osaka, and she talks in thick Osaka-ben dialect. She's loud and engages in manzai routines once in a while, often playing tsukkomi to Oota's candid bokke suggestions.
 * Imagine Spot: The OP has Oota imagining his future team playing in Barcelona's Camp Nou.
 * In-Series Nickname
 * Erika, the "Speed Star"
 * Kageura, the "Emperor of Amarillo"
 * The Furuyas, the "Triplet Demons"
 * Masaru, the "Lightning Light"
 * I Shall Taunt You: The Furuyas taunt Masaru in order to get him to play the mini-game.
 * Jerk Jock: The Furuya triplets are incredibly arrogant and selfish, but...
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: surprisingly fair once you get on their good side.
 * Kansai Regional Accent: Erika is quick to point to the class that she's from Osaka, not Kansai.
 * Keet: Oota just can't stay put, he's always positive and has only one volume set, "loud".
 * The Load: Reika joins the team without any previous training and terribly out of shape. But she's the eleventh player they need.
 * Magnetic Hero: Oota's enthusiasm and team spirit are contagious.
 * My Eyes Are Up Here: Subverted Trope; Oota was actually looking at the team name in Erika's shirt.
 * My Greatest Failure: Masaru retired from coaching because he blames himself for pushing too hard his old team.
 * Nearly-Normal Animal: Zach plays mean soccer.
 * New Transfer Student: What a coincidence, it's Erika. And the only open seat is behind Oota.
 * No Indoor Voice: Oota
 * Oji-san: Masaru doesn't like being called this. He's not that old!
 * Ojou:  turned out to be an upper class rich girl. The Hime Cut was a clue.
 * Perma-Stubble: Masaru has a five o'clock shade, later revealed to be a Beard of Sorrow.
 * Pigeonholed Voice Actor: Yuu Kobayashi playing a Hot-Blooded boy.
 * Plucky Girl: Reika
 * Putting the Band Back Together: Oota goes after old members of the team first, especially the Triplet Demons.
 * The Quiet One: Kota doesn't speak much.
 * Red Eyes, Take Warning: The Furuya triplets in a sense.
 * Royal Brat: The Furuyas live in a big manor, with their own tennis court.
 * Same Sex Triplets: The Furuya Triplets, all guys.
 * Serious Business: Kota isn't amused when Reika gives "dieting" as one of her reasons for playing soccer.


 * Shrinking Violet: Reika is shy and soft-spoken.
 * Spiky Hair: Oota's hairstyle is naturally spikey.
 * Kota even more so, and his brothers whenever they decide to confuse their opponents.
 * Spirited Young Lady: Kyoko isn't a passive girlfriend, oh no. She'll help Masaru despite himself.
 * Split-Screen Reaction: Oota, Erika and the triplets get one when Masaru does one of his formidable shots in episode five.
 * Spoiler Opening: You can see that Reika is going to lose a lot of weight and be part of the team.
 * Stealth Mentor: Kota towards Reika in a sense.
 * The Strategist: Oota's strength as a player is his ability to read the game.
 * Strength Equals Worthiness: Erika asks Oota to beat her dog, Zach, at soccer if he wants to play with her. She has a personal heading contest with Oota later, in episode four.
 * Taking the Bullet: Oota gets the retaliation shot for Erika when confronting the Triplet Demons for the first time.
 * Team Pet: Zach, Erika's black retriever.
 * Think Triplets: The Furuyas are devious and pretty good analysts.
 * Tomboy and Girly Girl: Erika and Reika.
 * Tomboyish Ponytail: Erika's practical hairstyle.
 * Took a Level In Badass: Reika learns to play pretty fast. Her physical fitness is another matter.
 * Trade Your Passion for Glory: Mine, an old team mate of Masaru, has become a successful bureaucrat obssessed with PR over the actual game.
 * Triplet Switch: Being nearly identical besides their personal hairstyle, they can just pull their hair back to confuse opponents.
 * Tsurime Eyes: Befitting their arrogance, the Furuya Triplets have obvious slanted-upwards eyes.
 * Wingding Eyes: Erika gets spiralling eyes after Oota's most silly actions and Oota oftens gets starry-eyed.
 * Years Too Early: After Oota gets intensive training in heading, he suggests to repeat their contest. Erika answers with this.
 * You Didn't Ask: Oota asks Erika why she didn't tell him she was transferring to his school.
 * You Go, Girl!: Erika dislikes being treated as "just a girl", while at the same time she vaguely realizes that her days playing at the same physical level of guys are numbered. But she'll keep playing with guys for as long as she can!
 * Younger Than He Looks: Kageura, one of Amarillo's players, could easily pass for a college student; he's twelve years old.
 * Zettai Ryouiki: Erika.