First things first: I hate team sports. Childhood experiments with baseball and soccer were a mixture of boredom and anxiety, and I got out of them as soon as I could. As a result, I never expected to have any interest in sports manga.
With that background, I was surprised by how much I liked the preview of Daisuke Higuchi’s soccer manga, Whistle!, in a recent issue of Shonen Jump. Great characters managed to overcome my disinterest in the subject matter, and I put the title on my “to try” list. I’m glad I stepped out of my comfort zone, because Whistle! is a real charmer.
Shô Kazamatsuri has transferred from the prestigious, private Musashinomori School to Josui Junior High. An avid soccer player, Shô was confined to the bench at Musashinomori because of his size. Driven by a desire to actually play the game, he makes the surprising switch to the lesser school in hopes of being a real member of the team.
Unfortunately, the Josui team’s coach makes incorrect assumptions about Shô. Eager for a more competitive team, Coach Katori mistakenly praises Shô to the skies as a Musashinomori star come to change Josui’s fortunes. She pressures Shô into a scratch game at his first practice, and he’s trounced. Things get worse when one of his team-mates, Tatsuya, reveals that Shô never made it off the third team at his old school.
Shô never meant to be dishonest, but he got swept up in circumstances and couldn’t find an opportunity to correct the misconception. He’s humiliated by his lack of skill and Tatsuya’s revelation. Coach Katori feels terrible about her role in the events, but Shô runs off before she can make things right.
Not to worry, as Shô has determination to spare. After the initial sting of embarrassment wears off, he commits himself to being a worthy member of the team. He undertakes an exhausting training regime, impressing Tatsuya with his passion for the game. When Tatsuya comes to admire Shô’s approach – hard work and clever strategy to minimize his disadvantages – it leads to a shake-up in the team’s status quo. Tatsuya, one of the team’s best players, takes a group of alternates under his wing to challenge the complacent seniors.
That illustrates the premise at the center of Whistle! Heart and discipline, Higuchi argues, are just as valuable in a player’s arsenal as skill and physical strength. It’s not a wildly original premise by any means, but Higuchi conveys it with wonderful energy and sincerity. The cast of underdogs is uniformly appealing, and Shô in particular is a marvel.
He’s just a great kid: optimistic, decent, and willing to work hard to achieve his dreams. It’s easy to believe he’d be an inspiration to his team-mates. He wants to play soccer because he loves it, and that love has an infectious quality that transfers to the people around him (and to readers). Tatsuya is a fine foil for Shô. He’s a great player and a natural leader, but he’s got a blunt manner that puts people off. At the same time, it gives him the freedom to shake up the status quo, which drives the events of the first volume.
Higuchi doesn’t skimp on the supporting cast, either. Shô lives with his older brother, Kō, who works as a male escort. He’s amusingly sleazy, but he’s also unfailingly supportive of Shô’s dreams. The brothers have a great relationship that’s touching, funny, and believable. Coach Katori isn’t fleshed out quite as well yet, but she has a delightful scene with Kō that hints at a lot of spark and charm. During Shô’s private practice, he befriends a crusty old stall chef, Oyassan. Even this taciturn codger sees something special in Shô and does his best to help him.
The illustrations are filled with energy and detail. Higuchi supports character development with a real facility for facial expressions. Scenes of practice and competition are exciting and always clear, even to a soccer ignoramus like me. The visuals really balance humanity and action well, which is just what a title like this needs.
The best feature of this story is that you don’t need to know anything about soccer to enjoy it. Heck, you don’t even need to like soccer to enjoy it. The enthusiasm and determination of the characters and the believable scale of events make for an almost ridiculously engrossing story. Is it formulaic? Well, sure, it’s a “root for the underdog” manga. But even a formulaic story can soar when it’s told with this much craft and care.