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Konami Digital Entertainment has announced a collaboration between its football game eFootball™ and the iconic manga series Captain Tsubasa. The collaboration will run
This partnership brings football superstars, including the famed ex-Barcelona trio Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr., and Luis Suárez into the world of Yoichi Takahashi’s celebrated series.
As a part of the collaboration, special in game cards illustrated by Takahashi, in which characters are paired with their manga-counterparts, will be launched.
In-Game Crossover Cards:
Lionel Messi is paired with Tsubasa Ōzora (known as Óliver Atom in international versions), Luis Suárez with Kojiro Hyuga (Mark Lenders), and Neymar Jr. is paired with Hikaru Matsuyama (Philip Callahan).
A special interview snippet, shared on eFootball™’s official YouTube channel, showcases the trio discussing their connection to the beloved manga and its impact on football fans worldwide.
Check out the video below:
Other stars paired with Captain Tsubasa characters include:
- Takefusa Kubo – Taro Misaki (Tom Baker)
- Manuel Neuer – Genzo Wakabayashi (Benji Price)
- Joshua Kimmich – Hikaru Matsuyama (Philip Callahan)
- Dayot Upamecano – Ryo Ishizaki (Bruce Harper)
Kubo and Messi are seen wearing exclusive eFootball™ uniforms inspired by the iconic “Nankatsu Junior High School” from the manga. Both of them are the ambassadors of eFootball™.
These special cards can be won either by logging in to the game and completing special events.
Exclusive In-Game Events
The campaign introduces a range of events for players, allowing them to control Captain Tsubasa characters and participate in unique challenges:
- Time Attack Event: Players can take control of Captain Tsubasa stars like Tsubasa Oozora and Taro Misaki, competing against the clock to score goals. Completing stages will reward players with ‘pieces’ of Captain Tsubasa artwork, which can unlock exclusive avatars and in-game items.
- Daily Bonus Event: Users can control anime characters in penalty kick challenges to earn rewards. A total of 10 Captain Tsubasa characters, including Kojiro Hyuga and Hikaru Matsuyama, will be available to use at random.
The collaboration is described as Volume 1, suggesting that additional cards and characters could be added in future updates.
eFootball™ is the rebranded evolution of Konami’s widely popular Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) series. It has over 800 million downloads worldwide.
Captain Tsubasa manga series was originally serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump between 1981 and 1988. Its chapters have been collected in 37 tankōbon volumes. The manga has multiple sequels.
Source: Konami
