Whistle!

Whistle! (ホイッスル!) is a Japanese manga by Daisuke Higuchi, which was adapted into a 39-episode anime television series, broadcast exclusively by the anime television network, Animax across Japan and South Korea.

The football (soccer) associated manga was published in Japan in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump. Whistle! is published in English by VIZ Media under the Shōnen Jump label. The manga was written in homage to the 1998 and 2002 World Cup Finals tournaments which took place in France and Japan/South Korea respectively.

Story
Whistle! is about a boy named Shō Kazamatsuri. He transfers from Musashinomori School to Sakura Josui Junior High School for better hopes to make the soccer team, since he never got a game at his old school due to his small stature. Yūko Katori, his teacher, introduces him as a former star of the famed Musashinomori team, causing his classmates to be wrongly ecstatic. Right after that, one of the players, Tatsuya Mizuno, reveals that he was never a regular. In other words, since he never got the chance to play, Shō is a poor player. Shō struggles to improve his skill so he can make the team at his new school and to ignore the drastic disadvantage he has due to his height.

Anime
Due to the success of Whistle! in Japan and its rising popularity among soccer fans in North America, Daisuke Higuchi took the helm of producing a 39-episode series   based on the manga. The anime television network, Animax, has broadcast the series exclusively in Japan and South Korea.

Music themes

 * Opening theme
 * "DOUBLE WIND" by Minako Komukai


 * Ending theme
 * "Sweet Days" by Minako Komukai

Manga
In Japan, all 24 manga volumes have been published. In North America, 24 manga volumes have been published as of January 2010 with the series finished.

Video games
Games include: Game Boy Advance and Playstation versions.

Reception
The Whistle! series has received good reception. A review posted by Read About Comics stated that the Whistle! manga had good drawings that showed the characters move around with the soccer ball during matches. The series was said to be very interesting that those who don't have soccer background will enjoy reading the manga, as well as with the realistic illustration used.

Activeanime had remarked that the art is clear since all the "line and detail has obvious care and attention given to it, resulting in well-managed visuals for a well-flowing read." , while praising Sho's character development as the readers "see him strive against so much to obtain what he worked for is uplifting." Anime on DVD's review on Whistle's Volume 1 noted that although it does not look good for characters to run away from their problems, Sho's inner determination to play soccer is the main highlight of the series.