Well...I must warn you all beforehand. The following summary is not guaranteed to be complete and/or perfect. It is designed to help Captain Tsubasa newbies to understand what the heck went on in this cute little anime. It's based on exactly what I saw...almost all of the first half of the TV series, and almost all of the second. Dubbed in Spanish. And I saw it a while ago.... -_-; but I hope this helps a little bit!

The story opens in 1983. Tsubasa Ozora is moving to a new town with his mother, who is taking care of him alone in the absence of his father, who is out to sea. (In the navy, maybe...?) When he arrives at Nankatsu, he automatically wants to join the school's soccer team. For Tsubasa kun...dreams of being the greatest soccer player in Japan. (Kawaii ne...?) Just when he arrives at his new home, he hears of a boy who claims to be the greatest goalkeeper in Japan. This boy, Genzo Wakabayashi, can catch any kind of ball, not just soccer balls(as demonstrated in a rather weird scene), and Tsubasa immediately wants to challenge him. But another stranger has entered his life...a Brazilian man named Roberto Hongo, a drifter who was once a soccer player but had his career ended by an injury. (Kinda looked like he broke his nose...^_-) Roberto was sent by Tsubasa's father(I believe) to be his trainer. Tsubasa balks at the idea at first, but soon becomes good friends with Roberto, who shows him some amazing skills...and promises to take him to Brazil if he is good enough.

In the meantime, Tsubasa sends a challenge(written on a soccer ball!) to Wakabayashi, who is practicing at his mansion with his own personal trainer. It's a rather cute scene...Tsubasa kun near a guardrail with his new friend Ryo Ishizaki, and he kicks the ball so hard that it flies all the way to Wakabayashi kun's house...then the shocked Ishizaki tries to check out the bottoms of Tsubasa kun's shoes, thinking that they're magic or something...then saying, "These shoes are normal..." Little does Tsubasa know, Wakabayashi has caught the ball! (laugh)....

Sorry. ^_^ Well, Tsubasa eventually does play against Wakabayashi...and wins. The boy is so friendly that even ill-tempered Wakabayashi is won over...and his team merges with Nankatsu. (...I missed that episode...) Now, the team, with Wakabayashi as the captain, prepares for the championship.

The next game was kind of a blur...but Wakabayashi is injured, forcing him to entrust the team to Tsubasa for the championship. (hence the title "Captain Tsubasa")... But fear not, for the team has obtained yet another new member! Taro Misaki is travelling with his artist father, and makes friends with Tsubasa quickly. (I'm surprised...how does Tsubasa kun manage to be close friends with that jerk Wakabayashi with sweet little Misaki kun around..?) When they get to the championship, some rather..interesting characters are waiting for them.

The championship introduces some of the major characters of the show. But before that...the episode where Nankatsu first arrives at the stadium is absolutely priceless. Ishizaki keeps having to use the bathroom...and runs into this...large boy who claims(rather jovially) to be the greatest goalie in Japan! In true Ryo Ishizaki fashion, the boy screams and runs like mad... And then there's the part with Masao and Kazuo Tachibana being chased by the police...man, I love this show!! Well...back to the summary. Tsubasa has heard of another unbeatable player who is even more famous than Wakabayashi kun...the captain of Meiwa, Kojiro Hyuga, who has quite a reputation for being violent and ruthless. And here's where the fun starts...

Naturally, Hyuga kun has already met Wakabayashi kun...and defeated him. But he is interested in meeting another player...Jun Misugi, the captain of...some team that dresses in yellow. (sweat drop...). He is accompanied by Takeshi Sawada, a very young but talented midfielder. They spy on Misugi a bit...but once the championship starts, Meiwa is picked to play against...Nankatsu!

Without Wakabayashi to back them up, Nankatsu loses. Their substitute, Yuzo Morisaki, is terrified of the ball and fails miserably. Hyuga kun is not helping at all...having decided to exploit the boy's weakness, even kicking the ball at his head. Mean... But surprisingly, the game is pretty close...and the winning goal is scored by Takeshi. Which leaves Tsubasa and Hyuga with some..unfinished business. However...even a "monster" like Hyuga kun is not all bad..he is actually shocked into feeling pity for the weeping captain of Nankatsu when the game is over. Hmm...

In the meantime, Wakabayashi kun is having a temper tantrum. Naturally, seeing Tsubasa lose because of his absence is not sitting well with him..he blames himself for being injured in the first place. Sigh.

However, defeat is not something to keep Tsubasa kun down. He decides to continue with the championship with renewed resolve, and his teammates follow suit. I don't really understand why he didn't just get eliminated from the championship after losing to Meiwa...but Spanish is not my first language, so I may have missed something. So Nankatsu waits for the next game, full of enthusiasm. How sweet.

In the meantime, a woman from Toho Gakuen, an elite private school, approaches Hyuga kun after the game. (Sorry, don't know her Japanese name....) She is planning on giving the captain of the winning team a scholarship to her school. She tells Hyuga kun that she thinks he is a good candidate, but since Takeshi was the one to win the game and not him, there is still a chance that he isn't good enough to win the championship... This woman was watching the game between Nankatsu and Meiwa, and noticed the differences between Tsubasa kun and Hyuga kun...Tsubasa seemed to be very carefree, while Hyuga didn't enjoy himself at all--it was like he was fighting for his life during the game. She attributed this to their coaches...Roberto has always been rather gentle, while Kira Kozo, the coach of Meiwa, is not a nice person. (Not to mention the fact that he's a little too fond of sake...) Anyway, Hyuga kun is not pleased that this woman is doubting his skill, and vows to prove himself worthy of the scholarship.

The next game (I remember) Nankatsu playing is against the big guy who ran into Ishizaki...and said he was the greatest goalie in Japan. (He's not the only one...) Unfortunately for him, he starts off strong, then completely falls apart. Kind Tsubasa consoles him, and the game ends with Nankatsu's victory. Not far away, a few kids are watching this game on a TV in a store window. Unknown to them, a very spooky-looking boy with long, black hair has come up behind them, and laughs to himself at the players' lack of skill. He says something to the kids(I forget what) and leaves, kicking a soccer ball down the street rather leisurely.

Back at the stadium, Hyuga kun is remembering the time he faced Wakabayashi kun, and having doubts. He knows that the goalkeeper was injured...but Kozo approaches him shortly after, insults him briefly for being stupid, then tells him that he has good news. It seems that their goalkeeper(the one playing with them before was a substitute) has recovered sufficiently from his "accident" and will be joining them shortly. Of course, Hyuga kun is very pleased to hear this. Heh. The scene cuts away to the long-haired boy walking down the street again, looking like a shipwrecked hippie...could it be that....he is Meiwa's long-lost goalkeeper...?

Now. Back to Tsubasa. His next game is against Hanawa(in the ugly purple uniforms) and its two captains, Masao and Kazuo Tachibana. Geez...not to be rude or anything, but I really hate this guys. I mean, I have a twin sister and all, so I could understand them being close and all, but they are practically joined at the hip! Not too cute either...(laughs)...Well, they have some..rather interesting techniques...jumping off the goalposts and stuff...aerial soccer, they call it...and they give Nankatsu a serious run for their money. To make matters worse, Ishizaki accidentally kicks the ball into his own goal! He is beat up on by his team for this(literally), until that nice Misaki kun tells him not to feel too bad. After all, he once scored an auto-goal... ^_^ Nice boy. Very nice. Nankatsu wins in the end...(big surprise...) Now, my friends, you are Captain Tsubasa 101 graduates. On to Captain Tsubasa 102! Ha ha ha!