This is the show that got people to care about anime before anime was even a word in English. A scrappy underdog football team, a cocky new player who immediately makes enemies, a goalkeeper so charming he carries entire episodes on his back alone. The opening theme is genuinely god-tier, the kind of song that lives in your head for decades after you stop watching. It's 1986 energy captured perfectly: comedy that doesn't need to punch down, drama that earns itself, and the kind of character writing that makes you root for a team that keeps losing. The animation hasn't aged gracefully. None of that matters when you're watching kids who have no business being a team actually become one.

A school soccer team called the Kickers has little to show for its efforts, and it has just suffered another heavy defeat when new player Daichi Kakeru arrives. His drive gives the squad a fresh push to shed its reputation as perpetual losers. Right away he provokes the Devils, the Kickers' toughest rivals. Life off the field matters too: when captain Hongou Masaru is not dodging his female admirers, the teammates spend their free time together. The series mixes comedy, drama and sports, and it is based on a manga by Nagai Noriaki.