Captain Tsubasa’s Three Stars on One Round Menko Card

Captain Tsubasa Round Menko Card, First Anime Series (1983–1986)

Menko: Japan’s Old Card Game, Dressed in Anime

Menko are thick cardboard game pieces rooted in Japan’s Edo period and a fixture of children’s culture through the Meiji and Showa eras. Players slam their cards onto a hard surface; if the impact flips an opponent’s card, the winner claims it. From the 1950s through the 1980s, menko were produced in large quantities alongside the era’s most popular media — baseball, tokusatsu, and anime. This card is a marumenko, the circular format that became especially common for anime character merchandise in the 1980s. It was made from thick paperboard and sold through dagashiya — the small neighborhood shops that stocked cheap candy, toys, and novelties for children. Menko were bought inexpensively, played hard, and rarely preserved, which is why examples from this period in good condition have become less common over four decades.

The copyright line identifies this as an officially licensed product, crediting Yoichi Takahashi, Shueisha, TV Tokyo, and Tsuchida Pro — the four parties behind the first Captain Tsubasa anime. Based on those credits, the card dates to between 1983 and 1986, during or shortly after the show’s original broadcast run. A product number (2168397407) is printed on the card, though whether it represents a production lot number or an internal catalog code has not been confirmed. A manufacturer’s imprint also appears, consistent with the printing and toy trade operators active in the menko industry during that period, though the specific company details are not publicly on record.

Captain Tsubasa and Its First Anime Run

Yoichi Takahashi’s soccer manga ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1981 to 1988, following Tsubasa Ozora — a boy whose guiding belief is that “the ball is my friend.” The first anime adaptation aired on TV Tokyo from October 1983 to March 1986, running 128 episodes and produced by Tsuchida Pro. The series was subsequently licensed across Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and East Asia. French viewers knew it as Olive et Tom; in Spanish-speaking countries it aired as Super Campeones. Among those who have cited it as formative childhood viewing: Zinedine Zidane and Fernando Torres. For fans who grew up with a dubbed or localized version, Japanese merchandise from the original broadcast era represents a direct connection to the source material.

Tsubasa, Hyuga, Wakabayashi — and a Fourth Figure

The card depicts four characters. Three are unmistakable to any fan of the series: Tsubasa Ozora in his white uniform as protagonist; Kojiro Hyuga in blue with the number 7, the rival known for the Tiger Shot; and Genzo Wakabayashi in red as goalkeeper and defensive anchor. Finding these three together on a single piece is notable — they form the core relationship triangle of the original series, and each is among the most recognized characters in the franchise. A fourth figure appears in a purple uniform bearing the letter “M,” possibly representing Michael Schneider of the West German national team, though that identification is not confirmed.

For collectors outside Japan, the item sits at an unusual intersection: a physical artifact from a specifically Japanese children’s game tradition, manufactured during the original broadcast window of an anime that many in Europe and Latin America watched — under a different title — as children.