Learn Japanese with Captain Tsubasa

Anime by Japanese level › N3

How hard is the Japanese in Captain Tsubasa?

Ikkimi rates Captain Tsubasa at N3 (everyday Japanese at full speed). What sets its level: football words, shouting. Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, 44 are easier and 80 are harder.

Levels follow the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, from N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). They are Ikkimi’s estimate of how hard a show’s Japanese is to follow, from how fast people talk, how many unusual words there are and how clear the voices are. They are not official JLPT ratings.

Format, episodes, year and genres are from AniList’s entry, which may cover only the first season.

The words in the title

The Japanese title, キャプテン翼, is a first lesson in itself. Its 2 words, as a dictionary lists them:

How to learn Japanese with Captain Tsubasa

Ikkimi lists Captain Tsubasa on Crunchyroll. What each service carries varies by country. Ikkimi does not stream anything: you watch on your own account, in Chrome on a computer, and Ikkimi adds a Japanese line you can click on top of the player.

On Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll rarely has Japanese subtitles. On a Crunchyroll episode, Ikkimi looks for a matching Japanese subtitle file in Jimaku’s public catalogue, loads it and lines it up with the episode by itself. If Jimaku has no file for an episode, you can search by hand in the Ikkimi popup or load a subtitle file from your computer.

1. Add Ikkimi to Chrome

   Get the extension from the Chrome Web Store and sign in.

2. Play an episode

   Open Captain Tsubasa on Crunchyroll. The Japanese line appears on top of the video.

3. Click the words you keep hearing

   The video pauses and the word opens: kana, romaji, meaning, JLPT level and a recording by a native speaker where one exists (never a computer voice; otherwise the line from the show plays again). Keep three to five words an episode, the ones that come up again.

4. Review them later

   Kept words come back as flashcards on the Ikkimi website, with the scene and the line they came from, just before you would forget them.

With 52 episodes on AniList’s entry, the same words get many chances to come back.

Easier and harder shows

Shows within a level of Captain Tsubasa, with the most genres in common first.

Easier

• N4 to N3Dragon Ballドラゴンボールsimple adventure talk, shoutingCrunchyroll
• N4 to N3Digimon Adventureデジモンアドベンチャーchildren talking, monster names that repeatCrunchyroll
• N4Pokémonポケットモンスターmade for children, simple adventure talkNetflix

Also N3

• N3Blue Lockブルーロックfootball words, shoutingCrunchyrollNetflix
• N3My Hero Academia僕のヒーローアカデミアschool talk, hero words that repeatCrunchyrollNetflix
• N3One-Punch Manワンパンマンdeadpan casual speech, hero titlesCrunchyrollNetflix

Harder

• N3 to N2HUNTER×HUNTERlong explanations of invented rulesCrunchyrollNetflix
• N3 to N2Tokyo Ghoul東京喰種トーキョーグールdark inner monologue, invented termsCrunchyrollNetflix
• N3 to N2Chainsaw Manチェンソーマンrough casual speech, short linesCrunchyroll

See every N3 anime or all 192 anime by Japanese level, and read how to learn Japanese by watching anime from zero.

Questions

Is Captain Tsubasa good for learning Japanese?

With some help. Ikkimi rates it N3 (everyday Japanese at full speed). What sets its level: football words, shouting. It sits in the middle of Ikkimi’s levels. A beginner can follow it with kana and romaji on every word, but it is easier after one or two simpler shows.

What Japanese level is Captain Tsubasa?

N3, on Ikkimi’s scale from N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, 44 are easier and 80 are harder. The level is Ikkimi’s estimate, not an official JLPT rating.

Where can I watch Captain Tsubasa with Japanese subtitles?

Ikkimi lists Captain Tsubasa on Crunchyroll. What each service carries varies by country. Crunchyroll rarely has Japanese subtitles, so Ikkimi looks for a matching file in Jimaku’s catalogue and lines it up with the episode.

What does the title キャプテン翼 mean, word by word?

キャプテン (kyaputen) means “captain”; 翼 (tsubasa) means “wing”.

How many episodes does Captain Tsubasa have?

AniList’s entry lists 52 episodes of about 24 minutes, first aired in 2018. Later seasons may be listed separately.

What should I watch before Captain Tsubasa?

Shows a little easier than Captain Tsubasa, with genres in common: Dragon Ball (N4 to N3), Digimon Adventure (N4 to N3) and Pokémon (N4).

Sources: show details from AniList; meanings from JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0); readings and word splits from kuromoji.js with IPADIC; JLPT word levels from Jonathan Waller’s unofficial lists. See Credits. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at hello@ikkimi.app.