Aim for the Ace!
エースをねらえ! (Ehsu o nerae!)
Genre	Sports, Shōjo, Romance
Manga
Authored by	Sumika Yamamoto
Publisher	Shueisha
Serialized in	Margaret
Original run	1973 – 1980
No. of volumes
TV anime : Aim for the Ace!
Directed by	Osamu Dezaki
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Network	Mainichi Broadcasting
Original run	October 5, 1973 – March 29, 1974
No. of episodes	26

Ace o Nerae! (エースをねらえ!, Eesu wo nerae!^?, lit. Aim for the Ace!) is a shōjo manga by Sumika Yamamoto begun in 1972 and serialized in Margaret. Hugely successful, it was adapted into a TV anime series in 1973, and more recently a live-action drama series in 2004. The anime series was made by Tokyo Movie Shinsha with the Madhouse animation studio (its first major production), and was originally aired on Mainichi Broadcasting. There was also a movie which consisted of several compiled episodes. Another TV anime and two OAVs would soon follow in the 1970s and 1980s. The original TV anime has been distributed in Europe, with the titles Jenny la tennista (Italian), Jeu, Set et Match (French), and Raqueta de oro or "Golden Racket" (Spanish). Image File history File linksMetadata AceoNerae. ... Shōjo or shoujo (少女 lit. ... Look up romance, romantic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Manga )   (pl. ... Sumika Yamamoto is a shōjo manga-ka born on June 17, 1949. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan_(bordered). ... Shueisha ) is a major publisher in Japan, headquartered in Tokyo. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan_(bordered). ... Margaret (マーガレット) is a biweekly Japanese shōjo manga magazine published by Shueisha, primarily for girls from 11 to 15 years old. ... Tankōbon ) is the Japanese term for a compilation volume of a particular series (such as a manga or a novel series, magazine articles, essays, craft patterns, etc. ... “TV” redirects here. ... The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) (L to R: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Ed Tivrusky, Faye Valentine, and Ein the dog) For the oleo-resin, see Animé (oleo-resin). ... Osamu Dezaki ) (also known as Makura Saki )) is a Japanese director of anime born on November 18, 1943 in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. ... TMS logo (circa 1987) Tokyo Movie Shinsha, also known as TMS Entertainment Ltd. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (279th in leap years). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (89th in leap years). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Shōjo or shoujo (少女 lit. ... Sumika Yamamoto is a shōjo manga-ka born on June 17, 1949. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Margaret (マーガレット) is a biweekly Japanese shojo manga magazine published by Shueisha, primarily for girls from 11 to 15 years old. ... The main cast of the anime Cowboy Bebop (1998) (L to R: Spike Spiegel, Jet Black, Ed Tivrusky, Faye Valentine, and Ein the dog) For the oleo-resin, see Animé (oleo-resin). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ... Japanese dramas (Japanese: ドラマ dorama; J-dramas; from English drama) are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... TMS logo (circa 1987) Tokyo Movie Shinsha, also known as TMS Entertainment Ltd. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... OAV is a three letter acronym that may stand for: Original animated video (See Original Video Animation) Österreichische Alpenverein (Austrian Alpine Club) OpenAntiVirus Ordre des Avocats Vaudois (oav. ... Template:A year The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The 1980s refers to the years of and between 1980 and 1989. ...

Synopsis

The story is about Hiromi Oka (岡ひろみ, Oka Hiromi), a high school girl who struggles to become good at tennis. Hiromi starts playing tennis in her high school, because she is fascinated by an older girl, Reika Ryūzaki (竜崎麗香, Ryūzaki Reika), who is the best player in the team and is nicknamed "Ochōfujin" (お蝶夫人), which means "Madame Butterfly", because of her grace on the tennis court. The team gets a new coach, Jin Munakata (宗方仁, Munakata Jin), who sees potential in her and trains her to become a great tennis player. Hiromi's sentimental hardship to overcome her mental weakness is well described in the story. Main article: Secondary education High school is a name used in some parts of the world, and particularly in North America, to describe the last segment of compulsory education. ... For other uses, see Tennis (disambiguation). ... Madama Butterfly (or sometimes Madame Butterfly in English) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set in Japan. ...

Later on, she falls in love with another tennis player, Takayuki Tōdō (藤堂貴之, Tōdō Takayuki), but Coach Munakata tells her not to get too involved, and that it is better to forget him in order to become a better player. Hiromi suffers trying not to fall in love with Takayuki, and many times she loses her confidence in her tennis-playing abilities, but with the support of her coach and the many friends she made through tennis, she overcomes her anxiety. By training herself to become a better player, Hiromi grows into a mentally stronger person. Hiromi's enthusiasm and love for tennis, and the support from people around her, helps her to become one of the best players in the world.

Anime

Anime cast

• Hiromi Oka - Makoto Kōsaka
• Jin Munakata - Kōji Nakata
• Takayuki Tōdō - Katsuji Mori
• Reika Ryūzaki - Masako Ikeda
• Kyoko Otowa - Kazue Komiya
• Ranko Midorikawa - Kazuko Yanaga
• Yū Ozaki - Michihiro Ikemizu
• Takashi Chiba - Kenyū Horiuchi

• Mitsuishi Kotono - debuted as Tomoyo in Ace o Nerae! Final Stage. She is most known for her later voice work as Excel Excel of The Excel Saga, Katsuragi Misato of Neon Genesis Evangelion, or Tsukino Usagi in the title role of Sailor Moon.

Kōji Nakata (中田浩二 Nakata Kōji; born 9 July 1979 in Shiga Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese football (soccer) player who played at both the Football World Cup 2002, and the Football World Cup 2006. ... Mori Katsuji(森 功至,né Tanaka Yukiya or 田中 雪弥) is a veteran seiyu who was born on July 10, 1945 in Tokyo. ... Kazue Komiya , born July 12, 1952 in Tokyo) is a veteran seiyū who is affiliated with Theater Echo. ... Michihiro Ikemizu (池水 通洋 Ikemizu Michihiro, born April 11, 1943) is a veteran seiyu. ... Kenyū Horiuchi ) is a veteran seiyū (voice actor) who was born July 30, 1957 in Gotenba, Shizuoka, Japan. ...

Sequels to the anime

• Aim for the Ace! The Movie: Jump High, Hiromi! (エースをねらえ! 劇場版 Eesu o Nerae! Gekijouban Jump High, Hiromi) (compilation movie)
• Shin Ace o Nerae! (新エースをねらえ！) (TV anime)
• Ace o Nerae! 2 (エースをねらえ！２) (OAV)
• Ace o Nerae! Final Stage (エースをねらえ！ファイナルステージ) (OAV)

Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... OAV is a three letter acronym that may stand for: Original animated video (See Original Video Animation) Österreichische Alpenverein (Austrian Alpine Club) OpenAntiVirus Ordre des Avocats Vaudois (oav. ... OAV is a three letter acronym that may stand for: Original animated video (See Original Video Animation) Österreichische Alpenverein (Austrian Alpine Club) OpenAntiVirus Ordre des Avocats Vaudois (oav. ...

Drama version

Ace wo Nerae!
エースをねらえ! (Eesu wo nerae!)
Genre	Drama
TV drama : Ace wo Nerae!
Directed by	—
Studio	—
Network	TV Asahi
Original run	January 15 – March 11 2004
No. of episodes	10 (including one special episode)

Ace wo Nerae! was a 2004 Japanese drama series by TV Asahi. The theme song of the show was "Ai no Tame ni" by Aya Ueto who also starred in the leading role. The series originally aired on Thursdays at 9:00 p.m. Image File history File links Acewonerae. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... See TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band European networks National In much of Europe television broadcasting has historically been state dominated, rather than commercially organised, although commercial stations have grown in number recently. ... Japanese dramas (Japanese: ドラマ dorama; J-dramas; from English drama) are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. ... TV Asahi Corporation ) (TYO: 9409 ), also known as EX and Tele-Asa ), is a television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. ... January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (71st in leap years). ... Japanese dramas (Japanese: ドラマ dorama; J-dramas; from English drama) are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. ... TV Asahi Corporation ) (TYO: 9409 ), also known as EX and Tele-Asa ), is a television network headquartered in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

TV series cast

• Aya Ueto - Hiromi Oka
• Masaaki Uchino - Jin Munakata
• Rio Matsumoto - Reika Ryuzaki
• Yu Yoshizawa - Takayuki Todo
• Ayaka Morita - Maki Aikawa
• Ayana Sakai - Ranko Midorikawa
• Yuma Ishigaki - Yu Ozaki
• Shuji Kashiwabara - Takashi Chiba

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Shuji Kashiwabara , born 23 December 1978) is a Japanese actor. ...

TV series staff

• Producers - Matsumoto Motohiro, Sekiguchi Shizuo
• Screenwriter - Takikawa Akiyo
• Music - Sumitomo 紀人
• Tennis supervisor - Matsuoka Shuzou

Trivia

• The title (and the girls' sports training genre) was parodied in Gainax's Top o Nerae! Gunbuster ("Aim for the Top! Gunbuster"). The title was also parodied in an erotic anime titled [[Aim for the A!]]
• In 1994, a video game version of Aim for the Ace! was made for the Super Famicom by Nihon Telenet.
• In the first episode of the 2004 drama version, an observer of a tennis match remarks "Whoever gets the next point wins". In a game of tennis, this is impossible.

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Gunbuster, known in Japan as Aim for the Top! ) is a six episode anime OVA series created by Gainax in 1988. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, also known as Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES (pronounced either as a word or acronym), is a 16-bit video game console released by Nintendo in North America, Brazil, Europe, and Australia. ...

External links

Manga & anime

• (Japanese) Shueisha page for the manga
• (Japanese) TMS page for the first anime series
• (English) Aim For The Ace information site
• (English) The Ace o Nerae! Site (a comprehensive fan page)

TV drama

• (Japanese) Official website
• (English) Review of the television show - from J-fan.com
• (English) Aim for the Ace! Review - from AmpedAsia.com
• (English) Another Review - from Old Fart Who Loves Japanese Pop Culture