Aoashi - Season 1

Ashito Aoi, a middle school student living in Ehime, is the ace of his weak soccer team. In his final year of middle school at the prefectural tournament, Ashito's performance brings the team close to reaching the top four, but he becomes enraged by the opposing team's goalkeeper's provocations and receives a red card, being sent off. As Ashito runs along the beach, venting his frustration after the loss, a man named Tatsuya Fukuda appears, claiming to be the coach of the youth team of J-League club Tokyo City Esperion FC.

Ashito is invited by Fukuda to take the entrance exam (selection) for Esperion Youth, and with the encouragement of his older brother Shun, he heads to Tokyo alone. Ashito is surprised by the excellent soccer facilities at Esperion, and he meets Fukuda's stepsister, Ichijo Hana, who guides him to the venue. Among the 86 applicants, each boasting an impressive record, Ashito has no achievements to show for himself, but despite his trembling hands from nervousness, he faces the selection with a sense of exhilaration at the thought of being able to play soccer in this environment.

The final test assigned to Ashito and his teammates, who had passed the first test, was a match against Esperion Youth. Fukuda then announced, "At some point during the match, I'm going to tell you something." While the other test-takers were intimidated, Ashito was determined to defeat the youth team and pass the test together. From the start of the match, the test-takers pressed towards the goal with Ashito at the center, feeling confident, but they began to feel uneasy about the slow play of the youth team, led by Akutsu.

As the prospective students are overwhelmed by the Esperion Youth's play, Fukuda delivers another blow by revealing "something." Unable to recover their composure, the prospective students are helpless, conceding goal after goal, and the match becomes one-sided. Amidst the despair of the prospective students over the stark difference between themselves and the youth team, Ashito, still reeling from the damage inflicted by Akutsu's rough play, gradually loses his will to fight.

Ashito, waiting for the results of the selection process in his hometown of Ehime, receives notification that he has been accepted into the youth team. Ashito and his friends are overjoyed, but his mother, Noriko, watches them with a somewhat sad expression. Hana, who had been explaining the youth team to Ashito over the phone, urges him to talk to Noriko before he leaves for Tokyo. Ashito tries to face Noriko, but he can't seem to talk to her, and the mother and son remain at odds...

Having received his mother Noriko's wishes, Ashito returns to Tokyo City Esperion with renewed determination. At the training ground, he is approached by a female supporter of the Esperion Youth team, and while he is taken aback, he reunites with Otomo and Tachibana, who he fought alongside in the selection process. After meeting up with Yuma and Asari, who were promoted from the Junior Youth team, Ashito heads to the dormitory, only to find that one of the successful candidates has not yet shown up even though the meeting time has passed.

On the day of the Tokyo City Esperion FC Youth induction ceremony, Ashito and his teammates are suddenly put on a practice match at Fukuda's suggestion. Players who make a great impression will be immediately promoted to the youth A team. Ashito and his teammates, eager to become professionals as quickly as possible and get promoted to the A team, are fired up and unleash their determination to score goals. Playing in his preferred position as a forward, Ashito starts off strong, but...!?

In a scrimmage to determine promotion to Team A, Ashito, unable to communicate with his teammates, no longer receives passes. Completely unable to participate in the game, Ashito stands motionless on the field. According to Date, Ashito lacks "individual tactics" because he cannot adapt to the rapidly changing game. After the match, as the dejected Ashito is confronted, his senior, Akutsu Nagisa, whom he clashed with during the selection process, appears before him...

Ashito is having trouble mastering the basic soccer actions of "stopping and kicking." Seeing Ashito's troubled state as he prepares to practice alone, his roommate Togashi offers to teach him the true meaning of "stopping and kicking." However, Togashi's explanation is abstract, and their night practice is difficult. They both grow increasingly frustrated, but eventually, Ashito finally grasps a clue to "stopping and kicking" from Togashi's movements.

In an unusual mini-game with 11 against 21 players, Ashito is unable to coordinate with Kuroda and Asari, completely losing their trust. In response, Date gives Ashito the task of "figuring out why only Kuroda and Asari directed their anger at him." On his only day off of the week, while Otomo, Tachibana, and Togashi spend their days off in their own ways, Ashito, unable to find an answer, is about to head to practice alone when a sudden visitor appears.

The Tokyo League season begins. Esperion B faces Seikyo High School in their first official match, but the atmosphere among the first-year students, including Ashito, has been tense ever since the incident at the entrance ceremony. The Esperion B team, burdened by this bad atmosphere, is unable to work together as they would like, and Ashito, who has been selected as a starter, is unable to find the answer to Date's problem. Unable to bear the situation of struggling against a weaker opponent any longer, Taira requests that the first-year members be substituted.

In the second half of the first match of the Tokyo League against Seikyo High School, Ashito understands the importance of carrying the ball as a trio through his coordination with Kuroda and Asari. Having found the answer to their problem, Ashito becomes the starting point, and Esperion B team finally raises the banner of counterattack. They narrow the gap from a 0-3 deficit, but there is little time left in the match. However, something "unusual" begins to happen in Ashito's eyes as he enters a state of extreme concentration...!

During the victory celebration after the match against Seikyo High School, the TV at the yakiniku restaurant showed Kuribayashi of Esperion Youth playing in J1. As Kuribayashi, who had delivered a spectacular performance, finished his post-match interview, Mibu received a call from Date. Yoshitsune from the A team had suffered a muscle strain, so they would be swapping out some of the forward players between the A and B teams. Ashito also shines in the match that will determine whether the team is promoted to the A team...!?

Ashito was told by Fukuda that he would be switching to defender. This was something he could not possibly accept. His teammates, who had been suspicious when Ashito was absent from the announcement of the A-team members, were also shaken when they learned the truth. Tachibana, Otomo, Togashi, Kuroda, and Asari went out to look for Ashito, but they couldn't find him. Hana appeared before Ashito, who was slumped over alone at a bus stop.

Ashito, though hesitant about switching to a full-back position, resigned himself to the fact that he had no choice but to do it. He tackled practice, determined to first understand Fukuda's intentions, but being unfamiliar with the tactics of a defender and hating defending, he couldn't quite grasp the meaning of the word "tighten up," and he began to think, "This isn't where I belong."

Having received advice from Takeshima and Anri to study Kuribayashi's movements, Ashito intently watched the J1 league matches in which Kuribayashi played. After watching footage of Kuribayashi's past matches, he noticed a particular movement: "shaking his head." Ashito immediately incorporated "shaking his head" into his training, but he became confused by the unfamiliar challenge. To his teammates, Ashito's behavior made it seem as if he had lost motivation after switching to the side back position...

Ashito and his friends unexpectedly reunite with Kaneda and Nakano, who were with them during the selection process. Kaneda and Nakano failed the Esperion selection, but they are now playing for Tokyo Musashino Soccer Club Youth, Tachibana's former team and the top team in the Tokyo League. In contrast to Nakano, who is happy to see them again, Kaneda openly displays hostility, claiming that he failed the selection because he became too friendly with Ashito and his friends.

The Esperion B team faced Tama Gym in the Tokyo League. Thanks to Yoshitsune's performance, they went into halftime with a one-goal lead, but immediately after the start of the second half, a miscommunication between Togashi and Takeshima allowed the opposing team to tie the score. With Isshiki injured and forced to leave the field, the B team changed their formation, and Togashi and Ashito were instructed to move forward. "Use what you learned in defense to improve your offense," Date said to Ashito...

The B team has finished their match against Tama Gym. Their next opponent is Musashino, Tachibana's former team and the current leader of the Tokyo League. However, Tachibana has lost confidence because he hasn't been able to perform well in the match, and asks Date not to put him in the game against Musashino... When Ashito and the others find out, they half-forcibly take Tachibana along to watch Musashino's match. Musashino, which also includes Kaneda and Nakano, who were in the same selection process as Ashito and the others, is playing an astonishing level of soccer!

The Esperion B team, showing signs of recovery, will face Musashino, who have been undefeated so far, in the next match. With the team needing to unite and take on this formidable opponent, Takeshima and Togashi, key players in the team's defense, get into a huge fight. Determined to do anything to win the next match, Tachibana visits Yuma, wanting to learn about the past of Togashi and Takeshima.

The Esperion B team has finally reached the day of their climactic match against Musashino in the Tokyo League. Although they have taken measures in advance, the team's atmosphere remains awkward, and many players show anxious expressions even during the pre-game warm-up. In the midst of this, just before the match, Takeshima disappears from the locker room with his girlfriend, Tae...!?

Esperion B team concedes a heartbreaking opening goal to Musashino's playmaker, Muto. With the score now against them, second-year student Sugawara suggests they return to Esperion's original style of play, which involves frequent short passes, but Tachibana, Togashi, and Takeshima object, insisting they should stick to the direct football they've been preparing for the match against Musashino. Seeing the team members in a state of disarray, Date, uncharacteristically, begins giving specific instructions from the bench.

The match between Esperion and Musashino will decide the fate of the Tokyo League. Musashino's ace, Kaneda, takes the lead after exploiting the coordination between center backs Togashi and Takeshima. Furthermore, just before the end of the first half, Kuroda, who showed great fighting spirit in his defense, is injured and carried off on a stretcher. At halftime, unable to hide his dismay, Asari blames both center backs for conceding the goal, but coach Date defends Togashi and Takeshima. Togashi has long harbored resentment towards Takeshima, however…

Thanks to Ashito's mastery of a "big-picture perspective," Esperion B team managed to break through Musashino's impenetrable defense and score a magnificent equalizer. With momentum building as Esperion aims to take the lead, the Musashino eleven are thrown into disarray by Ashito's fluid movements. Striker Kaneda is also visibly frustrated by Ashito's impressive performance and growth... Esperion, the challenger to Musashino, the reigning champions of the Tokyo League. What will be the outcome of this fierce battle between the two teams...?