Whistle!, Vol. 5

Everybody has a dream, and for junior high school student Shoc; Kazamatsuri, that dream is simple: he wants to get off the bench and play soccer. An inspiration to everyone he meets, the indefatigable spark plug won't quit until he becomes the best soccer player he can be! But soccer is a team sport and that means Shoc; must also work extra hard at being the best teammate he can be. No matter how good he gets, he still needs the support of 10 other players to score a single goal. One player, however, has vowed to single-handedly crush the upstarts at Josui Junior High. His name is Ryoichi Tenjo and he is easily the best soccer player Shoc; has ever seen. Nobody has been able to stop Ryoichi in the past. Now, it's up to Team Josui to teach the arrogant hothead a lesson in humility.

It's very fortunate for me to be able to do what I like to do. However, there are challenging and painful moments when I have to face who I am and what limitations I have as an artist. Despite this, the reason I can carry on is because there are people who tell me that they like my work. The other day, on the anniversary of this series, I received the best gift ever. It was a phone call from my father, and he complimented my work. - Daisuke Higuchi Daisuke Higuchi's manga career began in 1992 when the artist was honored with third prize in the 43rd Osamu Tezuka Award. In that same year, Higuchi debuted as creator of a romantic action story titled Itaru. In 1998, Weekly Shonen Jump began serializing Whistle! Higuchi's realistic soccer manga became an instant hit with readers and eventually inspired an anime series, debuting on Japanese TV in May of 2002. The artist is currently working on a yet-to-be-published new series.