Attack No. 1


Attack No. 1 is a Japanese manga series by Chikako Urano. It became the first televised female sports anime series in the shōjo category.
The anime is an adaptation of Urano's 1968 volleyball manga serialized in Weekly Margaret Magazine under the same name. Urano was considered one of the founders of shōjo anime. And the series was introduced not only to push the older female manga fan base into the anime mainstream, but also capitalizes on the boom of the gold medal Japanese women's volleyball team in the 1964 Olympics. The show did stand out in an era dominated by shōnen adventures and sci-fi anime, and was well received in the anime-friendly television markets of France, Italy, and Germany. The name Mila came from the immensely popular Italian version of 1984's Attacker You!, in which the main character, You Hazuki, was renamed Mila.
A direct sequel was also released in manga format called Shin Attack No.1 in 1976, but it was short-lived. The sequel was later redrawn between 2004 and 2005 in a new style by Kanon Ozawa.

Original Story

The story is about a high school girl, Kozue Ayuhara, who transferred to Fujimi Academy and tried out for the school volleyball team. She develops a friendship with her teammate Midori Hayakawa, and her talents impress coach Hongō more and more each day. Though she showcases extraordinary volleyball skills, she makes enemies with Katsuragi, the star of the current team. Kozue discovers that being at the top would bring stress, incompatibilities and other dilemmas into her life. Her high expectations of becoming the best volleyball player in the school, Japan and eventually the world, set the tone for the drama to follow.

Characters

Main Characters

Fujimi

Anime

Staff

The anime was digitally remastered on DVD in 2003 from Amuse Video Inc.
Low-priced edition released in 2007 from Columbia Music Entertainment.

Movies

From 1970 to 1971, a total of 4 anime movies were spawned based on the series by Toho Co., Ltd and director Eiji Okabe.
Japanese NameEnglish NameRelease DateRun time
アタック No.1Attack No.1 the movieMarch 21, 197063 mins
アタック No.1涙の回転レシーブAttack No.1 RevolutionAugust 1, 197060 mins
アタック No.1涙の世界選手権Attack No.1 World ChampionshipDecember 19, 197063 mins
アタック No.1涙の不死鳥Attack No.1 Immortal BirdMarch 17, 197150 mins

Manga

The original manga is re-printed by Shueisha in 2003.
The redraw by Ozawa for Shin Attack No.1 spans the following 3 volumes:

Live Action Drama

In 2005 a live action drama based on Attack No. 1 aired on TV Asahi. Ueto Aya, the famous Japanese actress and singer stars as Kozue Ayuhara.

Story

The story is very similar to the original, but it has a few differences.
At the beginning of the manga series, Midori Hayakawa didn't like Kozue that much because Kozue was really good at volleyball, but in the 2005 drama, Midori has bigger issues with Kozue. First of all, Midori was better at volleyball than Kozue at the start of this drama, and was very jealous when Kozue got called to come and play for Japan's national team. Secondly, Midori has a huge crush on Ichinose Tsutomu-kun. Midori had known Tsutomu-kun since she was very young, and when she found out that he liked Kozue, she was extremely jealous of Kozue. But when Tsutomu-kun died while saving a young boy, Midori's jealousy sort of evaporated. Thirdly, when Kozue helped some girls who were in her volleyball team, Fujimi, from a drunken man, she became popular, and got the No. 1 tracksuit for Fujimi, Midori was very jealous, so she didn't tell Kozue that Kozue had been taken out of Japan's volleyball team because, replacing her, Midori had been called to play for Japan. Despite all this jealousy from Midori, Kozue and she are best friends, and in the end get to play together for Japan, as Kozue is called back.
Another difference is that Kozue injures her leg very badly and has to have surgery, but recovers fully.
Also, in this drama, it doesn't reveal if Japan won worldwide, since it ends where Japan are playing Brazil.

Spinoffs

In 1977 Fumio Kurokawa, Eiji Okabe and writer Haruya Yamazaki helmed Attack on Tomorrow for the Nippon Animation studio, but it didn't come close to matching the success of the original series.
In 1984 Kazuyuki Okaseko directed Attacker You! for the Knack animation studio; while not an official spinoff of Attack No. 1, Attacker You! invited the inevitable comparisons with the earlier series, although the latter was heavier on comedic elements. In addition, the screenwriters for the Italian version created a relationship between that series and Attack No. 1 that was not present in the original Japanese: they rewrote You Hazuki as a cousin of Kozue, who was renamed "Mimi Ayuhara" in the Italian dub of Attack No. 1. This Voltron-style reworking of the story of Attacker You! by the Italian dubbing staff carried over into the French and Spanish versions of the anime. To compound the confusion, the heroine of Attack on Tomorrow is named Mimi in both the Japanese and Italian versions.

Reaction

This series was practically responsible for the explosion of the shōjo subgenre from 1960s and on. It was originally screened in evening prime time with a ~20% viewership, and the record with its iconic opening theme, sung by Kumiko Oosugi, had about 700,000 sales. There were countless series that followed the same concept, but shifted the focus to different sports. Ace wo Nerae! for tennis, Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl for judo are just some examples of series that appeared in the decades after the fading of this series.
The show has received numerous awards. On September 23, 2005 it was voted "TV Asahi Top Anime" placing 61 out of 100. On October 13, 2006 it was voted "Japanese Favorite TV Anime" placing 9 out of 100 among celebrities.
This show also had a profound impact not only for being a sport spirited anime in Japan, but had a strong influence long after the series ended. Italian professional volleyball player Francesca Piccinini is one such example of someone inspired by the series.
Kazuko Suzuki describes Attack No. 1 as an "innovation on the campus story", where a heroine would go to college and meet her future husband. She describes Kozue as "psychologically independent", as Kozue has realised that she must strive to create her own happiness and continues to strive on after her boyfriend's death.