Ao Ashi

In a quiet rural town, the spotlight of a local junior high school football team rests on one player: Ashito Aoi. Known for his unpredictable moves and self-centered playing style, Ashito is the sole powerhouse pushing his team through an important high school preliminary tournament. However, their win streak is short-lived—an opponent causes Ashito to lose his temper and act violently, resulting in his removal from the rest of the game.

Without their star player, the team is quickly eliminated from the tournament. Just as he believes all hope is lost, Ashito is approached by a youth team coach named Tatsuya Fukuda who senses potential in him, and Fukuda invites him for tryouts in Tokyo. In an unfamiliar setting surrounded by talent, Ashito must bring out the best of his ability to prove himself and secure what could be a life-changing career.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Aoi, Ashito Main

Oosuzu, Kouki Japanese

Ichijou, Hana Main

Kawase, Maki Japanese

Fukuda, Tatsuya Main

Kobayashi, Chikahiro Japanese

Akutsu, Nagisa Supporting

Takeuchi, Shunsuke Japanese

Ootomo, Eisaku Supporting

Tachibana, Tatsumaru Japanese

Asari, Marchis Jun Supporting

Katou, Wataru Japanese

Togashi, Keiji Supporting

Yashiro, Taku Japanese

Kuribayashi, Haruhisa Supporting

Umehara, Yuuichirou Japanese

Kaidou, Anri Supporting

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Aoi, Noriko Supporting

Sonozaki, Mie Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Morihiro, Fumi Producer

Kuroki, Rui Producer

Naeshiro, Kenichirou Producer

Reviews

Sep 22, 2025

Slic_K

Recommended

Ao Ashi really caught me off guard with its unique interpretation of sports anime, particularly regarding soccer. A bulk of sports anime can easily be divided by flashy series of highlights or the old tried and true underdog becomes the best type of story. While Ao Ashi does start with Ashito having a dream of being that type of player, he quickly moves down a more unconventional path. Over the span of 24 episodes, Ashito's character development is directed towards mastering a role that is often regarded as second or ancillary in anime, which provides a unique feel to the story overall.

What I loved about ... the show was its focus on effort and progress rather than results. It dives so deep into the mindset of the players and coaches. We are shown a very real and practical strategic and mental side to football. This focus makes the tough situations feel grounded in reality and not simply another action-themed program. I was hooked from the pilot, and I am honestly looking forward to season 2.

The show does touch on some romance for Aoi and the other characters, but it does not take away from the plot at all and instead adds a small layer of reality to the light- hearted story telling.

When it comes to the animation, it has a modern, clean vibe that does not have the very flashy designs typical of many sports anime. It fits the story's grounded feel and supports its focus on the characters and their development.

All in all, Ao Ashi is easily one of the most thoughtful and interesting sports anime impressions I've had, and would be strongly recommended for fans of sports anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Oct 10, 2024

mmm56311555

Mixed Feelings

Good anime story wise.In 19 episode there is a head kick which is the only funny moment in this anime.
I gave it a 10 because putting pieces together overall this anime is like a chess trainer so you can learn a lot
Art style is very modern
Characters are okay
Series is for learners not for amusement seakers
It seems i need at least 105 words for this review so exclude things that arent interesant to you me personally think that there is Blue Lock too to be watched,it's completely(100%) different than this anime so you can try that there is only one lesson there though and that is ... to be fast fast if you wanna be successfull playing football

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jul 16, 2023

OneTrueNep

Not Recommended

Funny

This anime is what would happen if Kuroko no Basuke and Haikyuu had a child, but the mother drank heavily, overdosed on crack daily and threw herself down every flight of stairs she saw for the whole pregnancy.

I haven't used this account in years but I had to dig up the password and log back in just to write a review for this absolute pile of trash. Morbid curiosity was the only thing keeping me going throughout because lord knows the most boring cast, basic plot and impossibly generic main character weren't nearly good enough for something rated above 8/10 here. The animation is ... a slideshow at best, the voice acting is uninspired, the art is dull and most of all the football on display is just beyond bad.

If you're from a country where football is popular, you probably know more than the protagonist of this show. If you've watched football more than once you're probably top 10% of all characters in the show. If you've played it then you're top 1%. I get suspension of disbelief for the sake of the narrative, but I can't believe a professional club's youth academy would sign someone who doesn't know what a diagonal run is, how defending works, what passing triangles are and much more. I half expected the offside rule to be explained to our mentally challenged MC at some point.

It gets a 2 instead of a 1 because Hana is a cute and likeable character.
That aside, if you are thinking of watching this sludge, take my recommendation: Ronaldon't.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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	Poll: Ao Ashi Episode 24 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) KANLen09 - Sep 24, 2022	239 replies	by AgelessPharaoh »» Mar 13, 1:55 AM
	Poll: Ao Ashi Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) KANLen09 - Jul 2, 2022	137 replies	by alphadeepny_ »» Oct 18, 2025 12:59 PM
	Poll: Ao Ashi Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) KANLen09 - May 7, 2022	157 replies	by alphadeepny_ »» Oct 18, 2025 8:32 AM
	Poll: Ao Ashi Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 ) KANLen09 - Apr 30, 2022	81 replies	by alphadeepny_ »» Oct 18, 2025 8:31 AM
	Football and dream GoshaX - May 10, 2022	8 replies	by DorianKrell »» Sep 11, 2025 3:03 PM