Days (manga)

Plot

Days follows the struggles of Tsukushi Tsukamoto, a shy, clumsy and bullied teenager about to start high school. He decides to get in Seiseki High School so he can be with his neighbor and childhood friend Sayuri Tachibana, who is one year his senior. Just as he is bullied after visiting Sayuri at her work, Tsukushi is saved by Jin Kazama, who scares away the bullies by attacking them with nunchucks, and declares himself to be a vagrant and lost in town. Jin then asks Tsukushi if he likes soccer and asks him to join him the same night for a futsal match as his team is one player short. Tsukushi surprises Jin by showing up after running almost ten miles under the heavy rain and without one shoe, after another run-in with his bullies. Short, young and clumsy, Tsukushi plays incredibly bad but keeps running throughout the whole match despite having injured his foot, showing such an effort that it motivates his other teammates. After a final sprint, Tsukushi manages to score the decisive goal, smashing his head against the pole by doing it. He finds out later that Jin will also be a freshman at Seiseki, and decides to join the soccer club to play with him, unknowing that the soccer club in Seiseki is nationwide famous and looked after by students from all the country. He manages to make it to the team despite being incredibly frail, weak and clumsy thanks to his continuous efforts and amazing perseverance, and further he shows incredible ability in motivating the rest of the team to work as hard as possible.

Main characters

Tsukushi Tsukamoto (柄本 つくし, Tsukamoto Tsukushi)

Voiced by: Takuto Yoshinaga He is a high school freshman who plays as forward for Seiseki High School. Although quite clumsy at the start, Tsukushi shows amazing perseverance and effort which allow him to become a fundamental part of the team. Tsukushi lost his dad as a child and lives with his mom, who is paralyzed and has to use a wheelchair.

Jin Kazama (風間 陣, Kazama Jin)

Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka He is a freshman in Seiseki High School, like Tsukushi, and like him he also plays as a forward. Unlike Tsukushi, though, Jin is considered a genius soccer player, tall, good-looking, eccentric, and incredibly popular and extroverted. He also appears aloof and somewhat unmotivated before meeting Tsukushi. Jin is fond of dressing up, and rarely follows the rules, which he can manage to do thanks to his genius. He is also a devoted fan of Bruce Lee. Whenever Tsukushi is in need of a handkerchief, Jin often gives him a pair of female panties to use. His random encounter with Tsukushi rekindles his passion for soccer.

Soccer club

Hisahito Mizuki (水樹 寿人, Mizuki Hisahito)

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa He is the star and captain of Seiseki's soccer team. Like Tsukushi, he was a terrible player as a freshman but became an amazing player thanks to extraordinary effort. Now in his final year, he will be joining the Kashima professional soccer team after graduation. He is fond of using neologisms to explain his goals and convey his meaning about plays to the exasperation of most of his team mates.

Atsushi Kimishita (君下 敦, Kimishita Atsushi)

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono He is a second year student who plays as offensive midfielder. As the number 10 player Kimishita is the playmaker of Seiseki's team. He works in his parents's shop and is a great student.

Kiichi Ōshiba (大柴 喜一, Ōshiba Kiichi)

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano He is a second year student who plays as forward. Typically he would be substituted by Tsukushi during the second half of games. Previously famous for his lack of commitment, Kiichi seemed to care only for scoring, leaving up the defense and tactical work to his teammates. Like others, Tsukamoto's amazing effort and perseverance leads him to change his style, becoming a much better team player and displaying lots of sacrifice for the team.

Yūta Usui (臼井 雄太, Usui Yūta)

Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai He is a third year student, and the second captain of Seiseki's team. A defender, Usui is characterized by his tactical ability.

Chikako Ubukata (生方 千加子, Ubukata Chikako)

Voiced by: Mariya Ise She is a classmate of Tsukushi and Jin. She is a haughty and popular student, egotistical at first and quite hard on Tsukushi. After receiving lots of criticisms for a novel she wrote she decided to quit writing, so when she discovers Tsukushi's perseverance and effort in spite of the criticisms of many (including her) she softens up to him and decides to join the team as a manager.

Others

Sayuri Tachibana (橘 小百合, Tachibana Sayuri)

Voiced by: Ayane Sakura She is a childhood friend and neighbor of Tsukushi, whom she calls Tsuku-chan. A second year student at Seiseki, she also works in a fast food restaurant.

Manga

It's published by Kodansha, with serialization on Weekly Shōnen Magazine. The first manga volume was released on July 17, 2013, with 20 volumes compiling the chapters released so far. The manga won Best Shōnen Manga at the 40th Kodansha Manga Awards.

Anime

A television anime adaptation by MAPPA began airing on July 2, 2016. Crunchyroll streams the series with English subtitles as it airs in Japan. Crunchyroll announced that the Days anime has been licensed for a second season.

Two original video animations will be bundled with the 21st and 22nd volumes of the manga, which are scheduled for release on March 17, 2017 and May 17, 2017, respectively.

Reception

Volume 2 reached the 44th place on the weekly Oricon manga charts and, as of September 22, 2013, has sold 24,745 copies; volume 3 reached the 36th place and, as of November 24, 2013, has sold 35,528 copies; volume 4 reached the 41st place and, as of January 19, 2014, has sold 24,837 copies; volume 5 reached the 32nd place and, as of March 23, 2014, has sold 41,911 copies; volume 6 reached the 40th place and, as of May 18, 2014, has sold 25,067 copies; volume 7 reached the 25th place and, as of July 20, 2014, has sold 34,421 copies; volume 8 reached the 18th place and, as of September 21, 2014, has sold 41,871 copies; volume 9 reached the 21st place and, as of December 21, 2014, has sold 44,586 copies; volume 10 reached the 20th place and, as of February 22, 2015, has sold 49,901 copies.

The series was nominated for Best Shōnen Manga at the 39th Kodansha Manga Awards and won Best Shōnen Manga at the 40th Kodansha Manga Awards. It was also number twelve in the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2014.