Giant Killing

Giant Killing by Masaya Tsunamoto and Tsujitomo is a soccer manga with a unique perspective. Takeshi Tatsumi, the team's coach, is the main character in this story, not one of the players. He's a 35-year-old ex-football player who moved to England to coach before returning to Japan to coach the team he used to play for. Tatsumi's favorite pastime is giant killing, in which he coaches an underdog amateur team to victory over premier teams. If you enjoy underdog stories, you will enjoy Giant Killing.

Tatsumi is an unconventional thinker who keeps things interesting. As someone who grew up playing soccer, it's also refreshing to see a coach like Tatsumi work with his players to hone and sharpen their individual talents. When you first meet the ETU players, they are disorganized, disoriented, and defeated. But everything changes when Tatsumi arrives, and you can really see them all come into their own. Many shows focus on the battles that teams must overcome, but Giant Killing delves into the individual struggles that each player must overcome as well.

What makes this story interesting is that it follows the underdog team. Nothing beats an upset in sports, and watching this team slay giants who are said to be more talented than them is rewarding, to say the least.

Author: Masaya Tsunamoto
Original run: January 11, 2007 – present
Volumes: 61
Status: Ongoing
Buy here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JN4SB1B?searchxofy=true