# Tonbo!

Tonbo! (Japanese: オーイ! とんぼ, Hepburn: Ōi! Tonbo, "Hey! Tonbo") is a Japanese manga series written by Ken Kawasaki and illustrated by Yū Furusawa [ja]. It has been serialized in Golf Digest's golfing magazine Weekly Golf Digest [ja] since August 2014. An anime television series adaptation produced by OLM aired from April to June 2024. A second season aired from October 2024 to January 2025.
By November 2024, Tonbo! had over 2.2 million copies in circulation.

## Plot

The series is set in the fictional Hinoshima Island in the Tokara Islands (based on Nakanoshima). A retired golfer, Kazuyoshi Igarashi, arrives there and finds Tonbo Ōi, a junior high school girl with a talent for golf.

## Characters
### Tonbo Ōi (大井 とんぼ, Ōi Tonbo)

    Voiced by: Rika Hayashi [ja]

### Kazuyoshi Igarashi (五十嵐 一賀, Igarashi Kazuyoshi)

    Voiced by: Hiroki Tōchi

### Grandpa Gon (ゴンじい, Gonjī)

    Voiced by: Shin Aomori

### Setsuba (セツばあ)

    Voiced by: Mizuka Arima [ja]

### Bunpei (ブンペイ)

    Voiced by: Junya Enoki

### Yōko Adaniya (安谷屋洋子, Adaniya Yōko)

    Voiced by: Mimi Maihane [ja]

### Kanchō (館長)

    Voiced by: Kenji Yamauchi [ja]

### Chūzai (駐在)

    Voiced by: Kentaro Takano [ja]

### Wataru (ワタル)

    Voiced by: Arisa Sekine [ja]

### Yūma (ユウマ)

    Voiced by: Satomi Kobashi [ja]

### Tsubura Adaniya (安谷屋 円, Adaniya Tsubura)

    Voiced by: Eri Kitamura

### Hinoki Otoha (音羽ひのき, Otoha Hinoki)

    Voiced by: Yui Ishikawa

### Ema Kurisu (栗須エマ, Kurisu Ema)

    Voiced by: Marina Inoue

### Hajime Udo (有働ハジメ, Udo Hajime)

    Voiced by: Eiji Hanawa [ja]

### Shima-san (島さん)

    Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi

## Media
### Manga

Written by Ken Kawasaki and illustrated by Yū Furusawa [ja], Tonbo! started in Golf Digest's golfing magazine Weekly Golf Digest [ja] on August 4, 2014. Golf Digest has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first two volumes were released on May 30, 2016. As of March 1, 2025, 55 volumes have been released.

### Anime

In May 2023, an anime television series adaptation was announced. It is animated by OLM (with CG provided by SMDE) and directed by Oh Jin-koo, with Mitsutaka Hirota writing series scripts, Akira Takeuchi designing the characters, Keita Hattori directing the 3DCG, and Nobuko Toda [ja] composing the music. The series aired from April 6 to June 29, 2024, on TV Tokyo. The opening theme song is "Habatake" (羽ばたけ, "Spread Your Wings"), performed by Sacra e sole, while the ending theme song is "Let's Swing", performed by Tokyo Groove Jyoshi.
After the airing of the final episode of the first season, a second season was announced. It aired from October 4, 2024, to January 4, 2025. For the second season, the opening theme song is "Seven Pieces", performed by Sacra e sole, while the ending theme song is "Kachitaku Natchatta ne" (勝ちたくなっちゃったね, "It's Time to Win"), performed by Tokyo Groove Jyoshi.
Remow licensed the series for streaming on its It's Anime YouTube channel. The company also streamed the first season of the series on Amazon Prime Video with an English dub, releasing it simultaneously as it aired in Japan. The second season was added to the platform as well.

#### Episodes
##### Season 1

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 1 | 1 | "Tonbo and the 3-Iron" Transliteration: "Tonbo to San-ban Aian" (Japanese: とんぼと３番アイアン) | April 6, 2024 (2024-04-06) |
| 2 | 2 | "The Secret of the 3-Iron" Transliteration: "San-tetsu no Himitsu" (Japanese: ３鉄の秘密) | April 13, 2024 (2024-04-13) |
| 3 | 3 | "Wedges and Regrets" Transliteration: "Wejji to Kōkai" (Japanese: ウェッジと後悔) | April 20, 2024 (2024-04-20) |
| 4 | 4 | "Sashimi Shot" Transliteration: "O Sashimi Shotto" (Japanese: お刺身ショット) | April 27, 2024 (2024-04-27) |
| 5 | 5 | "This Isn't Real Golf" Transliteration: "Omae no Wa Gorufu Janai" (Japanese: お前のはゴルフじゃない) | May 4, 2024 (2024-05-04) |
| 6 | 6 | "The Okinawan Rival!" Transliteration: "Okinawa Kara no Raibaru!?" (Japanese: 沖縄からのライバル！？) | May 11, 2024 (2024-05-11) |
| 7 | 7 | "The Great Monotony" Transliteration: "Gurēto Wanpatān" (Japanese: グレートワンパターン) | May 18, 2024 (2024-05-18) |
| 8 | 8 | "The Phantom Hole" Transliteration: "Maboroshi no Hōru" (Japanese: 幻のホール) | May 25, 2024 (2024-05-25) |
| 9 | 9 | "To Akureki Island" Transliteration: "Iza, Akutsubute-jima e" (Japanese: いざ、悪礫島へ) | June 1, 2024 (2024-06-01) |
| 10 | 10 | "Kuta's Hole Conditions" Transliteration: "Mei Hōru no Jōken" (Japanese: 名ホールの条件) | June 8, 2024 (2024-06-08) |
| 11 | 11 | "The Unanswerable Line" Transliteration: "Kotae no Nai Rain" (Japanese: 答えのないライン) | June 15, 2024 (2024-06-15) |
| 12 | 12 | "Real Feelings" Transliteration: "Massuguna Kimochi" (Japanese: 真っ直ぐな気持ち) | June 22, 2024 (2024-06-22) |
| 13 | 13 | "See You Later" Transliteration: "Ittekimasu!" (Japanese: いってきます！) | June 29, 2024 (2024-06-29) |

##### Season 2

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date |
| 14 | 1 | "I Love This Island, and I Love Golf Too!" Transliteration: "Kono Shima ga Suki Gorufu mo Daisuki!" (Japanese: この島が好き　ゴルフも大好き！) | October 5, 2024 (2024-10-05) |
| 15 | 2 | "Tonbo's Course Debut!" Transliteration: "Tonbo, Kōsu Bebyū!" (Japanese: とんぼ、コースデビュー！) | October 12, 2024 (2024-10-12) |
| 16 | 3 | "Igaiga's Parting Gift" Transliteration: "Igaiga Kara no Sen Betsu" (Japanese: イガイガからの餞別（せんべつ）) | October 19, 2024 (2024-10-19) |
| 17 | 4 | "It Begins! The Kyushu Women's Championship!" Transliteration: "Kaimaku! Kyūshū Joshi Senshuken" (Japanese: 開幕！九州女子選手権) | October 26, 2024 (2024-10-26) |
| 18 | 5 | "Career Average Stroke!" Transliteration: "Shōgai no Heikin Sutorōku" (Japanese: 生涯の平均ストローク) | November 2, 2024 (2024-11-02) |
| 19 | 6 | "My Rival Is the Title Holder!" Transliteration: "Raibaru wa taitoruhorudā" (Japanese: ライバルはタイトルホルダー) | November 9, 2024 (2024-11-09) |
| 20 | 7 | "Jack-in-the-Box Golf" Transliteration: "Bikkuri-bako no Gorufu" (Japanese: ビックリ箱のゴルフ) | November 16, 2024 (2024-11-16) |
| 21 | 8 | "The Tossing and Turning Winds" Transliteration: "Honrō Suru Kaze" (Japanese: 翻弄（ほんろう）する風) | November 23, 2024 (2024-11-23) |
| 22 | 9 | "Hinoki's Troubles" Transliteration: "Hinoki no Kattō" (Japanese: ひのきの葛藤（かっとう）) | November 30, 2024 (2024-11-30) |
| 23 | 10 | "First Time Under Pressure" Transliteration: "Hajimete no Puresshā" (Japanese: 初めてのプレッシャー) | December 7, 2024 (2024-12-07) |
| 24 | 11 | "Tonbo, Hole Out" Transliteration: "Tonbo, Hōru Auto" (Japanese: とんぼ、ホールアウト) | December 14, 2024 (2024-12-14) |
| 25 | 12 | "Winner and Courage" Transliteration: "Shōsha to Yūki" (Japanese: 勝者と勇気) | December 21, 2024 (2024-12-21) |
| 26 | 13 | "Tonbo's Challenge: The Heroines of Kyushu" Transliteration: "Tonbo no Chōsen　Kyūshū no Hiroin-tachi" (Japanese: とんぼの挑戦　九州のヒロインたち) | January 4, 2025 (2025-01-04) |

### Other media

In 2023, Miki City, known as the "City of Golf" due to its large number of golf courses, in collaboration with the manga, offered golf balls with Tonbo design printed on them as tax return gifts, to promote the sport in the city and to contribute to its financial reconstruction.

## Reception
### Manga

By June 2023, the manga had over 1.55 million copies in circulation (including digital copies); by November 2024, it had over 2.2 million copies in circulation (including digital copies). The manga placed third in Rakuten Kobo's second E-book Award in the "Long Seller Comic" category in 2024.

### Anime

Anime News Network had four editors review the first episode of the anime: Richard Eisenbeis wrote: "Do I think this series will be some kind of breakout hit? No, but I was entertained enough to come back for another episode next week." Rebecca Silverman felt it did "an excellent job of establishing its setting" and using the island's "casual golf culture" to display Igarashi's "presumptive past golf-related trauma", but was critical of Tonbo being portrayed more as a "non-character than a person" during her debut. She felt the series needed another episode for its plot and characters to get going, concluding that: "Don't go into this expecting Birdie Wing, but I think it might fit the bill if you're looking for a low-key sports series this spring." Nicholas Dupree was critical of the leads not being either "engaging or interesting" to entice viewers and felt the overall production had the "hallmarks of a long-running show with modest resources and modest-er vision", giving note of the "inconsistent, flat character art and a good amount of reused footage" throughout the runtime. He concluded that "nothing here is bad or doomed from the outset. This could be a slow starter that gets more engaging as we develop the characters or let the cast gel cohesively. If you're looking for a family-friendly sports show, this fits the bill just fine, even if it doesn't excel at anything." The fourth reviewer, James Beckett, criticized the "stale characters" and the overall visuals coming across like "three people animated it on a budget of loose change and broken dreams", saying "the end product is so stiff and lifeless that I felt like I may as well have just been looking at the manga anyway, except with more color and an annoying soundtrack that I didn't ask for."
Fellow ANN editor Jairus Taylor reviewed the complete first season and gave it a D+ grade, criticizing the slow start to the overall plot, the "overly technical" and "more realistic approach" to displaying golf, the lack of a supporting cast and OLM's "acceptable, if largely unimpressive" production failing to elevate the golfing scenes, concluding that: "[T]here's no real reason I can think of to go out of the way to watch this one, and with how little it has to offer as a sports drama, you're probably better off watching an actual golf match instead." Taylor chose the first season as his pick for the Worst Anime of 2024, criticizing the overall pacing, one-note supporting characters, bland direction of its golfing scenes, and not being "worth the investment" to check out the second season, concluding that: "If there's one thing worse than being terrible, it's being boring, and while there are certainly other shows this year that had bigger problems, this one was by far the biggest slog."
Taylor reviewed the first episode of the second season, criticizing the first half for its pacing and "overly technical explanations" but praised the second half for the introduction of Hinoki and the potential of "an actual ensemble" alongside Tonbo and Igarashi, concluding that "if you are someone who's kept up with the series and enjoyed everything about the first season, then this certainly seems like it'll be more of that, and you'll probably have a decent time." Erica Friedman, also writing for ANN, reviewed the complete second season and gave it an overall B+ grade. While critiquing about the "overblown and silly" display of golf and the "otaku-level details", she praised the plot's exploration into the mental game of the sport through its players' development and the improved animation from the previous season.