# Giant Killing

Giant Killing (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written by Masaya Tsunamoto and illustrated by Tsujitomo. It has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning since January 2007. A 26-episode anime television series adaptation was broadcast on NHK General TV from April to September 2010.
In 2010, Giant Killing won the 34th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category.

## Plot

East Tokyo United, ETU, has been struggling in Japan's top football league for a few years. It has taken everything they have just to avoid relegation. To make matters even worse, the fans are starting to abandon the team. In an effort to improve their performance, ETU has hired a new coach, the slightly eccentric Tatsumi Takeshi. Tatsumi, who was considered a great football player when he was younger, abandoned the team years before but has proven himself as the manager of one of England's lower division amateur teams. The task won't be easy, the teams East Tokyo United is pitted against have bigger budgets and better players. However, Tatsumi is an expert at Giant Killing. ETU home stadium in this manga was modeled on Hitachi Kashiwa Soccer Stadium, while the team appears to have been inspired by Tokyo Verdy, which has faced a similar riches-to-rags trajectory in the J. League.

## Characters
### Takeshi Tatsumi (達海 猛, Tatsumi Takeshi)

    Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki
    Former East Tokyo United star and member of the Japan national football team, he transfers to a foreign club after a successful spell at ETU. After retirement as a player, Tatsumi coaches FC Eastham, an English Division 5 amateur team, into the fourth round of the FA Cup. Following his success with Eastham, the thirty-five-year-old is convinced by ex-teammate Gotoh, now GM at East Tokyo United, to return to Japan and coach the team where he spent his years as a player. While his somewhat eccentric management decisions are usually contested by the board and supporters, they start to bear fruit as ETU makes themselves a viable contender again.

### Shigeyuki Murakoshi (村越 茂幸, Murakoshi Shigeyuki)

    Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu
    Plays Defensive Midfield for East Tokyo United, and is the team captain. He joined ETU as a promising talent in the hopes of playing with then-ETU star Tatsumi, but his dreams were crushed when Tatsumi left for Europe the following season. He is known as "Mr. ETU" throughout the storyline because of his loyalty and dedication to the club, even during the seasons it spent relegated in J2.

### Daisuke Tsubaki (椿 大介, Tsubaki Daisuke)

    Voiced by: Takahiro Mizushima
    Plays Midfield for East Tokyo United. At twenty years old, he was promoted from ETU's reserve team to ETU's "A" team by Tatsumi. He is a very fast runner and is able to stretch opposition defences. Lacking self-confidence, Tsubaki has doubts about his ability to help the team, however Tatsumi encourages him because if he lets his talent show, it will more than compensate for the mistakes he makes.

### Luigi Yoshida (ルイジ 吉田, Yoshida Luigi)

    Voiced by: Daisuke Ono
    Plays Midfield for East Tokyo United. Of half-Japanese and half-Italian descent; known as the "Prince" among ETU teammates because of his ingenious playmaking ability and his often narcissistic attitude, the latter of which leads him to have a lackadaisical approach to the game; this, however, makes him an asset in taking set pieces, because his indifferent look makes him enigmatic enough that opponents have a hard time reading him.

### Kazuki Kuroda (黒田 一樹, Kuroda Kazuki)

    Voiced by: Kentarō Itō
    Plays defense center back for East Tokyo United. Kuroda had problems working with Tatsumi when he first started as manager, prompting him to ask for a transfer to another club. In this time he is able to reflect with fellow defender Sugie on how it is they who need to change and not Tatsumi.

### Yusaku Sugie (杉江 勇作, Sugie Yusaku)

    Voiced by: Daisuke Kirii
    Plays defense center back for East Tokyo United. He is loyal to Kuroda and skipped practice with him so they could reflect on the state of the team and how they were playing.

### Hiroshi Midorikawa (緑川 宏, Midorikawa Hiroshi)

    The goal keeper for East Tokyo United. One of the older members of the team, he gives advice to Kuroda and Sugie to help them become better defenders.

### Yuri Nagata (永田有里, Nagata Yuri)

    Voiced by: Masumi Asano
    Daughter of ETU's President Nagata, and PR Manager for the club. Was a big fan of ETU and Tatsumi during his player years, and sets off for England alongside GM Gotoh to convince Tatsumi to return to Japan as coach of ETU.

## Media
### Manga

Giant Killin, written by Masaya Tsunamoto and illustrated by Tsujitomo, has been serialized in Kodansha's seinen manga magazine Morning since January 11, 2007. The series went on hiatus is September 2016, and resumed publication in January 2017. Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was published on April 23, 2007. As of November 21, 2024, sixty-five volumes have been released.
Kodansha USA are publishing the manga in English in a digital format.

#### Volumes

| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
| 1 | April 23, 2007 | 978-4-06-372593-3 | March 7, 2017 | 978-1-68-233486-7 |
| 1–7 |||||
| 2 | July 23, 2007 | 978-4-06-372618-3 | June 27, 2017 | 978-1-68-233487-4 |
| 8–17 |||||
| 3 | October 23, 2007 | 978-4-06-372637-4 | July 25, 2017 | 978-1-68-233488-1 |
| 18–27 |||||
| 4 | January 23, 2008 | 978-4-06-372660-2 | August 15, 2017 | 978-1-68-233587-1 |
| 28–37 |||||
| 5 | April 23, 2008 | 978-4-06-372682-4 | August 29, 2017 | 978-1-68-233588-8 |
| 38–47 |||||
| 6 | July 23, 2008 | 978-4-06-372716-6 | September 26, 2017 | 978-1-68-233871-1 |
| 48–57 |||||
| 7 | October 23, 2008 | 978-4-06-372740-1 | October 31, 2017 | 978-1-68-233893-3 |
| 58–67 |||||
| 8 | November 21, 2008 | 978-4-06-372753-1 | November 28, 2017 | 978-1-68-233980-0 |
| 68–77 |||||
| 9 | January 23, 2009 | 978-4-06-372769-2 | December 26, 2017 | 978-1-68-233981-7 |
| 78–87 |||||
| 10 | April 23, 2009 | 978-4-06-372789-0 | January 30, 2018 | 978-1-64-212013-4 |
| 88–97 |||||
| 11 | July 23, 2009 | 978-4-06-372818-7 | March 20, 2018 | 978-1-64-212158-2 |
| 98–107 |||||
| 12 | October 23, 2009 | 978-4-06-372840-8 | April 17, 2018 | 978-1-64-212185-8 |
| 108–117 |||||
| 13 | January 22, 2010 | 978-4-06-372868-2 | August 21, 2018 | 978-1-64-212389-0 |
| 118–127 |||||
| 14 | April 23, 2010 | 978-4-06-372897-2 | October 16, 2018 | 978-1-64-212484-2 |
| 128–137 |||||
| 15 | May 21, 2010 | 978-4-06-372904-7 | December 18, 2018 | 978-1-64-212602-0 |
| 138–147 |||||
| 16 | July 23, 2010 | 978-4-06-372918-4 | September 10, 2019 | 978-1-64-659014-8 |
| 148–157 |||||
| 17 | October 22, 2010 | 978-4-06-372950-4 | November 12, 2019 | 978-1-64-659119-0 |
| 158–167 |||||
| 18 | January 21, 2011 | 978-4-06-372972-6 | January 14, 2020 | 978-1-64-659203-6 |
| 168–177 |||||
| 19 | April 22, 2011 | 978-4-06-372992-4 | March 10, 2020 | 978-1-64-659254-8 |
| 178–187 |||||
| 20 | July 22, 2011 | 978-4-06-387023-7 | May 12, 2020 | 978-1-64-659357-6 |
| 188–197 |||||
| 21 | October 22, 2011 | 978-4-06-387047-3 | July 14, 2020 | 978-1-64-659591-4 |
| 198–207 |||||
| 22 | January 23, 2012 | 978-4-06-387074-9 | September 8, 2020 | 978-1-64-659691-1 |
| 208–217 |||||
| 23 | April 23, 2012 | 978-4-06-387098-5 | November 10, 2020 | 978-1-64-659797-0 |
| 218–227 |||||
| 24 | July 23, 2012 | 978-4-06-387127-2 | July 13, 2021 | 978-1-63-699223-5 |
| 228–237 |||||
| 25 | October 23, 2012 | 978-4-06-387148-7 | August 10, 2021 | 978-1-63-699295-2 |
| 238–247 |||||
| 26 | January 23, 2013 | 978-4-06-387178-4 | September 14, 2021 | 978-1-63-699355-3 |
| 248–257 |||||
| 27 | April 23, 2013 | 978-4-06-387206-4 | October 12, 2021 | 978-1-63-699407-9 |
| 258–267 |||||
| 28 | July 23, 2013 | 978-4-06-387228-6 | December 14, 2021 | 978-1-63-699484-0 |
| 268–277 |||||
| 29 | October 23, 2013 | 978-4-06-387262-0 | February 8, 2022 | 978-1-63-699515-1 |
| 278–287 |||||
| 30 | January 23, 2014 | 978-4-06-387284-2 | April 12, 2022 | 978-1-68-491119-6 |
| 288–297 |||||
| 31 | April 23, 2014 | 978-4-06-388323-7 | June 14, 2022 | 978-1-68-491212-4 |
| 298–307 |||||
| 32 | July 23, 2014 | 978-4-06-388350-3 | August 9, 2022 | 978-1-68-491384-8 |
| 308–317 |||||
| 33 | October 23, 2014 | 978-4-06-388381-7 | October 11, 2022 | 978-1-68-491476-0 |
| 318–327 |||||
| 34 | January 23, 2015 | 978-4-06-388416-6 | December 13, 2022 | 978-1-68-491583-5 |
| 328–337 |||||
| 35 | April 23, 2015 | 978-4-06-388436-4 | February 14, 2023 | 978-1-68-491696-2 |
| 338–347 |||||
| 36 | September 23, 2015 | 978-4-06-388474-6 | April 11, 2023 | 978-1-68-491885-0 |
| 37 | November 20, 2015 | 978-4-06-388510-1 | June 13, 2023 | 978-1-68-491965-9 |
| 38 | January 22, 2016 | 978-4-06-388559-0 | August 8, 2023 | 979-8-88-933093-6 |
| 39 | March 23, 2016 | 978-4-06-388572-9 | October 10, 2023 | 979-8-88-933182-7 |
| 40 | May 23, 2016 | 978-4-06-388595-8 | December 12, 2023 | 979-8-88-933289-3 |
| 41 | July 22, 2016 | 978-4-06-388617-7 | February 13, 2024 | 979-8-88-933372-2 |
| 42 | October 21, 2016 | 978-4-06-388637-5 | April 9, 2024 | 979-8-88-933434-7 |
| 43 | March 23, 2017 | 978-4-06-388659-7 | June 11, 2024 | 979-8-88-933566-5 |
| 44 | July 21, 2017 | 978-4-06-388694-8 | August 13, 2024 | 979-8-88-933692-1 |
| 45 | October 23, 2017 | 978-4-06-510278-7 | October 8, 2024 | 979-8-89-478101-3 |
| 46 | January 23, 2018 | 978-4-06-510735-5 | December 10, 2024 | 979-8-89-478301-7 |
| 47 | April 23, 2018 | 978-4-06-511227-4 | February 11, 2025 | 979-8-89-478366-6 |
| 48 | July 23, 2018 | 978-4-06-511858-0 | — | — |
| 49 | October 23, 2018 | 978-4-06-513496-2 | — | — |
| 50 | January 23, 2019 | 978-4-06-514529-6 | — | — |
| 51 | April 23, 2019 | 978-4-06-515481-6 | — | — |
| 52 | July 23, 2019 | 978-4-06-516563-8 | — | — |
| 53 | October 23, 2019 | 978-4-06-517328-2 | — | — |
| 54 | March 23, 2020 | 978-4-06-518917-7 | — | — |
| 55 | June 23, 2020 | 978-4-06-519910-7 | — | — |
| 56 | September 23, 2020 | 978-4-06-520766-6 | — | — |
| 57 | December 23, 2020 | 978-4-06-521770-2 | — | — |
| 58 | May 21, 2021 | 978-4-06-523276-7 | — | — |
| 59 | September 22, 2021 | 978-4-06-524866-9 | — | — |
| 60 | February 22, 2022 | 978-4-06-526771-4 | — | — |
| 61 | July 22, 2022 | 978-4-06-528537-4 | — | — |
| 62 | November 22, 2023 | 978-4-06-529759-9 | — | — |
| 63 | March 22, 2024 | 978-4-06-534888-8 | — | — |
| 64 | July 23, 2024 | 978-4-06-536209-9 | — | — |
| 65 | November 21, 2024 | 978-4-06-537527-3 | — | — |
| 66 | March 21, 2025 | 978-4-06-538846-4 | — | — |

### Anime

An anime television series was produced by Studio Deen, directed by Yuu Kou, and written by Toshifumi Kawase. The anime began airing in Japan on April 4, 2010. On May 21, 2010 it was announced that Crunchyroll had picked up the series for simulcast distribution starting on May 23. The opening theme song to Giant Killing is "My Story", by THE CHERRY COKE$. The closing credit music is "Get tough!" by G.P.S.

#### Episodes

| No. | Title | Original air date |
| 01 | "#01" | April 4, 2010 (2010-04-04) |
| Takeshi Tatsumi, former player for the East Tokyo United (ETU), led a fifth division team in England to 32nd place in the FA Cup. ETU has recruited him to come back and coach them. He makes a controversial move on the first day of training by picking the starters based on just their 30 meter sprints. |||
| 02 | "#02" | April 11, 2010 (2010-04-11) |
| Tatsumi has his starters play a practice match with the veteran players; the young starters use Tatsumi's advice and they defeat the veterans. Tatsumi makes a shocking announcement at a press conference and Murakoshi gets mad at him. |||
| 03 | "#03" | April 18, 2010 (2010-04-18) |
| On the first day of camp, Tatsumi’s instructions were: self-training. On top of that, Tatsumi makes it even harder by insisting that they all share a single ball. When the players start arguing about what should be focused on, finally a brawl breaks out. While the coaches are trying to break it up, a late player called “Prince” appears. |||
| 04 | "#04" | April 25, 2010 (2010-04-25) |
| The first match for the new ETU under Tatsumi’s lead is against the champion, Tokyo Victory. The Victory players take note of Gino wearing the captains mark, and the new starter, Tsubaki. During camp Tsubaki did not show much potential, but in this match he shines in tandem with Tatsumi’s tactics, shaking up the Victory bench. Tatsumi starts to explain his reasons to coach Matsuhara who was surprised by Tsubaki’s good performance. Second half of the Tokyo Victory match. Tsubaki screwed up and gave the opponents a chance to score. Tatsumi tries to fire up Tsubaki by saying that he shouldn’t worry about a foul. In order to combat Victory’s increasing pace, Tatsumi puts in offensive players midfield. Though Tsubaki was motivated by Tatsumi, it doesn’t go well and his efforts turn our disastrous. Meanwhile, Murakoshi re-examines himself as a player and tries to find a hole for the counterattack. |||
| 05 | "#05" | May 2, 2010 (2010-05-02) |
| Second half of the Tokyo Victory match. Tsubaki screwed up and gave the opponents a chance to score. Tatsumi tries to fire up Tsubaki by saying that he shouldn’t worry about a foul. In order to combat Victory’s increasing pace, Tatsumi puts in offensive players midfield. Though Tsubaki was motivated by Tatsumi, it doesn’t go well and his efforts turn our disastrous. Meanwhile, Murakoshi re-examines himself as a player and tries to find a hole for the counterattack. |||
| 06 | "#06" | May 9, 2010 (2010-05-09) |
| A league press conference is being held. While everybody is in formal attire, Tatsumi wears his normal clothes. He meets Nagoya Grand Palace’s manager Fuwa, who has history with ETU, and meets last season’s 2nd, Osaka Gunners’ manager Dulfer. When the ceremony begins, Goto and Yuri are worried; quite right, as Tatsumi lets loose once again. A dubious Frenchman takes a liking to Tatsumi and takes him away… |||
| 07 | "#07" | May 16, 2010 (2010-05-16) |
| A league match against manager Kurashi’s Javelin Iwata. After a lucky shot puts Iwata in the lead, ETU is totally overrun by Iwata’s assault. After being dissatisfied by the way the game went, the free reporter Fujisawa asks Tatsumi a question at the press conference. While he answers it coolly and whips up another frenzy there, the next match against Sun Arrow Hiroshima is another loss… |||
| 08 | "#08" | May 23, 2010 (2010-05-23) |
| After hearing a rumor that Kuroda is about to transfer, Matsuhara feels uneasy. However, Tatsumi declares again that the starting players will be picked with the soccer tennis game. Amongst the disgruntled players, Kuroda finally lets his anger explode and boycotts the training. Matsue, who also left the training, begins to tell Kuroda about a mistake that they as center backs had not noticed yet. |||
| 09 | "#09" | May 30, 2010 (2010-05-30) |
| Since Tatsumi became manager, ETU has lost 4 matches in a row. The Skulls fan group can’t conceal their anger any longer. At the peak of their anger, they stop the players’ bus and demand an apology from Tatsumi. Tatsumi stops Murakoshi from appeasing the crowd and tries to go out himself. Does he have a secret strategy against Nagoya Grand Palace?! |||
| 10 | "#10" | June 6, 2010 (2010-06-06) |
| The fans are demanding that Tatsumi is canned. The opponent they face during their last stand is Nagoya Grand Palace, led by ETU’s former manager Fuwa. In a stark contrast to ETU, Fuwa has been winning cup and league matches. He is an absolutely rational coach who used expensive foreign players to raise the power of the entire team. In the beginning, the Brazilian trio goes on a fierce offensive, but Tatsumi’s plans are already in motion… |||
| 11 | "#11" | June 13, 2010 (2010-06-13) |
| ETU vs Nagoya Grand Palace. In the first half, ETU is faced with a relentless assault, but thanks to Tsubaki’s repeated smooth plays, the danger of losing a point is always averted. Fuwa slowly starts to realize that Tatsumi’s plan has been set in motion. However, ETU does not launch a full assault. While Matsubara can’t hide his worries about the defense-only match, Tatsumi is grinning smugly. And the thing Tsubaki sees when he gets on the field is…! |||
| 12 | "#12" | June 20, 2010 (2010-06-20) |
| Nagoya can’t break ETU’s defense line, so they put Carlos up front and attack with their strongest formation. This is exactly what Tatsumi has been waiting for. ETU is desperate to withstand the Brazilian onslaught. They block their shot and begin their own counterattack. That was Tatsumi’s plan all along. The ball goes to Gino and ETU’s attack finally begins. Who will score?! |||
| 13 | "#13" | June 27, 2010 (2010-06-27) |
| ETU control the Brazilian trio and successfully take the lead. 15 minutes left and Nagoya comes attacking back. But, ETU's composure as a team allows them to withstand the onslaught. |||
| 14 | "#14" | July 4, 2010 (2010-07-04) |
| Delighted over their first win, Goto takes ETA out to the shopping district and thinks about reviving the old cheering squad. But, the old fans don't seem 100% on board when asked. Though he tries hard, it is not successful and night sets in. |||
| 15 | "#15" | July 11, 2010 (2010-07-11) |
| ETU faces off against FC Sapporo for the prelims in the Japan Cup. |||
| 16 | "#16" | July 18, 2010 (2010-07-18) |
| Natsuki returns to practice with ETU. He was their top goal scorer the previous season. |||
| 17 | "#17" | July 25, 2010 (2010-07-25) |
| The team loses a critical starter for a week with a sprained ankle. |||
| 18 | "#18" | August 1, 2010 (2010-08-01) |
| ETU is coming off its fourth match in a row. No one is sure if the team is in top shape or not when the match against Albireos Niigata begins. The built-up pressure and excitement leads Akasaki to get a yellow card while defending. At halftime, Akasaki says something that sparks a giant argument. The coach and others try to break it up in haste when they come to a quick conclusion. |||
| 19 | "#19" | August 8, 2010 (2010-08-08) |
| The battle against the Osaka Gunners is about to begin. They employee a highly aggressive offensive formation utilizing four forwards. This is a point of pride for all of Osaka. |||
| 20 | "#20" | August 15, 2010 (2010-08-15) |
| ETU begins their match against the Osaka Gunners. They are holding their ground man-to-man for now, but... |||
| 21 | "#21" | August 22, 2010 (2010-08-22) |
| ETU has their backs to the wall due to the Osaka Gunners' vicious attacks. They stiffen their defense and brace for a comeback. |||
| 22 | "#22" | August 29, 2010 (2010-08-29) |
| Sugie and Kuroda, both vital defensemen for ETU, give up two goals in the first half. How will they recover? |||
| 23 | "#23" | September 5, 2010 (2010-09-05) |
| Just before the match against Osaka, a question is posed to Natsuki... Does the ball belong to your team? Or you? |||
| 24 | "#24" | September 12, 2010 (2010-09-12) |
| ETU continues their run. Will they prevail? Only time will tell. |||
| 25 | "#25" | September 19, 2010 (2010-09-19) |
| ETU has tied the game with a goal off a free kick earned by Tsubaki's legs and stamina. While Matsubara is excited and presses for the next strategy, Tatsumi responds with a disappointing "My plan was to keep Osaka at one point and to win 2-1. I dunno about the 3rd goal." Matsubara is shocked, but Tatsumi continues "I am counting on him changing the fact that ETU lacks the last bit of strength in the end." |||
| 26 | "#26" | September 26, 2010 (2010-09-26) |
| Akasaki appears in a match as an Olympic team member. Tatsumi removes Akasaki from the next game's starting lineup so he can regain his strength. Meanwhile, Gino complains about the condition of his foot and Tatsumi pulls him from the starting lineup as well. With the starting lineup for the next match against Kawasaki settled and two of the primary players sitting out, Tatsumi has a thought: To organize a certain event with the local people, the ETU staff, and all the players!? |||

## Reception

Giant Killing won the 34th Kodansha Manga Award in the general category in 2010.