is a 26 episode anime series produced by NAS and aired on TV Tokyo. It is based on "Hidemaru The Soccer Boy" (), a "Corocoro Comic" manga series by the author , produced by "Sunny Side Up". Enoki Films licensed the series as Forza! Mario, and NAS refers to the series by that name on its English website. The series, about a boy who wants to play soccer, aired in 2002, the year of the FIFA World Cup in Japan and Korea.