Inazuma Eleven Anime Concept Part Two: The Path To Glory Begins
Hello and welcome back to this anime concept for an Inazuma Eleven series. Previously we look at our main players for the opening of the series, the key concepts and world around it as well as a breakdown of the first episode to set the scene. Before we crack on with the continuation I really recommend reading the first part of this concept below.
Part One: Story, Main Character & First Episode Concepts: https://ramblingsofenglishman.blogspot.com/2021/12/inazuma-eleven-anime-concept-part-one.html
For ease of use the following names are used for characters:
Ace - Raimon's Striker who is part of XGen
Manager - Raimon's Manager
I will repost this at the top of any future post with the additions we have to the main cast so if you get lost in the names please refer to this. This part will start the breakdown of the series not everything will be as in depth as the first episode breakdown. We will go over key points and discussions for the series. Unlike the Orion rework the matches probably won't contain as much detail for the breakdown most things post the goal and key moments in the game.
Where we left off Raimon was fractured into many parts and while they all aren't all together the bridges are being mended. Early on Versatility the clubs main striker for the moment has joined with Protagonist, GK & Zeke as he respects their passion for football though he says if it wasn't for the Protagonist and GK he wouldn't join as he finds Zeke overbearing. While others are distant the Auba trio and the utility players who have no names do eventually start training with the team. All that's left is Ace who just won't do it, he still sees Raimon as beneath him but the constant refusal of XGen to accept him as better then this and the constant fun being made at his expense. The other still refusing to train is the Captain. He still holds the guilt of last year and is distant, however with Ace refusing to play and while the team feel this isn't right the manager accepts this and as such the Captain has to start the first game of the Path to Glory series.
Our first match takes place against a Kidokawa Seishuu which their style of play resembles that rugby style football that Stoke played under Tony Pulis, it is centred around their first year captain and man mountain of a defender KidoCB and his hissatsu 'Mountain Range' which functions much like The Mountain does, he is the first firm believer in XGen and the only fully fledged believer in them here feeling it gives him power. It's a physical game with Raimon pretty much playing with 10 men as the captain is rooted to the spot most of the game not refusing the play but frozen with fear not wanting to fail again. In the end of the game the Captain realises through the help of the others he cannot blame himself for the past and he needs to look towards the future and he steals the ball just as Kidokawa are about to shoot and win the game much to the delight of Raimon and helps them break past the Mountain Range. In the end Raimon win 2-1 with goals from Versatility and Protagonist with the later scoring with Maximum Circus and winning it. The team celebrate with their first win on the board and their captain fully back as Ace leaves annoyed thinking Raimon should've lost the data said they would. KidoCB after the match looks over to the Raimon team and smiles thinking maybe he was wrong about what gives someone power and needs to rethink his priorities, he goes over and shakes the hand of Captain and thanks them for the match. Ace catches this on a screen as he's leaving shaking his head in disappointment, someone so quickly to grasp power and fail right away, why trust him with a bigger team then he was.
After the game we see Protagonist talking to BF about the game when they hang up we see the BF has been playing football at an undisclosed location he turns and shoot fast and the ball breaks a net. This episode would end with the post match briefing the day after in Raimon Football Club Centre. The team all sat down when the manager comes in and says post their first win he should come clean about his goals. He wants to take down XGen to the shock of everyone (end credits).
The next episode would begin with some doubts but the Captain stands up and accepts they have the responsibility to make this right not just for the future but for all who XGen have taken the hopes of before for their own goals. When they all go out of room to go train except Ace. He and the Manager share a few moments where they talk Ace saying he can't stop XGen where the Manager says he knows Ace is with XGen and if he doesn't want to play well he doesn't have to but maybe one days he might be his own man and to question how much XGen value his immense skills considering they sent him to a place they do not care for. Ace dismisses this going to leave but the Manager says 'where you realise what football means to you, Raimon will be here and this team will welcome you in not just as a player but as a friend', Ace pauses upon hearing this but leaves.
I want to speak on Ace here for a second. As you can most likely tell his arc is refusing to play until he overcomes his hesitations for leaving XGen. Eventually him being pushed to the side by them will come back to bite them. XGen is all about controlling the future of football and with that they will push those they see as marketable ahead of anything else no matter how talented they are. Ace is a natural goalscorer who loves football but he's caught between his loyalty to XGen and his want to play football real football. Eventually the later comes through he realises a controlled sport isn't fun and how so many people might suffer from XGen's ways talented players held down by not conforming he has to take a stand. We aren't there yet and won't be for a little while but his discussion with the manager starts to put doubt of XGen in him. I may not mention it every time but sporadically we see Ace going to XGen where he's subject to more ridicule and more dismissal each time he goes. Just wanted to add that here if I miss it out at any point.
There's not much here between these points and the second match. I'd like to establish the captain more here to the Protagonist & GK, the rest of the team will know about his struggles as they were there but it would be nice for them to hear it and see the picture itself which he clings onto. IT would be nice to hear the Captain's doubts and reservations but then also his determination and leadership abilities. Show, don't tell now he's on side we need to establish why he is a captain a solid defensive midfielder but also a pillar of the team they can rely on, he remembers everything they say and act, the strengths and weaknesses and how to get everyone working together. Now he's back in the swing of things we see the strength Raimon has as evidenced by their next match.
Match number two is one of those outlier matches not in the last grasp winner norm. I take inspiration here from Mikage Sennou vs. Inakuni Raimon although it wasn't shown in full Raimon cruised to a 4-0 win. I want a match like that here where Raimon dominate. This match serves two purposes, one is to show now Raimon is focused on one goal how well they are doing goals from Protagonist, Auba, Lacca & Captain show a strength in depth and how they are all wanting to same thing. While the team they are facing aren't the best the showcase here in on what Raimon can do not what they need to overcome. Secondly it acts as a showcase to Ace of what football is. He starts by slouching in on the bench to being on the edge of his seat by the end of it. Questioning what he is feeling, is this what Football should be, can they really take down XGen? The manager notices this and while Ace refuses to accept it he's beginning to change. We see that late night in the Raimon Football club that Ace is practising by himself it's a long journey but we are getting there with Ace.
In this call between Protagonist & BF we find out that we won't be seeing (we will still be hearing from him) for a while as he has now fully settled up north where his new school is but still congratulates Protagonist for winning. When the phone call ends with see that behind BF there's a football team. It's all in silhouette's so we can't see who they are in order to keep the mystery.
I don't have a whole lot of detail between match 2 and 3 for the existing cast, we still have ways to go with Ace but in this gap between games we can focus on some other characters. I think it's worth here focusing at least in some part on GK and his development heading into the next game. GK doesn't have a Hissatsu yet and his doubts if he's good enough seeing how well the rest of the team is doing which effects how he is. In the end they resolve to help defend to goal until he can figure it out.
For our next match the team we encounter is one which is under XGen control. They play a 4-4-2 formation which is based around triples which work up the left side of the team. The left sided centre back, the left sided midfielder and the left sided forward, while they aren't fully on board with XGen they are used in XGen's marketing. However, one fully on board with XGen is their other forward. The first time we are introduced to a player who is from a different country as this forward is from England. He is deeply loyal to XGen and continues to sing their praises throughout the game, think of him like Ace if he was loud and obnoxious about XGen, where Ace tried to prove his loyalty on the pitch with his skills and ignored this striker was was loud but not as good of a player as Ace and gets rewarded. XGen showing here they work on a words are louder then actions. But before we get to the match we have a new member to the Raimon team.
New Raimon Team Member: Naito - Right Back
With the name Naito he would be inspired by Tetsuya Naito. While he seems lazy and just naturally calm it's all to lure people into his traps and mind games as a defender. If I had to compare him to any existing Inazuma Eleven character it would be Kariya (and Kariya is one of my favourite ever characters in the anime). Naito is someone who tried to get into the XGen program which has an exam which he failed because of who he was then a fiery person which he thought they wanted whereas how he is now is how he is. One thing that is for certain regardless of his outwardly lack of care can't change is he wants to bring XGen down. He acts as a parallel to Ace where Ace is in XGen and cast aside after that Naito was discarded before he could even get in. But from that he has risen again to find football it's another reminder to Ace that XGen isn't the be all and end all. Naito knows Ace is with XGen and makes sure to ask him on multiple occasions why he's with XGen which Ace brushes off. I wanted someone to fill the shoes of Kariya as the in a sense comedy relief with a darker side which people are too ignorant to see that never really is malicious and we get to understand. Kariya was one of Go's best character and I will always say that Chrono Stone done him dirty especially. One of the best characters cast aside but enough of that.
As for the match with the Triplets it is difficult to Raimon (not just in comparison to their previous game but overall) this team has XGen players and not just that but brothers makes them difficult to play against as they naturally know each others movements more then any team or strategy does. While Raimon struggle the triplets score with Triple Boost (which was a move in game I dunno if it ever was used in the anime off the top of my head). They take a 2-1 lead into half time where from the bench Ace says something on the bench where they attack the team in a straight line it won't break they need to get to to bend if they want to win. Ace stops himself realising he's giving them advise in a round about way. Regardless this works by making the line the triples attack and defend in Raimon can find a weakness and get the lead. In the end GK creates a Hissatsu and saves the day right at the end and Raimon win 3-2. Right after the match the English forward runs off to go grovel and apologise to the XGen leader where the Triples congratulate Raimon, while they might be under XGen it doesn't mean they fully agree with The Way Forward and are glad this match felt natural and wish Raimon the best.
We see the English Striker grovelling to the XGen leader next who dismisses him. While he's failed here maybe other can rectify his mistake and his team can still get through saying 'I didn't have this issue with your brother's team'. Ace enters and gets called a failure by the XGen leader as Raimon won again, Ace says he can't effect on field results by taking him out of play Raimon is weaker by XGen leader says it is his failures allowing Raimon to get this far and says maybe Ace suites being there he is a failure making sure Raimon weren't a threat much like how Raimon will be. He brings in the trio of XGen players from the next game who are the ones throughout the series who make fun of Ace for being sent to Raimon. One from Italy, one from Brazil and one from Australia who above all else will make sure XGen philosophy is executed flawlessly unlike Ace and we crush Raimon before all of Japan.
This time BF misses Protagonists call but calls him back wishing him luck. When pressed about playing football again BF dismisses it and says he has focused his energy into other goals for the moment while he can't play but who knows maybe one day he can again. When the phone call ends he sighs and says he wishes he could tell the protagonist what they are doing but he wouldn't understand as we see a net which has had multiple balls fired at it all bursting through it leaving marks on the wall behind them.
The final match in the group will be the next one we cover where Raimon take on their toughest test with these three loyal XGen followers. It's simple to break down Raimon lose they're out XGen will rig it so they can progress it's against what they want but if Raimon win they can't stop it, not only do Raimon win but they go through as would the previous team we saw with the triples. XGen would've had the Triples and this next team go through and set up the matches to follow this but Raimon's change of form and want to end XGen's hold of Football has thrown a spanner in the works while the other teams were weak the triple were seen as a sure proof win against Raimon, I guess the way forward has some holes.
We next see Ace again practising late by himself in the Raimon football club but this time the Protagonist watches on when a shot spins out of control the Protagonist controls it. After a bit of back and forth Ace reluctantly agrees to train with the Protagonist at this point and they bond quite quickly striking up good chemistry. After they finish Protagonist asks Ace what does football mean to him after all he's so good but refuses to play. Ace responds he doesn't know anymore he use to have such a clear idea but over the years it's cast doubt unknowingly Protagonist repeats the line of the manager 'where you realise what football means to you, Raimon will be here and this team will welcome you in not just as a player but as a friend' which again causes Ace to think, he thanks Protagonist but says he has to leave and think. Unbeknownst to both was the manager watching on and smiling. Over the next few episodes similar conversations happen for Ace with Zeke & Captain (who both use the same line as Protagonist and the Manager) as well as Naito who knows he works for XGen instead questions what he will do when they grow bored of him, they already sent him to a place they didn't care for maybe he should show them where they went wrong casting aside good player for 'marketability'. Where Naito's demeanour now XGen see and a negative Ace being as standoffish and so sure of his talents they do not see as marketable maybe while two sides of a personality coin they are the same, not afraid to be who they are regardless of any power above them well maybe Naito is but Ace needs to figure that out. IF he every really want to be him he needs to let go of XGen, let go of wanting to show why they need him and instead what they missed out on.
As you can gather match number four is an Ace centred match. Like how Tsurugi against Teikou Gakuen and Ichihoshi against Arab no Hinotori Gundan this match is the get the antagonist in the team to turn face match. You need this sort of match to give Raimon or Inazuma Japan it's full force and show how great the player they gain is not just as a player but as a friend. Over the series we've seen Ace but ego driven and finding himself above Raimon to conflicted loving how they play and casting doubt on his choices set up from his love of Football and how the team has played and how they care for him mixed with XGen's general apathy to him and his skills. This is the game where Ace says no more to XGen and joins the fight against them. But we need to go over how that happens first.
This match is physical and by that I mean the XGen trio are quite violent on the field not looking to win but looking to hurt Raimon with rough plays and rough Hissatsu moves in the vein of Judge Through set of moves. Half time comes and Raimon is 2-0 down and the utility player in midfield is injured stretchered off. As the manager goes to bring our benched utility player (as since getting Naito we have 13 players) Ace stops him saying to bring him on, the players seem hesitant about this but the Protagonist says he trusts Ace, he knows what football means to him now, he comes on and Versatility partners the Protagonist in central midfield. The second half kicks off and from it Ace scores using his shoot Hissatsu which we will call 'Ace in the Hole' where the ball disappears under ground before bursting back out into the air before firing down towards goal like a comet and gets a goal back right away. Shocking everyone from the Raimon players, to the opposition to XGen and it's leader. The game continues and while it isn't all plain sailing Raimon win it 3-2 with another goal from Ace and the final from the Protagonist. Ace thinks to himself he knows what football means to him now, not his football our football as he looks to his team. After the match he reveals everything about him being part of XGen and while most of the team seem hesitant to trust him the Captain welcomes him in first. It doesn't matter who he was then now he's broken free from XGen and above all else strives for the same future Raimon wants he's an official member of the team now and that's all that matters. With that our team is set, Ace is playing and we are through to the round of 32.
However, from here as Raimon start to prepare for the knockout round a breaking announcement appears on TV. The leader of XGen has declared now these games will be televised worldwide and due to this they will do a new draw for the knockout round and as such when it's drawn Raimon in the round of 32 will take on Teikoku Gakuen. While this they are confused about why Teikoku the manager explains, of all the team that got through two are not under XGen's influence being Raimon & Teikoku.
Teikoku Gakuen
I want to take a brief divergence from the story to go over Teikoku (which would also be covered in story). Much like Raimon they are a fallen giant pushed out by XGen as it really gives a visual of it's a new era of Football. As such they didn't even get into the Path of Glory last year as they only had a few members. These are the key members along with their manager who rebuilt it from scratch. While the whole team is those XGen do not care for our core three (which are the Kidou, Sakuma & Genda of the group) really are the ones who pull the strings.
Starting with the captain. As for the design if you read my Ares/Orion rework I will be lifting the design from there. For those who haven't I wrote the following:
Much like how Kageyama gave Kidou his googles I want the same thing here, not googles but maybe a face mask something explained to regulate his breathing control the pace of the game (look it makes as much sense as Kidou's googles) I really like the design of Sakiyama Shuuji so he's my base here, the comb over hair will stay the mask needs a few more bells and whistles (like the wrestler Jessicka Havok's mask).
The Teikoku Captain (We will name TC for short) is the brains of the team, a technical marvel who knows where everyone on the pitch is at once. He's a cocky individual in how he sounds but he truly cares about his team especially are other wo key members.
Starting with the vice captain (who shall be named TVC going forward) is the teams ace striker and TC's best friend on the team. TVC has a Cyclops like visor because if Sakuma can be fine playing with an eyepatch then the visor is ok. Out of our three main Teikoku players he is the most series often when the other two joke on the field he looks to bring them back in line.
That leaves our final of the three which is the goalkeeper (who will be named TGK going forward). I imagine him with a crack Kabuki mask much like the shattered Mask of Tomoe from Ghost of Tsushima but instead of the left hand side cracked and missing it's the bottom half the the part around the mouth being the bit that is missing. He has a hissatsu names 'Warriors Way' which is his saving technique. A calm player on the field but off of it he plays off of TC's sarcastic nature. He takes great pride on protecting the goal and it arguably one of the more agile keepers, quick to rush out but always assured.
These are the three main players in the side. I can see it being a side full of international talent with a centre back and central midfielder from Brazil and a right back from Australia to begin with. I also see them having a larger centre back in the vein of Oono Densuke. But the main point is this is a new squad nobody in the third year. They began again with TC and co as such they feel closer together which is why XGen cannot break into this team.
But the team isn't the whole thing isn't complete without the coaching staff. Let's start with the manager (TekM) who funnily enough is a friend of Raimon's Manager. Both of them feel the same way in regards to a lot of things about football having both watched and studied the previous Raimon teams and teams all over Japan and the world. From XGen to how to motivate players the real difference is tactically but both want the same thing, to get football away from the clutches of XGen. They find themselves at odds here as both believe their respective team is the best equipped to take down XGen which causes tension. Teikoku also have one coach (TekC) she was the other initial member with the 3 previously mentioned as such holds a lot of care for the team, she was instrumental in getting a full team together and has a keen eye in how to improve individual movement of players where TekM is more full team in his way of managing.
Raimon vs. Teikoku Gakuen - Build Up
Shortly after the draw has been made Raimon have guests. These guests are in the form of TC, TVC, TGK, TekM and TekC who will be the main quintet for Teikoku. While things feel like a stand off at first the two managers laugh and both captains shake hands. The two teams sit down to discuss why this was done both sides agreeing it was a rigged draw for this to happen. The Manager surmises that while Teikoku and Raimon are both still big names in Japan Youth Football and worldwide due to the successes of previous generations people will want to see the match XGen or not. TekM agrees stating that should this match now televised for the world to see does not live up to the hype then it would go to show that XGen is the way forward and teams outside it cannot give crowds real football. Both managers say their team will win and seem to be at odds with it. The Teikoku contingent then leave wishing Raimon the best but that they will win. Training for both teams picks up here and it is intense. This is the first time that both sides have the world watching and as such need to be at their best.
We get another phone call from the Protagonist and BF which BF wishes him luck and he will be watching, we see that BF has grown his hair long and is jet black as someone in the same white football uniform puts his hand on his shoulder we see this other person has a captains armband on. We also get some time between Ace & Captain. Ace since fully joining has been trying to show he's no longer with XGen perhaps a bit too much and it makes him sloppy, the Captain tells him to calm down, they know he's with them not for him but for all of football, they need him focused not on proving himself but with working with the team.
I'd like to have parts swapping between both teams training seeing the effort they are putting through and above all else how united both teams are. Most sides have XGen players how look to serve themselves above all else much like how the English forward went grovelling to XGen instead of congratulating Raimon like the Triples did or how the three XGen players in the previous game didn't care for their team instructions they were told to go out and hurt Raimon and that's all they cared about. Here we have two teams showing what football means to them above the instructions of any company above them. The two managers meet up before the game and wish each other luck both contesting their team is the best equipped to take down XGen but agree whoever wins they would be better served sharing information about XGen and helping the winning team, XGen wins if neither of them do in the end but when that whistle goes for 90 minutes they are enemies, nothing more nothing less.
Raimon vs. Teikoku Gakuen - Match
As the team are in the tunnel ready to come out to the stadium for the people at home and in the stadium a video package is shown with highlights from the previous encounters of these two teams (both the original series & in GO) just to add more pressure on the two teams. I look at Raimon vs. Teikoku much like how Arsenal vs. Manchester United is used now where video packages use mainly footage from the matches in the early 2000s as both teams have fallen from then much like how Raimon and Teikoku have fallen.
The describe what this match would be in one word it would have to be 'intense'. Both teams are going for this with a burning passions to win, it hooks fans all over the world in from kick off to the annoyance of XGen's leader. I don't have a definitive score line but lean more to 4-3 over 3-2. I do however know for certain I want TC, TVC & TGK to have a trio shot called 'Ultimate Penguin' which scores as is tradition for Teikoku to have moves with Penguins. As set up with their conversation I want Ace & Captain to have a combo shot. I loved Joker Rains (the combo shot Shindou & Tsurugi used in the Go movie) as a shooting move and wished it was used more as Shindou & Tsurugi really should've had a combo shot in the anime (I know they were both part of Matei Gryphon but I mean both of them) as it would be a good way of showing how Tsurugi and his relationship with Shindou had changed since the first episode to the point they can work together to score with a powerful shot. We will call this one 'New Beginnings'.
Speaking of new Hissatsu in this match with Teikoku 2-1 up at a point in the game they employ a Hissatsu tactic called 'Gravity Chamber' in which 5 players of the team surround the opposition player creating the gravity chamber through their movements render the opposition unable to move and they steal the ball. In order to get past this after several players fail Protagonist gets passed it with a new dribble move. Inspired by a Trapeze Artist the Protagonist flies through the air using the ball and flinging them both forward we can call it something like 'Trapeze Vault'. This gets the Protagonist past Teikoku and to score with Maximum Circus for 2-2.
In the end Raimon win 3-2 with the Protagonist scoring again for the winning goal. As the final whistle goes the crowd explodes in appreciation for the match they just saw. The XGen leader's phone goes off telling him that the Raimon vs. Teikoku match was the most viewed of the round of 32 matches and this reflects bad on them, the XGen gamble did not pay off. We see on the field that the two teams are shaking hands and the managers agree to what they said before the game any information Teikoku have they will send over and will continue to do so.
A few days later in the XGen HQ we see AceF for the first time not in a flashback or on a poster. He is speaking to the XGen leader he's talking down to him saying if he just drew Raimon against him but no they are on the other side of the bracket. XGen leader says they still have top teams that can beat them and AceF says they better for his sake because Raimon getting to the final will be bad on him but don't worry AceF will be his saving grace as ever.
Raimon begin training again getting to grips with their new found support from all over the world due to their last match. TekM & TC come to see them and gave a briefing their next opponents are Dynamic Gakuen a team which everyone is a player for XGen which shocks Raimon.
We will leave things here for the moment with the round of 16 through to the final to go and this is where things pick up when it comes to XGen and the best players under their teaching and marketing, they are facing poster boy after post boy which we will delve into this upcoming teams as they are important for the story going forward. We also still have some fleshing out for the Raimon team, this is going to be their toughest tests yet and as such they will need to level up and we will see how they do as such in part three. But for now thank you for reading the end is in sight for season one of this concept and I'm excited for you to see what happens with that.
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