Days

Plot

Tsukushi Tsukamoto is a timid and unathletic teenager entering high school, where he hopes to reunite with his childhood friend and neighbor, Sayuri Tachibana. After bullies harass him during a visit to Sayuri's workplace, Jin Kazama intervenes, driving them off with nunchucks while claiming to be a wandering drifter. Jin, noticing Tsukushi's determination, invites him to fill in for a missing player in a futsal match that evening. Despite another altercation with his bullies and losing a shoe along the way, Tsukushi arrives after running nearly ten miles in heavy rain. Though small, inexperienced, and unskilled, he refuses to give up during the match, playing through injury and exhaustion. His relentless effort inspires his teammates, and in a final burst of energy, he scores the winning goal by colliding headfirst with the goalpost.

Later, Tsukushi learns that Jin will also attend Seiseki High School and decides to join the football club alongside him, unaware of the team's prestigious national reputation. Despite his physical limitations and lack of natural talent, his unwavering perseverance earns him a place on the squad. His relentless work ethic and ability to motivate teammates quickly make him an essential presence within the team.

Characters

Main characters

Tsukushi Tsukamoto (柄本 つくし, Tsukamoto Tsukushi)

Voiced by: Takuto Yoshinaga

Tsukushi is a freshman at Seiseki High School and a forward on its soccer team. Though initially clumsy, his perseverance and effort make him a key player. He lives with his mother, who uses a wheelchair, after losing his father in childhood.

Jin Kazama (風間 陣, Kazama Jin)

Voiced by: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Jin is a talented yet eccentric freshman forward at Seiseki High School. Though naturally gifted at football, his aloof attitude and rule-breaking tendencies mask his true potential. A Bruce Lee enthusiast with a flamboyant style, he often teases Tsukushi by offering women's underwear instead of handkerchiefs. His football skills caused conflicts with past teammates, nearly making him quit the sport until Tsukushi inspired him. Originally a forward, he gradually transitions into a midfield role.

Seiseki High School

Hisahito Mizuki (水樹 寿人, Mizuki Hisahito)

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa

Mizuki is the captain and star player of Seiseki High School's soccer team. Like Tsukushi, he began as a complete novice with no skills but developed into an outstanding player through sheer determination. After graduation, he will join the Kashima professional football club. Academically weak and prone to getting lost, he frequently frustrates teammates by coining strange terms to describe plays. His powerful, aggressive style earns him nicknames like "the monster" and places him among "Tokyo's big three", the elite players of the region.

Atsushi Kimishita (君下 敦, Kimishita Atsushi)

Voiced by: Daisuke Ono

Kimishita is a second-year offensive midfielder and Seiseki's number 10 playmaker. A gifted student and football prodigy, he balances academics with work at his parents' shop while maintaining elite playmaking skills honed since his Tokyo city team selection in middle school. As the story progresses, he develops into a specialist set-piece kicker. He maintains fierce rivalries with teammate Ōshiba and opposing playmakers Indou and Taira.

Kiichi Ōshiba (大柴 喜一, Ōshiba Kiichi)

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano

Ōshiba is a second-year forward and former child prodigy who began playing football as a toddler. Initially known for his selfish playstyle—focusing solely on scoring while neglecting defense—he transforms under Tsukushi's influence, becoming a more selfless team player. Towering over most Japanese players, the wealthy doctor's son possesses a brash, arrogant personality, frequently declaring himself "Hero". Though academically challenged like Mizuki, he obsessively covets the team captaincy once Mizuki graduates. His older sister harbors romantic feelings for Mizuki. During matches, Tsukushi typically replaces Ōshiba in the second half.

Yūta Usui (臼井 雄太, Usui Yūta)

Rivals

Kaoru Indou (犬童 かおる, Indou Kaoru)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki

Indou is a gifted playmaker from Sakuragi High School, forming a formidable duo with Narukami that elevates their team to national prominence. Recognized as one of "Tokyo's big three" and a "top-ten" player receiving professional offers, he shares a fierce rivalry with Seiseki's Mizuki. His exceptional field vision enables pinpoint assists. After a chance train encounter, he invites Tsukushi to a futsal match before their schools face off in the Tokyo qualifiers for the Inter High tournament.

Shuuji Narukami (成神 蹴冶, Narukami Shuuji)

Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae

Narukami is Indou's counterpart at Sakuragi Academy, forming a dynamic duo that elevates their school to national prominence. Though physically slight and previously hindered by bronchial asthma, he transforms into an aggressive, highly skilled forward during matches—displaying remarkable speed and precision. Tsukushi admires Narukami as proof that smaller players can excel in football.

Takumi Hoshina (保科 拓己, Hoshina Takumi)

Voiced by: Yuichi Nakamura

Hoshina Takumi is the libero and captain of Touin Academy, completing "Tokyo's big three" alongside Mizuki and Indou. The youngest of the nationally renowned Hoshina brothers—with one sibling already professional and another leading the collegiate league—he ranks among the "Top ten" high school players with a professional contract awaiting graduation. Though possessing excellent dribbling skills, he primarily focuses on disciplined defense and team coordination, playing cautiously. His team faces Seiseki in the Tokyo Winter Inter High qualifier finals.

Gen'ichiro Taira (平 源一郎, Taira Gen'ichirō)

Voiced by: Yūsuke Kobayashi

Taira is the captain and playmaker of Seikan High School, leading his team against Seiseki during summer training. Like Mizuki, he will join the Kashima professional team after graduation. Combining physical strength with precision passing, he forms an effective partnership with rookie forward Himura, propelling Seikan to the Winter Nationals.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Yasuda Tsuyoshi, Days was serialized in Kodansha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Magazine from April 24, 2013, to January 20, 2021. Kodansha collected its chapters in 42 tankōbon volumes, released from July 17, 2013, to March 17, 2021.

Kodansha USA publishes the manga in a digital-only format since April 25, 2017.

A spin-off manga, titled Days Gaiden, was published on the Magazine Pocket online platform from October 12, 2016, to May 3, 2018. Its chapters were collected in four volumes, released from March 17, 2017, to May 17, 2018.

Anime

A 24-episode anime television series adaptation, produced by MAPPA, was broadcast on MBS from July 3 to December 18, 2016.

Crunchyroll streamed the series with English subtitles as it aired in Japan.

Two original video animations were bundled with the 21st and 22nd volumes of the manga, released on March 17 and May 17, 2017, respectively. The original animation DVDs (OADs), depicting the All-Japan High School Soccer Tournament's Tokyo Preliminary Round with Tōin Academy, were bundled with the limited editions of manga volumes 26 to 28 on March 16, May 17, and July 17, 2018.

Reception

Volume 2 reached the 44th place on the weekly Oricon manga charts and, by September 22, 2013, has sold 24,745 copies; volume 3 reached the 36th place and, by November 24, 2013, has sold 35,528 copies; volume 4 reached the 41st place and, by January 19, 2014, has sold 24,837 copies; volume 5 reached the 32nd place and, by March 23, 2014, has sold 41,911 copies; volume 6 reached the 40th place and, by May 18, 2014, has sold 25,067 copies; volume 7 reached the 25th place and, by July 20, 2014, has sold 34,421 copies; volume 8 reached the 18th place and, by September 21, 2014, has sold 41,871 copies; volume 9 reached the 21st place and, by December 21, 2014, has sold 44,586 copies; volume 10 reached the 20th place and, by February 22, 2015, has sold 49,901 copies. The manga had 4.5 million copies in print by January 2017. By December 2020, the manga had over 10 million copies in circulation.

Days ranked 12th in the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics" by the Honya Club website in 2014. The series was nominated for the shōnen category at the 39th Kodansha Manga Awards in 2015, and won in the same category at the 40th Kodansha Manga Awards in 2016.