Aim for the Ace!

Aim for the Ace!
Cover of the first manga volume, released by Shueisha on September 20, 1973
エースをねらえ! (Ēsu o Nerae!)
Genre	Romance, sports
Manga
Written by	Sumika Yamamoto
Published by	Shueisha
Magazine	Margaret
Demographic	Shōjo
Original run	January 1973 – February 1980
Volumes	18
Anime television series
Directed by	Osamu Dezaki
Music by	Goh Misawa
Studio	Tokyo Movie Madhouse
Licensed by	NA: Discotek Media[1]
Original network	ANN (MBS)
Original run	October 5, 1973 – March 29, 1974
Episodes	26 (List of episodes)
Anime television series
Shin Ace o Nerae!
Directed by	Minoru Okazaki
Music by	Kōji Makaino
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Original network	Nippon Television
Original run	October 14, 1978 – March 31, 1979
Episodes	25 (List of episodes)
Anime film
Directed by	Osamu Dezaki
Produced by	Yutaka Fujioka
Written by	Keisuke Fujikawa
Music by	Kōji Makaino
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Licensed by	NA: Discotek Media
Released	September 8, 1979
Runtime	88 minutes
Original video animation
Ace o Nerae! 2
Directed by	Noboru Furuse (Osamu Dezaki "Total Supervisor")
Written by	Makiko Mikami Megumi Hiyoshi
Music by	Hiroaki Serizawa
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Licensed by	NA: Discotek Media
Released	July 25, 1988 – October 25, 1988
Episodes	13 (List of episodes)
Original video animation
Ace o Nerae! Final Stage
Directed by	Osamu Dezaki
Written by	Masami Mori Rika Kaidō
Music by	Hiroaki Serizawa
Studio	TMS Entertainment
Released	October 23, 1989 – April 24, 1990
Episodes	12 (List of episodes)
Television drama
Directed by	Hidetomo Matsuda Shunji Muguruma Yoshinori Kobayashi
Written by	Akiyo Takigawa Hiroko Kanasugi Naoya Takayama
Music by	Norihito Sumitomo
Original network	TV Asahi
Original run	January 15, 2004 – March 11, 2004
Episodes	9 + 1 special episode

Aim for the Ace!, known in Japan as Ace o Nerae! (Japanese: エースをねらえ!, Hepburn: Ēsu o Nerae!), is a manga series written and illustrated by Sumika Yamamoto. The series tells the story of Hiromi Oka, a high school student who wants to become a professional tennis player as she struggles against mental weakness, anxiety and thwarted love. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's shōjo magazine Margaret from January 1973 to February 1980. Later, Shueisha collected the chapters and published them in 18 tankōbon volumes.

The manga was adapted into an anime television series in 1973 by Tokyo Movie which was originally broadcast on Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) between 1973 and 1974. Aim for the Ace! also spawned another anime television and an anime film between 1978 and 1979, two original video animations (OVA) between 1988 and 1990, a live-action Japanese television drama in 2004, and many types of Aim for the Ace!-related merchandise. The franchise is also known with its international title Aim for the Best!

The series is one of the best-selling shōjo manga series of all time, having sold approximately 15 million copies in Japan. It has been also popular among anime viewers, and become a hit in Japan, even among its non-target audience. It is considered a classic by anime and manga critics and has been influential in the anime industry.