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!) | |
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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 | |
Original network | ANN (MBS) |
Original run | October 5, 1973 – March 29, 1974 |
Episodes | 26 |
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 |
Anime film | |
Directed by | Osamu Dezaki |
Produced by | Yutaka Fujioka |
Written by | Keisuke Fujikawa |
Music by | Kōji Makaino |
Studio | Tokyo Movie Shinsha |
Licensed by |
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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 |
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Released | July 25, 1988 – October 25, 1988 |
Episodes | 13 |
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 |
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.