Forza! Hidemaru


Forza! Hidemaru is a Japanese anime television series. It was produced by NAS and aired on TV Tokyo for twenty-six episodes. 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 2002 [FIFA World Cup|FIFA World Cup in Japan and Korea].
Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy, the authors of The Anime Encyclopedia, Revised & Expanded Edition: A Guide to Japanese Animation Since 1917, wrote that the series "seems far out of its time in the early 21st century" but "the very young audience sees" the sports tropes "with fresh eyes." A manga adaptation, Hidemaru The Soccer Boy by Makoto Mizobuchi, was serialized in Shogakukan's Corocoro Comic.
Hidemaru appeared on the website nakata.net, Hidetoshi Nakata's official website.

Characters

Clements and McCarthy stated that the cast consists of "wacky animals in sports getup" with a fox, two fat hippopotamus girls, dogs, horses, and rabbits.
  • Hidemaru / Mario - The main character, Hidemaru is a dog. His voice actress is Mayumi Asano.
  • Sen-no-Joe - An old dog man who gives advice to Hidemaru on how to play the game. He had previously coached a team but lost the enthusiasm after the end of that team. His voice actor is Masaharu Satō.
  • Nana - Sen-no-Joe's granddaughter and a dog. Enoki Films described her as the "Madonna of the team." Her voice actress is Sakura Nogawa.
  • Rey - The team's cheerleader. Her voice actress is Masa Kimura.
  • Joe - Described by Enoki Films as a "‘cool' and affected sportsman." Joe is a Cheetah and a fast runner, Flora is in love with him. His voice actor is Daisuke Kishio.
  • Kaizer - The son of the owner of Club No. 1 and the Wolf captain of that club. His voice actor is Kentarō Itō.
  • Riki
  • Miki and Mika - Two hippo girls
  • Flora - A rich wolf girl who is madly in love with Joe, and finances the team in order to be allowed to join as a cheerleader.
  • Jūbei
  • Kiyoshirō
  • Gengorō and Hanjirō - A mouse and bear whom are friends with Hidemaru.
  • Ranmaru - A little dog boy.
  • Kyūtarō - An otter on Hidemaru's team.
  • Dorufu - A Dog.
  • Inokuma - A Boar boy.
  • Kakunoshin - A Ox boy.
  • Kintarō - A Bear boy.
  • Bison - A Bison on Kaizer's team.
  • Yanosuke and Kunosuke - Two crows that are part of Kaizer's team.