Inazuma Eleven

Inazuma Eleven
Japanese logo for the first Inazuma Eleven game and anime
GenresRole-playing, sports
DeveloperLevel-5
PublisherLevel-5, Nintendo
CreatorAkihiro Hino
PlatformsNintendo DS, Mobile phone, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Windows, Arcade, Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
First releaseInazuma Eleven
August 22, 2008
Latest releaseInazuma Eleven: Victory Road
November 13, 2025

Inazuma Eleven (イナズマイレブン, Inazuma Irebun; "Lightning Eleven") is a football themed media franchise created by Level-5. The franchise began with the release of Inazuma Eleven in 2008, with the game series selling over 8 million copies worldwide by 2016. In addition to video games, the franchise also includes a manga series and several anime television series and films.

The manga has been published by Shogakukan in CoroCoro Comic since the June 2008 issue. The manga series won the 2010 Kodansha Manga Award and 2011 Shogakukan Manga Award in the Children's Manga category.

Plot

Endou Mamoru is a cheerful goalkeeper at Raimon Jr High, who has six other players on his team. The team is threatened with disbandment unless they can win a match against the Teikoku Gakuen, the best team in Japan. Endou tries to save the team by gathering four more players. In the second series, Endou and his team have to gather players to defeat the new enemies, Aliea Gakuen. In the third series, the Football Frontier International is announced and Inazuma Japan is assembled; it is coached by Kudou Michiya.

Media

Video games

Main series

  • Inazuma Eleven is the first entry in the series. It was released for Nintendo DS in Japan on August 22, 2008 and in the UK on August 26, 2011. The 3DS port of the game was released digitally via Nintendo eShop in the US on August 26, 2011.
  • Inazuma Eleven 2 is the second entry and the first game to be released as two versions. Immediately following Raimon Middle School's victory at nationals, the team must save Japan from an alien invasion by beating them in football. It was originally released for the Nintendo DS in Japan on October 1, 2009 and in Europe on March 16, 2012.
  • Inazuma Eleven 3 is the third game and the final installment of the original trilogy. Endou Mamoru and his friends and former rivals represent Japan at the international youth football tournament. The Spark and Bomber versions of the game were released for Nintendo DS in Japan on July 1, 2010, followed by The Ogre on December 16, 2010. The 3DS ports were released in Europe as Lightning Bolt and Bomb Blast on September 27, 2013, and Team Ogre Attacks! on February 14, 2014.
  • Inazuma Eleven GO is the fourth installment. Set ten years after the events of Inazuma Eleven, Matsukaze Tenma leads a new Raimon team against the organization that has taken control of Japanese youth football. It was released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS on December 15, 2011, in Europe on June 13, 2014, and in Australia and New Zealand on July 18, 2015.
  • Inazuma Eleven GO 2: Chrono Stone was originally released for Nintendo 3DS in Japan on December 13, 2012 and in Europe on March 27, 2015. A mysterious organization from the future is attempting to alter the timeline, and Tenma must gather the strongest Eleven throughout history to save football.
  • Inazuma Eleven GO: Galaxy was released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on December 5, 2013. Tenma enters the youth international tournament only to discover that this year's edition is a cover-up for the Grand Celesta Galaxy, a galactic football tournament where the fate of planets is on the line. The Earth Eleven must win the tournament to save humanity.
  • Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road was released digital-only on November 13, 2025 for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, and Xbox Series X/S. The main story takes place in twenty-five years after the original Inazuma Eleven and features a new cast. Sasanami Unmei was forced to quit football as child due to a heart condition but decides to restart the football club at Nagumohara Junior High in Nagasaki, Kyuushuu. He soon meets Endou Haru, the "football monster" of Japanese youth football and son of original series protagonist Endou Mamoru.
  • Inazuma Eleven: Bold Revolution

Spin-offs

  • Inazuma Eleven Dash (2010)
  • Inazuma Eleven Strikers (2011)
  • Inazuma Eleven Strikers 2012 Xtreme (2011)
  • Inazuma Eleven GO Strikers 2013 (2012)
  • Inazuma Eleven 1, 2, 3!! The Legend of Mamoru Endou (compilation, 2012)
  • Inazuma Eleven Everyday (2012)
  • LINE Puzzle de Inazuma Eleven (2013)
  • Inazuma Eleven Online (2014)
  • Inazuma Eleven SD (2020)
  • Inazuma Eleven Cross (2026)

Anime

The animated series, Inazuma Eleven, was produced by OLM, Inc. and Dentsu Inc., and directed by Katsuhito Akiyama. 127 episodes aired on TV Tokyo from October 5, 2008 to April 27, 2011.

The series was available for video on-demand streaming via Toon Goggles.

The second series, Inazuma Eleven GO, released in conjunction with the manga of the same name, aired from May 4, 2011, to April 11, 2012. It was followed by Inazuma Eleven GO: Chrono Stone and Inazuma Eleven GO: Galaxy.

Films

Manga

The first Inazuma Eleven manga was written and illustrated by Tenya Yabuno. It began publication in the June 2008 issue of the Shogakukan magazine CoroCoro Comic and ended in the September 2011 issue. A total of ten tankōbon (bound) volumes of Inazuma Eleven have been released in Japan between September 26, 2008, and October 28, 2011.

No. Release date ISBN
1September 26, 2008978-4-09-140699-6
2February 26, 2009978-4-09-140780-1
3June 26, 2009978-4-09-140830-3
4October 28, 2009978-4-09-140852-5
5February 26, 2010978-4-09-140898-3
6June 28, 2010978-4-09-141068-9
7October 28, 2010978-4-09-141128-0
8February 28, 2011978-4-09-141204-1
9June 28, 2011978-4-09-141064-1
10October 28, 2011978-4-09-141347-5

Inazuma Eleven received another adaptation in Shōgaku Sannensei magazine by Terae Kichijyo from 2009-2012 and compiled in three volumes under the title Inazuma Eleven SPECIAL.

The Inazuma Eleven GO manga was published in CoroCoro Comic from 2011-2014.

Atsushi Ooba's manga adaptation of Inazuma Eleven Ares was serialized in CoroCoro Comic from January 2018 to September 2019 and compiled into four volumes. A second manga accompanying the release of the Ares anime, Inazuma Eleven ~Penguin wo Tsugumono~, was published on Shogakukan's online platform Sunday Webry and focuses on forward Ryouhei Haizaki from Seishou Academy. A manga featuring the third protagonist of Ares, Yuuma Nosaka, was announced for serialization in MangaONE but has not materialized.

A spin-off web manga based on the striker Shuuya Gouenji, HonoSuto! ~Gouenji no Hitorigoto~, began online serialization on the web platform Manga-5 in 2020 and is ongoing.

A manga adaptation of Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road began serialization in Monthly CoroCoro Comic and was moved to Weekly CoroCoro Comic starting from chapter 4.

Reception

Inazuma Eleven won "Best Children's Manga" at the 34th annual Kodansha Manga Awards.

According to Kogyo Tsushinsha, the first film, Inazuma Eleven Saikyō Gundan Ōga Shūrai, debuted in second place at the Japanese box office for the weekend of December 25 and 26, 2010. By February 6, 2011, the film had grossed US$ 21,099,188 by its seventh week of screening in the country.

References

  1. ↑ "Inazuma Eleven Ares announced". gematsu.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
  2. ↑ McGowan, Ryan. "Level-5's DS footie RPG Inazuma Eleven gets UK release date". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  3. ↑ Luster, Joseph. "VIDEO: "Inazuma Eleven" Now Available in North American 3DS eShop". Crunchyroll. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "ゲーム – イナズマイレブン2 脅威の侵略者 ファイア" [Game – Inazuma Eleven 2 Kyoi no Shinryakusha Fire]. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Japan: Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2026-07-22.
  5. ↑ Newton, James. "Europe Scores Inazuma Eleven 2 on 16th March". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Inazuma Eleven 3 Uses A 4 Gigabit Cart, Too". Siliconera. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  7. ↑ "Inazuma Eleven 3: Challenge the World – The Ogre Kicks Off In December". Siliconera. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  8. ↑ Loveridge, Lynzee (9 January 2014). "Inazuma Eleven 3: Team Ogre Attacks' English Trailer Posted". Anime News Network. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "Inazuma Eleven Go: Light & Inazuma Eleven Go: Shadow Head To Europe On June 13". Siliconera. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Liam, Liam. "Inazuma Eleven GO: Light & Shadow Kicks Off In Australia And New Zealand July 18th". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 23 July 2026.
  11. ↑ Sahdev, Ishaan (14 September 2012). "Inazuma Eleven Go 2: Chrono Stone Kicks Off In December". Siliconera.
  12. ↑ "Inazuma Eleven Go: Chrono Stones Traveling To Europe In March". Siliconera. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  13. ↑ "Inazuma Eleven Heads To Outer Space". Siliconera. 18 November 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Romano, Sal (18 July 2025). "Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road delayed to November 13". Gematsu. Retrieved 24 July 2026.
  15. ↑ LEVEL5ch (25 September 2025). "INAZUMA ELEVEN: Victory Road –PV3" (Video). YouTube. Retrieved 24 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ "LEVEL-5 INTERNATIONAL AMERICA RECAPS THE LEVEL5 VISION 2013 LINE-UP". level5ia.com. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  17. ↑ イナズマイレブン 第1話～第13話 (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. Archived from the original on May 30, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  18. ↑ イナズマイレブン 第124話～第127話 (in Japanese). TV Tokyo. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Home | ToonGoggles". Archived from the original on 2019-05-18. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  20. ↑ "イナズマイレブンGO!" (in Japanese). Web Newtype. Archived from the original on April 14, 2011. Retrieved May 12, 2011.
  21. ↑ Loo, Egan (September 1, 2024). "2-Part Inazuma Eleven the Movie 2025 Anime Opens on December 27". Anime News Network. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  22. ↑ "Inazuma Eleven Manga to End in Japan". Anime News Network. September 2, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-02.
  23. ↑ "Inazuma Eleven: Ares no Tenbin Franchise Gets 3 Simultaneous Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved 18 July 2026.
  24. ↑ "Game Developer Level-5 Announces Manga Publishing Site Manga-5". Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  25. ↑ "WEBサイト #週刊コロコロ にて 『#イナズマイレブン　英雄たちのヴィクトリーロード』第2話が公開！ サッカーモンスター、来ます！". Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  26. ↑ 講談社漫画賞 (過去の受賞者一覧) (in Japanese). Kodansha. Archived from the original on July 25, 2010. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
  27. ↑ "34th Annual Kodansha Manga Awards Announced". Anime News Network. May 11, 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
  28. ↑ "Japanese Box Office, December 25–26". Anime News Network. January 5, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  29. ↑ "Japanese Box Office, February 5–6: Gantz Stays at #1". Anime News Network. February 11, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-24.
  30. ↑ "Japan Box Office: February 5–6, 2011". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2011-07-24.