Kick-Off 2002 (partially found Korean-Japanese sports anime series; 2002)

Kick-Off 2002 poster.

Status: Partially Found

Kick-Off 2002 (キックオフ2002) is a 2002 soccer anime produced by DreamKidNet and KBS Media and was broadcasted in both South Korea and Japan by KBS Media and NHK Broadcasting Company respectively. It only aired once from February 18th, 2002, up until September 2nd, 2002, on the Japanese channel NHK KBS-2, with a total of 26 episodes. The series was mainly produced and aired for the 2002 FIFA Joint-World Cup which both Japan and South Korea hosted and took part in.

This anime has a different name in South Korea, being called Grounds of Friendship or Friendship Ground (우정의 그라운드) and was broadcast on KBS 2-TV and also only aired once from February 21st, 2002 until August 15th, 2002.

A short synopsis, provided by AllCinema, goes as follows:

"A sports animation co-produced by South Korea and mainly aired in the year of the Japan-Korea Joint World Cup. Through the encounter and interaction between Kenichi, a Japan boy who loves soccer, and striker Kang, who is expected to be the next Korean national team, the film vividly depicts the youth of young people. Kenichi is a young boy who works as a game maker for the Italian youth team, but despite his genius sense, he lacks the energy to win. On the other hand, Kang has a high level of ability and fighting spirit, but he is also able to adapt to his surroundings..."

Availability

Out of all 26 episodes, only the first episode entitled "Meeting in a Foreign Country" is available to watch online which was uploaded by YouTuber plaisir on June 1st, 2020. The same user had uploaded the second episode of the series entitled "Through Pass of Friendship" but had since been privated. The only source of them having uploaded the second episode was in a website called TuberTown on which the site archives Japanese videos on their site.

Aside from the episodes that plaisir had posted, no further episodes can be found or watched online. The opening and ending, however, are available to be watched on YouTube.

Episodes List

The episodes list are taken from the Japanese broadcast of Kick-Off 2002 that aired on NHK KBS-2, and not the Korean broadcast that aired on KBS 2-TV.

#	Episode Title	Air Date	Status
1	Meeting In A Foreign Country	February 18, 2002	Found
2	Through Path Of Friendship	February 25, 2002	Lost
3	Breaking Into Victory	March 4, 2002	Lost
4	The Sweet Trap Of Surrogacy	March 11, 2002	Lost
5	Their Trials	March 18, 2002	Lost
6	A New Bond	March 25, 2002	Lost
7	Lost In The Command Tower	April 1, 2002	Lost
8	Turning Point!	April 8, 2002	Lost
9	Another Condition	April 15, 2002	Lost
10	Last March Part 1	April 22, 2002	Lost
11	Last March Part 2	May 6, 2002	Lost
12	Each Way	May 20, 2002	Lost
13	Cold Welcome	May 27, 2002	Lost
14	Goals That Call For A Friendship	June 3, 2002	Lost
15	Choosing To Be A Pro	June 10, 2002	Lost
16	Thick Walls	June 17, 2002	Lost
17	Hurt Pride	June 24, 2002	Lost
18	Position Of Humiliation	July 1, 2002	Lost
19	Words Of Interest	July 8, 2002	Lost
20	Bright Signs	July 15, 2002	Lost
21	Leap!	July 22, 2002	Lost
22	Tiger Fang Is Born!	July 29, 2002	Lost
23	Glorious Light And Shadow	August 5, 2002	Lost
24	Reunion	August 12, 2002	Lost
25	Battle Of The Spirit!	August 26, 2002	Lost
26	To The Stage Of Dreams...	September 2, 2002	Lost

Gallery

Screenshots

• 

  A screenshot on TuberTown that plaisir had uploaded Episode 2.

• 

  A screenshot of an episode from the series, courtesy of AniSearch.

Footage

Episode 1 of the series entitled "Meeting In A Foreign Country," uploaded by plaisir.

A higher definition of the opening theme of the series.

Ending theme of the series.

External Links

• AniSearch screenshots of Kick-Off 2002.
• Anison data for Kick-Off 2002.
• An archived NHK Schedule from April 1st, 2005 that shows the synopsis about the 7th Episode of Kick-Off 2002 entitled "Lost In The Command Tower."