Any cricket fan who considers themselves a fan of anime and manga is very familiar with TMS Entertainment. One of Japan’s oldest and most famous anime studios, TMS Entertainment founded in October 1946, making it nearly 80 years old. The long list of TMS franchises include modern classics like Lupin the Third, Detective Conan, Akira and Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland.
TMS has also made its name in America with 1980s and 90s greats like The Real Ghostbusters, Rainbow Brite, Duck Tales and Batman: The Animated Series. So, yeah. TMS Entertainment is kind of a big deal. But it’s high time we give respect to their little-known cricket masterpiece, Suraj: The Rising Star.
First things first. So far, Suraj: The Rising Star is the only cricket-based anime in existence. Hard to believe, right? Suraj is a re-imagination of the popular Japanese manga and subsequent animated franchise Star of the Giants (aka Kyojin no Hoshi).
Dating back as far as 1966 and creating new content into the next millennium, Star of the Giants is in the top 100 manga series according to TV Asahi, coming in at number 38 of all time. Suraj is also something pretty magical in its own right. A joint initiative between the Japanese and Indian government created Suraj: The Rising Star in 2012 to “enhance co-operation in the creative industries.”
KODANSHA Helped Create This Cricket Anime Series
Distributed by Viacom 18 on the Indian entertainment channel Colors, KODANSHA Inc and DQ Entertainment in partnership produced Suraj with the legendary TMS Entertainment studios. It became the first official Japan and India co-production project and commemorated the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two nations. In other words, Suraj is kind of a big deal and definitely deserves its rightful place in the halls of anime masterpieces.
The video aggregator Yidio describes the series as “the story of young sixteen-year-old from Mumbai, Suraj, who seeks to become the world’s greatest cricket player. In India, cricket is not just a sport but something more akin to a religion and young Suraj’s indomitable spirit will make him wish to become the idol his people seek and deserve”.
The 26-episode series span two seasons and begins when Suraj is twelve. He and is older sister soon learn that their father is a retired cricket legend with a secret when their father’s long-lost enemy Vikram comes around calling.
How To Watch Suraj: The Rising Star
Currently, there is no way – either through streaming services or available for purchase on- line – that American audiences can appreciate Suraj: The Rising Star other than through a few smatterings of YouTube episodes and segments. Even then, these episodes are not in English and have no subtitles available. This is an anime travesty of monumental proportions.
It’s high time this TMS masterpiece series earns its place alongside other anime works of art. Perhaps TMS should consider adding Suraj to its rotation of anime giants available on Pluto TV, Roku, DirecTV and Time Warner Media. This time, with those ever-important English subtitles so we all can appreciate this lost piece of pop culture history.
If you have any copies of Suraj: The Rising Star, please reach out to us at 365notout.com. We are looking for the complete series!
