AOASHI Season 2 Gets World-First Look at Anime Expo 2026

©Yugo KOBAYASHI, Shogakukan / Aoashi Project Season 2

The team behind the AOASHI anime gathered in Room 408AB of the Los Angeles Convention Center to host the panel “AOASHI — Changing the Game of Sports Anime,” giving fans the first look at Season 2 of the soccer series. Hosted by MC Gigguk alongside anime and manga YouTuber Jay D. Legend, the panel featured behind-the-scenes stories about the series’ signature realism, a world-first preview of the still-in-production Season 2, and a breakdown of how its soccer scenes are made.

Representing Japan on the panel was Junichi Katsutani, the AOASHI producer at Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions (ShoPro). After a recap of Season 1, he reintroduced the story of AOASHI: Ashito Aoi, an instinctive striker from a small town in Ehime, is scouted into the youth academy of Tokyo City Esperion. There, he discovers that his true talent lies in his “Eagle Eye” — a bird’s-eye vision that takes in the entire field.

Katsutani and the hosts traced Ashito’s growth from a pure forward into a tactical playmaker, and dug into the faithful, meticulous soccer detail that has defined the series since its Season 1 breakout. Jay D. Legend brought a fan’s perspective with a “favorite scenes” segment, in which he and the host explored the major character moments that give the series its distinctive style and feeling. The unveiling of Season 2’s preview video, followed by a world-first look at a full scene from the upcoming season, drew applause and cheers from the audience, both before and after the showing.

The highlight of the panel was a special segment, “From the Pitch to the Screen.” Using a scene from Episode 3 of the still-in-production Season 2, Katsutani peeled the process back layer by layer, tracing how a finished match cut is made, from the completed scene back through the formation footage that simulates the movements of all 22 players on the field (created with reference to the original manga), the motion-capture sessions, the checks on movement and camerawork using CG models, and finally the completed animation shots.

He also explained that, beyond the use of CG and motion capture, Season 2’s soccer scenes are crafted with careful attention to visual tempo and sound design, aiming to recreate the immersive feeling of watching a live match.

“We wanted the audience to feel the realism of watching an actual soccer match, combined with the dynamic energy that only anime can deliver. For Season 2 in particular, we’ve paid especially close attention to every detail from the pacing of the matches to the sound design.”

The panel also featured a stage activity called the Esperion Tryout, which combined a ball-juggling challenge with an AOASHI trivia quiz, with autographed jerseys and signed soccer balls as prizes.

In its closing stretch, the panel unveiled a new main visual for Season 2 and announced the launch of AOASHI’s official English-language X account, delivering the latest news directly to international fans.

AOASHI Season 2 is scheduled to stream on Crunchyroll beginning October 2026. The AOASHI manga by Yugo Kobayashi is available in English from Titan Manga, with more volumes to come. For the latest news, follow the official English X account.

Watch AOASHI Season 1 on Crunchyroll: https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/G4PH0WX5J/aoashi

Staff
Original Work: Yugo Kobayashi, AOASHI (published by Shogakukan, Big Spirits Comics)
Director: Kazuki Yokoyama
Series Composition: Masahiro Yokotani
Character Design: Manabu Nakatake, Asami Taguchi, Junko Yamanaka
Sound Director: Shoji Hata
Music: Masaru Yokoyama
Animation Production: TMS Entertainment

Voice Cast
● Ashito Aoi: Kouki Osuzu
● Eisaku Otomo: Tatsumaru Tachibana
● Soichiro Tachibana: Seiichiro Yamashita
● Keiji Togashi: Taku Yashiro
● Kampei Kuroda: Shun Horie
● Martis Jun Asari: Wataru Kato
● Yuma Motoki: Junya Enoki
● Ryuichi Takeshima: Kentaro Kumagai
● Nagisa Akutsu: Shunsuke Takeuchi
● Haruhisa Kuribayashi: Yuichiro Umehara
● Taira Nakamura: Kensho Ono
● Yoichi Kiriki: Koki Uchiyama
● Eita Takasugi: Makoto Furukawa
● Kenta Yoshitsune: Kazuyuki Okitsu
● Enshin Akiyama: Hiromichi Tezuka
● Hana Ichijo: Maki Kawase
● Anri Kaido: Reina Ueda
● Tatsuya Fukuda: Chikahiro Kobayashi
● Nozomi Date: Hiroki Yasumoto