Akakichi no Eleven is a manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara with drawings by Mitsuyoshi Sonoda. An anime adaptation produced by Tokyo TV Doga aired between 1970 and 1971, which consists of 52 episodes lasting about 24 minutes. The series aired in Japan on Nippon Television from 13 April 1970 to 5 April 1971, every Monday. In Italy it was broadcast for the first time in 1982, through local TV stations. Other transmissions aired on Super 3, Naples Channel 21 and TMC, with a different assembly of the opening theme and the end, and was better known by the title "ARRIVANO I SUPERBOYS". It is the first anime dedicated to soccer. It gained popularity among male soccer players at the time. In addition, it has been pointed out that the emphasis on spirit theory, technology commentary and had been neglected.

Shūichi Ikeda is a Japanese actor and narrator. Ikeda is married to Sakiko Tamagawa, although he was once married to Keiko Toda. He currently works for Tokyo Actor's Consumer's Cooperative Society. He is best known for his role as Char Aznable in multiple Gundam series, Scorpio Milo in Saint Seiya 1980s, Shuichi Akai from Detective Conan, and Red-Haired Shanks from One Piece. He is also the official Japanese dubbing roles for Jet Li. In 2023, Ikeda was a recipient of the Best Supporting Actor Award at the 17th Seiyu Awards.