| Synopsis |
Myunhen heno Michi、 The Road to Munich Myunhen heno Michi depicts the struggles of Japan’s men’s national volleyball team leading up to their winning of the gold medal in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. The series was a combination of a live-action documentary and animation that were created simultaneously in the period leading up to the actual Olympics. The animation depicted the actual team led by Coach Yasutaka Matsudaira、 including Katsutoshi Nekoda、 Masayuki Minami、 Jungo Morita、 Tadayoshi Yokota、 and Sheiji Oko、 with many episodes focusing on their personal aspects. Matches were broadcast in live-action、 but there were strict regulations in place at the time regarding the personal aspects of Olympic athletes; therefore、 an animation format was adopted. By doing so、 the stories did not need to confine themselves to simply depicting the road to winning the gold medal but could capitalize on the more dramatic aspects. The series was an ongoing project in the period leading up to the actual Olympic Games、 which gave it a unique nature. The aim was to encourage viewers to support the team—this is while they were kept in suspense as to whether the team could actually win the gold medal. The final episode was broadcast one week before the actual matches began、 giving viewers a feeling of excitement and tension. One additional special episode was aired after the men’s volleyball team won the gold medal in the Munich Olympic Games.
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