I watched it for the first time when I was about 8 years old. I didn't remember it in the beginning but found it out by looking for the release date in Germany. And yeah, in Germany the series is called "Mila Superstar" and the main character called Mila. Today I'm 23 years old and very interested in japan animes. Recently I found "Mila Superstar" and must say I'm totally chilled by watching it again. Somehow I must say, I hate that in Germany it's labeled and produced as a production for kids. It really is far more than that (that must be the reason some episodes are banned in Germany). I will by the dvds and watch the Japanese versions.What makes the story about the main character so special are the details about her social life and it's evolution. Needles to say the main characters charme is one more reason to watch the series.

Based on a comic (manga) by Chikako Urano. Atakku No. 1 (Attack No. 1 or Attack Number 1)was featured on girl's weekly comic magazine "Margaret" from 1968 to 1972 and started the volley ball craze in Japan of that time. This anime series first aired 12/7/68 in Japan and continued for 104 episodes. After it was aired in Japan, the animated series was syndicated over seas and became the favorite of youth from many countries. It was this anime series that became the seminal influence for the Olympic volley ball player Francesca Piccinini to start playing volley ball at the age of 9.Story plot revolves around a high school teen age girl Kozue Ayuhara. Kozue came to Fujimi middle school due to health reason from a school in Tokyo which is famous for its volley ball team. Kozue finds slow moving pace of Fujimi middle school somewhat boring until she's challenged to play a volley ball match between the school's official volley ball team and the team made of renegade students who she befriends. Through some twists and turns, Kozue becomes the team member of Fujimi middle school's volley ball team and goes on to play in the inter-Jr. high school volley ball tournament with the stake of becoming Japan's number one Jr. high school volley ball team. She eventually becomes the captain of the team and due to her amazing talent as the team's ace attacker, she is nick named "Attack No. 1" (The nick name never appears during her career in Jr. high school but it's revealed in the story that this was her nick name in Jr. high school after she enters high school - confusing ?). After Kozue graduates from Jr. high school, she continues her volley ball playing career in high school, but not without some trials and tribulations in the beginning. Since it was created over 30 years ago, some of the machines and gadgets which appears in this series looks arcane, such as the "computer" which is programmed to figure the weakness of each player is still being programmed by punched tape reader.This series made by Tokyo Movie ( All 104 episodes of this anime in Japanese is available as streaming video from Tokyo Movie's home page www.tms-e.com ) for Fuji television network was the first girl's sports animated series in Japan. Nearly 40 years after this series aired, a live action remake of this series aired in Japan in 2005 starring Aya Uyeto in the role of Kozue Ayuhara. Simultanously to the airing of this TV series, the original comic reprint became available in 7 volumes set and is available from Amazon.co.jp for those of you who would like to see the original manga version of this animated series.The author of the comic Chikako Urano went on to write "Shin (New) Atakku No. 1" in 1976 which depicts Kozue after she graduates from high school, and more recently in 2004 a different artist named Hanao Ozawa is writing a manga in bi-weekly "Margaret" magazine also titled "Shin Atakku No. 1" (Sample issue of this manga can be seen at "http://margaret.shueisha.co.jp/attack/").Even after 40 years this series has the power to move its viewers, and the more recent remake of Aya Uyeto is also energy packed volley ball saga that has moved this viewer. Everything about this anime is incredible, and you have to see it to appreciate it. Incredible energy packed animated series with beautiful background artistry that can't be dismissed as mere children's entertainment.

Attack No 1 is one of my favorite TV series ever. It's a Japanese anime series which is about love, friendship and especially about volleyball, one of the first sports anime series which was ever shown on TV.The series is based on a manga which is pretty hard to find nowadays, and it certainly was a very popular series in many parts of the world, it was first shown on TV in the late 1960's but it still does not feel outdated, which is really rare and certainly another reason why Attack No 1 has remained so popular. I have only seen the German version so far which is named "Mila Superstar", Mila being the name of the main character. However in the original version this character is named Kozue so I'll refer to her by that name. Kozue is 12 years old in the beginning and 18 in the end so you can really watch her grow up. Kozue's main goal in life is to become the best volleyball player in the world. She works very hard for it. Volleyball certainly is the most important thing for her. Kozue plays for her Junior Highschool team in the beginning and later on for the Japanese National team. Will Kozue achieve her goal to become the best volleyball player in the world ?The series is very good. Kozue has to face many different problems and the series is never boring. I do have to say though, that it is pretty violent from time to time. Kozue fights hard to achieve her goal, sometimes a bit too hard. When one of her friends and the boy she loves and who loves her has an accident and is brought to a hospital his only wish is too see Kozue. Kozue however prefers to finish an important volleyball game and her love dies in the hospital while she is playing. Kozue regrets it afterwords, but it still was a pretty tough scene. There's also some bloody violence in it, though not much. I have watched it when I was little but some of those scenes were too violent for me. I would not show it to a child which is under 9 or 10 years old. A very good series, though.

I'm in fact a fan of Japanese Animation but most series are just too long or the story keeps changing to often to become a good series. Attack No 1 was indeed a long series but it just kept running and running - no boredom in sight.The story tells us of the volleyball-player Mila (her name in the German version ... I don't know the original) and her way to the top. I loved the series when I was 10 years old and I still like to watch the reruns if my time allows it.