Dragon Striker Creators Talk Anime Influences, Tease Future Plans & More

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This week, Disney+ is releasing Dragon Striker, a new animated series inspired by anime. We recently spoke with the show’s creators about how they developed this action-packed soccer story. Disney Television Animation has been creating a lot of exciting animated shows and reviving popular franchises, and with anime becoming increasingly popular, Disney is expanding its presence in the anime world with new shows and partnerships.

Ahead of the June 10th Disney+ release of Dragon Striker, ComicBook spoke with the series creators, Sylvain Dos Santos and Charles Lefebvre. They discussed the anime that inspired the show, how it differs from the original sport, the characters’ abilities, and potential plans for future seasons. You can read the full, edited interview and see an exclusive clip below.

Dragon Striker Creators Talk Making a Magical & Powerful World

I was instantly hooked on Dragon Striker! Seriously, it’s got everything I love – a fantastic fantasy world, cool anime-style power-ups, and, of course, soccer! I’m so curious to hear how the idea for this game even started. What was that first little spark that got the whole project moving?

Sylvan Dos Santos explains that the idea for the show came from a shared love of sports anime, particularly the action-packed ‘Shonen’ genre. He and Charles were inspired by series like Inazuma Eleven, Captain Tsubasa, and Eyeshield 21, which often feature visually impressive attacks with elements like fire and ice. However, these attacks usually happen without any explanation within the story’s world. They wanted to create a show where these kinds of powerful moves – like shooting fire – felt natural and integrated into the universe, where everyone understands and acknowledges the magic at play. This led to the creation of ‘Tama’, the power system in their show, to establish that magical foundation.

I really enjoy the power system in Tama – the idea that everyone is born with their own unique ability is cool. I’m curious about how the creators developed that system overall. What kind of rules did they establish for how these powers would work, and how much did those rules actually affect the world within the show?

I’m really fascinated by the Tama, especially the one Key has – it feels different. All of them are interesting right now, but Key’s just seems…more powerful, more substantial. We’re really focusing on developing this system throughout the season, and we hope to really dig into all its complexities in the future. This world is full of mysteries, and in the first episode, we tried to lay the groundwork and show how it all works. But honestly, I think the system goes much deeper than what we’ve even shown in Season One, and that’s what I’m most excited for viewers to uncover as the series goes on.

As someone who’s been a Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master for years, I usually start a new show by focusing on creating the world and its rules. But with this project, the characters’ emotions and personalities came first – all the ‘Tamas’ really stem from who they are inside. For instance, Ssyelle is very ambitious and a bit of a control freak, so she created a Tama that gives her power over time. Milo, on the other hand, is a bit of a scaredy-cat and loves jelly, so his Tama is a protective, jelly-like creation – it’s a fun connection to his personality.

What I really love about the power system in One Piece is that it’s not about having a strong ability, it’s about how you develop and use it. Take Milo, for example – he starts with a pretty weak ability, Jelly. It’s not immediately impressive, but he learns to master it, and by the end of the first season, he becomes a real powerhouse! I think that’s just brilliant. It’s not about rigid rules, it’s all about your creativity and how you push those limits to get stronger.

Breaking Down Dragon Striker’s Sports Anime Influences

You brought up One Piece and Eyeshield 21, and it’s true that Key’s journey feels like a classic shonen action hero’s. When designing the show’s style and action, were you aiming for a similar feel to those series? Were you inspired by shows like Inazuma Eleven, or did you have a different vision for what you wanted to create?

I definitely think shows like Inazuma Eleven and Captain Tsubasa are essential viewing for anyone in the sports anime genre – it’s almost a professional requirement to be familiar with them! What we found particularly interesting, as the shows developed, was the fast-paced action you often see in highlight reels on YouTube. That’s what we really focused on in our storyboards – creating something incredibly exciting and intense. Unlike Captain Tsubasa, where a single play can take up multiple episodes, we wanted to keep the action moving quickly.

With Dragon Striker, we needed a very quick story pace, which led to a lot of fast-paced, explosive action. This style heavily influenced the animation. We initially drew some inspiration from Inazuma Eleven, but the project changed significantly when we had the opportunity to partner with Disney+. Unlike Inazuma Eleven, where attacks and animations were often repeated, Disney wanted more variety and originality. Moving to Disney+ allowed us to really focus on creating ambitious and dynamic animation.

Things really escalated as the season went on, becoming more intense with each episode. We also developed a strong visual language for the action sequences, which helped define the show’s style. It’s been a real journey of growth, and we’re incredibly excited for everyone to see the result of all our hard work and passion.

Dragon Striker Wasn’t Always About Soccer…

I knew right away, especially when the opening theme played. It felt like a proper anime opening for a Disney show! When the show was being made, was adding that kind of opening sequence intentional – to make it feel more like an anime?

Absolutely. With our previous show, it didn’t always have a proper opening sequence, and as big anime fans, that was really important to us this time around. We had some discussions with Disney about it initially, as it wasn’t our original plan, but they quickly understood how much an opening sequence resonates with the audience, especially anime fans.

We really wanted to include an opening sequence, especially because we’re big anime fans. It wasn’t originally planned for the show, and we had some discussion with Disney about it. But they quickly understood how much an opening adds for the audience, particularly for those who love anime.

When you first started developing Dragon Striker, was soccer always the intended sport? Did you consider using any other sports as inspiration during the initial brainstorming process?

Originally, we considered using rugby as the sport in the show, since it’s very popular in France. However, after talking with Disney, it became clear that soccer would be a much better choice. Soccer has a stronger marketing appeal, but more importantly, it’s a more emotionally resonant sport for kids. All you need is one ball to play, and it’s a game played by people all over the world, which would make the show much more accessible and relatable to a global audience.

You know, I think it would have led to way more physical interaction – probably a lot more fighting, honestly. And that just wasn’t a sustainable path, it wouldn’t have worked out in the long run.

LEFEBVRE: Gorotama has enough contact already.

You do get around that a little bit with how much the powers hit one another!

What we did well was create moments where the ball was passed between players, rather than relying on direct contact, which isn’t always possible. This allowed us to build excitement and emphasize key moments in the game. It’s similar to a soccer match, but the atmosphere is more intense, like a gladiator arena. We hope this appeals to a wide audience – soccer fans will enjoy the sport itself, those who like action will be thrilled, and viewers who appreciate a good story will also find something to connect with. We really tried to strike a balance between all these elements.

Dragon Striker Creators Tease Multi-Season Plan for Future

Just one last question: you’ve mentioned “season” and hinted at more to come with Dragon Striker. Are there plans for a second season? It feels like there’s a lot of story left to tell, so are you actively developing those plans?

According to Dos Santos, they’ve currently planned out a story that could span five seasons, but its continuation will depend on audience reception. If the show is well-received, they anticipate being able to produce a second and third season. The world of Asteria is expansive, and they’ve collaborated extensively with Charles to ensure consistency, resulting in enough material for potentially ten seasons if needed.

We’re optimistic about this project, but first we need to see how audiences react. If they love it as much as we do, we’re eager to share the full story and explore all the possibilities. We have a lot more to show and tell, and we’re hoping everything comes together so we can bring it to life and make everyone happy.

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2026-06-09 00:15