Trivia / Aim for the Ace!

• B-Team Sequel: The 1978 remake series is the only entry in the series to not be directed by Dezaki, it was directed by Minoru Okazaki instead. ^note  as Dezaki was busy with Treasure Island at the time
• Channel Hop: The first TV series was produced by Mainichi Broadcasting (MBS) in Osaka and aired on NET (now TV Asahi) and affiliated stations (MBS later became a TBS affiliate in 1975). The 1978 remake series aired on Nippon TV.
• Late Export for You: The series wouldn't any form of release in North America until Discotek Media's 2023 Blu-rays of the 1973 anime (and the movie), 4 decades after the series' original release.
• The Other Darrin: This series went through a few recasts throughout its run with only Masako Sugaya (Maki) staying throughout the entire run.
  • In the 1978 remake series and the 1979 movie:
    • Kazuko Yanaga replaced Toshiko Sawada as Ranko Midorikawa.
    • Kazue Komiya replaced Yoshiko Ohta as Kyoko Otowa.
    • Shinji Toyota replaced Michihiro Ikemizu as Yu Ozaki.
    • Kazuyuki Sogabe replaced Osamu Ichikawa as Takashi Chiba.
    • Gorō Naya replaced Masayuki Kato as Chairman Ryuuzaki.
    • Nachi Nozawa replaced Kouji Nakata as Coach Munakata, and Nozawa would reprise Munakata in the OVAs.
  • By the time the OVAs rolled around, TMS and Bandai Visual likely couldn't afford to keep the TV series cast, so everyone replaced with a more contemporary cast consisting of the top seiyuu of the 80's:
    • Yuko Mizutani replaces Makoto Kousaka as Hiromi Oka.
    • Yoshiko Sakakibara ^note  who coincidentally worked with Makoto Kousaka on Pop Chaser replaces Masako Ikeda as Reika Ryuuzaki ("Madame Butterfly").
    • Kazuhiko Inoue replaces Katsuji Mori as Takayuki Todo.
    • Ranko, Ozaki, Chiba and Chairman Ryuuzaki were darrin'd again, this time by Eiko Yamada, Hideyuki Umezu, Kenyuu Horiuchi and Yuzuru Fujimoto respectively.
  • This also extends to the BGM composers, the 1973 anime was handled by Goh Misawa, the 1978 remake was handled by Kouji Makaino and was recycled for the movie and the OVAs were handled by Hiroaki Serizawa.
• Studio Hop: The sound effects for the 1973 anime were handled by E&M Planning Center ^note  the predecessor to Sound Ring , all further entries in the series would be handled by Toyo Sound Effects Group ^note  the predecessor company to Creator, Sound Box .
• Vindicated by Reruns: The first TV series received low ratings during its initial broadcast, but became very popular in reruns, which paved the way for the second TV series in 1978.

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