
Ace o Nerae! (エースをねらえ!, Eesu wo nerae!?, lit. Aim for the Ace!) is a shōjo manga by Sumika Yamamoto begun in 1972 and serialized in Margaret. Hugely successful, it was adapted into a TV anime series in 1973, and more recently a live-action drama series in 2004. The anime series was made by Tokyo Movie Shinsha with the Madhouse animation studio (its first major production), and was originally aired on Mainichi Broadcasting. There was also a movie which consisted of several compiled episodes. Another TV anime and two OAVs would soon follow in the 1970s and 1980s. The original TV anime has been distributed in Europe, with the titles Jenny la tennista (Italian), Jeu, Set et Match (French), and Raqueta de oro or "Golden Racket" (Spanish).