Everybody has a dream, and for Sho Kazamatsuri, that dream is simple: he wants to be the best soccer player he can possibly be! Despite his small size, he is the spirited leader of the Josui Junior High team and everyone looks up to him. In turn, he tries to keep the team together at any cost. Despite all odds being against him, Sho is able to get a sub spot on the Tokyo Select Team, bringing him one step closer to becoming a pro soccer player, but can he prove he has the talent and mettle to stay a part of a championship team?

Highlights:

In the final volume of Whistle!, it's the match between Kansai Select and Tokyo Select Team, and everyone is bringing their best to the game. Shigeki's appearance on Kansai has invigorated Sho but thrown off Tatsuya's game completely. It's only a practice game, but Sho is pushing himself to the limits with some of his riskiest techniques yet, all to the shock of his fellow team mates and practically brings Tatsuya to tears. It is during the second half that things really start getting serious, with numerous player changes and an atmosphere that makes the laziest players start showing off their hidden talents. Both teams pull it together to become a stronger and more unified force, but its Sho's heart and intuition that ultimately makes the score that ties up the game and carries them into overtime. As Sho is going for the winning goal, overexertion and something even worse takes him, prematurely ending the game for him as he passes out on the field.

The following chapters look at the cast three years in the future: how they have grown and changed; how Sho has been doing since the game between Tokyo and Kansai so long ago; how Sho changed the lives of everyone around him with his great love for soccer. It switches between three years in the future and in the past during Sho's painful rehab after his injury. The volume ends with a full report on what happened to everyone in the series after it ended.

Overall:

I am a big fan of Whistle!; it was the first sports manga I read that grabbed me by the heart and made me fall in love with its delightful cast of characters and fast-paced story. So I unconsciously expected the big finale to be spectacular and wonderful; I was not disappointed, but even I will admit it was not the best thing ever. It wasn't the art holding the story back: in fact, from the scenes of the big game to those of the cast in times of emotional upheaval, the art is as clear as exciting as always. It's not beautiful but it is at times very nice to look at and works well in the setting provided. What makes the final volume not the ace in the hole it should be are two things: the time skip issue and the cast. The sudden switch between the past and present mostly comes without warning and can be slightly confusing, and by the time you realize it you'll have to go back and re-read the confusing pages to get a grip on the timeline. There is also the fact that Whistle! boasts a very large cast of characters: during the final chapters, I found myself trying to remember who some people were. In the end, the massive amount of people involved in the series paints a broad picture of the lives Sho has touched in one way or another, but can be disorientating to someone reading it who has been waiting for months between volumes and doesnt have a perfect memory of who's who.

Despite its flaws, this volume of Whistle! is a solid ending to a series that will surely go down as a classic soccer manga. The main character, Sho Kazamatsuri, is the heart of the series. It is his energy and passion for the sport that makes the series so wonderful; in fact, the final volume further proves how Sho has made a great impression on everyone he knows, from the teachers and coaches to his friends and team mates. The final page may seem simplistic to most with its honest message from a rising soccer star, but it is so open and so Sho then it can be forgiven any faults. At the beginning of the volume, the manga-ka Daisuke Higuchi says "I will always aim for the best", just like young Sho. If Higuchi's next projects are anything like this one, I think there will be many fans looking forward to future releases from this manga-ka.

ComicsOnline gives Whistle! volume twenty-four 3.5 out of 5 hat tricks.

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