Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-28224025-20161226165516/@comment-32646513-20170721215126

I also like Tenma. I feel that he did what was needed to continue the series in the direction that Level-5 wanted it to go. After Inazuma Eleven 3, Endou needed somewhere to go as a character. I feel that he was running out of new themes in his current position. So to remedy this, Level-5 had him grow up and take on the role of Coach. With him now the coach, and 10 years having passed since the FFI, Level-5 needed a new protagonist with whom they could rebuild the legacy of the Inazuma Eleven.

Level-5 simply couldn't tell the underdog story in new ways as effectively with Endou as the core protagonist after the events of Inazuma Eleven 3. They needed a new character. Endou, as was mentioned earlier, started out with a basic understanding of soccer and some basic skills. He even had his grandfather's training book to guide him on his journey. While he still wasn't that strong initially, he still had the basics, and a goal set in mind: the Football Frontier.

Tenma was the perfect choice. He started from the ground, and worked his way up to his destined legacy, so to speak. It was a legacy that any core protagonist would undoubtably have to live up to, as well as a fate thrust upon him by the ball that saved his life. It is this plot point that ties the two series together, as it happened during the original Inazuma Eleven series, and is the driving force for Tenma in the first season of GO. Ultimately, by this, Tenma and Inazuma Eleven GO is the logical extension of Endou and Inazuma Eleven.