Interview: Sylvain Dos Santos and Charles Lefebvre on Dragon Striker

Dragon Striker is Disney's new sports fantasy animated series, inspired by anime at heart. It follows the journey of Key, a young boy with a burning passion for Gorotama, Dragon Striker's equivalent of football (or soccer), but with magic. The boy discovers his roots, tames his power, and together with his friends, strives to become the best Gorotama team.

We had the opportunity to speak with the creative team behind Dragon Strikers: co-creators Sylvain Dos Santos (also executive producer) and Charles Lefebvre (director) about their motivations and what lies at the heart of the inspiring journey Dragon Striker is trying to show us.

Sylvain Dos Santos is an author and producer who started his career in children's TV as a scriptwriter. He is the founder of I Can Fly, a production business assigned to getting his projects from page to screen.

Charles Lefebvre is a French animation director, artist, and character designer. He takes a lot of inspiration from Japanese anime and video games.

Q: Thank you very much for the opportunity to talk with you guys! Could you tell us a bit more about this project, as it was marketed as an anime-inspired show? What particular shows inspired you while you were writing and directing Dragon Striker? And why did you specifically choose football to be the theme?

Charles Lefebvre: This project is our way of showing our passion and love for anime. I was watching One Piece over 20 years ago, and it was not as handy [to read manga] as it is now. As for inspiration, One Piece is a great show about building character. However, the first anime that rocked my world was Saint Seiya.

As for sports anime, we were inspired by Captain Tsubasa and Inazuma Eleven. The idea was to pay tribute to all those amazing universes and stories and to create our own sports anime.

Q: When it comes to football specifically, when I was younger, Disney aired a show called Galactic Football. It had a similar setting; football with abilities and an underdog story. Was it perhaps also one of your inspirations?

SilvainDos Santos: We didn’t really use Galactic Football as our inspiration. For some people, it’s kind of a cornerstone of a football show, but when it comes to our generation, Captain Tsubasa was the big show we have seen on TV. Of course, after that, we also got to watch Inazuma Eleven. In Inazuma Eleven, you could see the powers used on the screen, but they did not exist in that world. With Dragon Striker, you can see players really using their abilities in the real world outside of the games. It’s not just an illustration of the action happening on the screen. So yes, you can see some of Inazuma Eleven. You can also see some Shōnen inspirations like Naruto.

As for me, I am a bit of an anime fan. My favorite show is Escaflowne, and I am a really big gamer as well. I love Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Monster Hunter... Those are big inspirations for me, as those are the types of games that have a complete world, and in the world, you have activities. This part is a little bit similar to Dragon Striker, which has a world, and there’s more happening than just the sport. It’s also something that we will discover later in the show, but the powers are also a political tool, as it’s something bigger in this world. We’re starting slow, and we want to build up in the world.

Q: The power used in Gorotama is called Tama. Are the powers inherited? We can see that Key has the same power as his mother, but other characters, even siblings, have unique powers.

Charles Lefebvre: Key is a special case, and we will discover why he has the same Tama as his mother in the show.

For the rest of the people, it is very personal. Tama manifests when you are around 5 or 6 years old. It is created based on your hopes, dreams, and personality, so it’s very personal. We can see Odward and Milo have very different Tama even though they are siblings. A kid’s Tama can be similar to their parents’ Tama as they view them as role models and want to be the same, so it can also happen like this. The thing we really like about Tama is that it comes from deep inside of the heart of the character. It’s not just magical and flashy; it tells a lot about a person.

Q: Key is a very curious, passionate, and lively kid. It seems like you guys wanted to inspire kids with his journey as he gets to live his dreams and fantasies, even though it’s not easy for him in the beginning.

Sylvain Dos Santos: When you see Key, he thinks everything is going to be easy, just like my kid thinks. They think everything is a given, and now they learn through school and everything else that it’s more complicated than that. It will go downhill, but it doesn’t mean you should give up your dreams and hopes. Just keep walking, and with the help of good friends and support, you'll reach a higher level. It’s really fun to watch with the kids, as my daughter was very shocked at the end of Episode 3. She was really invested in the show. I hope that the young kids [who] watch the show will discover the world through Key’s eyes. It’s not going to be easy, but the journey will bring you to a higher level.

We would like to thank Disney, Sylvain Dos Santos, and Charles Lefebvre for taking the time to answer our questions, allowing us to dive a bit deeper into the world of Dragon Striker.

The show premiered on June 9, 2026, on Disney+, so be sure to give it a watch!

© 2026 Disney