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Blue Lock
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Alternative Titles

Japanese: ブルーロック

Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: Unknown

Chapters: Unknown

Status: Publishing

Published: Aug 1, 2018 to ?

Genres: Award Winning, Sports

Theme: Team Sports

Demographic: Shounen

Serialization: Shounen Magazine (Weekly)

Authors: Kaneshiro, Muneyuki (Story), Nomura, Yuusuke (Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.52¹ (scored by 77,226 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #155²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #55

Members: 171,324

Favorites: 13,016

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Reviews

Filtered Results: 69 / 78

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Filter Preliminary Spoiler

Apr 10, 2020

merope28

Recommended

Preliminary (108/? chp)

Honestly, out of all the sports anime I have read or watched, this was by far the most interesting. It doesn't focus on "friendship" but rather the "selfishness" and "egoism" of each character. I think stories like these are more realistic because it brings out the true human nature in people. What I mean by this is that the selfishness and egoism of humans are displayed. The characters rely on their egoism throughout the manga to achieve their goal. The main character is very interesting and so are the people around him. I highly recommend this manga because each chapter is amazing! Props to the ...

Jan 19, 2020

Humbby

Recommended

Preliminary (22/? chp)

This Is my first Review so please keep that In Mind.

So, finally we get another GOOD sports series.

Are you tired of super powers?
Are you tired of uninteresting opponents?

Blue Lock fixes It all, It has an Interesting concept and completely fixes
the problems Kuroko and Haikyuu suffers from.

...

Apr 22, 2020

HvppyPvndv

Recommended

Preliminary (46/? chp)

"After all, a first-rate striker is one who appears in football's most critical moment."

Let me start by saying that this is my first review ever.

Story: 9/10

This story is not the typical sports manga following a highschool team that wants to go and win nationals, it goes beyond that. Instead of emphasizing on the usual qualities, such as teamwork and supporting teammates, it focuses on the “egoism” a player needs to develop in order to become the best. This different approach might seem silly at first since it’s a story about football/soccer -not sure what you call it- but it definitely makes sense later because of ...

Jun 20, 2021

Est

Not Recommended

Preliminary (135/? chp)

Blue Lock… is not a football manga. Blue Lock is to football as Dragon Ball Z is to martial arts. This is a superpowered battle shonen in a football skin, though that skin is, admittedly, absolutely gorgeous.

Now that’s not necessarily bad — Kuroko’s Basketball does the same thing pretty well — but Blue Lock is plagued by a myriad of other issues. Of these, the most pressing one in my mind is its focus on the idea of egoism. See, Blue Lock desperately wants to say something, and the something it lands on is the idea that the best football players are those that discard ... the idea of winning and trample their teammates all in the goal of attaining personal glory. Now, whether or not you think that idea has any merit, it is at least an idea, and a pretty refreshing one at that. Where it falls flat, however, is in the execution.

I find it difficult to believe that Blue Lock’s ideas were fully thought through in the early stages of its serialisation, as many of the series’ stated themes are actively proven to be wrong even within the context of this story. At times, the series can feel like it’s fighting itself, almost as though its themes are getting in the way of the mangaka telling the story. The series perpetually feels like it’s on the cusp of realising that its ideas don’t make sense, which can make it pretty frustrating to read.

I also struggle to imagine anyone who’s fond of football finding much to like here. At its worst, Blue Lock comes off as a grotesque bastardisation of the sport, and feels almost disrespectful to those who play any role other than striker. It feels like a series that kinda… hates football, caring far more about the aesthetic and pointless showboating than about representing the sport in a way that is anything resembling authentic.

Now all of this can still work for a series with a strong enough cast. A good cast can make up for some of the worst grievances in fiction. And at a cursory glance, Blue Lock might appear to fulfil this requirement. It has some really bright and vibrant designs, and a lot of the characters have really bombastic and fun personalities. However, the characters that we spend the bulk of our time focusing on, especially as the series progresses, are some of the most dour and bland characters imaginable. Many of the series’ most prominent characters suck the joy out of any scene they’re in, especially when on the field.

The area that Blue Lock undeniably excels in most is its artwork. It’s dynamic and fun and it packs a punch in a way that few sports series do, but this is marred by the numerous issues I mentioned above, which often results in moments that would otherwise be fun leaving a bad taste in my mouth. I think that if the series were to play more to its strengths, being a rip-roaring good time, rather than attempting to frame things around Ego’s ideals, it’d make for a much less disappointing series.

Truthfully, I didn’t start this review intending to be this negative. But the more I thought about this series, the more its issues stood out to me. Blue Lock isn’t a series I could ever really see myself recommending to people in its current state, but hey at least it’s pretty.

Aug 17, 2021

Milan090

Not Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (5/? chp)

This is my first review. After seeing all the great reviews I decided to give it a try.

Honestly, idk what all the people who gave 10/10 rating are thinking? The author doesn't know a thing about sports, let alone football.

The story is completely unrealistic and edgy.
300 highschool students are allowed to throw their future away for producing 1 great player. This is japan. Do you seriously think any parent would permit such a ridiculous thing? And that's the same case for any player too. No player would do too, but 300 of them chooses to.

The training of the players is also stupid. ...

Feb 7, 2020

ORT3GA

Recommended

Preliminary (26/? chp)

The anime-manga pool has a surprising lack of soccer related series. Being a soccer fan, I am so relieved. Out of the 4 soccer series I experienced, this is the second best. I'm someone who prefers a realistic, tangible approach when it comes to sports. For example, if we compare Slam Dunk with Kuroko's Basketball, we can see how SD is realistic and how exaggerated KB is. And yet, a normal audience will definitely like KB more, largely because of the over-the-top thrill and visual appeal it can offer. It is far too cool. And just like that, Blue Lock vs Ao Ashi is like ... the KB vs SD of soccer series!!!
.
The concept of high school students having pro-level skills is stupid right at the face of it. But, it makes the series fun to read. I mean come on, it just means we get to see pro play integrated into a high school backdrop.
.
I'll break this down:

Story (7/10) :
The main concept looks highly ridiculous at the beginning and yet, I can't help but be curious to see the progress. One thing I'm very glad to see is that it didn't take the cliche high school club setting. That is far too overused in the sports genre. As you can see from the MAL description, its all about bringing up a striker for the Japanese National Team. And so, the selection begins.
Pros -
> elimination system always keeps us on our toes. we constantly get to see a ranking system, incredible competition, a very shonen feel
> creativity of curriculum. due to the unconventional setting, the methods of elimination and their correlation to the actual sports is always so interesting
Cons -
> stupid, unbelievable skill levels and superhuman tropes. the teams are ranked from b to z, by skill. the V team shows pro player level skill. So one can just speculate what the B team might look like; they probably have ronaldo and messi in them
> lack of guidance. the students are there to be polished into better players. but so far, they have recieved little to no coaching. they are on their own. the story is so focused on progressing its main areas, it forgot some very essential side matters
.
Art (10/10)
It is ridiculously good. Its close to the artwork shown by Yusuke Murata in OPM. Mind you, I said CLOSE, its not there yet, just in the ballpark.
The art is sharp, vivid and highly engaging. It is largely owing to this stellar art that I enjoyed it so much. The flow is smooth as hell, the character designs are very innovative and it does a tremendous job in showcasing impact.
.
Character (6/10)
Due to its plot driven nature, the characters have suffered. While the main character and his constant self discovery is quite interesting, the side characters are quite one dimensional. Most of them are being defined by their supposed "skill". The first 2 volumes had little to no development. The 3rd volume started to shed some more light on the characters. Some of them got well developed. 1 of them even got a backstory, which was mediocre, cliche but still, a start.
This is definitely the weak link and needs a lot of work.
.
This series is highly enjoyable. It doesn't matter if its realistic or not, doesn't matter if characters are weak. It delivers immense thrill and its this adrenaline pumping nature which gives it such a wonderful score. Technicalities may be weak but the heart, is strong. Every chapter has you pining for the next. And this is precisely why, despite preferring realistic series, I gave this one such a high score.

Jun 29, 2020

yubarii

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (73/? chp)

Lots of 'first time reviewers' for Blue Lock, huh. I have some thoughts.

I understand why one would enjoy Blue Lock. The art and characters are real pretty, and it's hype in the way of popular sports series like Haikyuu and Kuroko, in the way that definitely eventually guarantees an anime season or two.

I just can't help but feel that the series misses the point of football? Blue Lock is about owning up to your own selfishness and ego as a player in order to prove your superior football skillz.It's interesting but, the problem is that soccer is.. truly a team sport. It doesn't matter ...

Mar 17, 2023

tokomata

Mixed Feelings

Funny

Preliminary (215/? chp)

Taking from the synopsis:
" Jinpachi initiates the Blue Lock—a prison-like facility where three hundred talented strikers from high schools all over Japan are isolated and pitted against each other. The sole survivor of Blue Lock will earn the right to become the national team's striker, and those who are defeated shall be banned from joining the team forever. "

Blue Lock is legit entertaining and fun when it follows the premise, its' USP. Easy 9/10 for me. It wasn't a sports story so it was not up for comparison with other sports mangas.

But then the victors/survivors premise got concluded kinda and the matches since then is ...

Oct 14, 2022

ttcchen

Recommended

Preliminary (174/? chp)

Edit: Forgot to mention the most important part. This series has no superpowers. And the power-scaling imo is just right. Players aren't too OP nor are they too weak.

Blue Lock is the most unique and interesting sports series I've ever read/watched. I was recommended so many times to read this but I kept putting it off thinking "no matter how good it is, it can't be better than Haikyuu. So I'll stick with Haikyuu for now." And then the anime came out, I watched one episode, was intrigued, so I came to read the manga and ended up binging it in like two days. And ... HOLY CRAP I've never been so wrong in my life!! Blue Lock is amazing however it's not for everyone. If you're a very close-minded individual who cannot accept different ideas and perspectives, or you prefer to stick to traditions, to rules, and think any tempering to them or trying something new is idiotic, then this series is not for you. I'll explain why.

Story: 9/10
Most people who gave Blue Lock low ratings are those who think the concept of Blue Lock is stupid and will never work in real life. In case you didn't know, Blue Lock is an experiment in which a man named Ego Jinpachi gathered 300 strikers aka forwards to compete against each other to find the best striker of them all. Japan's U-20 soccer (yes I'm calling it soccer because I'm American and that's also the term used in Japan) team has never won the world cup because they're all about team work and they lack an egotistical striker who has the confidence, skill, and, most importantly, ego to make the shot himself rather than passing it to his teammate. And this is what many people have an issue with. "Soccer is all about teamwork! What do you mean teamwork is not required? That's stupid! Blue Lock is ridiculous and will never work in real life!"

And this is what I mean by being close-minded and can't accept another perspective. Blue Lock never said teamwork is not required. It emphasized the importance of having an egotistical striker confident and skilled enough to make the shot, but how to get him to that position where no opponents are blocking his path so he can have a clear sight of the goal? Why of course you'll need teamwork. His teammates will need to shake off the opponents on their heels and pass the ball to him so he can make the shot. And the story of Blue Lock made this very clear because EVERY SINGLE MATCH shown made great use of teamwork. Yet so many people seemed to have either ignored this aspect of Blue Lock completely or they didn't read enough to see the displayed teamwork. Anyway, the point I'm making here is Blue Lock has an unique concept that's a brand new take on soccer, on the sports genre in general. And if you are willing to think outside the box and accept a different idea, then this is the story for you.

Onto the actual story. Blue Lock is basically a soccer battle royale. Many people compare it to Squid Game but I haven't seen that kdrama so I don't know if the comparison is accurate or not. There are a lot of things going on in Blue Lock (like ranking, elimination, typical battle royale stuff) but what made it unique is the fact that you can customize your team. Imagine player A, B, C, D, E, and F. In one match, they may all be on the same team. In another match, you might get ABC vs DEF. In another, it could be ABY vs CDZ. Or, AC vs BD. Or, even ADZ vs BCY. No teammate will stay teammate. No opponent will stay opponent.

So many sports series focus on a single team, like Haikyuu with Karasuno. You already know all the strategies of Karasuno. You know how the players interact with each other. You know how they'd play against other teams. But, imagine how much MORE entertaining if players from Karasuno fought against each others. If you separate Hinata and Kageyama and pair Hinata up with Oikawa and Kageyama up with Ushijima, how would their match play out? Without Kageyama's pinpoint tosses, how would Hinata work with Oikawa? And how would Kageyama utilize Ushijima's immensely powerful spikes? And since both Hinata and Kageyama know what the other's capable of and their flaws, how would they use this knowledge to defeat the other?

This happens with EVERY SINGLE MATCH in Blue Lock. Players are constantly being shuffled to other teams, with different people. One minute they're kicking another team's ass and laughing at their defeat, and the next second they're teaming up with those opponents they just defeated and having to come up with strategies to defeat their old teammates. It's this "customizable" team concept that kept Blue Lock interesting to read, unlike other sports series that became boring later on because it's always the same team, same players, same tactics. Oh, not to mention since the team is entirely made up of strikers who all want to shoot the ball themselves and be in the spotlight, and the point of Blue Lock is to develop their ego, you'll get instances where characters will get the ball stolen from them by their OWN TEAMMATE who wants to make their own goal. This is especially prevalent in characters like Barou and Shidou who are just chaos incarnate and brings chaos to whatever team and match they're in. And I find it hilarious and unique how they have to watch out for their own teammates as well XD.

Characters: 8/10
If I HAVE to point out a flaw from Blue Lock then it'd be the character aspect. Don't get me wrong. Blue Lock has some amazing characters like Bachira, Nagi, Chigiri... But it also has some characters who didn't get enough development and we only know them by their personality, character traits, and ability. This isn't necessarily a bad thing since not all characters need elaborate backstory and development, and some of my favorite Blue Lock characters happen to be those we don't know much about, like Shidou, Gagamaru, Ego, Kaiser, Loki, and Chris Prince. I feel like they're good enough as they are. I don't need to know Shidou's backstory and what motivates him. All I need to see is him flirting with Sae at every given opportunity and saying all these sus lines, like yelling "right in the womb!" as he makes a successful goal, and that's enough to keep me happy and satisfied and grinning from cheek to cheek like an idiot lol. That's why I gave a 8/10 for characters because it's not easy writing underdeveloped characters yet still make them interesting and keep the readers satisfied.

Also, some people hate the mc claiming he's useless, but you need to keep in mind that Blue Lock isn't a power fantasy. And unlike Haikyuu where Hinata and Kageyama are the main attack force in Karasuno, in Blue Lock EVERYONE is a striker which means EVERYONE has the skills AND ego/confidence/ambition to shoot their own goals. Imagine a Karasuno entirely made up of Kageyamas and Hinatas. How often would the original Kageyama and Hinata land their own attacks when surrounded by people just as talented, if not more so, as them? Not so often, right?

Plus, the protagonist of Blue Lock is like Izuku. He's an analyzer, the brain. He takes both his teammates and opponents' strength and weakness into consideration, and since the teams are constantly shuffling, characters will work differently with different people, so he'll need to renew his bank of knowledge every match, and this takes time. He'll needs to observe, analyze, formulate a plan, and this is even harder the further the story goes because he eventually faces against people way out of his league. So if you came here expecting the mc to easily beat his much stronger opponents and land a hat trick every match and be the MVP every time, then you're in the wrong series. Go watch Prince of Tennis or Solo Leveling if you want a power fantasy.

Art: 9/10
The art is gorgeous and action scenes flowed well and are easy to keep track of. I never had any difficulty keeping track of the ball or character positions. What the author did amazing was foreshadow through the use of brilliantly portrayed birdeye view of the field. For example, we'd be shown a birdeye view of the field, then the next scene we'd see the protagonist thinking of where the ball may land and what's the best angle to shoot it from. If we paid attention to the birdeye view, we're actually able to deduct it ourselves and predict accurately where the ball might land, who the characters might pass to, and which character is in the best position to shoot. I'm a complete soccer noob yet even I'm able to make these accurate predictions. (You might not get what I mean here until you actually read it and saw the scenes for yourself) So if you want a better experience reading this manga, then pay attention whenever a birdeye view comes up and try to make your own predictions, see if they match the protagonist's. It just shows how great the author is at drawing the field, how knowledgeable he is when it comes to soccer and positions etc, and how Blue Lock can be read and easily understood by anyone, even those who knows nothing about soccer, like me.

Overall: 9/10
I tried to describe Blue Lock as spoiler-free as possible. But if I were to add spoilers, just know that you'd be even more intrigued and want to read it. So give it a try. Blue Lock has already surpassed Haikyuu for me and if the anime adaptation follows the manga, then it will for sure make a name for itself among the anime community. The art in the manga is so good and I don't know if the anime is able to replicate it to a T or enhance it, so if you want to read the manga rather than wait for the anime to air, by all means go ahead. The manga is an amazing experience due to the art and how well the scenes flowed from one to another. But if you want to watch the anime first, then that's fine too. Imo the anime will adapt the best part of the manga so you're not exactly losing anything by choosing the anime over the manga, as long as they adapt it right.

Jun 2, 2021

SolrBlade

Recommended

Preliminary (40/? chp)

This is my first review. I didn't expect to ever write a review for anything, but I felt as though this story is truly one of the best, even making me more hyped in only 40 chapters than any other manga I'm currently reading.

Every part of the story has left me with chills running through my body, and I can't wait to see what develops further through the story.

Story: 9/10
I would've given this section a 10/10, however, the only thing I feel that the story is missing is one important area. What will happen to the last standing stricker out of the beginning 300 when ... they enter the nationals? No. 1 will have an ego possibly leveling up to or exceeding the professional players that are mentioned throughout the story, in which, the one player will have the biggest ego, most likely believing that every ball belongs to them, possibly blinding them from the vision of them knowing that soccer in an overall total is a team sport. I am very intrigued to see how this part gets played out in the story
Contrary to this, I understand that a stricker of a soccer team needs to have egoism because they are the ones that will score the most goals, but it also depends on if there is a limit of egoism no player should exceed to be able to mentally continue playing in a team sport.

Art: 10/10
The only manga I've read that I believe Blue Lock levels with art is Vinland Saga, and Attack On Titan, nevertheless, they all carry their own style, however, I have taken a liking to Blue Locks' art style the most. It's a sports manga, so of course, it has to have an exceptional art style to it to be able to show and keep up with the movements and emotion. The overall art is already on a high level with great detail of the setting, even though I can see the illustrator doesn't focus on the background and setting as much, I can still appreciate the effort put into the background.
The main focus of the art is during the matches. The illustrations where the players are kicking or just moving around, in general, are so well done. But there's one section that the illustrator focuses on most to bring out the emotion of all the characters... When they're filled with emotion and egoism. Seeing the art exceed what I thought was already at a great level when the characters turn up their egoism and throw 100% of themself into the match is a new level of perfection. Seeing the rage, egoism and frustrated-ness seethe through the art style gives me chills, being able to witness all of their emotions through just their eyes, even though they aren't greatly detailed is a masterpiece for me. When a character has every single negative emotion I can think of build up inside them along with that burning hope, I take in every bit of the art in those scenes.

Character: 10/10
All characters within the story have developed thoroughly and are all well-defined in their own right. There are characters that can progress through their personal problems and some that can't. Those that take hold of their egoism and push past everyone else, and others that decide to wait for the perfect time. Everyone has developed their own way. I haven't seen the development of a single character that clashed against another in the way that they are somewhat the same. Every person is different and holds their own reason and a general reason for getting to the nationals within Blue Lock. There are characters that don't develop the way you expect them to, however they develop through other ways that bring exceptional maturing.
All characters have at least one redeeming quality, whether it be an objective or a subjective quality, a quality through their skills on the field or through their emotions. No character is a waste and surprises you, getting you rooting for them at some point. Every character has their own unique skill that they hone. The fact that Blue Lock focuses on such a wide range of skills is definitely something new to me.

Enjoyment: 10/10
I've enjoyed every single bit of this manga right from the first panel of the manga. There's no filler in any parts I've read through, and so I can say confidently that this manga brings action and anticipation throughout. There have been so many characters within the story that gives me chills through their atypical character showing throughout the manga. I've never had to take a break between chapters in a manga, but Blue Lock gave me chills and a racing heart with certain characters. However, now, I can't take my eyes off the pages, anticipating the next action-packed panel to come even though the same amount of action and power is placed through the manga

Overall: 10/10
Hearing people online say things such as "Blue Lock is the best sports manga out there" turned me off at first, as I'm a fan of Haikyuu. However, having read Blue Lock now, and even though I haven't read, nor watched any sports anime/manga besides Haikyuu, I can say for certain that Blue Lock is one of the best sports manga out there with all of its different elements put into play all at once.

Oct 27, 2020

13o13

Not Recommended

Preliminary (1/? chp)

I can fully understand how people can like Blue Lock and if you enjoy it, then good for you, but in my case I will say this: I was really disappointed. This manga had so much potential with his unique trope of the selfishness in soccer. It could have fully exploited this idea by making a story way more dark and realist, but instead, it went to the basic shounen story. I had couldn't get past chapter 24 cuz at this point I felt like the story shifted from dark and compelling to basic "friendship power" style. Imo, this manga is like the perfect ...

Apr 13, 2021

coolasianbro

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (127/? chp)

Blue Lock feels somewhat bland, it has an interesting premise but things are handled rather poorly, this manga really needs to tone down in the scoring, the characters score too much that it pulls out the tension, also needs to have a dedicated panel for celebrations as the celebrations isn't a thing for this manga but is a thing in football, doing so would make every goal worthwhile and satisfying. I also think it would benefit a lot if they add in some comedy relief because this manga is too serious but isn't serious when it comes to actual football mechanics.

There is so many things ...

Sep 11, 2022

IWBFHTYML

Not Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (180/? chp)

The best football manga for people who have never played football

Generic characters. Unnecessarily corny and edgy dialogue. The art saves the series. Feels like the research done for this series was done on the football wikipedia page. Storytelling and pacing is okay and can get you hooked but gets very repetitive as the series progresses. If you like a self insert power fantasy under the pretext of a football manga, then go ahead read Blue Lock. If you prefer something more grounded and showcases actual football then I would heavily recommend to stay away from Blue Lock.

TL;DR Ao Ashi clears

Aug 23, 2022

Rikiia

Not Recommended

Preliminary (Unknown/? chp)

Blue Lock feels like a survival/death-match manga but with sports instead. The cut throat and betrayal filled process of the "Blue Lock" project, along with the edgy looking mascot drawings representing the players is exactly what'd you see in a survival/death match manga...just without the gore and death.

Unlike most sports manga, Blue Lock emphasizes the selfishness and individuality of the players over teamwork so as to create the strongest striker as all players are competing are strikers. Thus, the majority of the cast are strong headed and aggressive. While it makes sense for the storyline, this unfortunately makes most of the characters unpleasant and insufferable. ...

Jan 2, 2021

meme_puika

Recommended

Preliminary (112/? chp)

This instantly managed to become a favourite of mine, probably the best sports series I've read or watched. In short, this is an edgier spin on sports manga.

In the start I was a bit skeptical, I found the setup a bit cheesy and edgy for the sake of being edgy at first, but oh boy did my opinion change up real quick.

One of the strengths of Blue Lock is definitely its characters. This story manages to take somewhat generic anime/manga tropes and make them new its own in a way. While series like haikyuu tend to focus on character relationships, especially duos, I found that ...

Jul 12, 2020

Airtag111

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (91/? chp)

Blue Lock, as sport mangas go is definitely an unique one. It doesn’t have a school setting, or a single team the reader focus’ on. I think Blue Lock’s strength comes from this setting and how well it handles it. While I do think it has some things it doesn’t get quite right, it overall is an enjoyable read.

Firstly like I said, the setting might just be it’s strongest suit. It has some other strong highlights, but for me the best thing about this manga was the setting. This manga is like a constant tournament arc. Observing the life in the kind of far fetched ... but still fun as heck Blue Lock facility was exhilarating to say the least. I like how the game changed every stage, as you got farther into the “tournament”, the characters’ faced a variety of creative challenges, and although it was football matches mostly every stage still had their unique flare that kept them apart from each other. I also liked the idea that every stage in the tournament was kind of a lesson, after all above all else, this facility was created to train the best striker in all of japan. Also the sense of progression is quite well done too, whenever I thought the protagonist was too over powered or too much of an underling (in some matches he was only used as a passer) the manga made it clear that as he progresses he will become more of a front stage player. Which currently where the story is, he is indeed quite a skilled player. I also liked the little details in the facility. The training rooms, the bedrooms, the dorms and also the system where you can get a steak dish, your phone or a day out according to the number of goals you get. These little details show that the author cares deeply about grounding this rather far fetched facility.

However despite my praises I can also see why someone wouldn’t like this setting. The legality is questionable and sometimes the things the facility requires might be exploitive to say the least. Like these high school strikers didn’t know exactly what they were getting themselves into, judging from the letter they get sent which was just saying “come to this special training camp” or smth. And they did get an explanation by Mr. Glasses Ego dude but come on. I doubt some five minute speech was enough to cover what they were signing up for. They were required to follow an 11 day non stop training regimen till they were left fatigued with black circles under their eyes. And also not being able to get out and your possesions getting taken away (cellphone and stuff) is also an eyebrow raiser. So what I am saying is this facility can be quite exploitive. However I was willing to suspend my disbelief as we got some semi belivable reactions from the participants and the inside was a fun tournement arc for the reader.

Now then leaving the setting aside I think the characters were also quite well handled. Despite the team the protagonist plays with is constantly changing, there is still a main character cast we can look at and support. I think the way the cast was handled was quite expertly done. When you think that there would be some sort of consistent teaming at the beginning, you were introduced to just the right amount of side characters outside of the “main” team to keep you interested in the opponents. Then the second stage comes with a very fun format of battling. You start with 3v3 teams (which you can choose yourself from the ppl who passed the first stage) and if you lose you have to play a 2v2 match. The winner of the 3v3 gets one of your teammates and the loser has to go to the 2v2 matches. So then with 4 teammates you move onto the 4v4’s which you repeat and make a 5 member team. The loser moves back to the 3v3’s and tries again. So to move to the next stage you need 5 members. This part has just the amount of right stakes that losing doesn’t mean end game but also its a massive disadvantage, losing a strong teammate and being forced back a stage. And this is the part the cast consistently changes, and I like how unpredictable it was. Who will win, who will get chosen, what new characters or previous characters we will encounter. I think Barou, Nagi, Bachira and “the big three” were well handled at this part alongside the protagonist. However, if I had one complaint about the characters, it was that at the first stage I wasn’t sold on any of them. Like sure Kunigami, Bachira and Yoichi were okay I guess but I still didn’t get attached to any of them quite well. And by chapter 91 I would still say that there wasn’t any character I overly liked. They are good and well handled for what they are though, at the very least.

Lastly I think I would like to address the main problem with the series (for me). I think while this can be kind of refreshing at times, departing from the friendship and teamwork route and focusing on ego and selfishness was a strange choice to say the least. Football is a team game, and the manga does make some good points about how you can excel as an individual because the “roles” in football constantly clash on the field and it can boil down to individual skill. HOWEVER, this manga constantly stresses how the team should rely on a single unit to do everything. And I do think this manga doesn’t discourage teamwork and honestly my game knowledge isn’t enough to refute every point it makes about chemical reactions and ego and being the best striker and stuff, it still doesn’t sit right with me that a single unit should be a monster to trample their friends and unleash their ego to win. So the main problem for me is not what the manga encourages and discourages but how conflicting and how confusing it gets. I don’t know if you noticed but this paragraph doesn’t make much sense. Because I was confused by all this ego, mego stuff. This part wasn’t a game breaker by any means and I think did well to open such a topic but I personally couldn’t keep up with it. Perhaps a more football enthusiastic person can have more concrete opinions on this.

Anyways I rate this thing like a 6 out of 10 but a seven looks better so I will put that. I think its a good read if you do not have anything else on your table. Its still a good read if you have things on your table. i have no idea what that means.

Jun 4, 2022

RedTopHat

Not Recommended

Preliminary (44/? chp)

Blue Lock would be if you took everything interesting about sports manga and threw it in the trash and instead played with boring shounen tropes. A lot of reviewers try to talk up the idea of egotism in sports manga as being new, but that idea is usually best served in 1 on 1 sports (see Hajime no Ippo) rather than team sports which provide a different window into character development.

Blue Lock shamelessly crosses the content or feeling of darker mangas (such as Deathnote or Kaiji) in this weird idea that "survival of the fittest" is the best method to grow players, but instead, it ...

Feb 27, 2021

2WENTY1

Recommended

Preliminary (120/? chp)

\\SHORT BUT MEANINGFUL REVIEW\\

I didn't know anything about soccer, besides Ronaldo and Messi.
I don't even know the complete rules of the game, nor some basic ones like offside.
This manga made me want to watch TOP 10 GOALS on Youtube, and furthermore learn about the game.

This isn't your "oh I need to believe in my teammates" type of crap. It is full on how egoistical and selfish you can be, and the art style really compliments it.

300 Strikers are put together in a Masterchef type of competition, where there are different types of stages, and players gets eliminated along the way. The art style really ...

Jan 6, 2021

Genlocks

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (112/? chp)

You ever heard of the Japanese national team striker Mike Havenaar? The name will throw you off but he was born in Hiroshima and raised solely in Japan, by the way of a Dutch father. Japanese family names generally don't sound as windmill-y as his surname. You'd be forgiven in thinking he was some naturalised athlete who was pushed through for a passport by the Japanese Football Association. Many, many countries do such a thing, scouring for any promising player whose grandparent was born in some town in your country, and snapping them up for a full cap, therefore locking them into only being able ... to repesent them on a national level. Hell, Japan does this quite heavily in another team sport where they aren't world beaters, rugby. Their captain lived in New Zealand for his first 15 years and most of their forwards are Pacific Islanders. Even though you can't buy players, you can still look outside your borders to fill in gaps and improve your level of play.

Back to Mike, he has typical Dutch number 9 attributes; tall, good in the air and able to make his own space. But he was never that good. If you go look at his club history of Wikipedia, you could pick out another entry for some other Japanese could-have-been, mixed them around and I couldn't tell you what one is Mike's. It's the formula of "playing in the J League when you're 18, try yourself out in Europe, play in a top 5 league, drop down the pyramid, and go back to the J League". For the past 30 years, since professional football landed in Japan, many hopefuls try but almost all don't make it. If they do, they fit into the sterotypes of Japanese footballers; small, quick, technical. Wingers, attacking midfielders, ball-playing centre midfielders. The last success Japan had in the final third of the pitch would be Shinji Okazaki with Leicester City in 2016, but his countribution was purely as a second striker to play balls in the channels to more clinical players.

Blue Lock takes this observation of Japanese football and plays with it in a comic format, taking jabs at Japanese quirks and offers a solution in still quite a Japanese fashion, to force a solution. The story revolves around Yoichi Isagi, a normal high school footballer who has normal high school aspirations to go to nationals, bread and butter stuff for a sports manga. He and 300 other high school forwards get invited to a national training camp run by the Japanese footballing body. They all arrive and a cultish puppet master of a sporting director called Jinpachi Ego wants to mould the world's best striker, everyone chases after him towards that dream. What follows is a story of teenage boys being kept in an interment camp where they train and compete with each other to rise out on top, all the while breaking the shackles of "goody-goody" notions of a team sport, but to create a player who is the physical repesentation of the word ego.

We then see the whole spectrum of interpersonal relationships in a ball game. Rivals, allies, betrayal, backstabbing. Even characters with "a lot of resolve". But football is in fact a game played with multiple players on two teams, so the story does have to betray the idea of forming the singular player in order to show us football. Teams are formed, but they are also disbanded. And because this makes up the bulk of football-based chapters, it has to fall into the trap of having characters being inspired by watching other characters playing. But overall it does it best to tie it together as we are marching towards who will be number one, and that leads us to our protag.

Isagi is the safe kind of main character as his growth is around always finding another peak after climbing the mountain. We are first introduced to him as an almost story about his high school team missing out on nationals because he passed to his teammate, and questioning himself about his ability and whether he made the right decision. As we go through the story, he works towards becomming the best piece by piece (and the manga makes sure you know it's piece by piece, as it's always symbolised by a flurry of jigsaw pieces). He comes up against players who start out better, but he catches up and wins over their adoration, making friends or at least mutual respect of his opponents.

Now I understand that sounds like I'm describing most plots for a lot of sports manga, but it works well and it paces its story very well. It allows the story to display meaningful growth and progress without the need for exhaustive tournaments. This is all training arc and it never stops with it. At the end of these matches or events, the story always reminds you that even though there are teams and positions, this is still Isagi's story, and his victory alone. Football manga struggles with this premise and resolution because it wants to repesent football in the way it is in reality, where every goal is built from your team. Baseball manga does not have this problem, the author can either pick the template of relief pitcher or bases-loaded batter, and you have your hero whose thing caused them to win. The premise of Blue Lock allows the story to exist as a baseball manga, but they just kick the ball instead.

But the characters, supporting and main, really don't have much going for them as well-rounded personalities. Isagi's "I play football, I get better" philosophy could of been forgiven if he had a cast of interesting traits and motivations around him, but sadly he does not. Other characters fall into either the "hot-blooded, bleached haired rough boys", "quiet and princely narcissists" and "kooky and aloof weirdos" archetype. And it's difficult to resolve with typical manga means, as you can't go too slice of life as they are not in high school, and girls are banned. You can't go too dramatic as boys don't cry. Artstyles in such genres like these don't really change, as they need to be able to show fluidity in a static medium, so there's a lot of heavy outlines and diagonal artwork to suggest motion. The characters designs are on par for what you would expect for a manga being published in 2021, no one will have any harsh objections to it.

So Blue Lock, it's pretty good. It takes an observation on football and explores it without losing respect for the sport, and it does something pretty much every other football manga has failed to do: make a comic read like a highlight reel, rather than bore like watching a nil-nil draw for 90 minutes.

Apr 13, 2023

Enescu

Recommended

Preliminary (210/? chp)

"Imagine this scene: you have reached the final of the World Cup, with 80,000 people in the stadium. You are down on the field, and the score is 0-0 in the second half, with only a few minutes left in the game. Through a pass from your teammate, you break through the defense and find yourself face to face with the goalkeeper. Your teammate is six meters away on your right. If you pass the ball, your team is guaranteed a goal, the championship, the hope of a nation - all dependent on you. Only an egoist would take that shot without hesitation."

With these words, ... Jinpachi Ego, the coach/manager, concludes his speech in front of the players. It becomes immediately clear that this is not a sports manga that focuses on the power of friendship to win. He adds, "Nothing should bring you more satisfaction than your own goals."

In Blue Lock, you discover how important it is to be selfish. The Blue Lock program is a training program designed to produce the world's best striker, and Yoichi Isagi is one of the 300 talented participants ready to join the program and showcase his abilities. While developing his personality and fighting to achieve his goals, Yoichi learns that, in modern football, being selfish can be crucial. If you want to be the best, you must take responsibility and be willing to take risks. Throughout the stages, Isagi must leave behind what he knows about football and adapt to the "new style of play." Each match keeps you on the edge of your seat, not knowing the outcome.

In Blue Lock, character development is truly at the center of attention. At one point or another, you have the opportunity to learn about the players' motivations and the reasons behind their desire to be the best, revealing their personal problems outside the program. There are many characters with complex backgrounds. It is guaranteed that you will love many of these characters, as each has their own personalities, playing styles, and designs. I can't choose a favorite character myself because each of them has unique traits that make them stand out.

The art style is truly amazing. Each page is full of details, and the characters are drawn with so much expressiveness. The atmosphere of the games is perfectly captured by the aura emitted by the players. In addition, it is easy to follow the action, being well-structured. Overall, the visuals are amazing.

In my personal opinion, I was very captivated by everything that was happening. Every time I saw Bachira making schemes, I wanted to get up and play football and imitate him (even though it's cringe). Bachira is one of my favorites, mainly because he focuses on a kind of freestyle, meaning he likes to do a lot of tricks, and I, for example, in FPS games, prefer to try a 360 and kill the enemy, not just to kill them. I like to experiment and do things with style. But as I said, I have several favorite characters.

I don't watch football on TV, but I like to do many sports, no matter what. I suppose I have a bias towards Blue Lock because I also played basketball for 7 years (even though it's not the same sport). The key visuals are amazing, something that the anime cannot portray as well as the manga."