Man, what hell is this anime? Look, I am not the biggest fan of sports anime but, I’d still like to think I’ve watched more than a fair share of them. Usual sports anime like Haikyuu are awesome, no doubt about that. But the sports anime that resonated the most with me is One Outs. I’ve always wanted to find something else like it and Blue Lock is just that.
So welcome back to our anime recommendation series! This week we are talking about Blue Lock. The awesome sports anime that took not only all of Japan but the whole world by storm when it came out. Football World cup definitely hyped up this anime more cause for a certain time, both were airing together; not the mention Japan’s unexpected victories helped. So let’s get started.
Introduction
Blue Lock is based on the manga of the same name by Muneyoshi Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura. It has been serialized in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen magazine since August 2018. The manga is still ongoing and at the time of writing, 22 volumes have been released. As for the anime, it is being made by 8 Bit studios and started airing in the fall season of 2022. It is still ongoing with episode 18 being the latest episode. My review for this anime will drop in a few weeks from now.
Plot
Blue Lock has a completely insane plot. It is decided that the Japanese football team needs a new striker. So they bring in this guy, Ego Jinpachi. What Ego does is, gathers 300 strikers from all over Japan and locks them up in a facility. Only 5 among them will be chosen and those who fail will never be able to play for Japan again. Our MC is Isagi Yoichi someone who is literally ranked the last second in Blue Lock. We follow his journey as he raises through his ranks.
When was the last time a sports anime had this kind of wild plot? Wild isn’t even the word for it lol. Such a good combo between sports and thriller, it very unique in its tone and presentation. The plot and the plot twists alone are enough to separate Blue Lock from your run-of-the-mill sports animes.
Characters
You thought you’d never see the people who lost again like a normal sports anime? You were wrong. Blue Lock gives you characters that stand out in a team for a reason. Characters like Barou do come back and get more time to shine. As for character development, I wish it was a bit more uniform. As of now, it only looks like a select few characters are developing. But I guess that’s a problem that comes with a big cast. Not a bug problem though.
Animations and Soundtracks
Holy shit 8 Bit went all out with Blue Lock. The art style in itself looks amazing, add fluid animations and some really good direction to that and you get an absolute banger of a show. This anime looks and sounds amazing. Zero complaints in this department. Great job 8 Bit!
Why should you watch Blue Lock?
Quick pointers on why you should watch this anime:
- Great plot
- Great matches
- Awesome direction
- Incredible animations
Conclusion
That is all for now. Let me know what you think in the comments. Blue Lock is just amazing, you should really check it out even if you don’t like sports anime. With that said, I will take my leave here. See ya!!
