How Blue Lock is different from other sports anime?

Sports anime have always been a hit among fans, with their youthful charisma and camaraderie, but Blue Lock takes a different approach. Instead, it presents a dark and twisted world of individualism and egoism, reminiscent of a battle royale with a sporty twist. Created by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura, Blue Lock is a manga and anime series that takes the concept of football and turns it into a survival game.

The Blue Lock Program

Blue Lock is a tough training program that aims to create the best striker in the world. After Japan’s soccer team lost in the 2018 World Cup, Ego Jinpaichi was asked to create a program to make their soccer system better. Blue Lock brings together the best young forwards in Japan for a brutal training camp, where they compete against each other. The ultimate goal is to produce one player who can lead Japan to victory in the World Cup. The athletes are isolated in a prison-like facility and must focus on playing soccer and building their egos. If a player is eliminated, they can never represent Japan again.

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The Protagonist – Yoichi Isagi

Yoichi Isagi is a young striker who gets invited to the Blue Lock program. He’s upset about his team’s loss at nationals and thinks they could have won if he took the final shot instead of passing. Blue Lock promises to create the best striker in the league, so Yoichi takes the opportunity to achieve his dream.

Upon joining Blue Lock, he quickly discovers that this is not your typical training camp. The program emphasizes individualism above all else, requiring the athletes to compete with one another to sharpen their skills. Despite being centred around a team-oriented sport, Blue Lock diverges from the standard teamwork narrative. Under the guidance of Jinpachi Ego, the athletes are compelled to focus solely on their individual abilities.

A Battle Royale in Football

Blue Lock presents a football anime like no other, offering a sinister and warped version of the sport. The series feels more like a battle royale with a sporty twist. The elimination process looms over the athletes like a dark cloud, evoking feelings of fear and suspense throughout the show. The athletes must compete against each other in a survival-of-the-fittest scenario, with elimination serving as a constant threat. Though the show does not portray death, the elimination process simulates it in a grim and unsettling way. The tension is palpable as the athletes push themselves to the brink to avoid being eliminated.

Ego vs. Thirst

The series presents a unique concept of egoism and individualism. The goal of Blue Lock is to create the world’s greatest egotistical striker, and it does so by putting the athletes’ egos to the test. However, the dialogue in the anime sometimes confuses the thirst for goals with ego. A good striker is thirsty for goals, not necessarily egotistical. The concept of ego is taken to the extreme in Blue Lock, and it presents a skewed view of what it takes to be a successful athlete.