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Blue Lock Anime Review: Shattering the shounen 'power-of- friendship' with self-centred egoists 

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Ayaan Paul
Ayaan PaulMar 28, 2023 | 08:00

Blue Lock Anime Review: Shattering the shounen 'power-of- friendship' with self-centred egoists 

Kodansha’s hit football anime, Blue Lock, has gained infamy since its premiere for overturning everything otakus have come to know and love about the shounen anime or sports anime genres. But what has gotten people so obsessed with a bunch of conceited teenagers?

The captivating sports manga written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura that offered a fresh take on the traditional genre was eventually serialised by Eight Bit Studios. The series follows the story of a talented football player named Yoichi Isagi, who is recruited by a mysterious coach to participate in a unique football program called Blue Lock. The program's aim is to develop a singular striker who can win matches on their own, without relying on teamwork or other players and bring the World Cup to Japan.

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Following another World Cup washout, the Japanese football union decided to bring in a madman to fix things: the lean, looming Jinpachi Ego - an unstable, football whiz brought in to whip the team into shape. Ego's keen diagnosis brands the team in dire need of less teamwork and... well, more ego. Specifically the kind of self-centered striker that can sink a goal from anywhere on the pitch.

And thus, Ego's cunning solution involved creating a Squid Game-like program, set inside a pentagon facility, pitting the country's top high school strikers against each other in a vicious competition to see who can score the most goals and simultaneously stab the most backs. 

The prize? A coveted spot on the Under-20 World Cup team. The losers? Banned from ever playing for Team Japan again. To these young players, that's like being kicked out of the cool kids' club, except the cool kids are the football legends they idolise and the club is the World Cup. Suffice it to say, they take it pretty seriously.

Blue Lock aces its intricate and well-developed characters. Its protagonist, Yoichi Isagi, is initially portrayed as the goody-two-shoes shounen MC that he ought to be. That is until he pummels a volley into a friendly rival’s face and eliminates him before the program even begins.

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As the story progresses, we see him grow and develop as he grapples with the increasingly stressful challenges presented by the Blue Lock program. The other characters in the series are similarly complex, with their own unique personalities, motivations and of course, gorgeous hairstyles. But what binds them all on an almost cellular level is that each and every single one of them is a selfish jerk who would walk over the corpses of the rest to be the best.

Blue Lock is a program where selfishness is supposed to reign supreme, for a sport whose fundamentals pivot around teamwork - so the players must learn to balance their own desires with the needs of the group. As the team's dynamic shifts and evolves, we see them confront their own flaws and limitations, which makes for a compelling and engaging narrative.

This creates a juicy conflict that only intensifies as Isagi grows closer to his teammates. It's only with the help of Bachira, a magical (but slightly unhinged) dribbler on the same team, that Isagi is able to find his footing in the cutthroat competition. Bachira is basically the opposite of Isagi: confident, quirky, and relaxed. But despite their differences, he sees the same monster in Isagi as he does in himself and all the football greats in the world.

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Watching these kids butt heads, work together, and compete against one another makes for some of the most entertaining sports anime around. Each player in Blue Lock has their own special "weapon" that they need to sharpen if they want to dominate the field. Once they figure out their perfect formula for scoring goals and how to combine their weapons with their teammates' - a 'chemical reaction' that makes everyone (especially the animators) go wild. 

But it's not just the characters that make Blue Lock such an internet sensation - it's the sheer adrenaline rush that comes with each match. As the Blue Lock team battles it out on the pitch, the tension builds to a fever pitch. Whether they're dodging opponents, executing incredible feats of footwork, or delivering bone-crunching tackles, the matches in Blue Lock are truly a sight to behold.

Of course, it doesn't hurt that Blue Lock is blessed with some truly stunning artwork. The Masaru Shindō helmed artwork is dynamic and action-packed, bringing the matches to life with energy and excitement. The beautiful game is rendered with an incredible attention to detail, with each movement captured in fluid, dynamic stills that practically leap off the screen. Meanwhile, the character designs are distinctive and memorable, making it easy to tell the players apart and get invested in their individual journeys.

The series visualises Isagi's intricate problem-solving weapon with puzzle pieces coming apart and falling into place as he works the next best formula for a goal. A telltale sign that thing's are about to get heavy as players unlock their true potential when their iris's form almost manic spirals and their bodies start radiating a feral power like a monstrous force to be reckoned with.

The program's goal of creating a team of individualistic strikers puts a spotlight on the darker side of competition, as we see the characters become increasingly consumed by their own desire to be the best.The characters' intense drive to win at all costs, even at the expense of their relationships with each other, is a poignant commentary on the nature of competition and ambition in our own lives.

Blue Lock turns expectations on their head by championing the idea that personal potential should reign supreme, even if it means steamrolling over your fellow athletes. Isagi and crew struggle to balance their drive for self-improvement with the value of teamwork and friendship, as they realize that achieving greatness may require sacrificing the dreams of their closest companions. 

The real nail-biter? Who will emerge from this cutthroat journey unscathed, and at what cost? Blue Lock doesn't play by the rules, and neither should any sports anime that should ever walk in its intimidating shadow.

Eight Bit has announced the production of a season two and an Episode Nagi spinoff film; both scheduled for a 2024 release.

All episodes of Blue Lock Season 1 are now streaming on Netflix.

Last updated: March 28, 2023 | 08:00
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