Hell, outside of the cold open introduction of Isagi, volume 1 doesn’t even have a soccer game in it. Aside from the cast, Blue Lock has a Death Game-y style to it which ratchets up tension like nothing else, and it’s absolutely a great fit with sports: the competitive nature of soccer meshes well with the do-or-die nature of a death game.īlue Lock is unique for sports manga, in the way that it’s focused more on training than the actual sport itself.
![blue lock manga blue lock manga](https://figurhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/blue-lock-figurine-yoichi-isagi-3.jpg)
#Blue lock manga series
Already in the first few chapters of Blue Lock the series has made Isagi a likable character who has actual challenges and dilemmas, as well as creates bonds with characters Bachira in ways that feel natural. Volume 1 of Blue Lock is a fascinating opening, and it does an incredible job of setting up the setting of Blue Lock itself, introducing the cast while being incredibly engaging. He becomes one of the 300 thrown into the Blue Lock program that’s smashed his preconceived notions of how soccer should be played: putting the desire to win and score ahead of being a team player. We follow Yoichi Isagi, a timid 2nd year whose high school team just lost the game that would have gotten them to the national championships.
![blue lock manga blue lock manga](https://justanimehype.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Blue-Lock-Visual-696x984.jpg)
Enter the titular Blue Lock, the brainchild of Jinpachi Ego, a program that trains the best 300 up-and-coming strikers in incredibly unorthodox ways. They have great team players that play complementary roles, but they have a glaring weakness in the star position of striker. In Blue Lock, the Japanese National Soccer/football team has been feeling the frustration of hitting a wall – while the team has improved significantly, often making the world cup, they’re nowhere near close to actually contending for it.
![blue lock manga blue lock manga](https://66.media.tumblr.com/71db945add5868d513ad02f7f2c362c8/8570a090a36a3689-b9/s500x750/a3331e7c6b4c32ab133337303836e91a2f14f774.png)
1 pairs great sports anime with an interesting premise for an interesting and engaging opening. In my eyes, sports manga are a hidden gem of a genre within the manga community: while most of them don’t get much attention, they are often consistently great series by being effectively better-structured shounen than shounen itself.