OPINION: What makes Blue Lock standout from other sports themed animes

Blue Lock perfectly combines sports with a battle royale
Feb 10, 2023
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BLUE LOCK'S SURGE in popularity can largely be attributed to the Japan National Football Team or the Samurai Blue’s Cinderella run at the 2022 World Cup. The performance leapfrogged them to Rank 20 in the world. After all, the dashing blue kit worn by the Japanese football heroes were designed in collaboration with Blue Lock’s illustrator, Yusuke Nomura.

Fans of anime and football all over the world were raving about the fictional Blue Lock program as the reason for the Samurai Blue’s success. But it really was the adaptable genius of head coach Hajime Moriyasu and the heroics of players such as Ritsu Doan and Maya Yoshida who helped forge the memorable campaign for Japan.

It’s been a minute since the World Cup 2022 ended but the Blue Lock anime continues to push the ball forward and still remains on track to become one of the best sports football animes of all time.

As great as the more grounded Ao Ashi (another football anime that was released a few months before Blue Lock) is, Blue Lock gets the edge in this one. Though you should still check Ao Ashi but for now we’re just going to talk about how great Blue Lock is!

I’ve watched most of the popular sports animes that were recently released and here are my thoughts.

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(WARNING: Minor spoilers ahead!)

Comparing Blue Lock with other sports themed animes

You have Kuroko No Basket with its seemingly supernatural players with abilities, such as shooting the ball consistently from the other side of the court with a lightning quick catch and shoot mechanic, to seemingly turning invisible during the game.

If you think NBA 2K badges are broken, these are nothing compared to Kuroko's abilities.

Then we have Haikyuu which has honestly made me cry on multiple occasions because I felt the extreme fiery passion and dedication that Shoyo Hinata and the rest of the boys of the Karasuno High Volleyball team have. I even came into Haikyuu not knowing a single thing about volleyball.

But damn, when Kei Tsukishima came into his own as a middle blocker and learned to be passionate about volleyball for the first time and what it means to be the wall for his teammates, did I cry many manly tears.

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The medium of anime allows an interesting take on sports like said supernatural abilities and a microscope on the internal monologues and conflicts that most athletes would go through on a regular basis. This unique storytelling mechanic helped solidify the genre and long may sports animes live.

Let’s also take a look at the OG football mangas turned anime called Captain Tsubasa, which tells the epic story of 11-year old Oozora Tsubasa and his journey in winning the World Cup for Japan. Quite lofty goals for a pre-teen but (spoiler alert) he actually did it.

One of the signature lines of Tsubasa during the whole anime is ‘The ball is my friend’ because almost no one could disposses him on the pitch. Yes, the power of friendship is one of the main themes throughout this classic manga from the 80s.

What makes Blue Lock stand out?

Then there’s Blue Lock and its intriguing set-up. With Japan finishing 16th in the 2018 World Cup, the Japan Football Association assigned Ego Jinpaichi to spearhead the Blue Lock program to raise their football system to the next level.

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Blue Lock gathers all of the best young forwards in Japan in an extreme battle-royale style training camp. If you are eliminated from Blue Lock, you will never be allowed to represent Japan as an athlete for the rest of your career. Basically a death sentence for athletes. Ego as is his namesake hopes to create ‘the world’s greatest egotist striker’ through Blue Lock.

Enter Yoichi Isagi, a mediocre pass-first striker who gets invited to Blue Lock. Isagi considers his teammates his friends and wants to share in the glory with them. But he learns very quickly that in Blue Lock you really have nobody to rely on or trust but yourself.

So unlike in Captain Tsubasa, the ball is not your friend and neither are your teammates in Blue Lock. If Isagi wants to become the best striker Japan has ever known, he has to break free from his shell and be ready to trample on others on the way to the top.

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Blue Lock combines two very popular genres in battle royale and sports anime to near perfection. If you like any of these genres then Blue Lock should definitely be at the top of your watchlist in 2023. Isagi’s journey is more than eventful as he learns to push beyond himself and put himself first in any situation (football wise).

While not always the best mentality to apply in real life, watching Isagi grow from the pass-first forward that he is at the start to become the greatest egotist striker Japan and the world has ever seen is a story of extreme passion and personal growth. Blue Lock is an absolute rollercoaster of a ride that you don’t want to miss out on.

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