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ブルーロック [Blue Lock] #1
Blue Lock, Vol. 1
ARE YOU THE WORLD'S TOP EGOIST?
After a disastrous defeat at the 2018 World Cup, Japan's team struggles to regroup. But what's missing? An absolute ace striker. The Football Union is hell-bent on creating a striker who hungers for goals and thirsts for victory, so Blue Lock—a rigorous training ground for 300 of Japan's best and brightest youth players—is created. To survive this battle royale, the last striker standing will have to out-muscle and out-ego everyone who stands in his way!
After a disastrous defeat at the 2018 World Cup, Japan's team struggles to regroup. But what's missing? An absolute ace striker. The Football Union is hell-bent on creating a striker who hungers for goals and thirsts for victory, so Blue Lock—a rigorous training ground for 300 of Japan's best and brightest youth players—is created. To survive this battle royale, the last striker standing will have to out-muscle and out-ego everyone who stands in his way!
214 pages, Paperback
First published November 16, 2018
About the author
Muneyuki Kaneshiro
344 books283 followersMuneyuki Kaneshiro (金城宗幸, Kaneshiro Muneyuki) is a Japanese mangaka.
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June 30, 2021okay, wow.
Blue Lock is absolutely, incredibly, RIDICULOUSLY absurd...... and that is precisely what sets it apart from every other sports series out there.
there is no goal of teamwork here, no meaningful friendships to be made, no philosophical lessons to be learned. just 300 of Japan’s best high school soccer players rounded up and given one objective: defeat your fellow players battle royale-style to become the striker that will lead Japan to World Cup Victory no matter what it takes. it’s The Hunger Games out there. no, seriously, these boys are brutal. the stakes couldn’t be higher.
volume 1 is pretty fast-paced and surprisingly doesn’t cycle through the same motions that often plague the sports genre. the art is also INSANELY good. i had to stop to admire the character designs multiple times. (major Tokyo Ghoul vibes!)
that said, Blue Lock can get a little too far-fetched at times and your suspension of disbelief has to be HIGH for you to properly enjoy the story. once you see past the insanity of it all though, it’s all fun and games (for the readers at least).
the characters—and there are many—are a little two-dimensional right now, but i do understand that the focus of this series is not actually on them much. this is an extremely plot-driven series and if i expect any sort of character development, it’s not the good kind. good character development would be literally antithetical to the message of this series and that’s what makes Blue Lock so interesting.
i’ve never read anything like this before and i’m super excited to see whether Blue Lock follows typical sports genre tropes or transcends them to become a series unlike any other.
also, this would make one sick anime.
thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC!
Blue Lock is absolutely, incredibly, RIDICULOUSLY absurd...... and that is precisely what sets it apart from every other sports series out there.
there is no goal of teamwork here, no meaningful friendships to be made, no philosophical lessons to be learned. just 300 of Japan’s best high school soccer players rounded up and given one objective: defeat your fellow players battle royale-style to become the striker that will lead Japan to World Cup Victory no matter what it takes. it’s The Hunger Games out there. no, seriously, these boys are brutal. the stakes couldn’t be higher.
volume 1 is pretty fast-paced and surprisingly doesn’t cycle through the same motions that often plague the sports genre. the art is also INSANELY good. i had to stop to admire the character designs multiple times. (major Tokyo Ghoul vibes!)
that said, Blue Lock can get a little too far-fetched at times and your suspension of disbelief has to be HIGH for you to properly enjoy the story. once you see past the insanity of it all though, it’s all fun and games (for the readers at least).
the characters—and there are many—are a little two-dimensional right now, but i do understand that the focus of this series is not actually on them much. this is an extremely plot-driven series and if i expect any sort of character development, it’s not the good kind. good character development would be literally antithetical to the message of this series and that’s what makes Blue Lock so interesting.
i’ve never read anything like this before and i’m super excited to see whether Blue Lock follows typical sports genre tropes or transcends them to become a series unlike any other.
also, this would make one sick anime.
thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC!
March 28, 2021
300 kids under the age of 18 are gathered to a secret facility. They are all considered the best candidates to be the next ace striker for Japan, as it has been decided that the country needs to rework its soccer game if it's ever going to win the world cup. We get to know these characters, their strengths and their faults as they try to rise up to be great players.
I'm going to be completely honest, I accidentally requested this one on Netgalley. It was a button slip on my phone and then it was accepted. I felt a bit bad about that and went ahead and gave it a proper read though, as I didn't want to be that guy who just requests anything and lets it sit.
I'm not a sports fan. That's immediately going to set me at a disadvantage here, as is the fact that I think sports manga in particular are hilarious (not in a positive way) as they are treated in such life or death terms and with a passion higher than any sane person would hold for any topic (YOU MUST TRAIN AT OUR FACILITY AND YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO RETURN HOME. Response: "But we cannot abandon our precious teams!")
This time… it worked. Why? Because that's just the start of the over the top extremes. It's going to go so much further, that this little moment at the start mentioned above honestly seems quite reserved.
Honestly, this is not a bad thing. It somehow manages to combine the "survival game" style of manga with a sports one, which is an odd choice, but certainly unique enough to make it stand out and generally pulls it off. It makes this over the top nature more fitting as the people involved in this project are literally going to ruin 299 lives for the sake of one and the book seems to alternate between "wow, that's horrible" and "what a great idea." It's ridiculous to the extent that it actually makes this usually unintentionally comic aspect, turns it up to 11, and makes it entertaining for me.
Was this enough to change my opinion on sports manga? Not really. Was it a solid enough read that I would suggest it for fans of such manga? Absolutely, especially if they like the survival game style of manga its colliding with. It's strengths are well done from an objective standpoint and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least entertained for my read (some times extremely so). While I can't say I'm a huge fan, it was a fun read. I never thought I would say this, but I'm actually genuinely intrigued where a sport's manga is going. If it stays this over the top, I think I may continue along with it. 3/5 star
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I'm going to be completely honest, I accidentally requested this one on Netgalley. It was a button slip on my phone and then it was accepted. I felt a bit bad about that and went ahead and gave it a proper read though, as I didn't want to be that guy who just requests anything and lets it sit.
I'm not a sports fan. That's immediately going to set me at a disadvantage here, as is the fact that I think sports manga in particular are hilarious (not in a positive way) as they are treated in such life or death terms and with a passion higher than any sane person would hold for any topic (YOU MUST TRAIN AT OUR FACILITY AND YOU WILL NOT BE ALLOWED TO RETURN HOME. Response: "But we cannot abandon our precious teams!")
This time… it worked. Why? Because that's just the start of the over the top extremes. It's going to go so much further, that this little moment at the start mentioned above honestly seems quite reserved.
Honestly, this is not a bad thing. It somehow manages to combine the "survival game" style of manga with a sports one, which is an odd choice, but certainly unique enough to make it stand out and generally pulls it off. It makes this over the top nature more fitting as the people involved in this project are literally going to ruin 299 lives for the sake of one and the book seems to alternate between "wow, that's horrible" and "what a great idea." It's ridiculous to the extent that it actually makes this usually unintentionally comic aspect, turns it up to 11, and makes it entertaining for me.
Was this enough to change my opinion on sports manga? Not really. Was it a solid enough read that I would suggest it for fans of such manga? Absolutely, especially if they like the survival game style of manga its colliding with. It's strengths are well done from an objective standpoint and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least entertained for my read (some times extremely so). While I can't say I'm a huge fan, it was a fun read. I never thought I would say this, but I'm actually genuinely intrigued where a sport's manga is going. If it stays this over the top, I think I may continue along with it. 3/5 star
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
September 13, 2022
This felt like a Hunger Games/Squid Game hybrid with less death and more soccer.... I'm thoroughly entertained.
October 15, 2022
damn those expressions are mad man, I can tell I've only touched the icing on the cake, Kira's face in chapter 2 looks like he went batshit mad crazy😭
May 8, 2021
This is really interesting. It has the vibe of a dystopian horror manga but it's a sports story! The main thesis is that to produce a world class soccer striker, the Japanese have to train teenagers with soccer talent to be cutthroat, egotistical, and far less cooperative. And the volume and extremity that they go about the training is pretty shocking, perhaps by my perspective now as a parent. I also am not sure aobut the somewhat mystical, egotistical perspective they have about strikers, especially in the age where top teams are playing with false nines and no traditional strikers. Even though it's not really foregrounded there's some interesting places to think about what you give up (time, life, humanity) to become truly great. And the art is great - the Svengali coach is so cartoonish horrific (his body stretches as he rants) and the soccer action is actually drawn quite well. Fun start to this series.
November 29, 2025
3.5/5
To be honest, I’ve never been the biggest fan of football. I just never saw the appeal of watching a bunch of guys chasing a ball around a field. But after seeing way too many Blue Lock edits on Instagram, I got curious and decided to give the manga a shot—mostly because the character designs looked absolutely beautiful. And yeah… unfortunately, I’m a sucker for a manga with gorgeous characters. But anyway, so far it’s been pretty entertaining, so I’m definitely planning to keep going.
To be honest, I’ve never been the biggest fan of football. I just never saw the appeal of watching a bunch of guys chasing a ball around a field. But after seeing way too many Blue Lock edits on Instagram, I got curious and decided to give the manga a shot—mostly because the character designs looked absolutely beautiful. And yeah… unfortunately, I’m a sucker for a manga with gorgeous characters. But anyway, so far it’s been pretty entertaining, so I’m definitely planning to keep going.
October 22, 2025
Reread: 22/10/2025
Reading this almost after 5 years and omg I loved this one so much more this time!
I love how crazy this manga is and the ambition behind it and like what it shows regarding JFA wanting to create a striker who will be better than the rest and the focus on the elad character Isagi is awesome as he is like dealing with all these moral quandries and all and whether what he is doing is right or not and then slowly giving into it and realizing he wants to be the bets one amongst all the players is amazing and I love it!
The tag team tournament was awesome and shows how brutal it is to make in blue lock and in a way the sports world and how they compete against each other and the fate of Kira and after that like theit training regimen and all that.. that one was fun and I really loved it!
The ending was pretty much setting stage for the matches to come and also introduces another character - Sae Itoshi and I am so excited to see what will become of that character and especially his partnership with Isagi maybe!
And omg the character of Ego is just insane?!
______________________________________________________________
This one was so good, the Japan Football Association has decided to make a blue lock facility where out of 300 strikers 1 will be chosen and shaped who will be the future of Japan national team and lead them to world cup win and our main character is Yoichi ISAGI. And Jinpachi Ego is the head of this program. This book is so amazing, it takes the idea of football and having the best striker and plays with the psychology that you need the best striker in order to win. Isagi wants to be that guy and Ego's words get to him and he plays like anything else, when he goes to that facility the first friend named Kira he makes, he eliminates him in a game of tag, for one player to succeed 299 have to be sacrificed and it establishes high stakes! Then we have them take on the regiment of training, and then Isagi and Bachira having a face off at night and getting to know each other and then there is a press conference regarding the same wherein the manager Anri teieri asserts the same thing to media to establish what this series is about. Its a great read, the writing is super awesome and the art is even better, each panel so well detailed and pleasure to look at, like everything is in motion which is sometimes hard to draw but amazing read!
Reading this almost after 5 years and omg I loved this one so much more this time!
I love how crazy this manga is and the ambition behind it and like what it shows regarding JFA wanting to create a striker who will be better than the rest and the focus on the elad character Isagi is awesome as he is like dealing with all these moral quandries and all and whether what he is doing is right or not and then slowly giving into it and realizing he wants to be the bets one amongst all the players is amazing and I love it!
The tag team tournament was awesome and shows how brutal it is to make in blue lock and in a way the sports world and how they compete against each other and the fate of Kira and after that like theit training regimen and all that.. that one was fun and I really loved it!
The ending was pretty much setting stage for the matches to come and also introduces another character - Sae Itoshi and I am so excited to see what will become of that character and especially his partnership with Isagi maybe!
And omg the character of Ego is just insane?!
______________________________________________________________
This one was so good, the Japan Football Association has decided to make a blue lock facility where out of 300 strikers 1 will be chosen and shaped who will be the future of Japan national team and lead them to world cup win and our main character is Yoichi ISAGI. And Jinpachi Ego is the head of this program. This book is so amazing, it takes the idea of football and having the best striker and plays with the psychology that you need the best striker in order to win. Isagi wants to be that guy and Ego's words get to him and he plays like anything else, when he goes to that facility the first friend named Kira he makes, he eliminates him in a game of tag, for one player to succeed 299 have to be sacrificed and it establishes high stakes! Then we have them take on the regiment of training, and then Isagi and Bachira having a face off at night and getting to know each other and then there is a press conference regarding the same wherein the manager Anri teieri asserts the same thing to media to establish what this series is about. Its a great read, the writing is super awesome and the art is even better, each panel so well detailed and pleasure to look at, like everything is in motion which is sometimes hard to draw but amazing read!
February 13, 2023
my love for manga and football in one place, of course is going to be 5 stars
May 2, 2023
3.5 This was so freaking intense. I used to play soccer growing up and I thought that this manga would be a fun, team building like story. It is anything but that. It focuses on a group a boys that all play soccer and end up having to compete for a single position as a striker. It is fierce from the get go and they quickly learn that they must trust no one if they want to maintain a soccer career. I wasn’t always the biggest fan of the artwork especially the way that eyes are drawn, but it pulled me in enough to want to pick up the second volume.
July 18, 2025
this is absurd and I absolutely love it
July 24, 2020
i honestly couldn’t care less about soccer and sports in general but sport mangas hit different and this is just SO interesting so far
Read
May 28, 2025ah yes,
haikyuu on steroids
haikyuu on steroids
October 5, 2022
3.5 Stars
Anime starts Sunday, October 9th, so I had see what this was all about and was not disappointed as this has a lot of potential. This was allover wild and not what I expected. I'm just here for the ride and the crazy angry drawn faces.
I was searching for a Kageyama due to most sports manga's having the Kageyama-verse, but alas not one in sight yet. To be determined. That being said I do see a Kageyama look alike. I'm looking at you Isagi! 👀
Random thoughts while reading:
Kunigami "Ah, my bad. My clothes flew away" Rensuke - WHAT IN THE RIPPED TEENAGER?! (also giving me if Bakugo had a brother vibes)
The boy sleeping on the floor (who I now know is Bahira Meguru) kills me. What a mood! (Potentially my favorite character already!)
Jinpachi is just too much lolol
This is tag on a whole new level!
Damnnnnnnn he was short-lived! (iykyk)
Igarashi - you are giving Connie Springer!
WHY DO THEY PLAY BAREFOOT?!
Okay I know we barely know Sae Itoshi (and I could change my mind), but ick.
*unnecessary boob shot #1*
LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Anime starts Sunday, October 9th, so I had see what this was all about and was not disappointed as this has a lot of potential. This was allover wild and not what I expected. I'm just here for the ride and the crazy angry drawn faces.
I was searching for a Kageyama due to most sports manga's having the Kageyama-verse, but alas not one in sight yet. To be determined. That being said I do see a Kageyama look alike. I'm looking at you Isagi! 👀
Random thoughts while reading:
Kunigami "Ah, my bad. My clothes flew away" Rensuke - WHAT IN THE RIPPED TEENAGER?! (also giving me if Bakugo had a brother vibes)
The boy sleeping on the floor (who I now know is Bahira Meguru) kills me. What a mood! (Potentially my favorite character already!)
Jinpachi is just too much lolol
This is tag on a whole new level!
Damnnnnnnn he was short-lived! (iykyk)
Igarashi - you are giving Connie Springer!
WHY DO THEY PLAY BAREFOOT?!
Okay I know we barely know Sae Itoshi (and I could change my mind), but ick.
*unnecessary boob shot #1*
LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
March 14, 2022
5/5 estrellas.
Yo no puedo creer lo que acabo de leer.
Este manga es un golazo, hermano.
Yo no puedo creer lo que acabo de leer.
Este manga es un golazo, hermano.
November 17, 2022
I am reading this even when I don't even like football at all.
Premise: a teenage boy and his school football's team lost a contest which meant the team would not make it into the national youth championship.
Disappointed, the boy was then invited to join a secretive (or, not so secretive) football player training program alongside 299 other teens. At Day One, their coach announced that in order to get Japan to become the No. 1 nation in the term of international football championship (a.k.a. the World Cup) in the near future, the 300 teens would be locked in a creepy-ass training camp and enter a Battle Royale style of competition until the last one standing as the strongest and best player/ace striker !?
Okay, okay, so far no one has died, at least not yet.
To be honest, I think Japan and South Korea are doing pretty good as Asian countries in the field of international football championships! But in the realm of boy's manga, you just have to be the No. 1 at everything, no matter what, right? Right!? So off we go sending 300 teenagers to a training camp until the last one standing, YAHOOO!!!
I bought a secondhand copy of this volume at a low price, I think this first volume is a good series opener, we get to know the MC and his 'team', we see some of the tasks and games the teens must go through, we see a bit of the coach, his unusual mindset and see a bit of what the guy is up to.
What intrigues me is that in this story, the adults just downright tell the kids to abandon any illusion of teamwork and friendship---those usual traits we can find in a typical boy's manga, instead the coach tells the kids there can only be one winner (because all the top athletes only have victory in their minds so there is no room for friendship and stuff, and in a sense, all top athletes are, selfish) and it is foolish to spend time on teamwork and looking after their peers.
Would this mindset gain domination among the teens, or would it be something else other than just victory and survival of the fittest? I will keep my fingers crossed.
Review for Vol. 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Premise: a teenage boy and his school football's team lost a contest which meant the team would not make it into the national youth championship.
Disappointed, the boy was then invited to join a secretive (or, not so secretive) football player training program alongside 299 other teens. At Day One, their coach announced that in order to get Japan to become the No. 1 nation in the term of international football championship (a.k.a. the World Cup) in the near future, the 300 teens would be locked in a creepy-ass training camp and enter a Battle Royale style of competition until the last one standing as the strongest and best player/ace striker !?
Okay, okay, so far no one has died, at least not yet.
To be honest, I think Japan and South Korea are doing pretty good as Asian countries in the field of international football championships! But in the realm of boy's manga, you just have to be the No. 1 at everything, no matter what, right? Right!? So off we go sending 300 teenagers to a training camp until the last one standing, YAHOOO!!!
I bought a secondhand copy of this volume at a low price, I think this first volume is a good series opener, we get to know the MC and his 'team', we see some of the tasks and games the teens must go through, we see a bit of the coach, his unusual mindset and see a bit of what the guy is up to.
What intrigues me is that in this story, the adults just downright tell the kids to abandon any illusion of teamwork and friendship---those usual traits we can find in a typical boy's manga, instead the coach tells the kids there can only be one winner (because all the top athletes only have victory in their minds so there is no room for friendship and stuff, and in a sense, all top athletes are, selfish) and it is foolish to spend time on teamwork and looking after their peers.
Would this mindset gain domination among the teens, or would it be something else other than just victory and survival of the fittest? I will keep my fingers crossed.
Review for Vol. 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
April 3, 2021
When I saw Kodansha had a new sports manga coming out, I jumped on the opportunity to read and review it early!
First off, this manga is unlike any sports manga I've read to date. Yes, I'll be honest and say that that isn't A LOT, but with the sports manga I have read, they are not like this. And by not like this, I mean that those sports manga focus on teamwork and building a team together.
Blue Lock is different in that it focuses on the self.
Making one the strongest opponent even on their main team. As our main character, Isagi, learns a new kind of way of thinking in regards to soccer, we see him turn into a very different person. I wouldn't say it's bad mind you, but again, this is different than say manga like Haikyu!! where each person aims to improve, but they also seek to improve as a TEAM.
I admit I almost put this manga down because that it what personally I was hoping for. (I went in "blind" when starting this meaning I didn't read the blurb beforehand.) Jinpachi Ego is in my opinion VERY egoistic himself and really disliked what he is teaching these young adults concerning sports, but man.
This story is GOOD!
It does have some language, but this is the kind of sports manga I love in that we get this intensity and a main character who doesn't want to settle. (He has a great way of surprising the reader with his choices!) The first chapter really leads you have to compassion for Isagi and know my heart broke for him during one scene.
Then it goes into the heart of this story and I'm glued to these pages with wide open eyes…
I really hope this gets printed because I love how it has a Hunger Games-like setting, but with soccer being the focus! We have some really interesting side characters and would be very curious to see where things go next because it seems like it's going to keep getting more intense!
Recommended to those who like The Hunger Games, soccer, and go getter characters!
*(I received an e-copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*
First off, this manga is unlike any sports manga I've read to date. Yes, I'll be honest and say that that isn't A LOT, but with the sports manga I have read, they are not like this. And by not like this, I mean that those sports manga focus on teamwork and building a team together.
Blue Lock is different in that it focuses on the self.
Making one the strongest opponent even on their main team. As our main character, Isagi, learns a new kind of way of thinking in regards to soccer, we see him turn into a very different person. I wouldn't say it's bad mind you, but again, this is different than say manga like Haikyu!! where each person aims to improve, but they also seek to improve as a TEAM.
I admit I almost put this manga down because that it what personally I was hoping for. (I went in "blind" when starting this meaning I didn't read the blurb beforehand.) Jinpachi Ego is in my opinion VERY egoistic himself and really disliked what he is teaching these young adults concerning sports, but man.
This story is GOOD!
It does have some language, but this is the kind of sports manga I love in that we get this intensity and a main character who doesn't want to settle. (He has a great way of surprising the reader with his choices!) The first chapter really leads you have to compassion for Isagi and know my heart broke for him during one scene.
Then it goes into the heart of this story and I'm glued to these pages with wide open eyes…
I really hope this gets printed because I love how it has a Hunger Games-like setting, but with soccer being the focus! We have some really interesting side characters and would be very curious to see where things go next because it seems like it's going to keep getting more intense!
Recommended to those who like The Hunger Games, soccer, and go getter characters!
*(I received an e-copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts expressed are my own.)*
February 21, 2025
my soulmate told me to read this ☝🏻
September 22, 2023
Review up to chapter 233 (ongoing):
From the writer of the brilliant Boku-tachi ga Yarimashita come a sports manga unlike any other: it's not the most exciting, or with the best characters, or with the best plotting, but it understand something about individual psychology that few other stories do -- in any medium.
The main theme of this story is egoism. Egoism in sport is common in the real world, but most sport-themed stories do their best to show egoism as an obstacle to winning: if you only care about yourself you won't work as a team, and therefore won't win. It's true, but it's only a part of the truth. Many teams know how to work well together, yet most of them lose. Why? because at the end of the day, winning at football comes down to scoring more goals than your opponents. Teamwork is an important part of it, and so is personal talent and ability, but there is something else -- a driving force, a powerful motivation, a hunger that pushes an individual to fight against all odds.
Growing up, most of us were taught to fit in. Fitting in depends on the culture you grow up in, but it usually means getting closer to the norm. What about people who have skills far above the norm? If they are lucky, they would be born in a culture that encourages them to excel. If they are unlucky, they would be scolded for shaming others by displaying their abilities. In these societies -- mine too -- a successful adult is kind, generous, modest, and prioritizes helping others over progressing himself. This manga is about such a place -- about a guy with exceptional talents who was told all his life that he should lower himself to the level of his peers. Then, out of the blue, he gets invited to a place that teaches the opposite.
You might even agree that this is how the world should be -- that the talented and brilliant should sacrifice themselves for the sake of the rest. If so you must, at the very least, be mindful of the people who's lives get ruined by such limiting morality.
Just to be clear, his manga isn't about being an asshole to others, or hurting others to get what you want. It's about personal growth in its purest form, and the author understand that part of people better than most other authors I've read.
Example 1: there's one character who refuses to work with others, at all. He goes alone and scores alone, never passing the ball to anyone. The main character tries to convince him to work as a team, but fails miserably. What does he do next? he incorporates that person's behavior into his gameplay, using that predictable selfishness as part of his own game strategy. If it was any other sports manga, the selfish guy would "come around" to selfless teamwork, but not here. Here you can't get a convenient scenario where someone else changes to fit you -- you have to change yourself.
Example 2:The protagonist's goal fails, and the ball happens to fall next to his most dangerous rival. The protagonist calls it "bad luck", because no one could know where the ball will end up. But he soon learns the truth: being unable to reach the protagonist, his rival chose to position himself in a spot that, should the goal somehow fail, he would be in the best position for a counter attack. That the ball ended at that spot was random chance, but that the rival was already positioned there was not random at all. While all other players simply gave up, that one guy thought: the best thing I can do is position myself in a spot that, should the ball end there by change, I will be able to turn things around. That person never gave up his chance -- when he realized there was no way for him to get the ball, he immediately looked for the next opportunity. Instead of waiting to see where the ball ends up, he took a chance that will give him at least some tiny advantage for the next attack. He was more hungry -- more egoistic.
From the writer of the brilliant Boku-tachi ga Yarimashita come a sports manga unlike any other: it's not the most exciting, or with the best characters, or with the best plotting, but it understand something about individual psychology that few other stories do -- in any medium.
The main theme of this story is egoism. Egoism in sport is common in the real world, but most sport-themed stories do their best to show egoism as an obstacle to winning: if you only care about yourself you won't work as a team, and therefore won't win. It's true, but it's only a part of the truth. Many teams know how to work well together, yet most of them lose. Why? because at the end of the day, winning at football comes down to scoring more goals than your opponents. Teamwork is an important part of it, and so is personal talent and ability, but there is something else -- a driving force, a powerful motivation, a hunger that pushes an individual to fight against all odds.
Growing up, most of us were taught to fit in. Fitting in depends on the culture you grow up in, but it usually means getting closer to the norm. What about people who have skills far above the norm? If they are lucky, they would be born in a culture that encourages them to excel. If they are unlucky, they would be scolded for shaming others by displaying their abilities. In these societies -- mine too -- a successful adult is kind, generous, modest, and prioritizes helping others over progressing himself. This manga is about such a place -- about a guy with exceptional talents who was told all his life that he should lower himself to the level of his peers. Then, out of the blue, he gets invited to a place that teaches the opposite.
You might even agree that this is how the world should be -- that the talented and brilliant should sacrifice themselves for the sake of the rest. If so you must, at the very least, be mindful of the people who's lives get ruined by such limiting morality.
Just to be clear, his manga isn't about being an asshole to others, or hurting others to get what you want. It's about personal growth in its purest form, and the author understand that part of people better than most other authors I've read.
Example 1: there's one character who refuses to work with others, at all. He goes alone and scores alone, never passing the ball to anyone. The main character tries to convince him to work as a team, but fails miserably. What does he do next? he incorporates that person's behavior into his gameplay, using that predictable selfishness as part of his own game strategy. If it was any other sports manga, the selfish guy would "come around" to selfless teamwork, but not here. Here you can't get a convenient scenario where someone else changes to fit you -- you have to change yourself.
Example 2:The protagonist's goal fails, and the ball happens to fall next to his most dangerous rival. The protagonist calls it "bad luck", because no one could know where the ball will end up. But he soon learns the truth: being unable to reach the protagonist, his rival chose to position himself in a spot that, should the goal somehow fail, he would be in the best position for a counter attack. That the ball ended at that spot was random chance, but that the rival was already positioned there was not random at all. While all other players simply gave up, that one guy thought: the best thing I can do is position myself in a spot that, should the ball end there by change, I will be able to turn things around. That person never gave up his chance -- when he realized there was no way for him to get the ball, he immediately looked for the next opportunity. Instead of waiting to see where the ball ends up, he took a chance that will give him at least some tiny advantage for the next attack. He was more hungry -- more egoistic.
January 11, 2025
Bueno pues para ser un tomo introductorio no ha estado mal.
Presentación del prota y de sus "compañeros-rivales" en esta aventura del Blue lock, para convertirse en el delantero por excelencia.
Como siempre nuestro prota irá del puesto casi último a la cima.
Esperemos que vaya progresando y subiendo de nivel, lo hará,, ya que sino el manga se acabaría, jajajajaja.
Valoración: 6.75/10
Sinopsis: ¡Ser los mejores del mundo hasta ahora era solo un sueño! ¡Para cumplirlo, han reunido a 300 delanteros egoístas!
En el Mundial de 2018, Japón no pasó de dieciseisavos… Tras este fracaso, y con la intención de conseguir que Japón ganase por fin una Copa del Mundo, la Asociación de Fútbol de Japón reunió a 300 delanteros de ligas estudiantiles en unas instalaciones de entrenamiento llamadas “BLUE LOCK”. Su entrenador, Jinpachi Ego, afirma que lo que Japón necesita es un “delantero movido por el egoísmo”.
Poco a poco, el hasta ahora desconocido delantero, Yoichi Isagi, y sus compañeros, irán convirtiéndose en esos egoístas capaces de alcanzar la victoria.
# 22. Un libro sobre fútbol. Reto Popsugar 2025.
Presentación del prota y de sus "compañeros-rivales" en esta aventura del Blue lock, para convertirse en el delantero por excelencia.
Como siempre nuestro prota irá del puesto casi último a la cima.
Esperemos que vaya progresando y subiendo de nivel, lo hará,, ya que sino el manga se acabaría, jajajajaja.
Valoración: 6.75/10
Sinopsis: ¡Ser los mejores del mundo hasta ahora era solo un sueño! ¡Para cumplirlo, han reunido a 300 delanteros egoístas!
En el Mundial de 2018, Japón no pasó de dieciseisavos… Tras este fracaso, y con la intención de conseguir que Japón ganase por fin una Copa del Mundo, la Asociación de Fútbol de Japón reunió a 300 delanteros de ligas estudiantiles en unas instalaciones de entrenamiento llamadas “BLUE LOCK”. Su entrenador, Jinpachi Ego, afirma que lo que Japón necesita es un “delantero movido por el egoísmo”.
Poco a poco, el hasta ahora desconocido delantero, Yoichi Isagi, y sus compañeros, irán convirtiéndose en esos egoístas capaces de alcanzar la victoria.
# 22. Un libro sobre fútbol. Reto Popsugar 2025.
June 25, 2023
I'm starting this because I saw the panels of Kaiser and Shidou's unhinged gay behavior and wanted to know what that's all about.
April 25, 2021
I waver between a 2 and a 3 for this title. On the one hand, it absolutely embraces its insane concept, that soccer is not, in fact, a team sport and instead turns on the ego of its teams' strikers. On the other hand, that's a really messed up way to look at soccer. (Or any other team sport, for that matter.) It's as if Muneyuki Kaneshiro pitched a dystopian story and his editors said they wanted a sports manga instead, so he just twisted the plot he had to fit the requirements.
That's both a good and a bad thing. Certainly it makes Blue Lock stand out among other sports series, and it may give it appeal for those who wouldn't normally touch a soccer manga. But it's also so blatantly absurd that it doesn't entirely work, and it comes off as kids with dreams of sports stardom being taken horrible advantage of by unscrupulous adults. It's insane, and not necessarily in a good way.
Still, it's probably the closest we'll get to a version of The Hunger Games with a recognizable game in the starring role. If that's what you've been dreaming of, now's your chance to read it.
That's both a good and a bad thing. Certainly it makes Blue Lock stand out among other sports series, and it may give it appeal for those who wouldn't normally touch a soccer manga. But it's also so blatantly absurd that it doesn't entirely work, and it comes off as kids with dreams of sports stardom being taken horrible advantage of by unscrupulous adults. It's insane, and not necessarily in a good way.
Still, it's probably the closest we'll get to a version of The Hunger Games with a recognizable game in the starring role. If that's what you've been dreaming of, now's your chance to read it.
September 9, 2024
well that was so awesome, i read this in one sitting. it gives major squid game vibes but with soccer instead. i was hooked from the very beginning and i can tell this is going to be a very intense series for me, just how i like it. the soccer coach is scary af though........but that makes it even more exciting 😈
the friendship brewing between yoichi isagi and meguru bachira was really sweet and i hope a genuine friendship forms between them. so far, it does seem like they could have a lot in common and help each other out, but you never know since only one person can be selected to win this competition...😬
also for someone who doesn't watch soccer or understand that much of the sport, i still enjoyed this 110%. the plot is pretty straight forward and the author did a great job explaining everything.
so happy i decided to pick this up, onto the next volume!
the friendship brewing between yoichi isagi and meguru bachira was really sweet and i hope a genuine friendship forms between them. so far, it does seem like they could have a lot in common and help each other out, but you never know since only one person can be selected to win this competition...😬
also for someone who doesn't watch soccer or understand that much of the sport, i still enjoyed this 110%. the plot is pretty straight forward and the author did a great job explaining everything.
so happy i decided to pick this up, onto the next volume!
August 6, 2024
3.5 stars, I already watched the anime and this is the first manga I’m reading!
September 13, 2024
this was good, i enjoyed it and the reason i'm getting into the manga now is because my friend convinced me.. thank you juni.
Read
July 17, 2024Overall review :
BLUE LOCK IS MY CURRENT OBSESSION . I EAT BREATHE AND SLEEP BLUE LOCK . I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH , I GET AN ADRENALINE HIGH READING IT . I love how selfish and egotistical it is , i love the slander , i love the drive to be no1 (idc how that makes me sound ) and I think it makes the series unique . Watching the characters develop , devour each other , the AURA moments , the dynamics , the matches . all of it .This series just makes me FEEL . It raises my blood pressure ,makes me seethe , a euphoric rush other times and just overall satisfaction .
I don't even read manga much but this is an exception bcz i couldn't wait .And yes the manga is def better . I rushed thru it too quick to review it properly
BLUE LOCK IS MY CURRENT OBSESSION . I EAT BREATHE AND SLEEP BLUE LOCK . I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH , I GET AN ADRENALINE HIGH READING IT . I love how selfish and egotistical it is , i love the slander , i love the drive to be no1 (idc how that makes me sound ) and I think it makes the series unique . Watching the characters develop , devour each other , the AURA moments , the dynamics , the matches . all of it .This series just makes me FEEL . It raises my blood pressure ,makes me seethe , a euphoric rush other times and just overall satisfaction .
I don't even read manga much but this is an exception bcz i couldn't wait .And yes the manga is def better . I rushed thru it too quick to review it properly
December 3, 2022
4.5/5
I cannot believe I was naïve enough to believe Ego Jinpachi was really telling them to “lock off” (like he does in the anime) when he was really telling them to “**** off” LMAOOO
I decided to read the manga cause I couldn’t get enough of the anime.
Came expecting a sports manga but left with the understanding that it’s a battle royale with a soccer theme.
Initially there’s a freshness to this series because of its intense focus on selfishness, but how can they be a team in that round robin tournament and still maintain that selfishness? I don’t see it. Don’t think too hard about the premise or it’ll fall apart!
Gripes aside, I find this series so entertaining! Also the characters? Bachira shines! What’s gonna happen next? Who’s gonna betray who? Who’s gonna survive?!
I cannot believe I was naïve enough to believe Ego Jinpachi was really telling them to “lock off” (like he does in the anime) when he was really telling them to “**** off” LMAOOO
I decided to read the manga cause I couldn’t get enough of the anime.
Came expecting a sports manga but left with the understanding that it’s a battle royale with a soccer theme.
Initially there’s a freshness to this series because of its intense focus on selfishness, but how can they be a team in that round robin tournament and still maintain that selfishness? I don’t see it. Don’t think too hard about the premise or it’ll fall apart!
Gripes aside, I find this series so entertaining! Also the characters? Bachira shines! What’s gonna happen next? Who’s gonna betray who? Who’s gonna survive?!
August 5, 2025
9/10
Futbola ilgisi olmayanların bile beğeneceği bir manga serisi Blue Lock. Herkese tavsiye ederim.
Futbola ilgisi olmayanların bile beğeneceği bir manga serisi Blue Lock. Herkese tavsiye ederim.
January 19, 2025
4.5☆
Sin saber nada de fútbol yo quedé enamorada, de bachira y del manga.
Sin saber nada de fútbol yo quedé enamorada, de bachira y del manga.
May 19, 2026
“If I don’t do anything, I’ll lose…!! I must be an idiot… why am I hesitating…?! … Winning means there’s also a loser… so making my dream come true basically means that I need to end someone else’s dream.”
Sports is absolutely maddening. (I know because I’m a Giants baseball fan, har har.)
I’ve often thought that to myself while watching sports – although soccer isn’t my sport, it’s the same as the others in that way. I always look at the players after a loss and wonder how that feels. How can they stomach losing day in and day out, facing ridicule and disappointment from press and fans alike? How do they not let that anxiety get to them? Can they really tell themselves that it’s okay that they lost when all sorts of things are affected by it? Can they comfort themselves by saying that they did their absolute best – and does that comfort mean anything at all? Can they go to sleep at night knowing that once it's decided their career is over, it's over for good?
I’m a sports spectator, never a player, so I’ve never experienced these emotions or scenarios on even a small scale. But I can only understand one thing: if you’re not careful, it has to drive you insane. Like, it has to. Losing a competition where winning decides your worth has to be at least somewhat maddening.
And this is the reason why I was surprisingly impressed with this pilot volume of Blue Lock. Because I feel like it reaches into the furthest extreme of that feeling that says: I never want to lose again. I want to be the absolute best. I’m sure plenty of people in sports feel that way or have felt that way. Plain and simple: to win, someone else to lose. In order to seize your victory, someone else has to feel the pain of that loss. Unless you want to be that person always in that pain, you have to become a ruthless victor. I thought the way that this manga presented that dilemma was really compelling and well done, and I’m interested in reading a bit more, though I’m not sure if I’m locked in (pun intended) to committing to the whole series yet.
One small criticism: I think the art is mostly okay, with several moments of being hideous, and a few moments of being great. The character designs sometimes look like what nails on a chalkboard sound like. However, I think that the premise and theming is so strong that it overpowers it a bit, so I don’t hate it visually.
March 19, 2021
Japan has gotten better at soccer, but Japan sucks at soccer. The only road to the World Cup apparently involves traumatizing 300 high school students in an elaborate death game determined to produce the world’s best functioning sociopath. In case you were wondering, you are reading a manga.
Hoo boy, you can’t fault the audacity of this book. From the opening match where our hero, Isagi, learns that there should probably be an ‘i in team’, straight through to his grim realizations about himself, this book’s got a point of view and it’s not upset about sharing it.
I say death game, but only in the sense that losing it kills their careers - these handpicked students are stuffed into a ridiculously convoluted facility, the titular Blue Lock (they could have BOUGHT a soccer team for how much this thing must have cost), and forced to brawl against one another to emerge as the one good striker from 300 hopefuls.
It’s absolutely ludicrous, from the disturbingly long-necked bowl cut coach Ego (there’s no nose that this story won’t be on) to the high tech facility to the fact that the press barely pushes back on these lunatics destroying 299 lives to get ONE good player (actually the press taking the lazy way out is probably the most depressingly accurate part of the story).
The art is okay - the action ranges from very easy to follow to ‘motion blur incomprehensible what did I just see’. The characters are interesting - I guess we’re supposed to root for Isagi, although you have to imagine that turning a teenager into a self-centred egomaniacal little turd won’t take much effort.
Still, if you like this kind of beyond sensical sports story mixed with goofy trials to overcome, you might find something here. Make no mistake, I did. It’s hard not to get caught up in all the competition, even if the overall message of the story is absolutely awful.
The first game they play offers some seriously high drama on par with anything of its type and the author has done enough set-up work that the outcome definitely lands with a punch. I can’t claim I wasn’t interested nor quite fascinated at what the result would be, which is pretty much 80% of the battle in a book like this.
But, who knows, maybe the true moral of the story will become apparent. Then again, maybe it’s an excuse to watch some kids destroy one another’s dreams and prove that an entire soccer field is in service of one person (the book makes a compelling case for this being true).
3 stars, can’t say I love the values it’s pushing forward, but the sheer chutzpah and devotion to its ideals counts for a lot. I don’t normally go for sports stories, but I’ll give this one another shot because it looks like the second test is going to be fun and I’m genuinely curious to see how it goes.
Hoo boy, you can’t fault the audacity of this book. From the opening match where our hero, Isagi, learns that there should probably be an ‘i in team’, straight through to his grim realizations about himself, this book’s got a point of view and it’s not upset about sharing it.
I say death game, but only in the sense that losing it kills their careers - these handpicked students are stuffed into a ridiculously convoluted facility, the titular Blue Lock (they could have BOUGHT a soccer team for how much this thing must have cost), and forced to brawl against one another to emerge as the one good striker from 300 hopefuls.
It’s absolutely ludicrous, from the disturbingly long-necked bowl cut coach Ego (there’s no nose that this story won’t be on) to the high tech facility to the fact that the press barely pushes back on these lunatics destroying 299 lives to get ONE good player (actually the press taking the lazy way out is probably the most depressingly accurate part of the story).
The art is okay - the action ranges from very easy to follow to ‘motion blur incomprehensible what did I just see’. The characters are interesting - I guess we’re supposed to root for Isagi, although you have to imagine that turning a teenager into a self-centred egomaniacal little turd won’t take much effort.
Still, if you like this kind of beyond sensical sports story mixed with goofy trials to overcome, you might find something here. Make no mistake, I did. It’s hard not to get caught up in all the competition, even if the overall message of the story is absolutely awful.
The first game they play offers some seriously high drama on par with anything of its type and the author has done enough set-up work that the outcome definitely lands with a punch. I can’t claim I wasn’t interested nor quite fascinated at what the result would be, which is pretty much 80% of the battle in a book like this.
But, who knows, maybe the true moral of the story will become apparent. Then again, maybe it’s an excuse to watch some kids destroy one another’s dreams and prove that an entire soccer field is in service of one person (the book makes a compelling case for this being true).
3 stars, can’t say I love the values it’s pushing forward, but the sheer chutzpah and devotion to its ideals counts for a lot. I don’t normally go for sports stories, but I’ll give this one another shot because it looks like the second test is going to be fun and I’m genuinely curious to see how it goes.
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