Bluelock: A New Kind of Sports Anime
The hit show Bluelock has redefined sports anime. While most sports anime are grouped into a category of cliche, “buddy buddy” and “we can do this as a team” mentality, the ideals of Bluelock are the opposite. With Bluelock’s focus on selfishness, the uniqueness of the show is apparent…
With its first official episode airing on October 9th, 2022, the sports anime demonstrated what it takes to be the best. Forgoing any sense of empathy or trust in others is the way to dominate in Bluelock. The concept of abandoning the friendly side of sports and doing whatever you can to win: this is what Blue Lock is.
The main character, Isagi Yoichi, is shown as a team player who instinctively passed up the game-tying goal to send his team to nationals. This pass led to his teammate hitting the post and ultimately a loss. The anger and frustration an athlete goes through after a tough loss is displayed through Isagi. The main character then received an invitation to compete in the Bluelock program amongst 299 other top youth forwards in Japan. Yoichi takes up the offer and finds himself among the legends on the high school stage.
With all the soccer stars in the room, a man named Ego Jinpachi comes and offers each of them the opportunity of a lifetime. The one winner of the Bluelock program will become the best striker in the world. But if you flunk out of the program, you would never be able to compete on Japan’s National Squad. Naturally, everyone in the room rushes to participate in the competition.
With the stakes having been so high, the “Blue Lockers” all treated each selection stage as if it was their lives on the line. This makes for very hype moments. A personal favorite of mine is when Isagi looks down at a man crying as he just ended his soccer career. To make the moment even better, all Isagi could think was, “I crushed them.”
The cold-hearted emotions of this show are truly something you’d never expect from a sports anime. One character displays this perfectly. He initially seems to be the nicest character, and he truly fits this description. But when entering a match, the team realizes he sold out their playstyles before the match and ended up helping the other team fight and win. This betrayal caused Yoichi’s team to play 10 vs 12 in a highly competitive match. I won’t spoil how the match ends, but it was one of my favorite anime moments of all time.
Overall, the shounen Bluelock is one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. It has awesome moments, hype scenes, nerve-racking finishes, and best of all, it has a great cast of characters. If I were to rate Bluelock on a scale from 1-10, I would give it a 9.8/10. This show is perfect for me. I believe that a lot of people would find it to be a great show too. It is located on the streaming platform Crunchyroll. The show is a great watch and worth your time.
By Gideon Nelson