‘Blue Lock’ It had already been one of the most anticipated releases of autumn when we talk about anime… but of course, the World Cup arrived, Japan hit us with several surprises during the competition and all the stars have aligned so that the series is sweeping.
The anime quickly became a trend (and has given us memes for a while) for the importance of the Japan National Team in history. And it is that after the elimination of the Japanese soccer team in the World Cup in 2018, the Japan Soccer Union decides to put the batteries and completely changes its strategy.
The master plan goes through signing ego jinpachian unconventional trainer who has developed the program bluelock, a very exhaustive and completely brutal training regimen designed to create the best and most selfish goalscorer of all time. One of the guests on the show is Isagi Yoichiwho just suffered a devastating defeat and will do everything possible to become the best player in the world.
training begins
‘Blue Lock’‘ is a sports anime to the core, where football is the essence and the most important thing. Of course, if you expect a spokon The usual one where the whole team works together and goes out of their way for each other… well, this anime is going to hit you hard.
The basis of the training is for every man for himself and it is governed because only the strongest and most selfish can reach the top. because in the end, only one can be the star scorer. This does not mean that there is no space or time to create a team feeling and strategies, but it does mean that they will have a slightly different tone and less good vibes.
Obviously, if you don’t particularly like football, ‘Blue Lock’ can make a ball. Other animes of the genre easily get you interested in the sport they are talking about, but at least in this first installment of the series, once you have seen two games it seems that you have seen them all. Because without reaching the historical levels of ‘Captain Tsubasa’, the “simple” 45-minute matches of ‘Blue Lock’ can become eternal.
Another thing that works against it is that precisely because the teams have so many players (compared to other smaller teams like volleyball or basketball, for example), it is very difficult to be able to give time to all the members. Except for Isagi and a handful of other characters, we still have a hard time getting to know the rest of the team, so it’s not easy to really empathize with them or their motivations.
Yes indeed, when ‘Blue Lock’ finally shows you more of the characters, it does it very well and in stylewith flashbacks included where they show you their deepest dramas and traumas.
Although the matches can take forever, the intercalation with these moments that focus more on the psyche of each player are well measured and gives you the necessary hook to interest you in them, including the specific “antagonists”.
Because the series manages to maintain very well all that halo of intrigue and mystery regarding the Blue Lock. Beyond the matches, you also have the impossible strategies out of your sleeve and a thriller tone very well carried with the characters becoming real maniacs.
The animation is also well measured, and logically it shines more during the most intense moments of the matches. ‘Blue Lock’ can be blamed for sometimes being too sinful in that almost all the characters have the same face, but it is saved thanks to the good work of the voice actors.
Sometimes ‘Blue Lock’ he takes himself too seriously and sometimes gets too intense, but he succeeds in capturing what’s on each player’s mind when he’s on the pitch. There are no good or bad, if not we have a group of very different players with the same dream and obsessed with victory no matter who they take away.
This first season of ‘Blue Lock’ will focus on the Selection Arc of the manga of Maneyuki Kaneshiro and is expected to last for 24 episodes. We are already approaching the halfway point of the series, with a new episode every week that we can see through Crunchyroll.