Over the summer, I watched a soccer anime called Blue Lock because of my friend’s recommendation, and I was completely hooked on the high stakes the story had set up by the end of the very first episode. Like many sports anime, Blue Lock excels at depicting the action in each game, particularly seen in their well-researched depiction of soccer strategies and movements that surpass the limits of the human body. The animation alone gives so much more appeal to the show, elevating static manga panels into dynamic movement.

Blue Lock centers around a soccer training camp whose goal is to take a group of 300 promising young strikers and shape one into a striker worthy of winning Japan the World Cup. Every match in Blue Lock poses the question of whether our protagonists can evolve to watch their opponents’ level or lose their soccer careers. Initially, players are assigned to teams of eleven, but as the show progresses, they narrow down to matches between teams of three to prove their individual skills. Friends turn on each other, and your enemy becomes your ally. Some players betray their team, especially when the rules reward those who score the highest number of goals. Despite this survivalist environment, genuine friendships emerge throughout the show.

We follow Isagi Yoichi, our protagonist, throughout Blue Lock. He does not have a strong physique, nor strong ball control, or even exceptional dribbling skills. Compared to his teammates, he is initially a weak player. He comes to gradually discover his only talent in soccer: his unusual spatial awareness of the field. Blue Lock follows Isagi’ s character arc from the second-to-worst player into a formidable opponent.  

Blue Lock also excels at character writing. In western sports dramas, the protagonist is morally righteous, and the antagonist is vicious and seeks victory through any means necessary. In contrast, Blue Lock showcases Isagi becoming a jerk. For example, Isagi ends his friend’s soccer career without any remorse during the first elimination round. Isagi has the capability to be rude, selfish, and vengeful toward his own teammates just as much as he is to the opposition.

Looking at characters besides Isagi, even minor characters receive careful portrayals and become memorable. In a western drama, the side characters tend to be bland and good-natured supporters, or one of the antagonist’s lackeys. In Blue Lock, one of Isagi’s teammates betrays his team by leaking their strategy and player profiles to the opponent in exchange for becoming the highest scorer. This show provides a compelling backstory for why: all throughout high school, his unmotivated teammate dragged him down from playing in the professional league. In this training camp, he promised himself he won’t be burdened by such teammates again.

Season 2 of Blue Lock debuts in October 2024. If it is anything like the first, this adaptation will continue the trend of Blue Lock’s stellar character writing and animated action.