They may both have “Blue” in the title and be about soccer (that applies to Be Blues too), but the similarities between 2022’s two big soccer adaptations end there. In fact Ao Ashi and Blue Lock could hardly be more opposite if they tried. One is mostly hand-drawn, the other mostly CGI in the action sequences. One is old-fashioned and pretty traditional, the other a trope-surfing “post-sports” sports manga. Seinen vs. shounen, gritty realism vs. abject absurdity. Perhaps most importantly, one is clearly aimed at fans who love sports, and one at those that don’t.
Of course, I fall into the first group. As such, Ao Ashi was always going to be a better fit with me, but that’s priced into the equation. I don’t know if Blue Lock fully qualifies as a “sports manga for people who hate sports”, but it does seem to lean in that direction. Soccer boring to you? We’ve got you covered. For me, though, any chance I have with this show comes down to accepting it for what it is – and what it isn’t. If I view this as a soccer series, it’s over for me. If I scorn it for being dumb when it clearly embraces dumbness, I have no chance. It may sound simple enough but believe me, it ain’t easy.
In effect, I think this series is kind of a sports version of Dandadan. I don’t have an issue letting the bakayarocity wash over me there, but it’s easier because I haven’t got an attachment to the subject as I do with soccer. Blue Lock is just silly with full abandon (and those eyes!), and sports series that take that route always pose a challenger for me. I almost can’t believe this isn’t a Trigger series (it’s 8 bit), because I can hardly think of a show that seems to embody a studio’s aesthetic like this one and Trigger (if you know, you know).
The protagonist here is a second-year high schooler named Isagi Youichi. As we meet him his team is about to be bounced out of regionals because he decides to pass to an open teammate (who clanks a sitter off the post) rather than take the big shot himself. He’s devastated of course, but awaiting him at home (along with his seemingly clueless parents) is a letter from the “Japan Football Union” (ROFL) telling him he’s been selected as a “certified athlete”. When he shows up at the proffered address he finds himself in the company of 299 other high school strikers, about to be given a bizarre quasi-religious welcome message from a guy played by Kamiya Hiroshi in that mode of his that really grates on my nerves.
There is one element of Blue Lock that does have a tenuous connection to reality, and it’s the theory that strikers have to be selfish egoists in order to excel. Of course it’s handled in utterly simplistic fashion and once the train leaves realism station it’s never coming back. Ego (ROFL) Jinpachi’s (that’s the Kamiya guy) idea is to lock these kids up together and have them battle each other in survival games until only one is left, and that one kid will be “the best striker in the world”. As I said, you really have to divorce yourself from the notion that this is a soccer series to have any chance – or not care about soccer in the first place.
The first elimination event here (the boys are ranked #1-300) is a sort of soccer tag where whoever gets hit is “it”, and whoever’s it when the clock runs out is expelled. That should give you an idea of the level we’re operating at here, but it’s amusing enough for what it is. The gist of this is sort of clever, actually – that these punks have to learn to forget they’re Japanese or they’re going to get axed and forever lose their chance to wear samurai blue. For 299th-ranked Youichi that means turning on the kindly #1 boy and getting him eliminated, thus starting the process of embracing his inner gaijin.
One interesting question for me is to what extent this core idea is taken seriously, and which side of the fence the mangaka comes down on – though I suspect it doesn’t really lend itself to that degree of analysis and is just a hook. Blue Lock is weird enough to be sort of interesting, and it’s certainly popular enough, so I’m going to try and soldier through my prejudices and grok the source of that popularity. Who knows if I’ll actually get there, but it’s certainly worth a shot.
Steven
October 9, 2022 at 8:16 pmMy take is this: Shut off all senses about this being a football anime. Treat it as a 2000s Nike The Cage advert animation series.
It’s such a narrow view about football and being a striker, I can hardly take it serious for a second.
Haraga
October 9, 2022 at 10:19 pmThe problem with this kind of series is that it has to be entertaining and intriguing 100% of the time, and it is supposed to be full-steam ahead screaming at you all the time to keep your attention. If it ever pauses, you’ll quickly realize that it’s hollow on the inside. The success of battle royales is usually in their ability to humanize their characters soon after the flashy introduction. From what I’ve seen so far, there’s no reason to believe this show will even attempt it.
Derrick
October 9, 2022 at 10:56 pmThey have to invent some French striker to support the premise of the show. That’s hilarious. Because in real life France won a world cup in 2018 with Olivier Giroud. A striker that scored 0 goal in that tournament.
Of course we now have Mbappe and Haaland..
Guardian Enzo
October 10, 2022 at 12:06 am“We”? I assume you mean the world and not France, as Haaland is Norwegian. And ironically not all that selfish as strikers go – he’s just so much better than everybody else that he scores ridiculous numbers of goals anyway.
Riv
October 10, 2022 at 12:17 amI think I’ll be able to set aside the soccer aspect, not sure yet about the sheer ridiculousness. I didn’t hate the first episode, didn’t love it either, but will give it a few more to see.
Parker
October 10, 2022 at 8:37 pmDisregarding blue lock’s theatrics, it’s mindset about growing is much is much more relatable as an athlete who wants to be the best in collegiate sport vs any other sports anime perspective I’ve seen. Then again I compete in wrestling, a sport where you have to fight for your starting position against everyone in your weight class through “wrestle-offs”. Blue lock is more about competition which is much more conducive to my thoughts in regards to athletics, I think it’s just a fun and over the top way to display it, so I think sports fans can still love the series, at least in my case.
Dodgers
October 11, 2022 at 9:44 pmI’m not familiar with Dandadan, but the first comparison that popped to mind was the sort of overtly quirky and nihilistic death game story that Dangan Ronpa is probably the most well-known representative of. It’s one thing that the characters are appearing to be made in a similar mold of being defined by their showy-quirky nature with optional levels of “cool edge”, but even the subtext seems to be a low-key know-it-all delivered disdain towards the ideal of teamwork, and the domestic state of soccer. Hell, I even expected Captain Tsubasa getting at least a shoutout by the time Ego started bringing up real-life soccer players and the World Cup itself, and even though it didn’t happened, I still got a rather DR-ish attitude from this preimer. Though I’d assume BL won’t reach that point of 100% similarity (yet?) with how the soccer/sports theme needs the story to focus on a more specific subject, but most especially because it doesn’t even seem to be concerned with that similarity when it cares more about the individual’s role in a team-based sport. And the funny thing is that it does it with just enough mindfulness and reasoning to be kind of interesting, so I can definitely understand why you’re willing to stick with BL a little longer.
Guardian Enzo
October 11, 2022 at 10:39 pmYeah, Dangan Ronpa is certainly a logical comparison. Unfortunately for me I’m not a fan of that show, but I will give this one a shot to win me over.
Simone
October 21, 2022 at 4:13 pmDanganronpa for me is fun as a game, the show is a waste. Most of the fun is figuring out the cases as you go, and being immersed in the VN makes it possible whereas the anime is too fast paced to let you properly internalise the hints and crime scene.
That said, I wonder if Bluelock isn’t actually more about Japanese society than soccer. “Fuck that noise, BE the nail that sticks out” definitely sounds like a criticism you’d expect someone to have.