Blue Lock broke through the sports anime wall in my heart

Anime has been a huge focal point of my life since a very young age, cheering on Gohan to defeat Cell in Dragon Ball Z and Yugi to win the Battle City Tournament in Yu-Gi-Oh! However, one genre of anime always disinterested me and that was sports. No sports anime ever caught my attention for very long, with the exception of Yuri on Ice!!, rest in peace. That is, until Blue Lock.

I certainly tried my fair share of sports anime throughout the years, including the fan-favorites like Haikyuu! and Free. Outside of the super catchy musical openings and endings, I didn’t stick around for long. Blue Lock, however, immediately swept me off my feet and I recently binged the entire first season in a matter of two days. This is largely because of the excellent soccer matches, sure, but also the phenomenal way in which Blue Lock frames its storyline and characters.

Squid Game-like setting works wonders

A huge part of why Blue Lock gripped me in a way no other sports anime has comes down to the immediate premise, which feels like a battle royale or Squid Game-like competition. The goal of the titular Blue Lock competition is to find the best Japanese high school soccer players to craft a national team able to compete with the greats in the World Cup.

Each episode feels like a reality TV show in how the contestants compete in various challenges or soccer matches to whittle down the number of players from the initial 300 students all the way down to the handful of winners. This adds a level of intensity and heartbreak I haven’t seen in any other similar series.

Right off the bat, without going too deep into spoilers, the series eliminates one of the most promising potential villains from the Blue Lock competition without a care in the world. The series is absolutely brutal because of this, frequently removing important characters from the story in surprising and relentless ways without a moment’s notice.

In the first season alone of Blue Lock, there are a couple of standout moments that rival the renowned sixth episode of Squid Game. This setup is so incredible; it feeds that one-more-episode drive, and it even won over sports anime haters like myself.

Selfish protagonist helps to differentiate

You can even feel the winner-takes-all mentality of the Blue Lock series in its central protagonist, Yoichi Isagi. Isagi is by far one of the most selfish and inconsiderate “heroes” I’ve seen in an anime. He is in the competition only for himself, to prove that he is the number-one striker in all of Japan. Isagi’s personality is fascinatingly abrasive, to the point I didn’t even like him half the time.

That might seem odd and like a negative, but I find a more complicated protagonist makes a series all the more intriguing and fun to watch. He reminds me of Lelouch from Code Geass, in a way. Isagi makes some questionable decisions, but I can’t stop watching. At times, Isagi is honestly a bit hard to root for when he betrays a teammate or makes himself the one to get the glory for a key goal, but this makes him all the more compelling to watch. Isagi feels more realistic than the typical overly optimistic anime protagonist. He is all about furthering his own career no matter who he has to push aside. Seeing how Isagi’s recklessness affects his relationships is enticing.

This selfish idea applies to the supporting cast, too. They all have their own motivations and goals in the competition, most of which aren’t exactly altruistic or friendly. It feels refreshing to have a series where it isn’t all about the power of friendship or a happy-go-lucky storyline.

Stellar action and drama on and off the field

If there is one part about Blue Lock you can bet your money on, it is how high the stakes are. It doesn’t matter if you are on the field or off it; everything is so dramatic. The action and drama are top notch from start to finish in the first season of the series, complete with detailed and gorgeous animation to match this. However, this isn’t necessarily unique to this particular series. Most sports anime at least have this part down, which is the genre is so popular.

That said, I tried other soccer anime in the past, such as Aoashi. As a former high school soccer player myself, I can say these other series adapted the action quite well. Everything from dribbling, passing, shooting goals, and tackling look great. However, series like Aoashi felt just a little bit too safe and tame for my liking. Blue Lock, on the other hand, ensures every moment on the field is as over-the-top as it gets.

There are plenty of twists, superpower moments, and going to the next level in the middle of the soccer matches. This makes the series almost feel like a nonstop iteration of the Tournament of Power from Dragon Ball Super. But even when the story quiets down off the field, it still doesn’t hold back in the drama department. There are so many betrayals, back-stabbings, and surprises that keep the viewer on their toes in almost every single episode.

You could argue the series doesn’t take enough time to pause from the constant twists and turns. This is fair. It doesn’t slow down enough in some key moments. But if you want a show with breakneck pacing, look no further. I appreciated how it respects the viewer’s time. Filler isn’t a problem here.

Overall, Blue Lock is the perfect anime for newcomers to sports anime to check out. It won this sports anime hater over due to its battle royale-like premise, stellar cast of morally gray and sometimes unlikable characters, and nonstop action and drama. This is the type of series you’ll want to start and not stop until it’s over.