Brief Synopsis
Released: Aug 1, 2018 - present
Chapter Count: 163 (to date of post)
“After reflecting on the current state of Japanese soccer, the Japanese Football Association decides to hire the enigmatic and eccentric coach Jinpachi Ego to achieve their dream of winning the World Cup. Believing that Japan has lacked an egoistic striker hungry for goals, Jinpachi initiates the Blue Lock—a prison-like facility where three hundred talented strikers from high schools all over Japan are isolated and pitted against each other. The sole survivor of Blue Lock will earn the right to become the national team's striker, and those who are defeated shall be banned from joining the team forever.
Selected to join this risky project is Yoichi Isagi, a striker who failed to bring his high school soccer team to the national tournament. After choosing to pass to a teammate who missed instead of scoring on his own, he could not help but wonder if the results would have been different had he been more selfish. Using this golden opportunity given by the Blue Lock Project, Yoichi aims to clear his doubts and chase his ultimate desire—to become the greatest striker in the world and lead Japan to World Cup glory."
[Written by MAL Rewrite] (Source: MyAnimeList.net )
Chest Thoughts
Before a couple of months ago I could count on one hand 1) the amount of manga I had read and 2) how many sports animes/mangas I'd watched/read. Today....well I still can but they are rising swiftly!
After getting sucked into the world of sports anime and manga I accidentally stumbled on Blue Lock. I saw some buzz about it getting an anime in the Fall of 2022 and decided to read ahead to see if I'd be interested in watching it when it came out. I immediately blasted through 30 chapters.
This manga is packed to the brim with action. It's a Battle Royale meets Soccer/Football story and it does not disappoint. As per the usual with a BR, there are teams of people fighting it out while also trying to look out for themselves first and foremost. The characters are interesting and compelling. The struggles are intense and there's even some humor laced throughout the reading. I can honestly see why this will be getting an adaption as it has so much action it felt like it was made for TV.
I've yet to settle on a favorite or set of favorite characters but there are some high contenders as the story has developed. The setting is simple as it is in a soccer compound that the players can't leave so you are very focused on the characters and games.