“Number one! Number one! Number one!”
The audience regularly chanted this throughout the BLUE LOCK panel at Anime Expo 2024, raising their index finger to punctuate the phrase, which gives you an idea of how fun and light-hearted the discussion was.
First-timers at Anime Expo, the special guests included:
Kazuki Ura, the Japanese voice for protagonist Yoichi Isagi, was extremely energetic and endearing, sporting the U.S. exclusive BLUE LOCK Aloha blue shirt.
Megumu Tsuchiya, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Weekly Shonen Magazine & The Editor of BLUE LOCK Manga.
Ryoya Arisawa, the Animation Producer of the BLUE LOCK anime series.
One of my favorite things about attending panels for the shows I’m a fan of is getting the “behind-the-scenes” glimpse of the crew that holds very relatable interests.
For instance, Ura-san gushed about visiting the Dodger stadium and seeing Shohei Ohtani in action, along with the “very delicious” hot dogs. Arisawa-san dreamily described his love for the local beer, particularly Golden Road Brewing. It’s moments like these where you, as the fan, enjoy seeing their enjoyment and are glad they got to take a well-deserved break from working on the popular BLUE LOCK series.
An Intense Sports Anime That Gets You Hyped
Based on the award-winning manga by Muneyuki Kaneshiro, the anime features 300 high school forwards pitted against each other in the BLUE LOCK training program. They compete to be the ace striker to lead Japan’s National Team in the next World Cup Tournament. If eliminated, the player will NEVER be able to play for the national team.
It’s like Squid Game but soccer. And instead of actual death, it’s the death of their soccer career, which, for the athletes, can feel like the same thing.
Even with 24 episodes, Season 1 moves fast, with each episode better than the previous, making you look forward to the telltale signs of the spiral eyes, aura colors, and flying puzzle pieces that let you know things are about to get serious.
I don’t particularly reach for sports anime; however, I was pleasantly surprised with BLUE LOCK. The recently released movie Episode Nagi was enjoyable, too, even if it was primarily a recap, but from a different player’s perspective.
All About That Ego
When Ura-san was asked if there was any particular scene that was difficult to act, he replied:
“When I had to tell Nagi, ‘Shut up, genius.’ That was a difficult scene because I had to make it authentic and dig deep within my ego to make it happen. So I practiced it a lot while walking down a street, reciting it to myself, and yes, I got some weird looks!”
Additional ways that he prepares himself for recording are some method acting, such as not eating the day of recording or not playing his favorite game, to be more in tune with Isagi’s rollercoaster emotions and the challenges he faces.
Tsuchiya-san also shared that since the show’s main theme is fighting with ego, the team is careful never to make any of the characters reach a point where they give up.
Fight on, egoists!
Season 2 Kicking Off on October 5
For long-time BLUE LOCK fans since 2022, the Season 2 announcement was highly welcomed, and the audience was treated to the sneak peek trailer:
While Season 1 focused on Isagi’s transformation, working his way from the bottom, in Season 2, viewers can expect growth in new areas, especially as the BLUE LOCK Eleven compete against the Japan U-20 (Japan National Under-20 soccer team) in a new environment outside the training center.
We’ll see how our favorite characters adapt to this new field setting with live spectators and how Nagi grows even further than he did in the movie.
The first season of BLUE LOCK can be streamed on Crunchyroll, and showtime availability for BLUE LOCK The Movie: Episode Nagi can be found here.
Season 2 will premiere on October 5, 2024, also on Crunchyroll. It will consist of 14 episodes, which are expected to be released weekly.
