An “Egoist” Story
Unlike most other sports anime series you’ve probably heard of, like the much-revered Haikyuu and aforementioned Kuroko’s Basketball, Blue Lock is a very individualistic style of series. Whereas series like Haikyuu are very focused on teamwork and friendship, the story setup of Blue Lock forces its characters to get into the mindset of “every man for himself.”
The story kicks off with a select group of Japanese high schoolers who have been entered into the Blue Lock program, where the overseer Jinpachi Ego has been tasked with training the “perfect striker” who will go on to win the World Cup for the Japan national team. This is a program that doesn’t hold anything back, and if you’re disqualified, your football career is essentially over and you’ll be barred from ever joining the national team.
For a bunch of teenagers who are so overwhelmingly passionate about football, this is essentially a life or death situation. No one can afford to slip up, and while we do get to see some great friendships form over the course of the story, no one ever forgets that there can only be one winner. This creates a very tense situation where the players are all automatically hostile towards one another, leading to frantic and unpredictable scenarios that keep the story interesting.
