Blue Lock is a highly popular soccer anime based on Muneyuki Kaneshiro’s manga. While the series boasts numerous characters, only those with exceptional talent manage to capture viewers’ attention.
The anime’s popularity has soared since its first season premiered. It’s acclaimed for its intense soccer action, intricate characters, and gripping storyline. In fact, the show has even inspired real tournaments, solidifying its popularity and impact.
Interestingly, the creator of Blue Lock, Muneyuki Kaneshiro is a passionate football fan who has always dreamed of seeing his national team, Japan win the World Cup. In an interview, he delves into the reasons behind the failure of Japanese soccer.
Japanese Soccer Team’s Failure Due to Lack of Egoists
The creator of Blue Lock, Muneyuki Kaneshiro has always loved football and wanted to see Japan’s national team win the World Cup. Even when he was a child, he would enthusiastically watch their matches on TV and cheer for them. As a kid, he hoped that the Japanese team would have a skilled striker. This wish inspired him to come up with the idea for Blue Lock.
However, as he thought more about the story, he realized the main issue that the Japanese football team was facing, as he mentioned in an interview with Gendai (translated by AnimeHunch):
“The Japanese have a tendency to cooperate and respect harmony, and I think the root of the problems the Japanese soccer world is facing is a lack of egoists because of this excessive cooperativeness.”
The creator of the manga explained that Japanese people tend to work together and value harmony. He believes that the shortage of egoists in the Japanese soccer team is the main reason for their failure.
Blue Lock Manga – Football Enjoyment for All with a Simple Approach
Muneyuki Kaneshiro incorporated this idea of egoists in the team into the story of Blue Lock. But before he began publishing the manga, Kaneshiro had discussions with many individuals in the football world. The feedback he received from them was quite surprising to him. Kaneshiro said:
“I was scared that they would be very angry with me, but many of them said, ‘You are right!’”
He said that as he continued to engage in conversations with them, he became increasingly convinced that the path he had chosen was the correct one. He further added:
“Players have data, systems, discipline, and team rules in their heads, and they enforce them for 90 minutes. I used to watch a game and easily think, ‘Shoot there!’ But the more I learned, the more I thought, ‘Well, as a team, we don’t shoot so easily there, do we?’ But as for the forwards, I still want them to shoot! I wanted the forwards to hit it.”
This is one of the reasons why he decided to create the Blue Lock manga with many self-confident and spontaneous players.
However, Kaneshiro also wanted the manga to be enjoyable for everyone, even those who didn’t know much about football. So, he wrote the manga in a way that didn’t delve into the intricate rules, terminology, and strategies of football.
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Source: AnimeHunch
