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Chapter 1 : selection
She doesn't dislike cup yakisoba. In fact, she likes it. It’s usually delicious, but having it 3 times a day as a meal?
Teieri Anri, an employee of the Japan Football Union, raises an eyebrow.
Empty instant cup yakisobas are piled up on the desk, the contents of the shopping bag on the floor are also instant cup yakisobas, and moreover, an instant cup yakisoba is currently being slurped down.
The coach of Blue Lock, Ego Jinpachi.
His mouth is chewing, but the bulging eyes behind his glasses are staring at the monitor.
He is a coach that Anri herself invited. He is the key person hired by Anri to lead Japan to the World Cup championship, and the person who came up with the outrageous project called “Blue Lock”.
He’s very much a weirdo… No, she knew he was a great man who, until now, could not be measured by common sense. But she didn't know that he loves cup noodles so much. She’s a little worried that it might endanger his health.
“Now, here’s the next video for the selection.”
Bringing his attention back to work from eating cup yakisoba, Anri then uses the remote control to change the screen.
Blue Lock Monitoring room.
The entire wall was filled with several displays and even more computers for managing vast amounts of data. On the screen, the highlights of the Saitama Prefecture Finals, the Preliminary round for the National High School Soccer Championships, were playing.
The cameras are following Player #11. The endgame of the match. Player #11 made a brilliant last pass, his teammate decided to shoot for the goal. Just when Player #11 gave the teammate who took the shot a warm hug, Anri stopped the video.
“This kid… is not a good striker. I'll proceed to the next video for selection."
As a striker, he’s no good.
Ego and Anri are about to conduct an experiment to create the best strikers in the world. 300 strikers under the age of 18, the unpolished gems, will live together and undergo a special top training program devised by Ego. And that is “Blue Lock”.
That one player who survives in Blue Lock and is the last one left after kicking out the 299 others will be the best striker in the world. So, this kid who is quick to give a pass to his good friend and teammate is not quite right. What they are looking for is not this kind of friendly play that thinks of others.
“Wait, Anri-chan. This is interesting material.”
Ego, who had just finished his cup yakisoba, leaned forward. He stared at the screen as if he were devouring it.
“Show me all of his videos. What’s his name?”
Anri rushes to check the data. Player #11 of Ichinan High School Soccer Team is…
“......he’s Isagi Yoichi-kun.”
He played footage of some of Isagi Yoichi's matches, and he had a totally systematic way of moving. Passing the ball around, elevating the axis of the attack, and then passing the last pass to a free player.
(Hmmm. Certainly, he’s outstandingly good but, it’s just that.)
All revolutionary strikers are rare egoists. Take pleasure in your own goals above all else and live only for that moment. On the field, you are the leading actor. Everyone else besides you are supporting actors. If you don’t become the world’s top egoist, you can never be the best striker in the world……! That’s what Ego thinks.
Ego's own judgment and biases determine which 300 strikers are invited to Blue Lock, but Anri is aware of this.
(Isagi Yoichi……this kid is out of the question.)
“Yeah, That’s good, Isagi Yoichi. Anri-chan, I’ve decided to summon him.”
No way.
“Certainly……!”
Although Anri was puzzled, she hurriedly checked the "Invite" box on Isagi Yoichi's data.
Chapter 2: CRYBABY YOCCHAN
“Abababa!! Yocchan♡ It’s Papa ♡ I got you a new toy♡”
While shaking the light blue rattle, Baby Isagi’s face rumpled and grimaced.
“Guh, Uwaa”
“Huh…”
He was so disappointed that he cried over the toy he had bought to make him happy.
“That won’t do, dear. Yocchan is afraid of loud noises. Yocchan, it’s Mama Here’s a teddy bear♡”
A cute stuffed bear was held out in front of Baby Isagi.
“Uwahhh!!”
He cried even more.
“.....Oh my, he’s scared of teddy too.”
A gentle-mannered and easygoing father, Issei, and a calm and tender mother, Iyo.
TL note: Isagi’s first name Yoichi/世一 seems to be a combined name from his father Issei/一生 for the 一/Ichi, and Iyo/伊世 for the 世/Yo
With two gentle parents, Isagi Yoichi was born “timid”. The sound of the kettle boiling, a dog on a walk, a cicada’s cast-off skin...... he gets scared and starts crying at the sound of everything. Whenever there was a stranger, he would immediately hide behind his mother, making it difficult for him to make friends or go to kindergarten.In the summer when Isagi was 3 years old, there have been incidents like this one caused by him being timid.
Isagi was playing in the living room when he suddenly saw an empty space and began to cry.
“Scary! Uwahhh!”
Iyo hurriedly comforts the crying Isagi in her arms.
“What's wrong? What are you scared of?"
Isagi cried out and desperately pointed to the empty space. Even if Iyo strained her eyes, she couldn't see anything. There was nothing but a white wall.
“Yocchan, what is there…?”
Iyo shuddered when she heard the next line.
“Can’t Mama see it?”
A chill ran down Iyo's spine as she hugged her child, who was crying even harder. This child can see things that can't be seen...?
Isagi started pointing to empty spaces and crying. In the corner of the kitchen, in the bedroom window, in the closet ....... There is something in this house that only Isagi can see.
Could it be a ghost……?
While the couple was seriously discussing whether they should have an exorcism, Isagi started crying again.
“Uwahhh! There it is! Scary!"
It’s there……! What could it be!?
While hugging Isagi, Issei and Iyo also trembled. At that moment. Close to Issei’s ear, he heard a sound. That unpleasant sound peculiar to summer, and it passed the corner of his eye. He looks up in surprise. For the first time, Issei was able to see what Isagi had been seeing.
“I know now, Dear……! Yocchan is scared of mosquitoes!”
Isagi had spotted mosquitoes from a distance that no ordinary people could see. So, they sprayed mosquito repellent, and the psychic phenomena in the Isagi household had been settled. Then, another incident occurred.
While playing in the park. Sometimes, he would hold his head and start crying.
“Does your head hurt?”
“Noooo! Uwahhh!”
He looked up at the sky and cried, so his parents looked around to see if a nut had fallen or someone had thrown a stone at them, but there was nothing. Having no choice, they hugged the fretfully crying Isagi and went home. When they get home, it always starts to rain. At first she thought it was a coincidence, but it continued for so long that Iyo finally noticed.
“Yocchan… is scared of the rain!”
The smell of the air, the moisture in the wind, the scudding clouds. He was sensitive to the changes in the sky, sensing that it was going to rain. Isagi is scared because he has a wide field of vision, high spatial awareness, eyesight, kinetic vision, sense of smell, hearing, and skin sensitivity which are all excellent. He detects the slightest change at a level that ordinary people cannot see or notice, and avoids the risk. That's why he doesn't get bitten by mosquitoes or get caught in the rain.
Chapter 3: NOEL NOA
Since then, Isagi has been passionate about soccer.
He asked his parents to send him to soccer lessons, and when there was a live soccer game on, he would sit and watch it on TV.
He plays soccer all the time during his lunch break and after school. He made friends through soccer, and Isagi, who used to be a crybaby, became more and more active. Even so, his timid and quiet personality does not change. He never gets into fights with his friends and never disobeys his teachers. He is athletic, but not very good in his studies, a simple boy who loves to play soccer. Isagi has always been that mob character until one day, when he was 8 years old, something astounding happened.
Through the TV, he met a player. It was the young Noel Noa, who scored goals without ever changing a single facial expression.
“So cool……!”
The player overtakes the enemy one after another and scores a goal without fail, Isagi can't take his eyes off of this otherworldly play. It was too amazing. He was so cool even in his post-win interview.
“You were fantastic again today! How do you feel looking back on the match? How did you feel about that super goal?”
“......Nothing special. I just did my job as usual.”
He answered the somewhat excited interviewer indifferently.
“Don't get me wrong. It doesn't matter if it's a super goal or not. Every goal is a point. Soccer is a sport in which points are scored and I am in a position where I am expected to score goals. That's what I'm living for, so I just did what I had to do."
Noel Noa doesn't flash a single smile, but the interviewer's voice grows louder and louder with excitement.
“Ohh! Can I… take that as a declaration that you want to become the world’s best striker and aim for the World Cup!?”
“......Winning isn’t the only thing in soccer. Of course I want to win the World Cup, but I want to feel everything about soccer. Like for example……”
Isagi will never forget the line that follows until he dies.
“Instead of assisting my teammates to win by 1-0, it feels better to pull off a hat trick and lose 3-4. You can't sell that kind of emotion anywhere, can you?”
How thrilling! An electric shock ran through Isagi's body.
(This person knows why I love soccer!)
When he saw soccer for the first time. It wasn't just the feelings of "how cool" and "how awesome" it is that deeply moved him.
More than that, he found it "beautiful." Soccer is a team game, 11 players against 11, and it is also an individual game. There are also the surrounding spectators, the stadium, the show and the battle for life. He wants to be that striker, the one at the center of it all.
(I want to be a striker like Noel Noa……!)
Noel Noa is trying to reach the top of the soccer world.
(Me too……! I'm going to be just like Noel Noa!)
It is said that the fastest way to improve not only in soccer but in other sports is to imitate the pros. Although no one taught him, Isagi imitated Noel Noa's every move. He watched his videos, analyzed them, and recorded them in a notebook.
He spent every day practicing, filling his mind with Noel Noa's soccer.
(One day, I will represent Japan and score a goal in the World Cup Finals!)
He aims to be Noel Noa.
When asked who he admires the most, he answers "Noel Noa," he writes on his self-introduction card, "My dream is to be the best striker in the world," and his request to Santa is a “World Cup Championship trophy”.
Isagi became stronger and better. He was fearless in running into his opponents, as if he had never been a crybaby. In elementary school, he scored a goal beating five opponents in a row. In junior high school, he became known as the unbeatable striker in his hometown in Saitama.
(I’m gonna be a striker like Noel Noa!)
That dream greatly changed Isagi.
After graduating from junior high school, he entered a local soccer powerhouse, Ichinan High School.
Chapter 4: ONE FOR ALL
(I’ll be a striker like Noel Noa! First, I’ll go to Ichinan High School and play at the Nationals! Then I'll turn pro, get called up to the National team, and score the final goal in the World Cup!)
This is the dream he has held in his heart since that day when he was eight years old. On the first day of joining the soccer club at Ichinan High School, he was filled with anticipation for the first step toward this dream. When he stepped into the club room, there were already some students who seemed to be new members. The club is strong and historic, with old certificates and cups adorning the lockers and the club's motto written in brush strokes on the largest wall. Looking at the yellowed club motto, which he does not know how long it has been on the wall, a tiny sense of discomfort sprouts in Isagi's heart.
<One for all, all for one.>
<One difficulty after another. There is no wall that we cannot overcome if we all work together.>
Something’s wrong, isn’t it……?
One for all, all for one. It means each one should act for the sake of others, and the others should act for the sake of each one.
Sounds good, but isn't the game far more from that ideal? The soccer that made his heart fired up was even more cruel. The striker who single-handedly broke through that cruel world was beautiful.
“You’re Isagi Yoichi-kun, right?”
Someone suddenly tapped his shoulder and when he turned around, he saw a tall student who also seemed to be a new club member.
“Huh? Yeah, but……”
“Whoa, that’s awesome! I’m Tada Tomonari! I’m a forward too! I've seen you at a competition before, Isagi! You were really good!
I'm so lucky to be on the same team with you!”
“No, it’s nothing…… Ha ha.”
When he meets someone for the first time and they come onto him like that, he gets a little startled.
“Hey, everyone! It’s Isagi-kun!”
Tada called out everyone.
“It’s really him! It’s Isagi Yoichi!”
“I've won a regional tournament once!”
The fellow first-year students gathered around. They all seemed to be cheerful and nice. Thanks to Tada, the mood maker, the nervous first-year students quickly became comfortable with each other.
“Isagi-kun’s play is completely unlike any junior high student, it was insane~”
Tada talks to him without hesitation, and Isagi starts to relax. ……He's a forward too, so he might understand. Timidly, he points to the club motto on the wall.
“Uhm, Tada-kun… don’t you think there’s something wrong with this?”
He spoke up about the sense of discomfort he felt.
“Why?”
He looks at him in amazement.
“Well, in soccer, it feels good because you can beat your opponents and score goals by yourself, right? That’s the joy of being a striker. It's not about joining forces, but about the power of each individual striker… I guess.”
He glances to see how Tada reacts.
“Huh? You can't play soccer by yourself.”
He said “What are you talking about?” then laughed.
“Soccer is a sport played by eleven people! My goal is a team play that represents the bond of those eleven people! One for all, all for one!”
Suddenly, they wrap an arm around each other’s shoulders.
“Let's all join forces and go to the Nationals!"
“Yeah!”
When Tada said this, their other teammates got excited.
(Huh? Am I the only one who thinks that this is ridiculous?)
Isagi couldn't say anything more.
―
Chapter 5: SEALED EGO
From that day on, Isagi’s desire for the pleasant sensation of shooting… his ego has been sealed.
(After all, everyone has no doubt about it. So I, too, will believe what the coach says.)
Mild-mannered and earnest, it could be said that this choice is just typical of Isagi. He has an unreasonably high cooperativeness and has a strong desire to take care of his teammates. He's in his teens, so he doesn't want to be conspicuous in a bad way, and he has always been timid, so he is afraid of being disliked for being assertive. Soccer changed Isagi, and soccer changed him again. The confidence he had when he was an unbeatable junior high school striker in his hometown in
Saitama, as if he was the center of the world, rapidly disappeared.
He was supposed to have taken the first step with the grand dream of "becoming the world’s best striker and winning the World Cup". It's not that he doesn't feel the passion. But as if to stifle it, he puts out the fire.
“Nice pass, Isagi!”
“Isagi, nice timing on the pass!”
When he hears these words, he feels he has no choice but to continue to play this game of soccer. His daily life could also only be described as typical of Isagi. Like, for example…….
“Which girl is your type, Isagi?”
On the way home from club activities. Tada shows him a video of an idol group and asks him.
He said, "I knew it, it has to be this girl in the center! Right?"
I honestly don’t care……he thought but Isagi can’t say that. Besides, Isagi's type of the opposite sex is someone with a nice smile who laughs a lot. Tada's idol of choice is the expressionless tsundere type, so she was definitely off Isagi’s marks. But then.
“Ah, I like her too~♡”
“I know right!”
When his friends get excited, Isagi would say something like this.
“Uh, yeah… me too.”
Well, he doesn’t dislike them.
“As expected! Even Isagi is also into this!”
“Yeah…”
“Then, do you wanna go to a show with me next time?”
“......Sure?”
“Nice! Let’s go with everyone!”
“Yeahhhh!”
The Ichinan Soccer Club is in high spirits.
“Ye– yeah…?”
He just goes with the flow. With everything going like this, he discreetly cancels his reservation for a song that conflicts with Tada's. When he was invited for ramen after club activities, he would say "I already ate it yesterday, but it's okay..." and so they go together. And at the ramen restaurant, he fills everyone's cups with water. Of course, he would also refill them too. Kind and considerate, he is one of the most important members of the Ichinan Soccer Club. Before he knew it, Isagi, who values harmony, became one of them.
Chapter 6: THE FINALS STAGE
Then came fall in his second year of high school.
Isagi was contributing to the team not as a striker but through his assists. Ironically, his wide field of vision, excellent spatial awareness, and high soccer IQ have improved his team play to perfection. Thanks to that, their team was steadily advancing through the Prefectural Tournaments.
“It’s finally here!”
Today is the final match of the Saitama Prefectural Tournament. In the locker room at the venue, their coach raised his voice.
Just one more goal until the Nationals. One more win and it’s the Nationals.
“Win or lose, you are my pride!”
The pre-game meeting. The coach is as intense as ever.
“Just grab this chance! If we all grab it together, we won't have any regrets! Let's go! One for all, all for one! That’s the Ichinan soul!”
“YEAAAAAHHHH!!!”
The screams of the Ichinan High School Soccer Team echoed through the locker room.
“YEAHHHH!!!”
Even Isagi shouted with the same intensity, getting himself pumped up.
(I definitely want to win……!)
Their opponent in the Finals was Matsukaze Kokuo High School, which had one of the best strikers in the prefecture, Kira Ryosuke.
(I will beat that Kira Ryosuke, go to the Nationals……get scouted, go to the J-League……Someday, I will represent Japan……!
Someday, I'll be at the World Cup I dreamed of……)
He looked at his clenched fist and realized.
(World Cup? So I’m still…… hoping for something like that.)
He had never told anyone about it, and even he had almost forgotten about it, but it had always been there in the bottom of his heart. He wants to represent Japan and win the World Cup. It was a dream that he had been thinking about ever since the day he saw Noel Noa for the first time when he was eight years old. Then a predictive thought came to his mind.
(......if my dream were to come true, this match would surely be the turning point.)
Just as when he was a child, Isagi felt he could see his future, just as he could predict the rain by looking at the sky.
(......Then I should fight as if my life depends on it!)
His true feelings welled up in his heart. Isagi heard the voice of his ego for the first time in a long time. He clenches his fist even more.
(I've been fighting as a team for a long time, but there's no way this team will make my dream come true. As a striker, I can't give up here! If I get a chance...I'll win this game with my goal!)
For the first time since entering high school, Isagi decided to take his own shot.
Chapter 7: BEING DEFEATED
There are earth-shattering cheers from the crowd and roars of the winners. #7, who made the long pass on their counter, lifted Kira up and expressed his joy with his whole body.
(......It’s over. We lost.)
Isagi just stared blankly at Kira, who was at the center of the frenzy.
“Today's match was a 2-0 victory for Matsukaze Kokuo High School, and them participating in the Nationals has been decided…”
There’s another roar from the crowd as the announcement is made. Pointing his index finger up to the sky, he was intoxicated with victory, and the one in the middle was, of course, Kira. On the same pitch, Isagi's teammates were crouching down on the ground, crying. Tada, who misses a decisive shot, sheds tears.
“I’m sorry everyone… if I had scored… if I had just scored……”
Tada, who is sobbing hard, was called by a teammate and said "it's not your fault, Tada”.. The one who called him cried a lot, too.
Then came the Hero Interview.
“Kira-san, going to the Nationals must just be a stepping stone for you, but how are you feeling about being invited to join the U-18 National Team?”
Participation in the Nationals as a stepping stone. The female interviewer asks a question that is too cruel in front of the defeated team.
“Well… I’m focused on winning the Nationals with this team right now. The only thing I can say is I’m only here because I have everyone on my team!”
Kira answered, full of confidence. He’s glistening in sweat and has pearly white teeth. Female fans are squealing at the sight of this refreshingly handsome guy.
Then, in the corner of the venue where no one is watching……
“Gather up, Ichinan!”
At the sound of their coach's voice, the defeated, who are drooping their heads, straighten their backs.
“You fought well. It’s frustrating, but this is what Ichinan is capable of now. The third years are leaving after this… and some of you might quit soccer after today but you can be proud of the days you fought together as a team."
The coach's voice gradually grew tearful.
“The time will surely come in your lives…urgh… when you’re able to think…kuh… that this loss wasn’t for nothing……!”
The director sniffed and exclaimed, overcome with emotion.
“Nothing in life is meaningless! To me, Ichinan’s soccer team…”
The players also burst into tears.
“...is the best team in Japan!!!”
While the coach's words and the players' sobs resonated, there was one person, Isagi, who was disinterested.
(......No. We’re just a team that couldn’t take the last step to the Nationals.)
Thus ended their challenge to the Nationals.
On the way home from the match. Pushing his bicycle along the river bank under the sunset sky.
(I'm an unknown sophomore forward on that team. That's reality...)
The sun was setting over the river.
(I’m sorry…. Noa-sama… Looks like I won’t be able to be a superstar player like you.)
Isagi speaks to Noel Noah in his mind.
(I was fascinated by your plays, I just admired you, and I always kept playing soccer.)
Noel Noa, now 31 years old, is a forward for the French National team and the European Player of the Year. He is a superstar up until now.
(But now it looks like my dream will end while still being a dream… Representing Japan, becoming an ace striker, and my stupid dream of winning the World Cup…… )
Winning the World Cup. The loud cheers, the frenzy, the jubilation, the falling confettis, and at the center of it all is him, holding up the trophy. It was a grand dream that he had held on to since he was 8 years old.
(At this rate, I’ll probably won’t even go pro…)
Kira Ryosuke's dazzling smile comes to his mind.
(Guess only those kinds of guys can go pro… we’re both second years but it’s like the difference between Goku and Krillin… Only one year left until I graduate… even if I keep playing soccer seriously, I still might even need to give up on that dream……)
Chapter 8: REASON FOR THE SUMMONS
(Today is Cup Noodles……)
Many empty containers of cup noodles were left in the monitoring room. There was no end to his love of junk. It's definitely because of his diet, that he always has dark circles under his eyes and that he's skinny as a matchstick, isn’t it.....? thought Anri, but then she turned her attention back to her work from those Cup Noodles. Ego and Anri were watching the video of the final game of the Saitama prefectural tournament on the monitor.
The highlight footage was of Kira Ryosuke, who scored a dazzling shot in that brilliant counter. Ego decided to invite him on the spot, and Anri checked the "invite" box in Kira's data. It was a striker's play that broke through Ichinan’s defense and scored a shot. For Kira, it was an undisputed call.
(......but still)
Ego’s pick, Isagi Yoichi, lost in the turn of events as Anri expected. He recklessly handed the chance he had drawn up to his teammate, and then self-destructed after being countered. It is a play that embodies Japanese-style soccer with excellent organizational skills, and their defeat showed the limits of that style. Anri wonders.
“Isagi Yoichi has been selected for the special player training program…Was it really OK to send him the invite to Blue Lock? I still think it’s a mistake…”
Anri’s dream is for Japan to win the World Cup. Japanese soccer has grown over the past 25 years and has become a regular World Cup participant. However, they never make it past the Best 16.
“If we play our own soccer, we will win.”
“Japan’s passing-style soccer is world class”
All soccer commentators say so.
(That’s why we’ve never made it over to the Best 16!)
Inside her mind, Anri snaps. When she thinks about the future of soccer, she becomes a little bit foul-mouthed. If things continue as they are, Japanese soccer will never be able to win the World Cup. That's why they need a savior who will destroy the current Japanese soccer and lead this country to win the World Cup… The world’s best striker must be born.
The selection of the 300 strikers was left to Ego's personal judgment and biases. But, as expected, he’s completely useless, isn’t he? Anri thought. And yet, while watching the image of Isagi slumped over on the pitch, Ego has an eerie smile on his face.
“Ah, This guy had the worst, isn’t he, Anri-chan?”
“Yes. In this match, his school lost to Matsukaze Kokuo High School, 0-2. Isagi Yoichi… it ended with him unable to do anything.”
That's why I told you the other day that this kid is no good.
However, Ego lifts the corners of his mouth more and more.
“...Isn’t that good... The best of the worst.... He has an overwhelming field of vision and spatial awareness. He has an eye for accurately assessing his position in relation to the players around him, and he has a high soccer IQ. A gem who has killed his potential as a striker by using all of his talent for the team…”
Ego raised his glasses and nodded crudely.
“Japanese soccer killed him, and he will disappear without being found by anyone. It is the Ego of humans like this that makes Blue Lock a treasure."
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