“blue lockhas become one of the best new phenomena in the anime industry, betting on a football marked above all by this shonen component of the ‘special powers‘, the best constants of the characters and a drama for its protagonist when it comes to solving solutions that take everything to the extreme. For this reason, and while we know there’s more “Blue Lock” anime on the way, it seems to me that It’s a great time to recommend some with whom you share similarities..
Aoashi
Purely by chance, or maybe not since the FIFA World Cup was held last year, “Aoashi” coincided with “Blue Lock” as a new soccer anime, and the truth is that both automatically became the best that had been created in the genre for many years.
Why recommend “Aoashi” if you like “Blue Lock”? Things as they are, they’re not at all similar plot-wise (one is cutting-edge competition and the other is the typical “I want to be the best”) and the protagonists aren’t neither are two peas in a pod. However, What the two main characters share is that the greatest strength of their football lies in their understanding of the game., and how they can use those around them to create the best scoring chances. Two very different readings of football but, at the same time, similar.
Kuroko no basket
If I had to choose an anime that best reflects the abilities of “Blue Lock” players, it would be without a doubt “Kuroko no basket“Because yeah, this anime might be about basketball, but the reality is that it’s the closest equivalent in terms of sports anime embodying the most striking qualities of the shonen component.
There is not much to detail; Like I said, the idea of ”Kuroko no Basket” is that it has these players who, like in “Blue Lock”, they can perform prodigious feats. Where curiously they look alike but stand out at the same time is in their protagonists, because although Kuroko and Isagi don’t share much in terms of personality, they have this label of ‘underdog who constantly improves until he becomes the key to any victory‘.
Oliver and Benji (Captain Tsubasa)
In this case, any anime from “Olivier and Benji“, because after all, they are all revisions of each other, and what is never missing is the most essential in this case: Oliver and company’s football madness moments. While there aren’t any abilities here like in “Blue Lock,” we do have impossible shots and dribbles that make everything move in the same direction.
On another side, plot-wise “Captain Tsubasa” surely shares more with “Aoashi” than with “Blue Lock”, but even so, it’s still the best in terms of soccer anime. Moreover, in Mark lenders we come across a selfish attacker who could fit perfectly into the Isagi anime as a Barou type player or similar.
- It is currently not available in Spain.
Haikyu!!
And if I recommended “Kuroko no Basket” to be basketball and nothing happens, I think the same can be said with the anime of “Haikyu!!“. Because if what you love about “Blue Lock” is how each piece can be extremely tense and epic, the same can happen with “Haikyuu!!”. Never in my life have I been interested in volleyball and yet this anime freaks me out, so you can see that.
That being said, even though in “Haikyuu!!” We do not find these special abilities as marked as in “Blue Lock”, this does not mean that the strengths of each player are not well represented. This is how you will meet some who have insane strength when finishing, who, in service, score spectacular direct points, and others who, in defense, do not let a single shot pass. Yes, there are also players here that you will remember for who they are and how they play.
an out
“an out” is another anime with which I move away from football but I stay in the sport. In this case, what I come to propose to you is one of the highest rated baseball anime of all timeand the reason I suggest you check it out is that its protagonist could very well pass for one of the selfish attackers we see growing up in “Blue Lock.”
Basically, in “One Outs” a promising pitcher is going to risk his career on a completely absurd contract, basically a way similar to how the youngsters we see in ‘Blue Lock’ risk their aspirations to be true strikers for Japan in a program that can destroy their careers. Nothing else, but in “One Outs” you will find perfectly reflected this “crazy” context that characterizes so much the football of “Blue Lock”.
- Currently not available in Spain.
tower of god
Ok, we are entering the territory of ‘weird suggestions but if you squint a bit they can tire‘. In effect, It’s not that “Tower of God” isn’t a football anime anymore, it’s not even a sports anime and they don’t happen in a real world either, but rather it’s pure fantasy. So why on earth am I leaving this work as a recommendation over “Blue Lock”?
Basically, the context of the two works unfolds with more similarities than meets the eye: both animes take place in a college that forces its participants to pass different tests which, at the same time, require different “solutions”. Not only that, but there’s a “someone” who absolutely controls everything behind the project, as well as a protagonist who finds himself in the difficult position of trusting and, at the same time, distrusting those around him.
Shokugeki no Soma
Weeeeee keep it up with the series of weird recommendations, which in this case still has something more to hold on to than with “Tower of God”, but even so, you have to think about it to get there. In effect, “Shokugeki no Soma” it’s a cooking anime, so it has absolutely nothing to do with football or the sport in general that carries the “Blue Lock” flag. So what am I saying?
Basically, if what you love about “Blue Lock” football is how they exaggerate everything, “Shokugeki no Soma” is a fairly close equivalent… but yes, in the kitchen. On the other hand, whereas in “Blue Lock” when they freak out they make you look absolutely sick on the pitch, in “Shokugeki no Soma” they are closer to being excited than anything else. That being said, it might be worth a try.
Inazuma Eleven
And obviously I couldn’t end this article without mentioning “Inazuma Eleven”, because along with “Captain Tsubasa” and nowadays “Blue Lock”, it is surely the most famous football anime in history. I won’t go into too much detail about the story of this anime because in the end what matters is the main similarity it shares with “Blue Lock”: The special abilities of your players.
It must be taken into account, on the other hand, that the skills of “Inazuma Eleven” are completely exaggerated. In the end, more than being very fast or having a blow with a crazy wire, they are closer to having superpowers than not being good at football. So if you want an even bigger football frenzy than “Blue Lock”, “Inazuma Eleven” might be what you’re looking for.
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