If you’ve been paying attention this year, numerous sports-related anime films have been released to movie theaters and what is deemed a creative way to inspire people to check out the series based on the film.

In the last calendar year, we have seen ‘Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle’ popularized volleyball, ‘The First Slam Dunk’ was a film that popularized the sport of basketball and now we have a film that looks to do the same for soccer.

‘Blue Lock’ is based on an anime series with a second season set to premiere in October 2024. The good news is, that the film is delightful but the bad news is that this film isn’t exactly a movie that hinders this on a fundamental level. 

Set in the country of Japan for obvious reasons the nation is desperately attempting to be taken seriously on the world stage when it comes to the sport of soccer.  The problem is that Japan is not known for having a world-class Striker that will separate them from the top Nations such as Germany and France.

Blue Lock is a program that seeks to find Japan’s first world-class striker who can lead them to World Cup championship glory.  The film focuses on the character of Nagi, who is a high school sophomore who feels his life is boring. Nagi is a Complete sloth who is not motivated by anything and hates the idea of hard work. The only thing that Nagi is motivated to do is to play video games and waste his time.

He meets a fellow student named Reo, who comes from a wealthy family and who is obsessed with the sport of soccer.  Reo has a dream of one day playing for and winning the World Cup for Japan the problem is that he doesn’t have very many friends who share his vision. However, one day after meeting Nagi,  he discovers that Nagi has a special gift that will allow him to be an expert soccer player with a little bit of guidance and training.

The hard part is getting Nagi motivated to want to reach that goal. The two decide to be a part of the Blue Lock program and hope that the last person remaining will be awarded a spot in the Japan under-18 soccer team which could be the gateway to  World Cup Glory. 

Out of all the sports movies that we have seen over the last year, Blue Lock is certainly the best that has been released thus far.  The film introduces our central characters it gives them a great explanation of their motivation leading on to their Journey. As the story progresses, the film becomes more focused on training the next generation of Japanese soccer players through the fundamentals of the game.

The characters are given a series of challenges that they must complete as they advance in their training. The big difference between this and other sports-related anime films while other films failed at making the game itself into a competitive adaptation, Blue Lock progresses the story based on a shared dream and showing our characters pushing the limits they are willing to reach to achieve it.

Blue Lock is one of the better anime Sports films that encaptures the drama of the sport that is trying to betray. As soccer is a sport where the momentum can change at any moment it is very difficult to replicate that same type of excitement in sports such as basketball or volleyball. This is why similar projects have struggled to maintain cinematic excitement.

With that said however the biggest flaw in this movie is the fact that ultimately instead of being a feature film Blue Lock is nothing more than a glorified trailer for the anime series The comes out later this year.  The film is essentially 2/3 of a movie, we are given a start and a middle however we are not given a finish. 

The conclusion of this movie is essentially the preview for animated series to happen down the line meaning that those who are just interested in the film itself will be left with a film without it ending. Blue Lock manages to get so much right and his storytelling, its characters, and its animation Style along with being able to mesh together sports drama and humor and a satisfying way. 

However, you cannot overlook the fact that without an ending Blue Lock is an enjoyable but incomplete film at its core. Blue Lock is an effective commercial For an upcoming anime series that will certainly draw eyes however the film is nothing more than a commercial.

3/5 

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