Best Arcs In The Blue Lock Manga

Key Takeaways

• Isagi receives a life-changing opportunity from the Japan Football Association to join the Player Improvement Project.
• Jinpachi Ego mentors Isagi and other talented footballers at Blue Lock to chase greatness and evolve their game.
• Blue Lock players face off against Japan’s U20 team and compete in a high-stakes match to prove their potential.

Muneyuki Kaneshiro’s Blue Lock is a captivating sports series that captures the painful and sacrificial journey toward achieving greatness. It follows Isagi Yoichi and some of the most talented footballers from all over Japan who dream of becoming the best and helping their country lift the World Cup.

Filled with drama, action, and unexpected twists, the manga delivers an enthralling narrative capturing the cost of greatness and the sacrifices required to accomplish it. It’s worth taking a look at the different arcs of Kaneshiro’s manga while examining them based on their impact, contribution to character development, and emotional depth.

1 Introduction Arc

Isagi’s Heartbreak And The Once-In-A-Lifetime Opportunity

• Manga Chapters 1 – 4
• Jinpachi Ego Lays the Foundation for the Blue Lock Project

After a shameful performance in the 2018 World Cup, a meeting is organized by the Japan Football Association. Although the members see the sport as just business, Anri Teieri proposes a plan to turn the country’s fate around in the World Cup with the help of coach Jinpachi Ego.

Meanwhile, in the national high school football qualifiers, a young boy named Isagi Yoichi blows up his chance to make it to the nationals. Heartbroken and depressed, he arrives home to find a life-changing opportunity from the Japan Football Association. A letter inviting him to a Player Improvement Project soon gives Isagi another shot to achieve his football dreams.

2 First Selection Arc

Jinpachi Ego Takes Youngsters Under His Wings

• Manga Chapters 5 – 38
• Isagi’s Dream For Legendary Status in Footballing World is Sowed

Following one of the biggest disappointments in his life, Isagi arrives at Blue Lock to find himself among some of the best strikers in Japan. As Ego pushes his mentees to chase greatness, his hunger for success surpasses his wildest imagination.

If I don’t change, I’ll still be the same person. I came here to change my life. I came here to become the best in the world. Unless I beat someone stronger than me, nothing will change.

Despite being overwhelmed, Isagi pushes himself to coexist among the best of the best only to realize he has a long way to go. But the competition does not intimidate him. Instead, it becomes fuel for pushing him to greater heights.

3 Third Selection Arc

Blue Lock Players Compete To Play Against Japan’s U20 Team

• Manga Chapters 87 – 108
• As Japanese Football Union Looks to End Blue Lock Project, Jinpachi Fights Back

As the first five players to pass the second selection, Isagi, Rin, Bachira, Jyubei, and Tokimitsu earn the chance to get a taste of what it’s like playing against the best in the world. The Team World Five consisting of France’s Julian Loki, Spain’s Leonardo Luna, England’s Adam Blake, Argentina’s Pablo Cavasoz, and Brazil’s Dada Silva are invited by Jinpachi to play a friendly game with his mentees. Although the Blue Lock team starts by scoring the first goal, things go downhill from then on.

The Team World Five crushes Isagi and his team by scoring four consecutive goals. In the aftermath of the game, Jinpachi is summoned by the Japan Football Union and grilled for his lavish expenditure on the Blue Lock project. To demonstrate the program’s potential, Ego decides to arrange a game against Japan’s U20 team, to prove that his efforts are result-oriented.

Interestingly, Jinpachi already has the team’s core in his mind which he names the Top 6. The remaining players at the facility must compete against one another for an opportunity to play the high-stakes game by proving that they can coexist and surpass these top footballers. The third selection arc focuses on Blue Lock players who fight desperately to make a mark by surpassing their past limitations and evolving their game.

4 U-20 Arc

Blue Lock Project Fights For Its Survival

• Manga Chapters 109 – Chapter 151
• Jinpachi Ego’s Mentees Face Japan’s U20 Team Strengthened By Shido and Sae’s Inclusion

After some exciting and high-pressure games in the Third Selection, Jinpachi Ego picks the best players who can coexist with the Top 6. The Blue Lock team then prepares for a high-stakes match against Japan’s U20 team with the project’s future on the line. If the ragtag side of eccentric players wins, they can highjack the U20 team and get one step closer to achieving their dreams.

My singular interest is in becoming the best in the world. There is a fundamentally different depth to our greed.

Unfortunately, Isagi and his crew are up against Japan’s greatest treasure, Sae Itoshi, whose prodigious talent has earned international recognition. By teaming up with Oliver Aiku‘s most trusted players, he has formed a formidable side that is tough to beat. With the crowd cheering for Sae and his side, Blue Lock Eleven faces an uphill battle, a game that they can’t afford to lose. The U-20 Arc captures the drama that unfolds as Jinpachi Ego’s mentees play against Japan’s most skilled players, with their careers on the line.

5 Second Selection Arc

Jinpachi Ego Pushes His Mentees To Their Limits

• Manga Chapters 39 – 86
• Isagi Evolves As He Plays Against Some of the Best Strikers At Blue Lock

125 players from all over Japan successfully passed Jinpachi Ego’s psychological and technical evaluations to make it to the Second Selection. The new challenge is categorized into four stages and tests candidates on varied parameters including adaptability, under-pressure performance, decision-making, and teamwork. Players are expected to excel not only individually but also by taking advantage of their crew’s weapons.

Each footballer at Blue Lock is pushed to bring out their best with the knife of eliminations hanging over their heads. The circumstances of the second selection are such that players evolve dramatically and become competitive monsters who seem unstoppable. No other arcs capture the growth, intensity, and raw transformation of the players quite like the Second Selection arc, where their talents and egos fuse to forge new footballing geniuses.

6 Neo Egoist League Arc

An International Showdown For Achieving Greatness

• Manga Chapters 152 – Ongoing
• Blue Lock Players Fight For a Slot in the U20 World Cup Team

After making a mark against Japan’s U20 team, Jinpachi and his mentees prepare for the second phase of the Blue Lock project. With their eyes set on the U20 World Cup, a unique tournament is organized where top players of the same age group from Spain, Italy, England, Germany, and France arrive at the facility.

Each Blue Lock player gets to choose the country they wish to play for and demonstrate that they belong on the international scene. Their performances in the tournament will determine whether they will get picked for the U20 World Cup or not. The Neo Egoist League arc pushes the competition to a whole new level, helping the players reinvent themselves and achieve new heights.