Blue Lock is a groundbreaking sports anime that some say surpasses Haikyuu!!

Sports anime has been a long-standing staple of the anime industry, with numerous titles centered around various sports. However, despite the sheer quantity of these shows, few have managed to stand out from the rest. Enter Haikyuu!! and Blue Lock, two sports anime series that have managed to break free from the shackles of overused tropes and lackluster narratives to redefine the genre.

Both Haikyuu!! and Blue Lock focus on a group of characters who compete to be the best, a trope that is an essential part of sports that these series cannot go without. However, unlike many of their predecessors, these series make several necessary changes to feature stories that encompass the life of an athlete, the good and the bad.

Anime’s take on sports has often been criticized for its unrealistic portrayal of athletes and their journeys. Over the decades, sports anime has grown stale, with most series featuring the same worn-out components and tropes. Even in solo sports, there is some degree of “the power of friendship” as the starry-eyed main character gains allies in their journey to become the best. Along the way, the “heroes” are faced with enemies who are built up to be hated and make the main character or team look good.

However, Haikyuu!! and Blue Lock manage to do something different. Haikyuu!! does away with the “good guy versus bad guy” approach, instead emphasizing characterization and the redeemable and irredeemable qualities of every individual on both sides of the court. This makes certain matches emotionally hard to watch because of the desire to root for everyone. By removing the expectation of the main team’s victory, Haikyuu!! adds more tension and drama than any other series before it, with a special emphasis on the impact of loss that illustrates the real-life struggle athletes must face.

On the other hand, Blue Lock takes things to another level. While Haikyuu!! and other sports series set the goal post to local or regional high school tournaments, Blue Lock has its main cast on the path to the FIFA World Cup to represent the entire nation of Japan in the world’s biggest soccer tournament. However, in order to reach that goal, 300 strikers must compete against each other to prove who is the best in the most controversial athletic experiment.

Thanks to this premise, Blue Lock shows a different side of the sports industry. The reality of a professional athlete isn’t far off from what the main characters must achieve, being the best even if it means crushing others’ dreams. While past sports anime do include this notion, especially Haikyuu!!, Blue Lock’s approach is more direct, visceral and sometimes downright sinister. It’s a survival of the fittest setting and, although there is bonding between characters, their efforts are more than just fun and games. One wrong move and their entire athletic career is done. This raw tension is what draws in viewers and makes Blue Lock a one-of-a-kind anime.

Sports anime has long been another niche part of the overall anime community, but various series have made original changes to expand its audience. While both Haikyuu!! and Blue Lock show a more realistic and human side of sports, the latter has managed to rethink the narrative from the ground up. Its deconstruction of soccer and teamwork — as well as the individual’s struggle to survive and become the best — sets it apart from other sports anime series. Overall, both Haikyuu!! and Blue Lock have made much-needed changes in the genre to feature stories that encompass the life of an athlete, the good and the bad.

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Shimizu, Yachi, Takeda, Keishin, Ikkei, Michimiya