Best Arcs In The Blue Lock Manga

Important 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 soccer players at Blue Lock to chase greatness and develop their game.
• Blue Lock players face the Japan 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 to achieve greatness. It follows Isagi Yoichi and some of the most talented soccer players 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 a compelling story that captures the cost of greatness and the sacrifices required to achieve it. It's worth taking a look at the various 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 FIFA World Cup, a meeting is organized by the Japanese Football Association. Although the members see the sport as just business, Anri Teieri proposes a plan to turn the country's fortunes 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 his chance to make it to nationals. Heartbroken and depressed, he returns 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 chance to achieve his football dreams.

2 First Selection Arc

Jinpachi Ego takes youngsters under his wing

• Manga chapters 5 – 38
• Isagi's dream of legendary status in the world of football is sown

After one of the biggest disappointments of his life, Isagi arrives at the Blue Lock to find himself among some of the best strikers in Japan. As Ego drives his followers 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 be the best in the world. If I don't 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 scare him. Instead, it becomes fuel to propel him to greater heights.

3 Third Selection Arc

Blue Lock players compete to play against the Japan U20 team

• Manga chapters 87 – 108
• As the Japan Football Association looks to end the Blue Lock project, Jinpachi strikes back

As the first five players to pass the second selection, Isagi, Rin, Bachira, Jyubei and Tokimitsu get the chance to get a taste of what it's like to play against the best in the world. The World Team 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 match with their mentees. Although the Blue Lock team starts by scoring the first goal, it's all downhill from there.

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

Interestingly, Jinpachi already has the team's core in mind that he names as the top 6. The remaining players in the facility must compete against each other for an opportunity to play the high-stakes game by proving that they can coexist and surpass these top soccer players. The third selection arc focuses on Blue Lock players who are fighting desperately to make their mark by surpassing their previous limitations and developing their game.

4 U-20 Arc

The Blue Lock Project is fighting for its survival

• Manga Chapter 109 – Chapter 151
• Jinpachi Ego's men face Japan U20 team bolstered by Shido and Sae's inclusion

After some exciting and pressured matches in the third pick, Jinpachi Ego selects the best players who can coexist with the top 6. The Blue Lock team then prepares for a high-stakes match against the Japan U20 team with the future of the project at stake. . If the scrappy side of eccentric players win, they can highjack the U20 team and get one step closer to achieving their dreams.

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

Unfortunately, Isagi and his crew are pitted against Japan's greatest treasure, Sae Itoshi, whose amazing talent has gained international recognition. Teaming up with Oliver Aiku's most trusted players, he has formed a formidable side that is hard to beat. With the crowd cheering for Sae and his side, the Blue Lock Eleven face an uphill battle, one they cannot afford to lose. The U-20 Arc captures the drama that unfolds as Jinpachi Ego's followers play against Japan's most skilled players, with their careers on the line.

5 Second selection arc

Jinpachi Ego pushes his adepts to their limits

• Manga chapters 39 – 86
• Isagi develops 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 round. Categorized into four stages, the new challenge tests candidates on various parameters including adaptability, performance under pressure, decision-making and teamwork. Players are expected to excel not only individually but also by taking advantage of their crew's weapons.

Every footballer at Blue Lock is pushed to perform at their best with the knife of elimination hanging over their heads. The circumstances of the second selection are such that players develop dramatically and become competitive monsters that seem unstoppable. No other arc captures the players' growth, intensity and raw transformation like the second whale arc, where their talents and egos merge to create new footballing geniuses.

6 Neo Egoist League Arc

An international showdown to achieve greatness

• Manga Chapter 152 – In progress
• Blue Lock players fight for a place 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 an eye on the U20 World Cup, a unique tournament is organized where top players in the same age group from Spain, Italy, England, Germany and France arrive at the facility.

Each Blue Lock player gets to choose which country they want to play for and show they belong on the international stage. Their performance in the tournament will determine whether they will be selected for the U20 World Cup or not. The Neo Egoist League arc pushes the competition to a whole new level, helping players reinvent themselves and reach new heights.