BLUE LOCK Season 1 (2022)

Prefectural Final for the National High School Soccer Tournament. Isagi Yoichi, a first-year forward, loses his chance for the Nationals because he has passed the ball to his fellow player in front of the goal. That's when he receives an invitation for Blue Lock. It's a facility to train one world's greatest striker out of 300 high-school-aged forwards so that Japan can win the World Cup. Isagi and others are assembled in a small room, and they take their first test to decide which 11 of them get to move in to the dorm out of 12 of them.

Blue Lock project is led by a mysterious Ego Jinpachi to produce the world's greatest striker. The top five players will be registered to play as forwards in the U-20 Cup that takes place in six months, but if you drop out, they forever lose the chance to play for the Japanese team. What is the egoism Ego is looking for in a striker? Isagi and others make up their minds to survive in Blue Lock, and move on to the first selection that can make or break their future soccer career.

The first selection is the round-robin tournament of five teams of V, W, X, Y and Z in Building Five, with only top two teams being eligible to move forward. Isagi's Team Z, the lowest ranking team, plays against Team X. But because of the special rule that allows the top scorer of the team to proceed to the next section, the match turns into chaotic scrambling for the ball, regardless of the teams. It was Barou Shoei, Team X's formidable striker, who changes the flow of the game.

Team Z was crushed by Team X, who centered the offensive play around egoistical yet skilled Barou. Responding to Ego's urge to "take up a weapon," the players discuss what their weapons are in preparation for the next match. However, Isagi struggles to identify what it is. Using "the smell of the goal" he felt in the game against Team X as a hint, Isagi and the others go against Team Y in the next match.

Isagi relies on "the smell of the goal," his raw instincts, to make a move, and it leads to the fierce battle of "reading" each other's hand with Team Y's playmaker, Niko Ikki. Isagi and Niko's battle as they both watch over the whole field and throw their ego at each other, brings them to the last one minute of the match. Can Isagi and Team Z beat Niko's final strategy, "One Time Kill Counter"?

After the match with Team Y, Isagi's rank moved up, and he became the center of the team. The next match is against Team W, led by the Wanima twins. Their eye contact and impeccable combinations are hard to beat. They used to play in the same team as Chigiri Hyoma, and they use his past trauma to egg him on. Chigiri says that he joined Blue Lock to find a reason to quit soccer. Team Z leads the game with Kuon's play. Everyone's elated for the good start of the match, but Isagi feels something is off.

Because of Kuon’s betrayal, Team Z is faced with a desperate situation of playing 12-on-10, with the opponent knowing everything about their weapons and strategies. Even under such a circumstance, Team Z never gives up on the fight, and Isagi continues to believe in himself. Inspired by their passion, Chigiri runs through the field at an incredible speed, his weapon he has sealed away. His ego rocks the match when they are losing at 3-4.

Team Z managed to hold onto a sliver of hope for surviving the first selection. But the sticky situation never ends, with them forced to play 10-on-11 against the strongest team in the group due to Kuon’s betrayal. Even a draw would make them disqualified, so winning is the only option for them. Under such a circumstance, Isagi goes to meet with a certain someone to attain the secret of formula for goals, so that the team can win, and he can be a scorer himself.

The stakes are high with the match against Team V. In the first half, Team Z is overwhelmed by Team V's super trio, Nagi Seishiro, Mikage Reo, and Tsurugi Zantetsu. Especially the formidable attack of Nagi and Reo pair, who have only started playing soccer six months ago with no record of losing, is enough to break their spirits. When everyone is about to give up, Bachira Meguru's play sets fire on the ego in their hearts. In the last match of the first selection, under an extreme circumstance, the awakening of the diamonds in the rough, just as Ego wanted, has begun.

Each player unleashed their weapon and ego, and Team Z has caught up to a draw. They totally have the momentum of the game, but that has “awakened” Team V’s monster, Nagi. In the chain reaction to awakening, Isagi also learns to use his weapon and keeps fighting. The “heat” generated by the clashing of ego from both teams starts to affect Kuon as well.

By Kuon’s self-sacrificing foul, Team Z has a little bit of hope. During the last play that determines their fate, Isagi finds the final piece of the puzzle that’s necessary for his evolution. With the players’ “awakening” and “evolution,” the first selection of Blue Lock where ego comes head to head, finally comes to an end.

With many candidates dropping out, Blue Lock project moves on to the second selection. It’s where a teammate becomes a foe, and a foe becomes a teammate. And here, Isagi meets Itoshi Rin, the strongest egoist he’s ever met, the top player of the new Blue Lock ranking and the little brother of the genius Itoshi Sae. To evolve even further, Isagi’s battle proceeds to a new stage.

Second selection, third stage is the Rivalry Battle, where you battle as a team of three, and a winner take a player from the losing team. Isagi has moved on to this new stage and teamed up with Bachira and Nagi, and they face against the team of top three players in the New Blue Lock ranking. Isagi feels his progress as his team takes the lead. However, Rin's shot right afterward completely transforms the mood of the field, and Isagi and others witness the difference of the top three.

Isagi's team has lost to Rin's team, who has incredible skills and an overwhelming ego. Isagi and Nagi lose to Bachira, and they are sent back to the second stage of two-on-two games. Showing up before them is the team of Barou and Naruhaya. Losing means disqualification. With that pressure, Isagi and Nagi think hard on their individual strengths to win a one-on-one situation. The new match that decides their fate starts with no answer in sight.

Right after the game starts, Barou steals a goal with his overwhelming individual skills. Improved Naruhaya leads Isagi and Nagi by the nose, forcing them a tough time. Naruhaya is desperate to catch up to geniuses like Barou and Nagi to survive in Blue Lock. Just the same, Isagi struggles but finds a glimpse of his new weapon, inspired by Naruhaya's move. In the extreme condition where the egos of everyone collide, the time has come for Isagi to evolve.

Isagi struggles to figure out how to make a coherent strategy that plays to his, Barou, and Nagi's strengths before their next match begins. And their next set of opponents are all familiar faces...

Chigiri, Kunigami, and Reo's team fully utilizes each other's weapons of speed, physique, and eyes for tactics. On the contrary, Isagi's team struggles due to the lack of coordination. Through observing and analyzing the opponent's combinations and his teammates' individual play, Isagi discovers a new way to use his weapon and evolve himself one step further. And the tide of ego in this game triggers others to evolve.

Isagi and Nagi paint countless possibilities for goals as they understand each other's weapons. Likewise, Kunigami and Reo make a great effort centering around Chigiri, who has evolved one step further. In the midst of all, Barou, the king of the field, was left out from the chain of evolution because of his strong ego. When Isagi takes the leading role of the field from him, the sense of defeat makes Barou kneel down to the ground.

Isagi's team cinched a win due to the awakening of Barou as a villain on the field. To cause more chemical reactions in the fourth stage, they picked one player from the other team, who demonstrated ego to devour them during the game. In the meantime, Bachira and the Top 3 are looking for the next opponent. Rin sees through Bachira's "monster" during their training, which forces Bachira to face his own ego.

Isagi and others are set to play a revenge match against the "Top 3," who have defeated them and took Bachira from them. They have fought against formidable foes and advanced by repeating the process of ego and chemical reactions, and they're ready to throw everything they have at the Top 3. The final battle of 4 vs 4 is finally about to begin. Isagi, Nagi, Barou, and Chigiri desperately try to keep up to the extraordinary individual skills of the Top 3. But one pass from Bachira starts to evolve the game...

The combination of Isagi's spatial awareness and Nagi's pin-point control finally allow them to even out the score to 2-2. However, Rin's fighting spirit is ignited by their play, and he takes control of the field by understanding the abilities of his allies and enemies alike, including ball positioning and strategic thinking. Isagi and his team once again find themselves cornered by Rin's domination, and they struggle to break through. Meanwhile, amidst the chaos and clash of egos on the field, one man secretly sharpens his fangs to challenge Rin and break through his game.

The thrill of finally finding the "monsters" with overwhelming talent was short-lived, as Bachira realizes he is being left behind in the battle between Isagi and Rin. Meanwhile, the game reaches its final stage and a fierce struggle unfolds, centered around the joker, Barou. As Isagi's skills evolve even further, Bachira must confront his own "ego" in order to find his path forward.

Bachira sheds his ideal of the "monster" and finally awakens his own ego. Until now, Bachira had been seeking someone to follow, but now he charges forward towards his own goal, finding in Isagi a companion who trusts in his ego. Isagi performs a decisive cut, but the ball makes its merciless way to the victor's side... The time for the ultimate showdown has arrived, and sparks fly as the eight egoists clash. Which team will emerge victorious in the second selection's "Rivalry Battle"?

Rin chooses to add Isagi to his team, and together with Bachira they pass the second selection. Waiting for them on the other side is a 5-on-5 match against a team of world-class players. Thanks to Isagi, Bachira, and Rin's coordinated play, they manage to score the first goal, but they soon find themselves overwhelmed by the opposing team's superior skill and ability. Despite this, they desperately keep fighting until the last second, unleashing their own "egos." As a result, the "Blue Lock" project, aiming to produce the world's greatest striker, enters a new phase.