Blue Lock Soccer Manga Gets TV Anime by 8-Bit in 2022

Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yūsuke Nomura's Blue Lock soccer manga is inspiring a television anime that will premiere in 2022.

The cast includes (from left to right in the image below):

• Tasuku Kaito as Meguru Bachira
• Kazuki Ura as Yoichi Isagi
• Yūki Ono as Rensuke Kunigami
• Sōma Saitō as Hyōma Chigiri

Tetsuaki Watanabe (Powerful Pro Yakyū Powerful Kōkō-hen) is directing the anime at 8-Bit with Shunsuke Ishikawa as assistant director. Taku Kishimoto (Haikyu!!, Silver Spoon, 2019 Fruits Basket) is supervising and writing the series scripts, and the manga's Kaneshiro is supervising the story. Yutaka Uemura (Saga of Tanya the Evil director) is the concept advisor.

Masaru Shindō (Fruits Basket, Macross Delta, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU) is the main character designer and chief animation director, and Kenji Tanabe and Kento Toya are also acharacter designers and chief animation directors. Hisashi Tojima is serving as the chief action director and Hiromi Sakamoto is serving as an action director. Jun Murayama is composing the music.

The staff also includes:

• Prop Design: Hisashi Higashijima, Yuri Nakajima, Kaori Kyōzu
• Special Effects Animation Director: Akane
• Color Key Artist: Sakura Komatsu
• Art Design: Shinji Sugiyama
• Art Director: Sawako Takagi
• Backgrounds: Studio Wyeth
• Composiing Director of Photography: Yoshihiro Asagi
• Photography: Chiptune
• 3D CG Director: Norimitsu Hirosawa
• 3D CG: Aura Studio
• Visual Concept: Toshiyuki Yamashita (Hyperbole)
• Special Effects Processing: Toshiyuki Yamashita, Rina Mitsuzumi
• 2D CG Monitor Graphics: Yasukazu Asano (Emitai)
• Editing: Mai Hasegawa (EditZ)
• Sound Director: Fumiyuki Go
• Sound Producer: Bit Grooove Promotion
• Animation Producer: Tsutomu Hirano

Kodansha Comics is publishing the manga in English, and it describes the story:

After a disastrous defeat at the 2018 World Cup, Japan's team struggles to regroup. But what's missing? An absolute Ace Striker, who can guide them to the win. The Japan Football Union is hell-bent on creating a striker who hungers for goals and thirsts for victory, and who can be the decisive instrument in turning around a losing match...and to do so, they've gathered 300 of Japan's best and brightest youth players. Who will emerge to lead the team...and will they be able to out-muscle and out-ego everyone who stands in their way?

Kaneshiro and Nomura launched the manga in Weekly Shōnen Magazine in August 2018. Kodansha published the manga's 15th compiled book volume on Tuesday, and the volumes have over 4.5 million copies printed. The manga won the Best Shōnen Manga award in Kodansha's 45th annual Manga Awards earlier this year.

Kaneshiro previously wrote the Kami-sama no Iu Toori (As the Gods Will) manga with artist Akeji Fujimura in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine from 2011 to 2012. They then launched a sequel series titled As the Gods Will: The Second Series (Kami-sama no Iu Toori Ni) in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine in 2013. The manga ended in December 2016. Crunchyroll simultaneously published chapters online along with the Japanese release, and Kodansha Comics released the 21 compiled volumes digitally.