Japanese football just can't compete at international level, but what exactly is the Japanese team missing?
The answer is clear - a star striker.
For this reason, it is decided to hold a training camp.
300 promising striker talents are invited, but only one player can successfully complete this training camp. The remaining 299 players have to leave Bluelock and are also denied the chance to ever have a great career in football.
Although I have little interest in football, I really liked "Bluelock".
I've read a few times that many people don't like the drawing style, or even that little effort was put into it, but I don't see it that way - I like the drawing style, even if it's often kept rather simple.
The same goes for most of the animation. Unfortunately, the decision was made to animate scenes with CGI and not very well either. These CGI scenes are kept very short, but once you notice them, you can't ignore them anymore.
However, even more effort was put into the character design - each player has their own individual look, which all also look very appealing. To combine all this with the characterization, many characters also have different character traits and some even have a sophisticated backstory. What confuses me though is that so many side characters get a backstory while the main character of the anime doesn't get it. We know very little about the main character so far, which is why he just doesn't seem interesting and rather unsuitable as a main character.
What I like best about "Bluelock" is that it takes a completely new approach to sports anime. So far, many sports anime have relied on their team aspect - which of course only makes sense, but "Bluelock" is different. The players still have to play a lot together here, but there is also the pressure that in the end only one of them will survive and make the national team. This provides a number of new possibilities in character development and story development.
I'm eagerly awaiting season 2 in the hope that the CGI scenes will be dropped and we'll finally get a backstory to the main character.