Summary
- Blue Lock shines with unique characters, but some fall short in terms of skill and impact on the series.
- Characters like Jingo Raichi, Niko, and Imamura are average players facing talented competition.
- Igaguri stands out as the worst player, surviving only through sheer dumb luck in the soccer selection.
Even in a sea of amazing sports anime in the scene, Blue Lock stands out as one that shatters expectations and goes over and above to present a completely unique side of soccer/football. With these expectations comes a lot of pressure for the series to be very well-rounded and solid from start to finish. However, even in the most unrealistic sequences, that isn't exactly possible — nor is it very exciting for the viewers to go through something that doesn't have at least one scene or character who doesn't live up to the hype.
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Thankfully, Blue Lock having so many strong characters naturally means that there will be some who pale in comparison to others. These characters, particularly in terms of their soccer skills, are either not the most exciting to watch or simply haven't gone through enough intense skill development to make them better than the rest — or they're just Igaguri.
9 Jingo Raichi
An Average Player With A Lot Of Potential
- Anime Debut: Episode 1
- Manga Debut: Chapter 1
- Position: Forward, Defensive Midfielder
- Age: 17
Jingo Raichi, or who some might call Bakugo from another anime, is a character in Blue Lock who is hard to miss because of how loud and flashy he is. While he does hold a certain presence in the anime, being one of the early members of Team Z, he still hasn't had much of an impact in terms of — well, football.
Jingo Raichi, as far as the current progression in the story is concerned, is a completely average soccer player. There is nothing about his skills that calls him to the spotlight and makes him stand out from the rest of the characters. In fact, with how exceptional the likes of Isagi, Bachira, Nagi, and others are, Raichi's performance is subpar at best — only highlighted by his immense stamina and ability to mark his opponents.
8 Ikki Niko
A Player With Massive IQ And Spatial Awareness But Not Enough Skill To Follow Through
- Anime Debut: Episode 4
- Manga Debut: Chapter 1
- Position: Centre-Back, Defensive Midfielder, Forward, Offensive Midfielder
- Age: 16
Referring to Niko as one of the worst players in Blue Lock may be a bold move, but the reason is similar to that of Raichi. The character himself isn't bad or untalented — in fact, he's one of the more gifted players in the series — he's just very underutilized and isn't given enough screen time to show his full potential.
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Niko was first seen during the First Selection Arc when his team, Team Y, went against Team Z in an almost deathmatch elimination that resulted in all of Team Y's dismissal - except Niko's. This naturally shows that Niko is a good player, almost as good as Isagi when it comes to spatial awareness and tactical ability. However, in terms of actually playing the game, Niko just hasn't been able to keep up with the rest of the gang, particularly Isagi (considering how they both started off as weaker players, but the latter ended up completely outpacing Niko).
7 Asahi Naruhaya
A Mediocre Player With an Oversized Ego (In The Best Way)
- Anime Debut: Episode 1
- Manga Debut: Chapter 1
- Position: Forward
- Age: 15
Asahi Naruhaya is one of the few friends Isagi made during his earlier time at Blue Lock because of him being a part of Team Z. He wasn't exactly the most attention-commanding character in the series until much later on, and he came off as almost unassuming and ordinary. Throughout the course of his screen time, he didn't have any particular signature skills or abilities that made him stand out. The ones he did have, like the off-the-ball movement, were easily surpassed by better players.
Asahi Naruhaya, despite his very average playstyle, still managed to gain quite a rapport in the later part of the anime. His 'ego' was what made him comparable to Isagi. Despite his self-awareness that he wasn't a good player at all and would most likely be the last to be selected in a free selection, he was still willing to give his all. Ultimately, it wasn't enough and Naruhaya was eventually eliminated.
6 Junichi Wanima
The Older Wanima Twin Who Managed To Defy Odds And Progress Through The Series
- Anime Debut: Episode 1
- Manga Debut: Chapter 1
- Position: Forward
- Age: 18
Junichi Wanima, the older of the Wanima twins, was part of Team W who conspired with Kuon to get him to betray his team. Both the brothers weren't the best of people, nor were they the best of players. Despite that, Junichi managed to defy all odds and make it into the second stage of the selection without being eliminated.
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With that said, though, Junichi's entire playstyle depends on his status as a twin. He and Keisuke usually made their plays through their 'twin telepathy' and barely conversed out loud. In fact, Junichi's entire comic gig worked because he relied on his little brother to interpret for him, since he only communicated through weird facial expressions and random noises. This is exactly why it's very impressive that he's managed to come this far without Keisuke and is still going strong despite not showing much uniqueness in terms of skills and abilities.
5 Keisuke Wanima
The Younger Of The Wanima Twins Whose Menacing Personality And Lack Of Talent Got Him Kicked Off Early
- Anime Debut: Episode 1
- Manga Debut: Chapter 1
- Position: Forward
- Age: 18
The younger of the Wanima brothers, Keisuke, made quite an impression on the viewers with his conceited, almost menacing personality. He and his brother were collectively some of the most uncanny characters on Blue Lock and did have a fairly large presence when they were featured during the First Selection.
However, in spite of his pretentious and weird personality, Keisuke Wanima wasn't the best player to come across. In fact, if it weren't for the shenanigans he and his brother came up with during their matches, he wouldn't have much performance to run home about at all. Apart from being really good at communicating with his brother and playing teamwork with Junichi only, there wasn't a lot going for him.
4 Okuhito Iemon
A Forward Who Was Forced Into The Role Of A Goalkeeper
- Anime Debut: Episode 1
- Manga Debut: Chapter 1
- Position: 18
- Age: Forward, Goalkeeper
Okuhito Iemon was Team Z's goalkeeper and was essentially more of a 'caring side character' than a key player for his teammates. Iemon had his presence in the series highlighted by how easy to get along with and adaptable he was — which ultimately landed him the goalkeeper position despite not being very excited about it.
In terms of skills and abilities, Okuhito Iemon was an okay-ish player whose only strong suit was the fact that he was all-rounded in his playstyle despite being a forward (like everyone in Blue Lock). Even as a goalkeeper, he wasn't the best player and barely had any rave-worthy plays. As a character, though, Okuhito Iemon had a considerable presence throughout the first selection arc and was largely seen in a leadership role after Kuon's betrayal.
3 Hibiki Okawa
A Minor Character Who Initially Came Off As Very Strong And Intimidating
- Anime Debut: Episode 1
- Manga Debut: Chapter 1
- Position: Forward
- Age: 18
Blue Lock is stacked with very 'striking' characters — pun very much intended — but some of these characters, regardless of how intimidating their initial entry was, ended up falling flat. With Hibiki Okawa, something similar happened. When Okawa first entered the stage, his unconventional appearance and his 'poker face' almost made everyone think he was the ace in Team Y and was to be kept an eye on.
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Unfortunately for Team Y, thanks to Isagi's quick perception, Team Z realized that Okawa wasn't exactly the player they had to watch out for — it was Niko. And that was pretty much it for Okawa's screen time and his field presence. He was eventually eliminated in the First Selection and has not been heard from since.
2 Yudai Imamura
A Background Supporting Character With Nothing Notable Going On For Him
- Anime Debut: Episode 1
- Manga Debut: Chapter 1
- Position: Forward
- Age: 18
Yudai Imamura was another supporting character in the early days of the Blue Lock series who initially gave off pretty strong vibes but eventually ended up falling flat because of his lack of any notable skill or presence during a match. Even in Team Z, Imamura was mostly in the background and never received explicit attention.
In terms of football, Yudai Imamura was okay at most and wasn't exactly anyone to write home about. His only notable performance in the series was when he took charge of the ball during their match against Team Y to score a goal, but he failed. He was seen telling the other members of Team Z about how he was really agile, but that was unfortunately never showcased, and Imamura was eliminated off-screen.
1 Gurimu Igarashi
A Character Who Has Survived Through Sheer Dumb Luck
- Anime Debut: Episode 1
- Manga Debut: Chapter 1
- Position: Forward, Sideback
- Age: 17
Perhaps the universally agreed truth about Blue Lock is the fact that Igarashi (or Igaguri, as he's more often called) is hands down the worst 'long-standing' player. He's loud, vain, and honestly, the only reason he's made it this far is because he clings to players who are actually good.
He's a comic relief character who is completely unaware of his own skills and abilities — or lack thereof — and has still managed to survive the brutal world of Blue Lock thanks to sheer dumb luck. What makes his continued presence even funnier is that he's worse than some players who got booted way earlier. In the end, though, his persistence can't be denied — if nothing else, he's proof that luck itself is a skill in its own right.
Blue Lock
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2022 - 2024
- Studio
- 8bit
- Creator
- Muneyuki Kaneshiro
- Number of Episodes
- 24 Episodes (Season 1); 14 Episodes (Season 2)
