Rejoice fans! Blue Lock Season 2 will hit your screen sooner rather than later. Yes, you read it right! The studio house has recently made the biggest-ever announcement of this year. Well, there’s no denying that the anime has a huge fanbase. And why not? The anime series is based on the Kodansha Manga Award winner manga series. So, there’s no brainer as to why the audience is so captivated by its storyline. And let us tell you, the sophomore run is only getting intense as the second season will introduce new characters. Who? Keep reading to know that.
Based on the best-selling manga series Blue Lock, the anime is based on the Japanese football national team. It was 2018, and the Japan national team only made it to the 16th position in the FIFA World Cup. So, to make it to the final, the Japan Football Union hired Ego Jinpachi, the football enigma, who had some brutal and intense training plans for the players. He believed those passing the Blue Lock training regime could become the greatest strikers ever. But the training regime isn’t as easy as it sounds. Will the players make it to the end? Let’s see!
Blue Lock Season 2 Is Officially Renewed!
Just after the first season wrapped up airing, fans received the most delightful news. Blue Lock Season 2 is officially happening! Yes, you read that right. Following the huge success of the pilot season, the creator didn’t take the time to announce the second season. The studio’s official page on X, formerly known as Twitter, announced in March 2023 that the series would return for another season. Isn’t it exciting?
Well, there’s no brainer in that, as the series received the highest rating ever within the first week of its debut. Blue Lock received 8.2 solid stars on IMDb, and on MyAnimeList, the series garnered 8.3 stars. Not only this, but the series also broke all the records in Rotten Tomatoes. It earned a solid 88 percent from the critics and audience. Thus, there’s no denying that the series has a huge fanbase, and getting an early renewal was just a piece of cake for the anime.
Key Visual Is Out!
While it’s been a year since the series made the official announcement, fans were finally delighted by the second season’s key visual. In May 2024, Crunchyroll made the most needed announcement. The studio dropped the first key visual of Blue Lock Season 2, which featured plenty of first-season characters. The poster featured footballers such as Yoichi Isagi, Seishiro Nagi, Meguru Bachira, and Rin Itoshi.
Well, it doesn’t end here! The key visual also focuses on the second selection players, such as Nijiro Nanase, Eita Otaya, Kenyu Yukimiya, Sae Itoshi, Yo Hiori, and Ryusei Shido. Along with them, two more characters make their way to Blue Lock Season 2. These are Yo Hiori and Nanase Nijiro. By the looks of it, it seems like the sophomore run will indeed get intense as the characters appear in their higher selves and become passionate enough to become master strikers.
Blue Lock Season 2: Official Trailer Hints At Massive Showdown
The official account of Blue Lock finally dropped the first teaser trailer of Blue Lock Season 2 on July 6, 2024. The clip started with the speech of the General Director of the Blue Lock Project, Ego Jinpachi. He addressed the 35 remaining strikers of the project, reminding them of the intensity of the project and the upcoming match against the U-20 Japan National Team. The entire session is intense and personal; if they lose it, it will cost them the Blue Lock Project. So, the strikers have to showcase their strength and win the tournament at any cost.
As for Yoichi Isagi, he showcases an incredible strength exuding his ego. He needs to showcase his strength to the world while playing against the U-20 Japan National Team. It’s the perfect chance for him. However, the trailer hints that the situation will intensify as the defender will aim to stop the strikers at any cost. The teaser trailer also features Oliver Aiku, the captain of the U-20 Japan National Team.
Blue Lock Season 2: Production Status
Since the release date of Blue Lock Season 2 has already been announced, there’s no denying that the show has finished most of its animation work. The second season is likely in its final stage of production. Well, the series was announced way back in early 2023. Typically, the animation work takes almost a year and a half to finish its production. Considering the release window is nearing, the series would have been in post-production.
Will Studio Eight Bit Return?
Studio Eight Bit Co. Ltd surprised fans after announcing the launch of the popular manga series Blue Lock. The animation was incredible, and fans of all demos loved the narration and graphics. Eight Bit was established in September 2008 and, in 2020, partnered with Bandai Namco to create multiple anime productions. Their debut venture was The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime.
Besides, 8-Bit has many brilliant anime projects under its belt, such as Encouragement of Climb, Busou Shinki, Comet Lucifer, and Shy. While Studio Eight Bit hasn’t yet confirmed whether it will return with Blue Lock Season 2, the reports suggest the studio has solely produced the second season of Blue Lock. Not only did it produce the second run, but it has also produced Blue Lock’s feature film, Blue Lock: Episode Nagi.
Is There Enough Source Material?
You can breathe a sigh of relief! That’s because there is enough source material left to explore. The series is based on Muneyuki Kaneshiro’s manga series, illustrated by Yusuke Nomura. It began serializing on August 1, 2018, in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine. As of now, the manga series has a total number of 29 volumes available online. Speaking of the Blue Lock anime, it has covered almost 11 volumes. While the first season has covered quite a lot of volumes, it roughly marked 90 chapters.
But no need to fret! This is because there are almost 18 volumes left to explore in the next season. Since the series has covered 11 volumes so far, we can expect it to cover the same in Blue Lock Season 2. Also, the series is currently ongoing, which means more volumes are yet to come. So, Blue Lock can return up to more seasons. Not only this, but Kodansha returned with a spin-off manga focusing on Seishiro Nagi, Blue Lock: Episode Nagi. The spin-off manga has four tankobon volumes so far, and it’s also ongoing, so expect more to come in the future.
Blue Lock Season 2: What Will Happen Next?
The pilot season began with the Introduction arc, where the mastermind, Ego Jinpachi, invited 300 of Japan’s Under-20 strikers for a rigorous training regime. The season quickly created an environment for the talented forwards to compete against each other to make it to the finals. While each episode focused on the elimination round and the search for the strongest players, Blue Lock Season 2 promises to intensify.
Season 2 will indeed focus on the electrifying showdown where the brothers will set against each other. Rin Itoshi will face his older brother, Sae Itoshi, for the Japan U-20 team. Blue Lock Season 2 will intensely focus on the U-20 arc, featuring the intense battle where the top 35 players will compete to form a team of eleven. So they can compete with the Under-20 team. However, it doesn’t end here. Ego has some wilder plans, which might put more pressure on the strikers. Ego plans to test the player’s abilities by broadcasting the tournament on an international level. Interesting? Things will get way more wilder in the second run.
Blue Lock Season 2: Cast Details
There’s no denying that the first season cast will return for Blue Lock Season 2. These are:
- Yoichi Isagi – Kazuki Ura (Japanese), Ricco Fajardo (English)
- Rensuke Kunigami – Yuuki Ono (Japanese), Alex Hom (English)
- Aoshi Tokimitsu – Shinnosuke Tachibana (Japanese), Jordan Dash Cruz (English)
- Jyubei Aryu – Katsuyuki Konishi (Japanese), Bradley Gareth (English)
- Rin Itoshi – Kouki Uchiyama (Japanese), Matt Shipman (English)
- Hyoma Chigiri – Soma Saito (Japanese), Aaron Dismuke (English)
- Shoei Baro – Junichi Suwabe (Japanese), Matthew David Rudd (English)
- Seishiro Nagi – Nobunaga Shimazaki (Japanese), Bryson Baugus (English)
- Jinpachi Ego – Hiroshi Kamiya (Japanese), Derick Snow (English)
- Meguru Bachira – Kaito Tasuku (Japanese), Drew Breedlove (English)
Reports suggest two additional cast members will join the series. Eiji Mikami will join as Yo Hiori and Kakeru Hatano will join as Nanase Nijiro. They are up-and-coming seiyuu in the anime.
How Popular Is Blue Lock?
Blue Lock has a separate fanbase; the credit goes to its manga. By November 2023, the manga had over 30 million copies in circulation. It eventually became the best-selling manga series in history. Not only this, but the series also won the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the shonen category. As for the anime, Blue Lock received love from fans of all demos. Some Reddit users also shared that the series was better than Kuroko and Haikyuu, while others compared it to Ao Ashi.
Another user wrote: “Ao Ashi is more of a realistic slow burn with small payoffs later, whereas Blue Lock is hype every episode despite being unrealistic and pays off massively with its mini-arcs. I personally enjoyed Blue Lock more than Ao Ashi because it never stopped being boring, but both are good.”
There’s More, Blue Lock: Episode Nagi
If you love Blue Lock, you will definitely enjoy its spin-off movie, Blue Lock: Episode Nagi. Rather than focusing on Yoichi Isagi, the series focuses on his teammate Nagi Seishiro, offering a fresh perspective on his side of the story. The film focuses on Nagi’s experience and struggles during the Blue Lock program. While the feature film was released in Japan on April 19, North American watchers can enjoy it on June 28. However, it remains unclear when the movie will get its international release.
Blue Lock Season 2: Release Date
The wait is over now! Crunchyroll finally announced that Blue Lock Season 2 would be released in October 2024. As per the latest X/Twitter announcement post, the sophomore run will air on October 5, 2024, at 11:30 pm JST. It will return with 14 episodes on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Prime Video. This is all for now. Stay with The Anime Daily for more such updates.