The anime releases of 2022 has ushered in plenty of new, enjoyable series for viewers to watch, with a great deal of them being oriented in sports. While many have expressed disappointment in the popular volleyball anime Haikyuu! being adapted into two movies rather than a fifth season for its final storyline, there are still plenty of recent sport-based series to make the time go by, two of them being the new soccer anime Aoashi and Blue Lock.
Although both anime about soccer feature protagonists that are dedicated to the sport, the two have nothing in common when it comes to principles, morals, and procedures to soccer itself.
Aoashi’s Protagonist Starts From The Bottom
Aoashi follows a young boy named Ashito Aoi, who aspires to become the world’s best soccer player. However, his overconfident nature results in him lacking what is necessary to achieve that goal. He comes to terms with this when he joins a new team and realizes that his teammates are much more skilled than him. Despite being forced to swallow his pride, Ashito decides to look at this from an optimistic point of view and strives to pick up what the other players already possess, as well as get used to his new niche.
One example of his growth is depicted when he uses his newfound talents to help his team win a difficult match. Ranging from paying one’s dues to learning to collaborate with others, Aoashi is a perfect portrayal of what it takes to work one’s way up to the top in the athletic world.
Blue Lock Strives For Absolute Power
On the contrary, Blue Lock takes on a much more harsh approach to anime soccer. Originally aired as part of 2022’s Fall anime season, Blue Lock centers on high school student Yoichi Isagi, who gets locked into the titular training facility among hundreds of other aspiring athletes. The program is designed so that only one athlete will remain by the end, and only they will be allowed to represent Japan in the following World Cup.
Unlike Aoashi’s calm and gentle Nozomi Date and Tatsuya Fukuda, motivated coach Jinpachi Ego speaks ill of the value of teamwork and strictly encourages each player to think for themselves. He is never afraid to harshly criticize any of the athletes if they make a mistake, no matter what way he thinks they will take it.
Differences Prevent The Other From Being Boring
While Aoashi shows the importance of working together and Blue Lock focuses on survival, this is not inherently a bad thing. Given the fact that the next World Cup is happening now, viewers could get an idea of what its athletes did to represent their respective countries through watching these two anime series, especially since the latter is set following Japan’s devastating loss in 2018.
With Nozomi and Tatsuya putting a high emphasis on teamwork and believing that all positions are important, Jinpachi sees offense as the only one that matters. While it is essential for players to put their differences aside, forwards and strikers are the ones who score the goals — which play a large role in deciding the victorious team. Even though the two soccer anime will forever remain polar opposites, viewers can take away valuable things from each.