Hot Take: Aoashi Is A Lot Better Than BLUE LOCK (Here's Why)
As someone that's really into soccer (or football for people living outside America and Japan), there have been instance of me watching sports anime series dealing with soccer. From Inazuma Eleven to Giant Killing to DAYS and even Captain Tsubasa, there have never been an instance of me skipping out on a soccer anime series.
However, in recent time, BLUE LOCK has been on tons of people's radar as one of the most popular sports anime series. I was so into the hype of the BLUE LOCK series that I watch the anime series and even reading the latest manga volumes (which I've never done before).
Later on during my time with BLUE LOCK, there was an anime series that was recommended to me, and it was Aoashi. At first, I bypassed it because I was too focused on the new episodes of BLUE LOCK. The more times it was recommended to me, the more I tried to bypass it for BLUE LOCK.
Until at the point where I was finished with the U-20 Japan arc, I got bored and tried to give Aoashi a try. The moment I watched the very first episode, I was immediately hooked compared to the first couple of episodes of BLUE LOCK.
Even though I do love BLUE LOCK and will be watching the future episodes when it comes out, here are the three reasons why Aoashi makes a lot more sense to watch than BLUE LOCK.
Reason #1: High School Bloodbath vs. Youth Academy Team Work
The first reason why I would say Aoashi is a lot better than BLUE LOCK is because Aoashi explains how going to the youth academy would make a lot more sense than going to the 1v1 against the top 300 strikers in the entire country of Japan...
For instance, in Aoashi, the talented kids that are in the youth academy would work their way up from Junior, Junior-Youth, and Youth before becoming a professional. There are many things the kids would need to learn such as:
- Spatial Awareness
- Tactical Intelligence
- Professional and Mental Resilience
- Strict Tactical Discipline (meaning you would need to be in sync with your teammates at all times)
- Intense Competition Of Being Promoted to Senior Team
Now, think about the route in the point-of-view of Isagi Youichi (the main character of BLUE LOCK):
You have to constantly deal with trials and pickup games of 300 players around the program without any communication from the outside world, see your teammates you've worked together with be eliminated and can't play for the national team, and (if you're extremely lucky...) you would have to deal with a high-stakes "test" of going against the U-20 national team to see which squad can play for the U-20 World Cup.
Guess which route is better for being a efficient professional athlete? Of course it'll be Aoashi.
With learning the much needed skills to become a professional athlete, the approach of going to a youth academy does make sense. I do love the originality of BLUE LOCK's way of being a world-class soccer player; however, let's be honest. If you don't already have the world-class skills already and/or the intense grit to keep going no matter the challenges before you got picked for the program, it's not really if but when you'll be eliminated.
And I know what you're thinking:
Competition in BLUE LOCK isn't that bad compared to Aoashi.
Well, I would say it's a lot more stressful being in BLUE LOCK mainly because it's every man for himself even if you're a teammate. Plus, one mistake inside and outside the pitch would get you automatically kicked out so that means every move you make is a difference between being eliminated to surviving another day.
However, with Aoashi, even if you do make a mistake, at least you'll have some redeeming chances in the future until you're either promoted or have release papers and getting kicked out.
Although yeah, Ashito (the main character of Aoashi) was picked super late into the youth academy (some characters started off when they were kids), at least learning the tactics and the pace of the game makes a lot more sense than being in a program and you'll have to learn and adapt to everything on the spot.
Reason #2: Realism
Aoashi showcase a sense of realism compared by showing a daily life of a youth player inside and outside of a youth academy.
The first thing that is realistic about the series is tacitical roles and specialized positioning. For Ashito, going from being striker your entire life to being a defender is a slow improvement of him as an overall player. It was a huge jump to learn about the demands of playing defense, but it was a great investment for him. In BLUE LOCK, having tons of strikers play in an realistic game is a disaster waiting to happen.
The second reason is passing is a language that needs to be shared from player to player. Aoashi does that perfectly because to play as team, you would need to learn how to anticipate your teammate and learn each other's mental clock. It'll take some time to get used to but it's possible. BLUE LOCK is more: If I pass it to you, you better make the goal. If you didn't make it, then I won't pass it to you. Passing the ball in BLUE LOCK is mostly their last resort if everything fails.
The third and final reason is the differences of being released and being eliminated. Aoashi is a lot more quiet and professional about it, and there might be times you'll be released and it wasn't your fault at all.
- You're not physically developed enough
- You can't handle nor adapt to the tactics
- You're not developing at a faster rate to be expected
In that type of system, it's a lot more realistic because there are athletes in real life that despite working hard and/ or super talented, there will be something that you can't control that will be the reason for your release of the youth academy.
In BLUE LOCK, if you even just lost one game or can't complete a drill, you're out of the program without any questions, without a hesitation, nor a second consideration. Plus, you cannot ever represent your national team. That will not fly in today's standards because it's a lot more cruel and cutthroat than expected, and it's a lot of pressure that even talented kids would crack. Even if you become a professional and did tons of achievements in a top-notch professional league, you can't represent your national team at all because of that one small mistake from when you was in a high school program.
Because of all that, Aoashi tends to be a lot more realistic compared to BLUE LOCK so it helps the audience digest the story a lot better.
Reason #3: Pathway To European Leagues
I know what you might be thinking:
Aoashi is based in Japan and we just got the announcement of second season!?!? What does the pathway to European leagues have to do with the story??
Just hear me out when I say this prediction: I know this might be confusing because Aoashi anime series hasn't even started the second season (I haven't fully caught up to the manga yet...) and Ashito is still in the youth academy at the end of the first season; however, there is a great prediction in the near future for me to say that Ashito would get a footing in European leagues.
In soccer (or football), European leagues such as leagues in the UK, France, Spain, and Germany are considered to be the best in the world. So playing in those leagues would not only improve your skills and football IQ, but increase your reputation as a potential world-class player.
The difference between Aoashi and BLUE LOCK when it comes to the presentation of European leagues is vastly different for many anime fans that are not used to soccer anime.
Aoashi follows the best option of Japanese youth academy players going to Europe. It make sense to go from the Japanese youth academy to the professional league, have decent experience in the pros, and make your way to the European leagues. That way you'll have a decent exposure of being a professional player and the gap between Japanese league and European leagues would be easier and faster to adjust.
Compared to BLUE LOCK, Isagi and the other players that are still in the program would have to face off against top-notch players from powerful European teams while trying to stay in the BLUE LOCK program. Those two extremes alone would break tons of players physically, mentally, and emotionally the moment you get eliminated from the program. I am not saying it's the worst option of the two, but compared to Aoashi, this option tends to be a lot riskier because of the two different extremes. Also let's be real... going straight from high school prospect in Japan to playing in the pros in Europe rarely happens, and if they do happen, the adjustments inside and outside the pitch (such as language barriers, speed of the game, culture shock) would be too much for a lot of prospective players.
Pretend you're a high school soccer player in Japan, and you have two options to go pro in Europe:
- The BLUE LOCK option of facing against many other high schoolers in a death battle for supremacy, facing tougher opponents from Europe, and trying to stay in the program to represent the Japanese national team at the same time.
- Or the Aoashi option of going up the ranks of a youth academy and a professional team, learning the tactics and pace of the game from coaches, play decently in the professional league, and then get scouted by European teams.
Common sense would say go for the Aoashi option because it's a lot more realistic and healthier mentally rather than being in constant intensive stress of a program and unless you do extremely well, you don't have anything to distract yourself unless you're either earned a small break from scoring goals or just outright eliminated from the program.
Yes, I can understand because BLUE LOCK facing the U-20 Japan team would give them eyeballs of European teams, but at the same notion, those are the players that haven't been eliminated from the program (yet...). At least in Aoashi, everyone can have a fair shot of playing in Europe if you can handle the intensity of Japanese professional soccer.
Conclusion
Now despite all the comparisons, I do love both Aoashi and BLUE LOCK because of my passion of the sport. Just because I have those types of comparisons, doesn't fully mean that I would bypass BLUE LOCK for Aoashi. If they both have new episodes dropping at the same day, I would watch both of them at the same day because I am a huge fan of both of them.
However, maturing is realizing that Aoashi has a better approach to the sport rather than BLUE LOCK. If I was in an anime soccer series, I would be pulling my hair out in almost a daily basis if I was in BLUE LOCK. At least Aoashi makes you somewhat of a human being whereas BLUE LOCK would just turned you into a borderline psychotic striker if you miraculously make it out of there alive.
Since both of the series would continue their new seasons on October (Aoashi starts first on October 4th to be exact), it would be a nice way to finish off the year with tons of hectic soccer from BLUE LOCK and structured soccer from Aoashi.
What do you think? Would you go for glory in the professional way like Aoashi or in the gladiator way like BLUE LOCK?
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