ANN covers Anime Expo 2024 sponsored by Yen Press and Ize Press!
The BLUE LOCK panel at AX2024 was electric from start to finish. The hall was packed, seemingly confirming the series' rapid rise to the top of the most popular shounen titles in recent memory. With the highly anticipated second season airing in October 2024 and the recent release of Blue Lock: Episode-Nagi-, the series is definitely having a moment, and they're seizing it at AX.
Before the seminar began, several life-sized Isagi and Nagi spectators ran out, and even those flat, lifeless figures received a warm welcome from the crowd. When the real-life seminar participants took the stage, they received enthusiastic cheers and applause.
The panel featured the voice talents of two of the show’s most popular characters. First up was Kazuki Ura, who voices the show’s protagonist Isagi. Then there was Nobunaga Shimazaki, who voices the silver-haired “genius” Nagi.
Also joining the team were Megumu Tsuchiya, Blue Lock manga editor, and Ryōya Arisawa, anime producer. The team provided a great overview of the series and shared their diverse perspectives on the experience of taking part in this exciting title.
Acknowledging that the series has garnered worldwide attention and success, panelists were asked whether they expected such widespread reception.
“Blue Lock is a really popular manga in Japan and there was reason to believe that it would be successful later on,” Arikawa-san said. “But because the story revolves around Japan and Japanese players, the worldwide attention it received really exceeded my expectations and I am really grateful for that.”
Arikawa-san admits he might be biased. Indeed, all the panelists expressed their love for the series during the presentation. But it seemed genuine and there was a good reason why the show attracted so many people. “Of course manga is great, but the concept of ‘self’ is not limited to Japan. Everyone can relate to that.”
Tsuchiya-san said he was always confident that the film would be a success in Japan, but the international reception has been far beyond what he could have imagined. “We started with the concept of the underdog Japanese national team and how to appeal to the players’ egos so that they would elevate their own. We didn’t know how that would resonate with international audiences, but we wanted to make it a film that was more about facing challenges than simply being good at soccer.”
It's clearly working! The series follows Yoichi Isagi as he battles against incredibly talented players in the Blue Lock soccer complex, discovering his great potential while overcoming his weaknesses. It's a tried and true shounen triumph story.
Isagi's voice acting talent is something Ura-san can relate to. “In my struggles as a new voice artist, looking for other talents like [giọng của Nagi] Shimazaki-san here, I can sympathize with Isagi's desire to become better. Seeing him start from the bottom as a loser, then seeing him go through the Blue Lock program and fight his way to the top, I really root for him and feel it inside too. The program is really creating some kind of magic to motivate people.
The panel shifted focus to the recent film, Blue Lock: Episode-Nagi-. The story focuses more on Seishiro Nagi, who discovers that he has an extremely high talent for soccer and is invited to join the Blue Lock project. It delves into Nagi's backstory and retells parts of the first season from Nagi's perspective, rather than Isagi's.
Ura-san, who voices Isagi, appreciates how it gives a new perspective on the series' main character. “We often hear his inner monologues,” [Isagi]so instead, hearing Nagi's inner monologues provided a new perspective and showed how Isagi really is quite scary.” He described his role as Isagi in the film as “Nagi's final boss.”
The film follows the friendship between Nagi and Reo, as well as the moment their relationship takes a dramatic turn. When asked to comment on the film, Nagi's voice actor Shimazaki-san exclaimed, “Reo, I'm sorry!” Viewers of the show can understand his feelings. “When I first watched it, I thought, 'Nagi! Just tell Reo how you feel!', and it was fun to see their dynamic as a couple and the tension on the big screen.” [giữa họ].”
The onstage conversation was still pretty engaging, but as with any panel that’s more of a simple Q&A, you could sense the energy level fading. It wasn’t all bad – they never lost their audience for even a minute.
But from this point on, it became AMPED.
Apparently, they conducted some fan surveys before the event, and they were willing to reveal the results to the audience—and panelists—I've rarely seen a panel rated so highly.
For each question, there are 3rd, 2nd, and 1st place results, displayed in that order. It's a great way to quiz the panelists, as well as get the audience excited for characters that are clearly fan favorites. Who doesn't love a fan poll?
First: Who do you think is the strongest player in Blue Lock?
Tuesday: Bachira
Monday: Isagi
1st time: Nagi
As each result was revealed, the crowd erupted. It hardly mattered whose name came up, as the results were for the top results anyway, and fans were thrilled to see their favorite character's name come up.
Shimazaki-san and Ura-san exchanged some playful banter about who would come out on top. Shimazaki-san, Nagi's voice, waved triumphantly to the crowd. “I knew it would be me. Thank you everyone!” he boasted.
As we enter the second half of the conference, these survey questions are interspersed throughout the ongoing discussion and keep the energy of the crowd never faltering. It's actually a lot of fun! The panelists are feeding off the energy of the room and having a great time.
When asked who their favorite character on the show was, each panelist gave their opinion.
Ura-san confessed that his own character Isagi is his favorite, but if he had to choose another one it would be Bachira. Shimazaki-san said Rin, because of his perfectionism and how much he respects how hard he works to achieve it.
Tsuchiya-san said that other than Isagi and Nagi, it had to be Zantetsu Tsuruki. He liked the juxtaposition of a character who was cool but also a bit goofy.
Arisawa-san said his character is Gagamaru. “When I was reading the manga, I thought, 'How does this guy talk like that? How does this guy come to life in the anime?', so developing that character was really fun.”
Next survey question! Now I'm as excited as the rest of the room.
Which character do you (fans) associate with the most?
Tuesday: Chigiri
2nd: Isagi
First: Nagi
“No, that's not fair!” Ura-san exclaimed in disappointment. “I'm sure Isagi will be number 1 next time.”
When asked who they were closest to, Tsuchiya-san said it would be Reo. “At first, he was very confident, but after seeing him break down, it felt very comforting.”
Anime producer Arisawa-san said he was most involved with Anri-chan. “Since she was the Blue Lock producer on the show, I thought, ‘You got it!’ She was the one who made the entire Blue Lock show come to life.”
More fan survey results!
[người hâm mộ] who do you consider yourself?
Tuesday: Nagi
Monday: Isagi
First: Bachira
Which character do you want to play soccer with?
Tuesday: Leo
Monday: Isagi
First: Bachira
Without fail, the crowd exploded at every outcome.
Then Ura-san's moment finally came:
Who do you think will win the final Blue Lock?
Tuesday: Nagi
Monday: Rin Itoshi
First: Isagi
Perhaps this was a set-up. (Or an open goal, if we use a football metaphor.)
“I'm so happy! I'm so glad that I'm finally number one!” Ura-san said happily.
He began chanting NUMBER ONE, evoking the same energy of a typical American! chant you might hear at an international event.
NUMBER ONE!!!
NUMBER ONE!!!
“What an exciting ranking!” Arisawa-san said. “For a moment, I was like, ‘Oh no, what if Isagi doesn’t win the final match? Will we have to do Episode Nagi and Episode Bachira forever?’”
Both panelists and audience were having the best time, soaking in the excitement for these beloved characters.
As the seminar ended, the guests bid farewell.
Ura-san was the first: “Thank you for everyone's warm welcome to us. I'm glad I was able to sit and talk about us. Blue Lock. I will bring your energy back to Japan and use it to make Blue Lock the best it can be!”
Shimazaki-san continued: “I really feel the love and energy here, so I'm feeling very full right now. I want to invite everyone to watch Episode Nagi! Please watch it as many times as you want!”
“It was a pleasure to be able to talk about Blue Lock with everyone here,” said Tsuchiya-san. “We hope you will continue to support anime and manga. Hopefully next year I can invite both of the creators of Blue Lock to come here and accompany you.” We hope so too!
Arisawa-san had the final word: “We will return to Japan to continue creating a great season for you.”
Realizing that the Crowd still had energy in the tank when the guests stepped off the stage, Ura-san happily sang another song with the crowd.
NUMBER ONE!!!
NUMBER ONE !!!
NUMBER ONE!!!