Blue Lock Comes To Print In 2022

In celebration of the anime coming in 2022, Kodansha USA is announced the print license acquisition of the fan-favorite manga series Blue Lock. Written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro (As the Gods Will: The Second Series), and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura (Dolly Kill Kill), Blue Lock is the heart-pounding soccer saga of a nation-wide competition to find the ace striker who will lead Japan to a World Cup victory. The first volume of Blue Lock in print is scheduled for Summer 2022, and will be distributed by Penguin Random House.

After a disastrous defeat at the 2018 World Cup, Japan’s team struggles to regroup. But what’s missing? An absolute Ace Striker, who can guide them to the win! The Football Association is hell-bent on creating a striker who hungers for goals and thirsts for victory, and who can be the decisive instrument in turning around a losing match … To do so, they’ve gathered 300 of Japan’s best and brightest youth players. Who will emerge to lead the team … and will they be able to out-muscle and out-ego everyone who stands in their way?

Winner of the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the shonen category in 2021, Blue Lock is currently available digitally in English, and can be read across a number of platforms including Bookwalker, comiXology, Kindle, Apple Books, Google Play, Nook, Kobo, izneo, MyAnimeList and more.

A long-awaited anime for Blue Lock was announced in August of 2021 from Eight Bit Animation Studio – the team responsible for the development of the That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime anime. The first season of the Blue Lock anime is set to debut later in 2022.

A free first chapter of Blue Lock is available to read right now at kodansha.us.