01x02 - Monster

[bunniefuu]

I am a striker!

Someone once said:

"In the world of soccer,

you can train first-rate goalkeepers,
defenders, and midfielders,

but strikers are different."

"A first-rate striker will find
where the soccer is most intense

and suddenly appear there."

BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT

A PLACE IN THE QUARTERS
SLIPS FROM THEIR GRASP

Let me be blunt.

If things carry on the way they are,

Japan will never win
the World Cup. Not in a million years.

We're making plenty of dough,
so what do we care?

After all, soccer's a business.

Anri, surely you don't really believe

Japan has a chance
of winning the World Cup?

Of course I do, you money-grubbing rodent.

It's my g*dd*mn dream!

"If we just play our soccer, we can win"?

"Japan's possession of soccer
is good enough for the world stage"?

That kind of thinking is exactly
why we never make it past the last !

Well, you came up with this idea,

laid the groundwork,
and put it all in motion.

So if it doesn't work out,
I know whose head will roll.

I truly believe the only person
who can break down Japanese soccer

and forge a player who can lead
this country to a World Cup win...

is this man right here!

Ego Jinpachi.

Isagi?

What are you doing?

Wait, what is this? What just happened?

I'm sorry. It's just...
The ball came at me out of nowhere and...

Don't give me...

Diamonds in the rough,
only results matter here.

Losers lock off.

Kira Ryosuke, you are disqualified.

This is bullshit.

How is it possible
for my future career to lie in tatters

all because of some stupid game?

I'm Japanese soccer's jewel in the crown!

You telling me Igaguri and Isagi
are more talented than me?

Why does this silly game
of tag even matter?

What does it have to do with soccer?

In Blue Lock, everything has
something to do with soccer.

Look around you, Mr. Mediocre Elite.

The room you are in...

is the same size as the penalty area.

Roughly % of all goals
are born within these confines.

If you can't do your work in this space,
you have no talent as a striker.

So... So what?

Tag is nothing like soccer!

If you're the one running away,

you need a keen sense

of interpersonal space,
tactics, and positioning.

If you're the one doing the chasing,

your dribbling and aim must be precise,

and the quality
of your kicks must be high.

That makes it
an excellent soccer training drill, wimp.

Even so, how can you know
anything about me in just two minutes?

A soccer match is minutes!

On average,

the total amount of time any player
spends on the ball in a -minute game

is about seconds.

You wasted the chance
that was afforded to all of you equally.

But nothing could be done
in those last ten seconds...

Would you say the same thing
if this was a match?

When the ball hit you, there was
still one second left on the clock.

You could've survived if you'd blasted it
at the immobile Igaguri.

But you didn't see it.

In a way, it was the last play
right before the final whistle.

The moment your teammate's sh*t hit you,
you gave up and accepted defeat.

That's why you didn't see it.

You missed your chance at victory
by not taking that extra step.

Whoever is "it" in this game of tag

might be the loser
if he holds onto the ball for too long.

But he might also be the winner,

as only he has the power
to choose who is hit next.

A striker shoulders that responsibility
and fights until the very last second.

Isagi Yoichi targeted someone ranked
higher than him, not the fallen Igaguri.

Bachira Meguru stole the ball off him
and went after the strongest guy.

That's a selfish obsession with victory

that isn't affected
by the group's common sense.

That's the egoism
of the striker that I'm looking for.

You lost because you ran away from it.

Kira Ryosuke, lock off.

But... But he came at me...

Bachira came out of nowhere...

Bachira came at me out of nowhere!

Kira...

This isn't right.

It... can't be.

Why did I kick it?
Did I just end Kira's soccer career?

Then why...

Why am I so pumped up?

That guy...

Why did you pass it to me?

If I hadn't kicked it, you would've lost.

Because I knew you'd kick it.
It was written on your face.

"Only results matter here," right?

So I believed in you, and I won, right?

This guy's totally crazy.

Is this ridiculousness going to continue?

"Ridiculousness"?

You're right.
That's the world of "win or lose."

Those world-class strikers
you so casually adore

put their lives on the line
like this every day.

How does it feel to fight
for your career for the first time?

Does it scare you? Does it excite you?

This is normal in Blue Lock.

Are you shaken up? Did it make
you go, "All right! I survived!"?

That's what victory feels like.

Etch that into your brain.

Every time you get a taste of that
pleasant sensation, your ego grows.

And that will elevate you to the height
of the world's greatest striker.

Congratulations. You have passed
the admission exam for the Blue Lock dorm.

All right!

There are of you in this room.

You will be living together.

At times, you'll work together.
Other times, you'll betray each other.

You will be rivals
who wreck each other's dreams.

Blue Lock...

Team Z.

DAY
TRAINING ROOM

RUNNING TEST

Isagi! Igaguri!

How can you talk about becoming

the world's greatest striker
looking like that?

You mere mortals should
go home before I make you cry!

Shut up...

Don't mind him.

Isagi, do you want some water?

Thanks, Kuon.

JUMPING TEST

-Ready, go!
-Ready, go!

Oh, hell, this guy's super athletic, too.

Isagi, are you not at your best today?

Oh, well, you know...

That was actually my max.

Talk about crushing your spirit.

BUILDING
CAFETERIA

At the cafeteria,
you get rice and miso soup,

but your side dish changes
depending on your ranking.

Huh, natto. Must be nice.

All I've been getting is pickled radish.

Chin up, Igaguri.

I'm jealous of the higher-ranked guys.

I mean, just look.

Seriously? Man, that looks tasty.

Is he a caveman?

I'm stealing your dumpling!

Hey, pipsqueak. Give that back.

Sorry, it's already in my belly! So good!

You won't get away.

Isagi, hide your food!

Nah, they wouldn't want ours.

TEAM Z
SLEEPING CHAMBER

I haven't got time for sleep!

If I don't do something,
I'm sure to get "locked off."

Everyone's better than me.
I don't see how I can b*at them.

Isagi.

Training alone?

Huh? Well, yeah...

Then, want me to train with you?

TEAM Z
TRAINING FIELD

Hey, Bachira.

Yes?

When we played tag,
you passed the ball to me.

Yup.

Why did you think I'd aim for Kira?

Well... I guess it's because...

There's a monster inside of me.

Go!

Bachira!

So slow.

No, the monster would...

Bachira! Pass it!

You can't b*at the monster like that.

Hey, what are you doing?
You held onto it too long!

Stop ball-hogging!

A "monster"?

What do you mean?

When I'm playing soccer,
the monster comes out and talks to me.

"Score a goal."

"Weave about more."

But in that moment, the monster
said to me: "Pass the ball to Isagi."

"There's a monster
inside him too," it said.

A monster?

When I play, I listen to its voice.
That's all there is to it.

You hear it too, right?
The monster's voice.

What the heck is he talking about?

Though, when I kicked the ball...

In that moment, I didn't recognize myself.

I want to know
what this "monster" inside me is.

Maybe finding that out will give me
a clue on how to survive Blue Lock.

Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Noel Noa...

All amazing players
have monsters inside of them.

It must be what proves you're a striker.

That's what I believe.

So Isagi...

I'm glad I came here
because I got to meet you.

Okay, let's try it again.

Sure.

What's wrong with this guy?
He's talking nonsense.

But...

Come at me.

He gives me...

courage.

Yeah, that's it!
That's how your eyes looked at the time.

I'm going to survive this.

The results of the fitness tests
have been assessed.

Please return to your rooms
and confirm the latest rankings.

Hey, Gagamaru.

-What rank are you? Tell me!
-Hey, Isagi.

Look at this.

I sh*t way up from my old rank of .

See? I'm at now.

What? That's amazing.

Oh, you did, too. Look.

Whoa.

You're still one above me?

You're my rival, huh?

Well, well.

Hello there, diamonds in the rough.

How are you enjoying life at Blue Lock?

Cut the crap!

Do you really expect us
to improve in this crummy environment?

Yeah, what he said. I want better food.

The environment's crummy

because your soccer skills
are crummy, duh. Idiots.

What?

Let's talk a little bit about Blue Lock.

In this facility, a total
of teams from B down to Z

are split into five groups,
one per building.

Oh, and by the way...

Each team lost one person
after the game of tag,

so there are players left.

What? So I'm still dead last?

I was happy for nothing!

Your rank decides your team.

Ranks through are in Team B,
ranks through are in C...

In short, you Team Z guys
are the lowest-ranked in Building .

These guys are in the lowest group?

Don't lump me in with these losers.

What?

Who you calling "losers"?

Hey now, let's calm down.

Higher-ranked players eat gourmet food
and get to train in better buildings.

In here, the best soccer player is king.

If you want
a better environment, win your way up.

All righty, then.

Let us begin the first selection.

Itoshi Sae.

You were a genius midfielder

in the academy
of one of the world's top clubs, Royale.

But regulations stopped you
from playing in the first team,

so you returned to Japan.

Does this mean we'll get to see you
play in the domestic league?

Over my dead body.

If I have to play in a country like this,

I'd rather play
with college kids in Germany.

NEW GENERATION
ONE OF THE WORLD'S HEROES

So...

Do you have dreams
of representing your country

at the international level in the future?

None whatsoever.

The national team
of a weak country like this one

will never be the greatest in the world.

My dream is to win the Champions League.

There isn't a forward in this country
who's good enough for my passes.

I was born in the wrong country.

Hey...

Give me a break.

This won't do, Sae!
The media's going to hate you.

So? This country doesn't matter to me.

I only came back
'cause my passport expired.

I know that, but...

JAPAN FOOTBALL
UNION PRESS CONFERENCE

Oh, yeah, I heard the JFU
was holding a press conference today.

So that's how we plan
to train up a striker

who can lead Japan to a World Cup win.

Through this Blue Lock project.

Even if you do produce a top striker,

how can you guarantee
Japan will win the World Cup?

Are you saying it's okay to ruin the lives
of people just for one person's sake?

Didn't their parents object?

Well, that's...

We respect the opinions
of the players themselves.

And their parents have
signed consent forms...

"Ruin the lives of..."?

Exactly!

For Japanese soccer to move forward,

we need this crazy project!

Don't you all want to see it?

The moment this hero
of Japanese soccer is born.

The first selection will involve
the of you in Building .

It's a kind of five-team round-robin.

Only the top two teams will move on

to the second selection
in this survival match.

So the of us on Team Z
will play as a proper team?

We're all forwards though.

Why don't you be the goalie?
You have the face of one.

Don't. I can't say no
when people ask me to do something.

Then, I'll play center forward.

-No, I will.
-No, me.

-Igaguri, you can be in defense.
-No, me! I will!

What?

A team made up of forwards?
That's crazy talk.

Listen up.

Soccer was originally
a sport all about scoring.

You've been stupidly imprinted

with the notions
of positioning and tactics,

but all of those roles
only evolved over time.

Soccer initially started out
with every player being a striker.

So play soccer as it was originally.

Create soccer from zero with your brains.

"Create soccer from zero"?

Japanese soccer has improved

at an incredible rate
in the last quarter-century,

even compared to the world standard.

Just one more step, and we'll be
on par with the world's top teams.

Soccer fans around the world
can see that happening.

That's how much Japan has improved.

But to take that extra step, it's time

for current Japanese soccer to die.

The dream of simply playing
in the World Cup has served its purpose.

So now is the time to dream
a new dream for Japanese soccer.

Abandon what you've believed
to be common sense until now.

Shove new notions into your brains.

What we really need right now
for Japan to become the best in the world

isn't the teamwork of players.

What we need is one hero.

Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar...

Soccer can evolve endlessly
if a hero like that exists.

To stop him,
new defensive systems are created.

To top him, new tactics are born.

One person's play can change
a team, a country, even the world.

That's the kind of sports soccer is.

This is a new stage for Japanese soccer.

The main characters are not us adults,
who have forgotten how to dream,

but these youngsters,
who are still nobodies.

Do you have the courage to dream
a new dream of winning the World Cup?

Are you ready to fight?

It's all there...

-In Blue Lock!
-In Blue Lock!

This press conference is over.

What bullshit!

Is this how you treat young talent?

JFU's gone crazy!

Sae, we'd better get going.
The flight back to Spain is...

-Cancel it.
-What?

I want to see what kind of idiot's

going to be born
in this country with my own eyes.

Here they come. Team X.

I'll be the one who survives!

A Blue Lock, Additional Time!

That's extra training done with.

Whew, I'm b*at.

Wait, which one was our room again?

If we try every door,
we'll find it eventually.

No, that's the changing room
and bathroom, Bachira.

Huh?

Blue Lock's so huge, it's like a maze.

The map says it's over here...

-It's this way, Bachira.
-Well?

I told you that's the bathroom!

The monster inside me is saying,
"I can't hold it anymore."

Then just go already, idiot!