Kodansha Announces US Print Release For Blue Lock
Kodansha will be giving the manga market an extra KICK this summer when they release the US version of the hit sports manga Blue Lock. The publisher made the announcement today that the property has been acquired by them for a 2022 Western release.
Blue Lock is a soccer story, about a competition to find the best soccer player in Japan. to give the nation a fighting chance in the next World Cup. A whopping 300 young athletes show up for tryouts, hoping to prove themselves. As the competition heats up, which of them will land the coveted position?
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?
Blue Lock is already being turned into an anime, courtesy of Eight Bit Animation Studio of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime fame. The first season will premiere later this year, but it’s possible the manga will make it over here first (and digitally, it’s already available). Volume 1 hits shelves in the summer of 2022, printed by Kodansha and distributed by Penguin Random House.