Imagine you have the soccer ball. The score is 0-1, and going to nationals rests on your shoulders. It’s a critical moment. You’re currently at the goal right now and wonder if you should pass it to your teammate who asked for or just go for it. You passed but the teammate ended up missing. Your chances of going to nationals are gone. 

This makes you wonder if it was better to pass or not. But no matter what you think, you still regret it. However, a new hope arises just about when you are to despair. 

The Japanese manga Blue lock is a facility that works specifically to create the best striker (or scorer) in the world. It’s mind boggling ideology: be egotistical and score your own goals. Passing means losing. Only you can be the best. 

Our protagonist, Isagi Igaguri, will have to compete with the other 299 players. The last one standing will be called the greatest striker. If you lose, you can’t ever play for the Japanese national team again. 

In the manga, the director of the Jinpachi Ego, builds a convincing argument that leads to the creation of the Blue Lock facility. 

The Japanese National Soccer team’s brand is to pass, help your teammates. A virtuous goal, but that’s the very ideology that makes the Japanese team lose every World Cup championship.

In this facility, it requires one to abandon their altruism, break themselves down and build yourself into a new person. Because only when you do can you become the best striker. 

This hooks Isagi to join and throughout his journey, there is nothing short of wisdom. This manga holds the very formula to growth, whether you’re in soccer or not. 

It teaches you about a literal formula to success and how success isn’t something you get by luck but a logical consequence. It teaches you that failure is necessary for success because in failure, you can find the tools, epiphanies, and pieces of yourself that make you flourish. 

Overall the manga is 11/10 stars.