A mad young coach gathers soccer players from across the country to compete in a series of bizarre challenges in a high-tech colosseum he calls Blue Lock. It's a no-balls-barred battle to become Japan's next top striker, in this Squid Game-meets-World Cup manga, now available in print! Anime airing now! With seconds left on the clock, Isagi manages to weave a masterful play--until Rin Itoshi and what seems like a stroke of bad luck deal the definitive blow. But what role does luck really play in a soccer match? Ego is eager to impart his wisdom on the advancing players, with the unknowns of the Third Selection looming just ahead...
He made his debut in the manga world with As the Gods Will, a series that began serialization in 2011 thanks to Bessatsu Shônen Magazine, a publication of Kodansha. In 2013, he achieved overwhelming sales success in Japan, reaching the staggering figure of 1.5 million copies sold. With his latest manga, Blue Lock, in collaboration with Yûsuke Nomura, he won the first prize at the 45th Kodansha Manga Award in the shônen category in 2021.