The Blue Lock is Real: Examining the World Cup Philosophy

While Japan is performing miracles on the pitch in Qatar, there happens to be an anime about Japan's national team at the same time. Let's take a look at the philosophy behind the cutthroat Blue Lock program.

SPOILER ALERT: the anime at this point barely has many episodes, so in order to help with the content of this post there will be spoilers from the manga that is much further along in the story.

Blue Lock has been an anime that has garnered a lot of hype as of late. And while the show is really new (it just started airing this past October), the main philosophy for the entire story has been set. In this post, I will be discussing that philosophy that Ego Jinpachi loves so much:

What is "Egoism" really?

Egoism, in its most popular form, is considered to be taking actions or making decisions for the sake of one's own welfare. This is known as psychological egoism, and it is probably what is most commonly thought of when one is trying to "satisfy their own ego". However, there are two other forms of egoism: ethical egoism and rational egoism. Ethical egoism states that an action is morally correct if partaking in that action would maximize self interest. Rational egoism states something similar, except that partaking in the action is not limited to just moral reasoning.

Egoism's place in soccer

Egoism is toxic to the sport and undermines the principles of teamwork and collaboration that make soccer such a beloved game. When one player's selfish actions disrupt the flow of play, it can lead to lost opportunities, missed goals, and ultimately, defeat. Moreover, egoism can also create tension and conflict within a team, causing resentment and frustration among players and potentially leading to the breakdown of team cohesion.

How does Blue Lock use egoism?

Egoism is something that would generally be looked down in soccer. It tends to manifest itself in one player doing things that might not benefit the team, like trying to create plays solely for themselves and hog the ball, or refusing to listen to tactics the coach provides them. Blue Lock throws all this conventionality out the window and creates an environment that is based off the concept of egoism. If one doesn't awaken their inner ego, they will only end up as a background character in the Blue Lock. This leads to players

In conclusion

To combat the trend of teamwork being a plot device to win games, Blue lock takes the concept of a selfish striker that can win games on their own and turns it into a form of massive soccer competition. The egoist nature of the show, while it goes against all normal soccer ideas, gives the sports anime genre a breath of fresh air and has garnered massive attention from fans.