Kodansha editor Moe Tsuchiya recently shared the story behind the creation of Blue Lock, the soccer manga by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura, in an interview with Comic Natalie.
Tsuchiya first collaborated with Kaneshiro as an assistant editor on As the Gods Will shortly after joining Kodansha. Later, when the series’ sequel began serialization in Weekly Shonen Magazine, he became the main editor.
After the conclusion of the series, the two began discussing what kind of story to pursue next. And this marked the beginning of what would eventually become the hit soccer manga Blue Lock.
According to Tsuchiya, Kaneshiro, who once aspired to be a comedian before becoming a manga creator, described himself as an “unorthodox creator” who didn’t easily fit into mainstream trends. Still, Tsuchiya was confident that Kaneshiro could create something with major commercial appeal.
Kaneshiro, who enjoys watching sports like soccer and tennis, brought up how Japan’s soccer scene lacked a true “hero-like striker.” That sentiment became the foundation for Blue Lock.
Tsuchiya revealed that both he and Kaneshiro wanted Blue Lock to feature a large ensemble cast of characters, a deliberate shift from As the Gods Will, where characters frequently died. Kaneshiro wanted to create a story where readers could continue to root for their favorites without fear of losing them, while still preserving the intense, psychological competition that defined his earlier works.
Drawing inspiration from works like Nobuyuki Fukumoto’s Kaiji and Usamaru Furuya’s Teiichi no Kuni, Kaneshiro merged psychological tension with a sports setting. The result was a “soccer death game” that subverted the genre by mixing ego-driven rivalries with shonen-style growth.
When Kaneshiro finally submitted the draft for Blue Lock’s first chapter, Tsuchiya said it was nearly perfect from the start. “The storyboard he brought in was almost identical to what we ended up publishing,” he said. “It was so compelling that it blew us away.”
Blue Lock began serialization in Weekly Shonen Magazine in 2018. Its chapters have been collected in 35 tankobon volumes as of August 2025.
An anime television series adaptation produced by Eight Bit aired from October 2022 to March 2023. An anime film adaptation based on the Episode Nagi spin-off manga premiered in April 2024. A second season, subtitled vs. U-20 Japan, aired from October to December 2024. A third season has been announced. A live-action film adaptation is set to premiere in Japan in Q3 2026.
Source: Comic Natalie
