Updated May 9, 2024 by testing
Blue Lock is one of the biggest anime trends as of late 2022. It’s a sports anime that focuses on soccer where characters are invited to what is called the Blue Lock Project. Now when it comes to sports mangas that are a bit like Blue Lock, there are several ones out there and if you’re ever looking for one, then you’ve come to the right spot! Lo and behold, the top mangas that are similar to Blue Lock!
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MANGA LIKE BLUE LOCK!!
14. Sayonara Football
| Title | Sayonara Football |
| Genre | Romance, Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 2 |
| Authors | Arakawa, Naoshi |
| Published | 2009 |
If you’re looking for a story similar to Blue Lock then it’s gotta be Sayonara Football. The protagonist for this one is a female who loves soccer so much she joined a soccer team in her middle school. Her name is Onda Nozomi and throughout her days practicing, she has proven herself to be competent enough to join in competitions!
However, there is one problem that lies before her and that’s because she’s a girl. Compared to her male teammates, Nozomi has a large physical gap making her unable to participate in important games. Knowing that Nozomi is a determined girl, she’ll do whatever it takes to be better than anyone to make the team acknowledge her capabilities!
13. Fantasista
| Title | Fantasista |
| Genre | Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 25 |
| Authors | Kusaba, Michiteru |
| Published | 1999 |
Fantasista tells the story of Teppei Sakamoto, a country boy. Most of his life, he has been taught by his elder sister on how to play soccer and ever since then, Teppei became a soccer lover. But now that Teppei is in high school, his sister insisted him to join the Mizumoto High School Soccer Team! More challenges await for Teppei as he joins the soccer team as a newbie player!
12. Eyeshield 21
| Title | Eyeshield 21 |
| Genre | Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 37 |
| Authors | Inagaki, Riichiro |
| Published | 2002 |
Eyeshield 21 is a manga that focuses on football with Sena Kobayakawa as its main protagonist. Sena is a high schooler prone to bullying and due to experiencing frequent harassments, he learned how to run very fast so that he can easily escape the bullies.
This talent of Sena’s was eventually noticed by Youichi Hiruma, the Deimon Devil Bats’s captain. After seeing Sena’s incredible leg work, he instantly recruited him into their football team. After Sena joins, he was given the jersey of No. 21 making him the “Eyeshield 21” in the series. As he spends more time with the football team, Sena has grown to love the sport and helps them achieve their dream of becoming part of the football championship called Christmas Bowl.
11. Kuroko’s Basketball
| Title | Kuroko’s Basketball |
| Genre | Comedy, Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 30 |
| Authors | Fujimaki, Tadatoshi |
| Published | 2008 |
One of the manga similar to Blue Lock is definitely Kuroko’s Basketball. Just like in Blue Lock, characters in Kuroko also have big dreams when it comes to their sport which is obviously, basketball. There are even some people here who have big egos like Akashi who looks down on anyone he sees weaker than him.
Kuroko’s Basketball is a manga that was first released in 2008 and tells the story of Kuroko, a high schooler and was a part of the famous group called the Generation of Miracles. After they graduated middle school, they split up due to their pride and ego. In their high school years, you get to see them face off against each other a
10. Haikyuu!!
| Title | Haikyuu!! |
| Genre | Award Winning, Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 45 |
| Authors | Furudate, Haruichi |
| Published | 2012 |
Another manga we have here is Haikyuu!! And this time, we have volleyball as the main sport in the series. The story of this manga focuses more on teamwork and rivalry of the characters such as the main protagonists Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio. Both of which are polar opposites in terms of their personality and have different beliefs as to how they play volleyball.
In Haikyuu!!, you get to see different high school volleyball teams face each other as they participate in different competitions and become one of the best volleyball teams in Japan!
9. One Outs
| Title | One Outs |
| Genre | Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 20 |
| Authors | Kaitani, Shinobu |
| Published | 1998 |
This time, we have a manga on baseball called One Outs and it is a mix of sports and gambling. Just like in Blue Lock, the stakes in this series are high because of money and it all started with Toua Tokuchi, a gambler and a pitcher in a sport he plays known as One Outs.
As he gets recruited by the Saikyou Saitama Lycaon’s batter, Hiromichi Kojima, Toua was given a low salary by the owner of the team. This led Toua to making a deal with him that every time Toua makes a pitch, he get 5 million yen and every failed run will lose him 5 million yen. If the stake in Blue Lock is the players’ career, then One Outs is all about money and gambling.
8. Giant Killing
| Title | Giant Killing |
| Genre | Award Winning, Drama, Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 61 |
| Authors | Tsunamoto, Masaya |
| Published | 2007 |
Giant Killing is another soccer manga we have on this list and it’s all about the struggling team of East Tokyo United or ETU. After losing 5 matches consecutively, the team morale has lowered significantly as fans begin to lose their faith in the players. That is only until Kousei Gotou, the general manager, takes his final chance to hire the best coach he could ever think of—Takeshi Tatsumi.
Takeshi was known to be the previous manager of a soccer team in England and has excellent records during that time. However, obstacles lie before Takeshi as a lot of people see him as a traitor for leaving ETU in the past and yet, he still takes on the challenge of becoming their coach and regaining the reputation of Japan’s soccer team!
7. Aoashi
| Title | Aoashi |
| Genre | Award Winning, Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 26 |
| Authors | Kobayashi, Yuugo |
| Published | 2015 |
Aoashi tells the story Aoi Ashito, a junior high schooler who plays for their school’s soccer team and is considered as the top player among them due to his playstyle and unforeseeable moves in the field. However, one of his opponents triggered his anger that led to him losing his temper and getting removed from the game.
As a result, the team lost their chance of winning the tournament and as for Ashito, a man named Tatsuya Fukuda decided to approach him and invite Ashito to a certain tryout event in Tokyo. The protagonist agreed to it and now he finds himself in a completely different environment surrounded by amazing soccer players! Now, Ashito needs to prove to himself and to everyone his abilities as this could be a big change in his soccer career!
6. Harigane Service
| Title | Harigane Service |
| Genre | Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 24 |
| Authors | Ara, Tatsuya |
| Published | 2014 |
Harigane Service is another volleyball manga and focuses on team sports just like Blue Lock! It started off with Kanna Shimodaira as the main protagonist and enrolled at Toritsu Toyose High to join the men’s volleyball team. Kanna is simply just a guy who plays volleyball and introduced himself to the team as a pinch server. In surprise to him, the teammates who he will be playing with in the future are actually individuals of incredible talent!
Jouji Mashira, Ibuki Matsukata, and Susumu Kaneda are all star players who were chosen to play for Tokyo Prefecture back in middle school and for Shimodaira’s case, it looks like he has a lot to catch up on in order to be on the same level as them!
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5. Days
| Title | Days |
| Genre | Award Winning, Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 42 |
| Authors | Yasuda, Tsuyoshi |
| Published | 2013 |
Another soccer manga like Blue Lock is Days which revolves around the story of Tsukushi Tsukamoto who is a victim of bullying from his other classmates until he is saved by a fellow student named Jin Kazama. Jin invited Tsukushi for a soccer match because they were short on players and it is there where Tsukushi realized his love for soccer.
Even though he’s already tired, he felt more passionate than ever while playing the game and this led him to decide that he will join the Seiseki soccer team. Later on, he realizes that Seiseki is actually famous all over the country and now he needs to overcome their selection process if he really wants to join the team!
4. Hungry Heart
| Title | Hungry Heart |
| Genre | Comedy, Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 6 |
| Authors | Takahashi, Yoichi |
| Published | 2002 |
Hungry Heart is a short soccer manga that tells the story of Kyosuke Kano, an aspiring professional soccer player just like his older brother, Seisuke. But after being compared to his brother all the time, he decided to quit the sport until one day, a fellow schoolmate of his tried to recruit Kyosuke into their team.
As Kyosuke accepts the invitation, he meets other players named Kouji Sakai and Rodrigo whose goal is to be professional players in soccer! This led to Kyosuke’s dream to be relived once again and regained his passion for playing the sport!
3. Be Blues! Ao ni Nare
| Title | Be Blues! Ao ni Nare |
| Genre | Award Winning, Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 49 |
| Authors | Tanaka, Motoyuki |
| Published | 2011 |
In Be Blues! Ao ni Nare, it features the main protagonist named Ryuu Ichijou who is considered as a genius when it comes to soccer and dreams of becoming a professional player as part of Japan’s soccer team.
However, a tragedy befell him as he got involved in a car accident during his days as an elementary student. This led him to getting rehabilitated for 2 years and now he needs to regain back what he lost as he joins a soccer club in the school he’s currently attending!
2. Whistle!
| Title | Whistle! |
| Genre | Drama, Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 24 |
| Authors | Tanaka, Motoyuki |
| Published | 1998 |
Whistle! is another manga that tackles the aspirations of becoming the best soccer player in Japan. This time, we have a protagonist named Kazamatsuri Shou who dreams of becoming a professional one day even though he’s not really that good at playing the sport. As a result, he had a hard time improving himself when he attended the Musashi no Mori Junior High.
Now that he transferred to another school which is Sakura Jousui Junior High, it is there where his soccer skills vastly developed as he is surrounded by supportive team members who made him work harder and more determined than ever!
1. Captain Tsubasa
| Title | Captain Tsubasa |
| Genre | Action, Sports |
| Type | Manga |
| Volumes | 37 |
| Authors | Takahashi, Yoichi |
| Published | 1981 |
Captain Tsubasa is a manga so focused on the passion and love for soccer similar to Blue Lock and it tells the story of the protagonist, Tsubasa Oozora, a kid who got interested in soccer at an early age! In order to achieve his dreams, his mother helped him by enrolling him in a prestigious school that teaches soccer!
Tsubasa now leads a new life ahead of him and he gets to meet new friends and rivals as he forges his way in achieving his goal and participates in the FIFA World Cup as part of Japan’s representative soccer team!
CONCLUSION
Sports mangas really are one of the most inspirational genres you can find out there especially when it’s related to soccer! Stories like Blue Lock, Captain Tsubasa, and other mangas that are included in this list are big examples of that! With that in mind, this marks the end of our blog for various mangas similar to Blue Lock!
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