Synopsis

The elimination round-robin tournament is far from over. Team Z is finally working together to utilize their skills, but one team member still needs to divulge their talent. That is, if he even wants to tell his fellow teammates. Since Hyoma Chigiri suffered an injury to his knee, he’s been reevaluating his love of soccer (football), and Blue Lock is his final decider on whether or not he should keep playing or burn out. 

Review and Recommendation
Volume 3 of Blue Lock takes a minor detour from the main protagonist, Yoichi Isagi, and focuses more on Hyoma Chigiri. Chigiri has a very different backstory from Isagi, and he participates in the Blue Lock experiment for the opposite reason of many other players. Chigiri was a gifted player with lots of potential before his untimely injury. His indifference to soccer (football) conflicts with Isagi’s ambitions and creates some electrifying tension during the gameplay portions of the story. My favorite part of Volume 3 was the emphasis on the images of Chigiri’s mindset while he plays, which highlights his internal fears of losing himself if he gives his all and plays the game he used to play. Chigiri’s touching backstory makes it difficult to root for just one player to win the mad experiment of Blue Lock. I’m unsure who will win, but I’m excited to continue reading more of the Blue Lock series. 

Cautions

*Spoiler Alert* (A spoiler alert is being issued because there are mentions of specific plot points that relate to the rating of this review.) 

Blue Lock Volume 3 is rated Older Teen 16+. Similar to volumes 1 and 2, this rating is not explicitly explained in the manga but contains some content that may only be suitable for some readers. In volume 3, there is a decrease in the use of strong language compared to the previous volumes. However, it still includes some suggestive images of Anri Teieri and intense gameplay sequences. While integral to the story, these instances may only be suitable for some readers. Therefore, I concur with the initial rating and recommend this book to mature readers who are comfortable with these elements.