“Blue Lock” Manga trends after Japan beat Germany in the World Cup
Japan's unexpected victory over Germany in the World Cup has led to a surge of interest in a soccer manga that was already popular among Japanese readers. The manga is called ‘Blue Lock’ (ブルーロック) and it was created by Japanese Mangaka Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yūsuke Nomura.
The Japanese team are competing in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar sporting the new kits that were created in conjunction with Adidas. The characters from the two series, GIANT KILLING and BLUELOCK, were shown in the new look in artwork by Tsujitomo and Yusuke Nomura in an effort to draw in younger followers to the sport.
The manga has been published in Weekly Shonen Jump since August 2018.
The popularity of Blue Lock surged after Japan beat Germany on Wednesday, with searches for 'Blue Lock' rising by more than 250% according to Google Trends.
“A historic match! Do your best Japan” - Special Illustration by Blue Lock Mangaka on Japan's first win in FIFA World Cup 2022!
Hayao Miyazaki had previously announced that will be returning to co-direct a new anime film — his first since 2013's The Wind Rises.