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Ani-One Philippines Adds BLUELOCK Season 1 Anime for Limited Time
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The 24-episode first season premiered in Japan in October 2022 on TV Asahi and its affiliates in the NUMAnimation programming block. Ani-One Asia previously streamed the anime as it aired in Japan.
Tetsuaki Watanabe (Powerful Pro Yakyū Powerful Kōkō-hen) directed the anime at 8-Bit with Shunsuke Ishikawa as assistant director. Taku Kishimoto (Haikyu!!, Silver Spoon, 2019 Fruits Basket) supervised and wrote the series scripts, and the manga's Kaneshiro supervised the story. Yutaka Uemura (Saga of Tanya the Evil director) was the concept adviser. Masaru Shindō (Fruits Basket, Macross Delta, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU) was the main character designer and chief animation director, and Kenji Tanabe and Kento Toya were also character designers and chief animation directors. Jun Murayama composed the music.
Kodansha USA Publishing is publishing the manga in English digitally and in print, and it describes the story:
After a disastrous defeat at the 2018 World Cup, Japan's team struggles to regroup. But what's missing? An absolute Ace Striker, who can guide them to the win. The Japan Football Union is hell-bent on creating a striker who hungers for goals and thirsts for victory, and who can be the decisive instrument in turning around a losing match...and to do so, they've gathered 300 of Japan's best and brightest youth players. Who will emerge to lead the team...and will they be able to out-muscle and out-ego everyone who stands in their way?
The anime film of Kōta Sannomiya's BLUELOCK -Episode Nagi- spinoff manga premiered in Japan on April 19. The film sold 337,000 tickets to earn 463 million yen (about US$2.99 million) in its first three days, and ranked at #2 in the Japanese box office in its opening weekend. MediaLink opened the film in various Southeast Asian territories. The spinoff manga focuses on Seishirō Nagi before he enters the titular Blue Lock facility.
BLUE LOCK vs. U-20 JAPAN, the second television anime season of the manga, premiered on October 5, and is currently airing. Ani-One Asia is streaming the anime as it airs in Japan.
Sources: Email correspondence, Ani-One Philippines Facebook page
