The official PR account for the Blue Lock anime series has finally announced a premiere date for Season 2. We knew that the hit anime series would be returning for its sophomore season at some point in October, and now we have an exact date.
Blue Lock Season 2 will premiere on Saturday, October 5th in Japan at 11:30 p.m. on the nationwide TV Asahi network "IMAnimation" slot. The second season will be comprised of 14 episodes.
In addition to the premiere date, two more cast members were also announced:
- Oliver Aiku voiced by Satoshi Hino
- Shuto Sendo voiced by Akihisa Wakayama
They join previously announced cast members Eiji Mikami and Sho Hatano. Eiji Mikami will play Hiori, a highly skilled player with excellent ball-keeping skills and the ability to read his opponents' movements, while Sho Hatano will play Nanase Nijiro, who lacks any outstanding weapons or outstanding physical abilities but is a skilled striker.
Based on the award-winning, sports-themed manga written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura, Blue Lock follows the Japanese Football Union as it starts up a controversial training program, known as Blue Lock, in preparation of the 2022 World Cup.
Led by football enigma Jinpachi Ego, the program puts 300 young forwards in a prison-like institution where they undergo rigorous training to create "the world's greatest egotist striker." One of these forwards is high schooler Yoichi Isagi, a talented young player conflicted about his playing style.
The official synopsis for the series reads:
Japan’s desire for World Cup glory leads the Japanese Football Association to launch a new rigorous training program to find the national team’s next striker. Three hundred high school players are pitted against each other for the position, but only one will come out on top. Who among them will be the striker to usher in a new era of Japanese soccer?
The Blue Lock anime series, which aired from October 2022 to March 2023, was met with critical acclaim. The first season sits at an impressive 87% on Rotten Tomatoes. All 24 episodes in Season 1 can be streamed on Crunchyroll, available in various subs and dubs. Crunchyroll will also be the home of Season 2 when it arrives later this year.
In addition to the anime series, there's also Blue Lock The Movie -Episode Nagi-, a movie that was originally released in Japan in 2022. The film follows the events of Blue Lock through the perspective of Seishiro Nagi and acts as both a prequel and a side story that helps flesh out the anime before Season 2. It is set to arrive in theaters across the United States this Friday, June 28th.