While Blue Lock had a lot of hype behind it, it wasn’t as anticipated as this season’s biggest hits like Chainsaw Man and Bleach: TYBW. Now though, the popularity of Blue Lock has skyrocketed thanks to the recent Japan and Germany match at the 2022 World Cup.
At the World Cup group stage, Japan faced off against Germany, a football powerhouse.
While many expected Germany to win the match, Japan pulled off a major upset, winning the match 2-1.
This unexpected result prompted many to compare what just happened to the soccer anime, Blue Lock, given the parallels between the anime and the ongoing World Cup.
2022 World Cup: Japan vs. Germany
Heading into the 2022 World Cup, many pundits expected Germany to be among the tournament’s top teams.
While many still consider Brazil and Argentina as the top teams, many still put Germany in the top 5, or at the very least, the top 10.
Germany was placed in Group E along with Japan, Spain, and Costa Rica in the group stage.
It’s fair to say that Spain and Germany are expected to advance among the four teams. But then, the Japan and Germany match happened yesterday.
Germany looked poised to win the match as they had a 1-0 lead by the 70-minute mark. But Japan rallied thanks to some key substitutions, and these resulted in two goals for Japan late in the game.
Japan won the match 2-1 in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far.
With this, Japan is in a good spot to advance to the knockout stage while Germany is in danger of bowing out in the group stage just like in the 2018 World Cup.
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Japan's Win Over Germany Prompts Blue Lock References
The result shocked the football world as Japan’s win was unexpected given how in control Germany seemed to be for most of the game.
Shortly after, Blue Lock trended online with over 140k Tweets as fans noted similarities between the anime and recent real-life events.
In case you’re unfamiliar, Blue Lock’s story is about a Japanese training program that aims to produce the greatest striker.
Given that the anime’s story is set following Japan’s 16th-place finish in the 2018 World Cup, many fans have jokingly pointed out that the Blue Lock program is working in real life.
Aside from real-life comparisons, there are also lots of fans who are expecting to see sales and interest in Blue Lock rise, especially because it’s airing at the perfect time alongside this year’s World Cup.
Given the fortunate timing of the anime’s release, it will be interesting to see if the show and its manga source material will get a boost in popularity.
Though what’s sure is that interest in the Japanese national football team will likely be much higher now thanks to their impressive win.
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