The sports anime genre is filled with moments of pure glory and wholesome sportsmanship, but what happens when teamwork is discarded for individual success? Blue Lock is the genre's answer in an age of dark shnen where traditional views of the power of friendship, reliance on teamwork, and wholesome success are relegated into the background in favor of gritty themes that challenge the status-quo of the genre and separate itself from the rest of the pack as a truly unique sports anime.

With a focus on egoism and the importance of one's own worth, traditional sportsmanship values in Blue Lock are thrown out the window in an all-out battle for survival to become the best striker and represent Japan's soccer team at the international level for the World Cup. Blue Lock is sports anime's answer to what makes a good dark shnen through its narrative message of egoism and how teamwork isn't always everything.