Just a reminder, this is a preliminary review, so read this knowing the context it's in This manga is the perfect out for people who hate NEL, like me. Whatever is missing from current Blue Lock (NEL) is in here. My opinion, even tho I don't like yaoi, is that Blue Lock actually needs to be in between yaoi and sigma phonk edits to be good, and that's exactly what this manga gives us. The story floats between rushing through scenes (which some of them can be uninteresting, but they could've also spent a bit longer on them just to let us enjoy more of the narrative) andreally focusing on some spots, which is when the manga goes crazy and becomes really good. The positive point of this manga is also that we don't really focus on one character, but instead on the duo NagiReo, which adds on a lot of angsty and emotional moments. Seeing their perspectives also expands the universe by putting more details on side characters that don't really get justice on the main series or how certain teams were planning to play, along also their internal tactics (like how Reo or Nagi see football and the games)

I don't really need to talk much about the art, since it's fantastic and it feels like the main series. The animalistic auras being there are also a nice parallel, keeping the story consistent and showing how those details are there, even before it actually happened on the main story (timeline wise).

A last thing that is cool to take note of is that some stuff that happen on the main series is actually foreshadowed here. Which, ofc, I'm not spoiling, but this should entice you to reading this.

If you miss the original Blue Lock, which felt like stakes actually existed along with heavily emotional characters, this is the manga for you.