Japan's World Cup win straight out of football manga series 'Blue Lock', Twitter users say

The mangaka predicted the future.

Yen Zhi Yi| December 02, 2022, 03:36 PM

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Following the victory of Japan’s football team over Spain last night with a score of 2-1, social media users have taken to social media to post memes related to the anime, comics and games (ACG) subculture.

The Japanese team, nicknamed Samurai Blue, previously scored a victory against Germany on Nov. 23 as well, before losing to Costa Rica on Nov. 27.

Samurai Blue (Lock)

Many references have been drawn to the football manga series titled “Blue Lock”, written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and drawn by Yusuke Nomura in 2018.

The series is based on the 2018 FIFA World Cup, in which Japan finished in the 16th place. The anime series premiered recently in October 2022.

Twitter user @NezukoSocial compared videos of Japan’s World Cup goal to the scene where "Blue Lock" character Rensuke Kunigami scored his team’s first goal.

The scene from the anime in question depicts the protagonist’s team scoring a goal against their opponents, with the anime character sporting blonde hair as well, bearing a striking resemblance to Japanese football player Ritsu Doan (pun unintended).

After Doan scored his goal, which was his team's first goal against Spain, his teammate, Ao Tanaka, scored a second, decisive goal that ultimately earned Japan its victory.

Additionally, the Adidas jerseys that the Japan team donned during the games were added into the manga series under a collaboration between the manga artists and the activewear brand.

Other anime-related memes include another "Blue Lock" character, Jinpachi Ego, with the Twitter user implying that Japan’s win could potentially boost the sales of the manga.

Japan is currently trending number two on Twitter.

More than just Blue Lock memes

Japan’s victories in the World Cup have also gathered the attention of other gaming and anime fans. Besides "Blue Lock", the internet produced memes that referenced the popular action role-playing game "Genshin Impact".

References have been made to the in-game regions Inazuma and Mondstadt, which were based off Japan and Germany respectively, such as the post below which photoshopped Inazuma characters’ faces over the  Japanese football team members.

Others have done the same, but using other well-known anime characters from "One Piece", "Naruto", "Attack on Titan" and "Tokyo Ghoul", to name a few.

ACG subculture shares a high cultural and economic connection to Japan, with anime originating from the country. Hence, many fans have used related media to make memes with regard to the country’s wins.

Japanese football fans have burst into celebrations following their country's victory over Spain last night, as seen from videos on Twitter.

Elon Musk also tweeted a congratulatory note to the Japan team.

Other generic memes on Japan’s games with Germany and Spain have also emerged.

Entertaining.

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Top photos via Twitter/@Nezukosocial