BLUE LOCK VOL 3 BY MUNEYUKI KANESHIRO

Illustrated by Yusuke Nomura
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Team Z is back in tournament play, and they have to not only win, but outscore their opponent to stay in Blue Lock. One of their own betrays them, however, hoping to be able to stay on after Team Z is kicked out by being a top scorer. All of their weapons and strategies are leaked to their opponent, and the betrayer even stops helping Team Z midway through the game, making it effectively 12-on-10. Against these tremendous odds, they still managed to bring together the team and overcome their adversaries, but their betrayer plans to do it all over again with their next opponent. Luckily for Team Z, their next opposing team believes they can win on their own terms and reject the chance to win by cheating. Now, Team Z will have to figure out how to play with a teammate who clearly doesn't want to be on their team any more!

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The odds against Team Z are almost too high in this third volume, but that's part of the appeal of such a ludicrous premise such as this. In my heart, I know they have to win because Isagi is our main character, but Kaneshiro makes me believe up until the moment that Team Z can lose. Isagi also has to grow a lot in this volume as his team really struggles with being betrayed. He's still not the best player on the team, but he's getting better and he's also better about motivating others to do their best (which is exactly what Ego DOESN'T want). Maybe Isagi will be able to convince Ego that Japanese strikers can be amazing and still be great collaborative players.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

Reviews of previous volumes in this series: vol 1, vol 2

Publisher: Kodansha
Publication Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: ebook

​Tags: Rating: 9/10, Suitability: High School, Manga, Sports, Action Adventure, Survival, Kodansha