Blue Lock in English: where it stands before the volume 35 paperback

What Blue Lock is about

Blue Lock is a soccer manga by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yuusuke Nomura. It started in Japan in 2018. The genres are action, drama and sports. Its themes are battle royale, athletics, fitness and the anti-hero.

The setup goes like this. Japan's national team has crashed out of yet another World Cup. The Japan Football Union responds with a radical project called Blue Lock. Three hundred high school forwards get shut inside a training facility. There they compete against each other. The aim is to forge one world-class striker for Japan. A player who gets cut loses his shot at the national team for good.

The program is run by Jinpachi Ego. His message is blunt. A great striker has to be a total egotist.

The lead is Yoichi Isagi. He has just lost a big match because he passed instead of shooting. Blue Lock forces him to rethink everything about how he plays.

Think of it as a survival game played in soccer cleats. It suits readers who like ruthless competition and sharp rivalries. It also suits anyone who enjoys watching players keep finding new weapons.

Where it stands in Japan

As of October 2026 Blue Lock is still running in Japan. It has 40 volumes there so far. The series is not finished.

Where it stands in English

English is at volume 35. That puts it five volumes behind Japan. Kodansha publishes Blue Lock in English.

Volume 35 arrives in two steps. The ebook came out on 6 January 2026. The print edition follows later in the year.

When the next English volume comes out

The next English release is the Blue Lock volume 35 paperback. It comes out on 20 October 2026. Penguin Random House is listed as the publisher for this edition.

Digital readers already have this volume. Print collectors now have a date to mark.

• Volume: 35
• Format: Paperback
• Date: 20 October 2026
• Publisher: Penguin Random House

How to start Blue Lock

Start with Volume 1. There is no other entry point listed. Kodansha released it in English in 2023.

• Start with: Vol. 1
• Publisher: Kodansha
• English release: 2023

The first volume sets up the whole premise. You meet Isagi right after his painful loss. You also see Ego lay out what Blue Lock demands. Everything after builds on that.

Every English volume and its date is on the Blue Lock series page. Use it to track which books you own. It also helps you spot the ones you still need.

Start now or catch up?

New readers have a long English run to work through. That is 35 volumes from Isagi's first day to the latest book. It is a good stretch to binge before the next one lands.

Lapsed readers can check the series page to see where they stopped. Then pick up from the next volume.

Readers who are current in print only need one thing. That is the volume 35 paperback on 20 October 2026. Readers who are current in ebook are already caught up with English.