Crunchyroll has acquired North American and select EMEA and Latin America theatrical rights to the highly anticipated feature anime spinoff Blue Lock The Movie – Episode Nagi. Crunchyroll and Sony have set a North American release for June 28, 2024 with the international dates still to be confirmed. The buzzy title is currently dated for April 19 in Japan.
During its CinemaCon presentation, Crunchyroll showed off a clip and trailer, it also separately released a teaser trailer (see above).
This is the first film from the hit anime sports franchise about students with dreams of becoming soccer stars and joining the Japan national team. The first season of the series debuted during the last World Cup.
The movie, directed by by Shunsuke Ishikawa, centers on high schooler Nagi Seishiro as he discovers his hidden talent for the beautiful game. One day, he receives an invitation to the mysterious Blue Lock Project. What awaits him there is an encounter with the finest strikers assembled from across the country. Nagi’s dream of becoming the best will take the prodigy to a world he’s never known.
The first season of Blue Lock follows the aspirations of 300 high school students who aim to become ace strikers and lead the Japan’s men’s national team to win the next World Cup. However, if they are eliminated from the Blue Lock training program, they will never be able to play for the national team and their career is finished.
Based on the award-winning manga of the same name written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro, illustrated by Yusuke Nomura and serialized in Kodansha’s Weekly Shonen Magazine with over 30 million copies in circulation, the anime debuted in October 2022 and was one of the most popular series during its simulcast season.