Who Is Barou in Blue Lock? Character Explored

Does Shoei Barou truly live up to his self-proclaimed title ‘The King’ in Blue Lock?

By Levin Plassery

Updated on Aug 05, 2024 | 05:44 PM IST | 275.7K

Shoei Barou- Blue Lock [PC - Crunchyroll - Eight Bit]

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Blue Lock anime and manga.

When Blue Lock fans first encountered Shoei Barou, he seemed like a side character who was all talk and no action. However, Barou quickly proved his skills, surprising everyone. He is currently playing for Italy’s Ubers in the manga’s ongoing Neo Egoist League.

Shoei Barou is part of Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura’s Blue Lock, which began serialization in August 2018 and has sold over 30 million copies. The manga's success surged with the anime adaptation, which gained popularity following Japan's impressive performances in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Known as "King" Barou, he is the quintessential arrogant forward who believes the game revolves around him. During the first selection, he was a joint-top scorer for Team X. After competing with the Japan U-20 team, Barou was ranked as one of the top players in the project, thanks to his rigorous training regimen.

Shoei Barou- Blue Lock [PC - Crunchyroll - Eight Bit]

Shoei Barou is relatively large when compared to his peers, with long black hair that he wears up in a spiky style. His character is based on the real-life football legend, Mario Balotelli Barwuah, which explains the similarities between them. In the Neo-Egoist League, Shoei Barou adds some red highlight streaks to his air. He often wears the standard-issued body suit with long sleeves.

After losing to Isagi Yoichi, Shoei Barou realizes he is no longer the main character and decides to take on a villainous role. Similar to his playing style, Barou is a perfectionist when it comes to doing things off-field. From keeping things in a constant order to having an endurance training routine, Shoei Barou makes sure to do things perfectly.

Shoei Barou is one of the superior players when it comes to physical strength. Jinpachi Ego also mentions that Barou has an amazing physique and peak fitness levels for a footballer. Barou’s middle shot is a method of scoring long-range goals from the middle of the field. He is almost guaranteed to score when he is around 29 meters from the post.

Shoei Barou- Blue Lock [PC - Crunchyroll - Eight Bit]

During the Neo-Egoist League, Shoei Barou perfects this method by training to shoot the ball in a more crowded space. Using his team-mates to cloud the goalkeeper’s view, Barou waits for the perfect moment to shoot. Apart from this, Shoei Barou can also nutmeg, chop feint, and do other skill moves. Barou is best known for his villainous playing style, in which he ‘devours’ his teammates for the sake of scoring. In simpler terms, Barou steals the ball from his teammates to create a scoring chance for himself.

While many thought that Shoei Barou was based on the football icon Cristiano Ronaldo for their similar style of play and workaholic attitude, the mangaka revealed that Barou was based on Mario Balotelli. Barou’s villainous style of football is similar to Balotelli's, who was painted as a villain by the English press during his time in England.

Villain or not, Shoei Barou’s skills cannot be underestimated. Shoei Baro mentions that the only time he ever cried was when he was born. We cannot wait to see more of him in the upcoming Blue Lock Season 2. Stay tuned for more news related to Blue Lock.

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