Leaked Blue Lock cover visual sparks outrage

With Blue Lock volume 24 set to be released on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, the cover for the volume, featuring Hiori Yo, got leaked online. While many fans were glad that the cover features Hiori, some were disappointed that the art was all out of proportion.

Blue Lock, written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura, follows the story of Yoichi Isagi, who gets invited to be part of the Blue Lock project. The project would see Ego Jinpachi create the best striker in the world out of 300 high school strikers.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Blue Lock manga.

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Blue Lock fans disappointed by the cover art for volume 24

With Blue Lock volume 24 set to be released in about three weeks, the cover art for the upcoming volume got leaked online. While many fans were thrilled to find out that Hiori Yo was set to feature on the cover, some were disappointed after seeing the cover art, given how disproportionate it was.

The cover art was disproportionate in the sense that Hiori Yo's head was shown to be too big while his chin was shown to be narrow and pointy. Moreover, the color was too bright and saturated for fans to understand which version was the original one.

After seeing the cover art, fans could not stop themselves from trying to fix it themselves. However, only a few of them managed to succeed in doing so. Meanwhile, others seemingly made the cover art worse as the face's features did not match the edits.

Some fans even called the cover art hideous by comparing it to Chainsaw Man's Aki Hayakawa, a character who is generally handsome but received one bad cover art. Fans believe that the same has happened with Hiori, as the artwork for the volume does not do justice to his design.

Nevertheless, fans loved the concept of the cover art as it showed Hiori being chained by a small football. While other players were shown weighed down while being chained to football, indicating how important the sport was to them, it was not the same for Hiori.

Hiori Yo was forced to play a sport by his parents as both of them were athletes at a high level but never managed to become the number one in their respective competitions. That's why they forced their dreams on their son and nurtured and trained him as an athlete from the onset.

Due to this, it can be said that, unlike other Blue Lock players, he isn't that attached to the sport, which is why the cover art shows him to be holding a small football in his arm, a clear indication that it is just a dead weight for him, and nothing more. Moreover, the chain attached to his neck seems weak, hinting at his weak connection to the sport.

Nevertheless, fans did not like how the cover art was executed and hoped it would be changed before its official release on May 17.