Yoichi Isagi VS Ashito Aoi (Blue Lock VS Ao Ashi) | Prediction blog

“As someone who loves football, I want to give something back to the game and help it develop further.” - Franz Beckenbauer

Yoichi Isagi, The boy who seeks to become the world's best striker

Ashito Aoi, the boy who seeks to be the best soccer player

Soccer, a sport that taken the globe by storm brining in missives wither your a fan or player, this sport brings joy to many, and for these 2 soccer means a lot more, its what they were made to do, so when it comes to a 1v1 who proves to be the better player??

Before we start

This blog will contain spoiler for Blue Lock and Ashito Aoi (Manga and Anime) you have been informed, also one more thing

Rules

This will be a very different type of battle to say the least, this wont focus on the basic stats (except for speed), hax's or anything like that, this blog will focus on their speed, skills, game IQ, experience, stamina and abilities that they have obtained to help them play, no death here just a 1v1 game of soccer between this 2., but now let's get onto the blog shall we

Background

Yoichi Isagi

Yoichi Isagi grew up watching Football and aspiring to be like Noel Noa, a player on the France National team known for his forward playing style, due to this Isagi wanted to get into the sport and play on Japan's National Ace Striker team, to get closer to his goal he went to Ichinan High School and played as the forward for said team. When he was a 2nd year Isagi would play against Matsukaze Kokuo High in the Saitama Prefecture Finals, with Kira on the opposing team, by the end of the game Isagi's team would lose causing a heart breaking defeat that would stop them from playing at National's, this would leave a mark on him. This defeat causes Isagi that being selfish was the way to go in that situation. But, Isagi notes that this notion conflicts with his Japanese ideals of football. Once he got home, he tells his parents about the loss. Following that, his mother hands him a letter stating that Isagi has been invited to a "Player Improvement Project." Upon receiving the letter, Isagi felt both excitement and confusion. This would start the events of BLUE LOCK.

Ashito Aoi

Being raised by a single mother Ashito Aoi knows the meaning of hard work, ever since Aoi was young he was always creative when it comes to having fun, since they could not be alone whnever their mom would head to work they would tag along and to kill their beardom they would make a crude football completely out of newspaper, them playing this would improve them in many ways with Ashito developing a skill that let's him view things in his peripheral vision, Aoi would go to Futami Middle School and join the time being their number one player making every goal in his way living his best life, until one fateful game where he would headbutt the enemy goal keeper costing his team the game, luckily for him his playstyle caught the interest of a manager from a different team who's a legendry soccer player he was shocked by Aoi skill and later on ability to remember the positions of 22 players on the field, due to his crazy ability Tatsuya would offer Aoi a spot on the team kicking off the events of AO ASHI

Equipment

Yoichi Isagi

Uniform

Isagi in his blue lock uniform, as you can see he's number 11 (he has more but this is the main uniform)

Ashito Aoi

Aoi in his Esperion uniform, as you can see he's number 33

Playstyle

Yoichi Isagi

Isagi's main play style is known as forward, they have the main objective of scoring the goals, they are often the players who get the most attention since their role is designed to be in a scoring position. They also take part in penalty kicks and corner kicks when the opposing team kicks the ball out-of-bounds. They are normally the players in charge of starting off the game at the start and halftime. Isagi's 2nd role is known as Raumdeuter, they are the ones is to find open pockets of space that they can do their best at, Raumdeuter are most known for going in dangerous spaces and create confusion on the enemy team's backline, they also help setting up for shots  

Aahito Aoi

Ashito is more than meet's the eye he can play as a forward, they have the main objective of scoring the goals, they are often the players who get the most attention since their role is designed to be in a scoring position. They also take part in penalty kicks and corner kicks when the opposing team kicks the ball out-of-bounds. They are normally the players in charge of starting off the game at the start and halftime. Aoi is also a playemaker thanks to his ability 'Eagle Eye" the playmaker archetype is a player who controls the flow of the team's offensive play, often through vision, technique, passing, and creativity, acting as the creative hub and facilitating chances for teammates. He also learns the fullback play style a style where the player who excel at defending and moving up the field to attack, making plays and scoring goals, with a focus on positional freedom and playmaking from the center of the pitch.

Experience, IQ and Skill

Yoichi Isagi

Isagi has been watching and playing soccer since a very young age, focusing and studying since the start so there's no surprise that Isagi is a genius on the field, Isagi is able to create plays only possible for himself. Due to his relationships and game time with most of the prominent Blue Lock players, Isagi is able to bring the best out of his teammates by either forcing them to perform plays so he can attack or by pushing themselves to exceed Isagi's evolving skill. By the time he reaches the big league other players listen to his guide and follow along, Even the world class players notice his skill and respect him with the best striker in Blue Lock recognizing him as a threat to his top spot.

Ashito Aoi

Aoi has been playing and watching soccer with his brother since he was a kid, really only caring for the fun aspect of it, while he may not be the smartest he has shown to have understanding and come up with smart and well thought plays when it comes down to the wire and his ablity to adapt to the current moment the game is in is a miracle to behold, his emotional intelligence is another thing as he strives to understand his teammates both in and outside of football. Though Ashito is a tough and outwardly resilient player.

Abilities

Yoichi Isagi

Yeah this is a soccer anime but the players in Blue Lock are built different that includes Isagi

Spatial Awareness: Isagi instantly starts to analyze the entire field, this gives him a vast understanding of the game which also includes the weapons his enemies are bringing into the game, this also let's Isagi make accurate predictions on his enemies based on the flow of the game. These premonitions then allow him to envision an ideal play midgame and execute it efficiently even when faced with strong opposition and an unpredictable field (This also let's Isagi smell goal's which let him pass it to the team mate that's gonna make it) 

Metavision: Using his eyes to constantly take in information from his central and peripheral vision, Isagi constantly collects data on every player, every play they make, and their positions on the field, this pretty much let's Isagi adapt to his opponents play styles, Mixed with his spatial awareness, positioning, and reflex, Isagi is able to swiftly predict and shut down the plays of some of the best players in Blue Lock and even one of the best strikers in the world and further create ideal situations for his own goals using his teammates in a way that is only possible for him (There's another version of this named Meta-Burst Point that Isagi can use to pinpoint the most critical point in the enemy's play and move in to steal the ball or stop the ball at the last second.)

Egocentrism: Isagi is able to utilize his Metavision to read and understand the motivations or "protagonism" behind people's play styles and use that understanding to further create opportunities for himself and his own team by denying the opposite team's players crucial plays that they attempt to make. Through this, Isagi is capable of anticipating, defending against, and shutting down critical, illogical, as well as even "miracle" plays that would normally be considered irrational, unpredictable, and unstoppable.

Direct Shot: To perform a direct shot or volley, Isagi first assesses the positions of defenders and the trajectory of the ball, then lands a powerful kick on the ball's impact point in order to score a clean goal. In doing this, Isagi avoids having to overthink his positioning and next move and can just score a clean shot with no interference. Nagi noted that Isagi has no wasted motion when performing his shot, implying that Isagi performs it with flawless technique and control.

• Back Heel Shot: Isagi first assesses the positions of defenders and feints a direct shot in anticipation for his opponent's block. Then he lands a powerful backwards kick on the ball's impact point in order to score a clean shot. 

• Lefty Direct Shot: Acting as a supplement or "side weapon" to his right-footed direct shot, Isagi is able to perform a left-footed direct shot when his dominant right side is blocked that is strong yet not as powerful as his right-footed direct shot.

• 2-Stage Lefty Direct Shot: Isagi assesses the positions of defenders and feints a direct shot with his right foot, in anticipation of his shot being blocked, then proceeds to tap the ball into the air and to the side instead, to further create sufficient space to shoot freely, a lefty direct shot.

• Two-Gun Volley: An ambidextrous mid-air quickdraw that got inspiration from Nagi's Juggling Shot. Isagi gets into a shooting position using one foot but fakes the shot by moving his foot over the ball midair. He then jumps and quickly performs a jumping volley with the other foot into the goal, effectively combining both his left- and right-footed shooting. Hiori has called the shot "unstoppable" since no matter which defender comes in to block his shot, Isagi can fake them in midair and shoot after he destroys their timing. Plus, the goalkeeper will have a hard time timing his shot.

Flow State: Flow, as Ego describes it, is the state of "total immersion" or "being in the zone." It is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. Isagi's Flow state involves Isagi constantly using all of his weapons at once to read the field and the distortions caused by the players on it. With his Metavision, he complexly reads the field and identifies player motivations and distortions, then takes advantage of these with his spatial awareness and reflex and either mounts a surprise ironclad defense or a swift and unstoppable attack using his positioning and one-touch passing.

(Isagi has other ablities but thoso dont really add nothing to a 1v1)

Ashito Aoi

Despite its more down to earth vibe, Aoi actually has some crazy trick up his sleeve which shouldn't even be possible.

Eagle Eye: Ashito can see the position, body orientation, and location of nearly, and on some occasions, every player in the field. Thanks to this, he can simulate their projected path. As stated by Anri Kaidō, his ability is to remember the positioning of players on the pitch and predicting their next movement. He can also determine the spaces his opponents wish to use, and identify where his teammates would want or need him to be at, making him a great playmaker.

Photographic Memory: Combined with his wide vision, Ashito can remember the entire match to a stunning degree, which greatly helps in his development as a player since he can figure out what play he did right or wrong, this is best for him to adapt so he can go past the enemy style which he has been shown to do when he switch's up to gain the lead

Scanning: A habit he learned from his respected senior Kuribayashi, he is able to gain more information such as which players are around him. This is also to ensure he performs his plays correctly and is able to link up with teammates and their actions while in possession of the ball. An example of this in use is when Ashito first utilized it, he is able to instantly execute a long pass towards a forward moving up the field before other players even realize what happened. This information gathering, when used in conjunction with his eagle eye and photographic memory, allows for more advanced plays as the match progresses, furthering his development as a playmaker.

Stamina

Yoichi Isagi

As expected from a soccer player Isagi can play from really long periods of time with every soccer gaming being 90 minutes in total with each round being 45 minutes, being able to keep up with people are are physically more fit than him, at some point when metavision was used it would take 100% on the users body but it seems like Isagi has went passed it

Ashito Aoi

Ashito is one tough cookie, not only can he play a full game of soccer which is 90 minutes in total but he has shown to be able to do more than that, he has been on a non stop 2 hour run and has spent an entire night learning how to do a soccer move before his legs gave up on him, and even while playing world class talent he doesn't let his stamina slow him down as he's able to quickly run after said target

Weakness

Yoichi Isagi

Despite Isagi being one of the best Blue Lock player he himself is not perfect, he lacks physical strength and ball trapping compared to others this makes him vulnerable to being knocked off balance and losing possession of the ball. He also initially struggles with understanding and exploiting his own strengths and weaknesses.

Ashito Aoi

Ashito is a great player in his own right but one of his biggest flaws is his lack of actual training, he never really trained before becoming part of Esperion which lead to him making bad calls when he was qualifying until he stopped and thought more, he also has a a tendency to underestimate opponents, as well as difficulty handling pressure and making quick decisions under intense situations.

Verdict

Okay okay is time to start this debate no numbers just skill and what they can show and have done in the anime/manga, to put it simple let's break it down to these categories to determine who over is the better player and better chance at winning

Speed

Let's start out with the first out of the categories, to get the annoying part out the way vs battle wiki has a page for Blue where they clac their speed with the highest clac being  Subsonic speeds, meaning that Isagi would easily get this point, but for the love of the game and fairness i will not be including these calculations and will just be going off what we seen them do while they play, with that said let's start with the heart of Blue Lock Isagi. 

Isagi may not be the fastest off the players but he has shown improvements as the manga/anime keeps going, he's been able to quickly react to fast ball and run from one side of the field to another with his most impressive showing of speed being when he pretty much locked in and went into the flow state increasing his speed by a incredible amount to the point that he even shocked Rin and Ryusei some of the fastest players in the series, Ryusei is able to kick the ball so fast that he can create small shockwaves he's overall rating for speed is B (77) meaning that when he enters the flow his speed should be easily high A - S

Aoi like Isagi may not be the fastest but he still holds his own when it comes to others, with the use of his spot he can correctly guess where the ball is gonna land and uses his speed to quickly reach it, his speed was noticed by a player on the first year team who was shocked with how fast he was able to reach it, he's shown his speed on multiple occasions such like when he quickly catches up to a missed shot and shocking everyone around when he makes the goal, what's most impressive is when he pretty much locks in he gets some sorta a speed boost that let's him pretty much keep up with faster players.

Overall with the clacs Isagi is alot faster than Aoi but he's also faster without it as he's shown better showings of speed especially when he enters the zone letting him outspeed guys like Rin and Ryusei which as stated before some of the best in Blue Lock, Ao's speed is impressive but Isagi just takes this category pretty handily

Skill

Isagi's is considered to be one of the most skillful players in the league, his positions and movement are second to none, he always finds a spot to find a decoy to help his team mates make shots, or get himself close to a team member to do a back to back shot to break the enemies defense, Isagi adaptability helps him go against others skilled players to give himself an advantage over them, his skill has greatly increase to that point that he went on a winning steak and was called the demon king due to how skillful of a player he was.

Aoi's skill at first was just that of basic soccer but due to his formal training he has became one of the best players, he's able to use open spaces to attract defenders to himself and manage out play them using team work as a way to make goals, or fall back and defend once he notices a plan one of his team mates are trying to do, due to his Eagle eye he can quickly manage to form a plan during game action and give hints to his team to make the play.

For play styles we will be comparing them directly both Isagi and Aoi playing forward meaning that they have the same goal to make the score and both have different side roles with Isagi being a Raumdeuter and Aoi being a playmaker, but due to Aoi also playing fullback he should take the advantage due to having 3 playstyles compared to Isagi's 2, and more the less fullback is a defense type which means he has overall better defense than Isagi who lacks that defense but make up for it in other aspects.

Overall both Isagi and Aoi are very skillful players and some of the best in their team no doubt, but i have to give this point to Isagi due to the fact that unlike Ashito who was always playing with people not as good as him, Isagi was already playing nationals qualifiers in high school with people are talented and said to have bright futures ahead before making it to Blue Lock and while both of them are team players, Isagi also a team player at the start and has shown to be willing to trust his team unlike Aoi who didn't do that until played with people who are on par with him, so due to Isagi playing with people who were actually on his level which would require more skill, and being a over better team member when it comes to a group he should take the skill category, while Aoi play style is better due to him having 3 to help him last in longer.

IQ

Isagi's is one of the smartest players in Blue Lock with him studying the game since he was a child, his intelligence helps his team members make better shots and better overall plays, Isagi is one to take his time to analyze and pin point every option that can happen with every open spot he can get, making sure he gets his benefits out of his plays.

Aoi has great IQ when it comes to soccer, he can easily remember the spots of the field and make plans to adjust to his current situation and spot, wither he's playing forward, planning his shots as a playmaker or studying the field to make sure his defense is on point Aoi is always look for what's more beneficial t to him and his team to allow them to make shots and go for the win.

Now this category is a lot harder than what it looks like, Isagi's ability to make a play out of everything and his studying of the field is nothing to laugh at, as we seen what happens when his team listen to him but the fact that Aoi has knowledge on 3 play styles that impact how he plays and the game due to what he's able to come up with using each one is something Isagi wont see coming until he studies Aoi , while technically speaking Isagi is the smarter of the two the fact that Aoi has options to keep up with him probably even make a plan that can shock him is something Isagi, sure Isagi will be able to adapt to this but so can Aoi, so due to this i will be giving both of the players a point

Experience

Okay I'll make this short, Isagi should easily take experience, as stated before Isagi started playing soccer in a actual team at a earlier age and the fact that he was playing at higher stakes with better overall players than Aoi was playing with is something to take note on, plus Isagi is older so he had a 2 - 3 year ahead start on soccer than Aoi has, yeah this category is really short one while Aoi has experience due to joing his club and playing with his brother Isagi overall just had more time to develop and train with better players than we seen on Ashito Aoi, this point goes to Isagi

Stamina

Isagi's stamina is that of a pro soccer player, he's able to train for long periods of time and play a full game of soccer and keep on moving, but this is another short category because we seen Aoi just be able to move and play longer, Aoi is able to run for 2 straight hours non stop forcing himself to keep on moving and even spend an entire night training just to learn one move, so yes Isagi stamina is surly amazing and like i said bro is a pro, but that fact that it takes longer for Aoi to get tired and that he can just force himself to just keep on running despite his body is something out of this world, this point goes to the playmaker Ashito Aoi

Abilities

Oh boy we finally made it, let's start with the basic stuff first, the abilities that both share, Eagle Eye and Scanning is similar to both Spatial Awareness and Metavision. With Spatial Awareness Isagi can analyze and see the entire field, see his enemies weapons and make predictions about his opponents, with Metavision Isagi collects data on the opposite team, every move, every play and every position they have on the field, with Eagle Eye Ashito can see the whole field and simulate the projected path, this lets him predict the movements of the players in the opposite team and scan his oppents to learn about how they the players around him play, both have a way to guess what the other is gonna do, see the entire field, find the good and bad spot for both, and anazye the other to learn about their playstyles these cancel each other out and none have the advantage over the other.

Isagi's egocentrism and Aoi photographic memory cancel the other out, egocentrism let's isagi study a play and playstyle of his opponent to let him figure out a way to get past them and letting him adapt to cancel the other from making any play, while Aoi has used his memory to go through an entire match to let him figure out what he did right and wrong alongside the play style of the enemy so he can adapt and counter it with his own styles, this again means no point for the other.

Now this would mean that Abilities would be a tie and both will be given a point but unlike Aoi, Isagi has a couple more things to dish out, his multiple different types of kicks to make a goal, Isagi is able to do types of shots that Aoi has never been up against, like the Direct Shot, Lefty Direct Shot and 2-Stage Lefty Direct Shot, which is literally kicking the ball in its impact point aka auto aim, the back heel shot he uses when he's being guarded instead of how its common used when the player is open, and his most powerful kick the Two-Gun volley, a quick air mid draw where Isagi uses both of legs and kicks with such a force that is nearly impossible to stop it due to Isagi being able to fake a kick midair which just how the fuck?

Than there's what gives Isagi the edge in ability, the flow state which let's Isagi use all his weapons at once truly making him unstoppable as he's able to go through any defense and scans everything with out him having to do it, its like having auto aim and auto green all in one, this is on a different level than anything Aoi has seen and probably the thing that he wont be able to do anything against once Isagi uses it, due to this fact Isagi takes abilities

Conclusion

Yoichi Isagi

“So this is what it means to win. I don’t know what this feeling is… but I like it!”

Advantages

• Faster than Aoi
• Overall the more skilled 
• Better and more intense training
• The more experienced player
• His kicks are pretty much auto aim that only best goal keepers can't stop
• The flow state and his many kicks are something Aoi never seen before

Tie

• Both have abilities to cancel out the others
• While technically Isagi is smarter, Aoi is a  master of 3 play styles and due to his creativity is enough to match that of Isagi's 
• Both will be able to adapt to the other

Disadvantages

• Aoi has the overall better stamina
• Aoi has 3 playing styles that Isagi will have to deal and adapt to
• Ao Ashi is the better anime

Ashito Aoi

“I took a look at the whole pitch. It’s a habit of mine. Only when I take a good look at it, I feel I can calm down.”

Advantages

• Overall better stamina than Isagi
• His 3 different play styles will provide to be challenge to Isagi
• Has the better anime

Tie

• Both have abilities to cancel out the others
• While technically Isagi is smarter, Aoi master of 3 play styles and due to his creativity is enough to match that of Isagi's
• Both will be able to adapt to the other

Disadvantages

• Slower
• Isagi is the overall more skilled player between the two
• Isagi has been through better and more intense training
• Aoi has never seen anything like the flow state or Isagi's kicks before 
• Aoi can't do nothing against Isagi's auto aim shots

While this has been a very exciting game of soccer and are some of the best in their own right, only one had the main important advantages to take the win in this game. Aoi's stamina and his ability to make a play out of any situation took him far, and being able to cancel out some of Isagi's abilities with own version of it really was a sight to see, however for Aoi to really take advantage out of this he had to get past Isagi's much better ball handling and experience, given if the game went out longer Aoi may be able to catch a win by wearing down Isagi, he would still have to deal with the flow which is just something he cant do as the flow is something that even the best of players cant stop unless they themselves tap into the flow, alongside the fact that Isagi many ways of have a way of always making score with his auto aim kicks meant Aoi just couldn't keep up with him, Ao Ashi is a much more down to earth anime series compared to Blue lock and it showed as Isagi showed why he is the heart of Blue Lock.

Looks like Isagi just had Aoi locked down in this one. The winner is Yoichi Isagi