Jyubei Aryu

Aryu ranks among the very tallest figures in Blue Lock, his height matched by unusually long arms and legs. Black hair spills all the way to his waist, and he keeps his nails painted black to match his dark eyes. Some of his features read as feminine, though he is still clearly identifiable as a man. On the pitch he moved through Team Red's and Team A's shirts before finally pulling on an official blue Blue Lock uniform for the Japan U-20 match, each bearing the number two.

Everything Aryu does must be done with flair; he peppers his speech with the word fash and gravitates toward anyone with a sharp sense of fashion, once quizzing Chigiri about his hair care and studying his locks up close. His one insecurity is his own name, which he considers hopelessly old-fashioned and out of step with the aesthetic he cultivates. Whenever someone points out how dated it sounds, he compensates by throwing a series of stylish poses.

Aryu's game is built on physical extremes. His leaping ability, stacked on top of his height, lets him win aerial duels far above rivals; he traces the arc of a long pass to head it down past defenders and keepers alike, and he can even trap a lofted ball on his chest in midair. His limbs give him a reach no opponent can match, enough to poke the ball off a rival's feet or, defensively, to hook Sae Itoshi's goalbound strike onto the crossbar.

Training in judo added another layer, a skill he calls Spacing: by reading an opponent's breathing, muscle shifts, and eyeline he anticipates the next move, which makes him a stubborn obstacle in one-on-one battles. Nigeria's ace Onazi, for one, found it hard to get around him.