Sae itoshi

Sae is a tall, lean young man with reddish-brown/soft maroon hair and slim teal eyes that are framed by an array of long underlashes just like his brother, Rin. During the National Representative match, he wears the Japan U-20 White #10 jersey with a black shirt underneath the jersey and some black gloves. During his childhood, Sae Itoshi possessed a deeply serious, hyper-focused, yet genuinely supportive personality. Formally recognized as an absolute soccer prodigy from a young age, his entire world revolved around a singular, fiery ego: becoming the world's greatest striker. Despite his intense personal drive, he was a caring older brother to ⁠Rin Itoshi. He took responsibility for Rin's mistakes, invited him to play alongside him, and eagerly envisioned them dominating the soccer world together as an unstoppable forward duo.

His personality underwent a devastating transformation during his four years in Spain with Re Al's youth system. Confronted by the overwhelming, world-class standard of international soccer and crushed by the raw reality of the global stage, Sae’s original ego as a striker was utterly shattered. He adapted by adopting a chillingly pragmatic, detached worldview, abandoning his dream of scoring goals to become the world's best midfielder instead. When he returned to Japan, the warmth he once showed Rin was replaced by absolute frost. He brutally dismissed their childhood promise, choosing to ruthlessly sever their emotional bond and separated from him.

In the present day, Sae is defined by a supreme, condescending arrogance and a borderline sociopathic apathy toward traditional institutions. He openly scorns Japanese soccer, viewing the domestic league as completely beneath him and declaring he would rather die than play for the standard national team. On the pitch, his ego manifests as beautiful, clinical manipulation; he treats the ball with computer-like precision and acts as a cold puppet master who only respects players capable of keeping up with his genius.

Despite his dismissive attitude, Sae is not entirely closed-minded and is capable of acknowledging others when they genuinely exceed his expectations. His respect is highly selective and based primarily on ability, ambition, and whether a person is capable of interesting him. After Blue Lock Eleven defeated the Japan U-20 team, Sae openly admitted that his previous assessment of Japanese football had been wrong and recognized Yoichi Isagi as a player capable of changing it. Rather than stubbornly maintaining his previous beliefs, Sae is willing to revise his judgment when presented with results that contradict it.

Sae is also driven by curiosity toward players and ideas that differ from what he considers ordinary. His interest in the Blue Lock Project was enough to make him remain in Japan despite his otherwise overwhelming disdain for Japanese football, while Ryusei Shido's unconventional ego and abilities fascinated him enough for Sae to personally select him as his preferred striker. Sae appears considerably more engaged around people who can stimulate or surprise him, while quickly losing interest in those whom he considers mediocre.

Although normally cold and blunt, Sae is capable of displaying a dry and teasing sense of humor around people he finds interesting. This is particularly apparent in his interactions with Shido, whose eccentric comments and advances Sae frequently entertains rather than dismisses outright. He challenges Shido to score a hat trick in exchange for his phone number, playfully responds to his increasingly exaggerated remarks, and continues teasing him after the match. These interactions demonstrate that Sae's detached demeanor does not represent a complete lack of humor or sociability, but rather his highly selective willingness to engage with others.

Sae possesses extremely high standards for both himself and those around him, and places considerably more value on demonstrated ability and ambition than reputation, seniority, or authority. He has little hesitation in disrespecting people older or more established than himself when he considers them mediocre, but is similarly willing to acknowledge someone who genuinely exceeds his expectations. His respect is therefore difficult to earn but not impossible, and his judgments of others can change when their actions provide sufficient reason for him to reconsider them.

Despite his enormous pride, Sae does not possess an overwhelming need to personally become the center of attention. He is comfortable fulfilling his role as a midfielder and creating opportunities for another player to score, provided that player is capable of meeting his expectations. Rather than demanding that every play revolve around himself, Sae's arrogance stems largely from his confidence in his own ability and his expectation that those playing alongside him demonstrate a comparable level of ambition and competence. His frustration with teammates therefore tends to emerge when he believes they are incapable of making proper use of the opportunities he creates.

Although Sae's demeanor and style of play are highly calculated, he does not exclusively value safe or conventional thinking. He appreciates creativity and ambition when they are supported by sufficient ability, even encouraging Ryusei Shido to envision his ideal goal rather than limiting himself to what seemed realistically possible. Sae appears particularly interested in players capable of transforming seemingly unreasonable ideas into successful plays, which contributes to his fascination with unconventional talents such as Shido.

For all of his apparent apathy, Sae possesses a strong curiosity toward anything capable of challenging his expectations. He originally had no intention of involving himself with Japanese football upon returning to the country, yet hearing about the Blue Lock Project immediately caught his interest strongly enough for him to remain in Japan and investigate it personally. Likewise, exceptional or unconventional players can quickly gain his attention when they demonstrate something he has not already dismissed as ordinary.

Sae is also capable of developing intensely personal competitive interests. His later decision to participate in the U-20 World Cup is partly motivated by his desire to face Bunny Iglesias, toward whom Sae displays unusual bitterness. While the exact history between them remains unclear, this rivalry demonstrates that Sae's normally detached demeanor can give way to a much more personal drive when confronted by someone significant enough to him. He originally returned to Japan to renew his passport. His zodiac sign is Libra. His foot size is 26.5 cm. His hometown is Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. His hobby is analyzing data on football players and teams. His favorite football player is Álvaro Recoba. He started playing football at the age of one. He turned 18 before the Beginning of the Blue Lock Project. His dominant leg is his left side. He thinks his strong point is that he can stay neutral in any situation. He thinks his weakness is that he doesn't know anything besides football. His favorite TV show is "Chibi Maruko-chan". He says it reminds him of home. His favorite food is salty seaweed tea. His least favorite food is French fries. His favorite music is Tofubeats - Suisei (feat. Seira Kariya). His favorite manga is GeGeGe no Kitaro, also known as Spooky Kitaro. He sleeps for 8 hours a day (7 hours + 1 hour nap). The first place he washes in the bath, is the root of his bangs He has a Butt fetish (he believes an athlete's skill can be determined by looking at it). When asked what he would do with 100 million yen, he replied that he "wasn't interested in such a small amount of money". His morning routine consists of opening the window to let in fresh air, taking a deep breath, morning yoga, meditation, drinking salted kombucha, and starting his day.[9] He spends his holidays looking at the sea. His favorite animal is the seagull. He doesn't know what his favorite subject is because he never paid attention to the lessons. His favorite brands are all his sponsors. His favorite season is the end of summer. His favorite movie is Taxi Driver. If it were his last day on Earth, he would make the world's best pass to the world's best striker. When Sae asks what he does for luck before a showdown, he says, "Think about stuff like what I want to eat if I win, putting soccer completely out of mind for a while".[9] Male Age 18[2] Birthday October 10[2] Height 130 cm (kid) 180 cm[2] (5'11") Blood Type A[2] Hair Color Soft Maroon (Anime) Reddish-Brown (Manga) Eye Color Teal Dominant Foot Left Relatives Itoshi family Rin Itoshi (Younger Brother) Unnamed father Unnamed mother

Myos