Sae Itoshi

Sae Itoshi is a prodigious U-20 Midfielder who is known as the best player in Japan. Sae is also a member of the New Generation World XI, as well as the Re Al youth team. He is the older brother of Rin Itoshi.

At the start of the series, Sae is in Japan only to renew his passport, but after hearing about Blue Lock, he decides to stay. He later joins the Japan U-20 team to face off against the Blue Lock Eleven team in the Japan U-20 match. After the Japan U-20 match concludes, Sae returns to Spain but is joining the newly constructed Japan U-20 team in the PIFA U-20 World Cup as part of Buratsuta 3, so he can challenge the Spain U-20and finally triumph over his longtime adversary, Bunny Iglesias.

Appearance 🦊 Sae is a tall, lean young man with reddish-brown/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.

Personality 🍂 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 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.

Trivia’s 🐈🐈🐈

• The majority of this information is from the official Egoist Bible.
• 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 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.
• 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".
• Question to Sae: When was the last time you laughed? Sae: “Every day. Showing it on my face isn’t the only way to laugh. I laugh on the inside. When an idiot makes a mistake. When I watch a comedy show… When a cat is cute. When I see incredible football. I have my own way of laughing. See? Your face is funny too.”
• By Ego's decree, Sae will be the only member of Buratsuta 3 that he will use in the U-20 World Cup. Relationships Rin Itoshi Rin Itoshi is his younger brother. They used to be quite close with each other in their childhood. Sae was admired by Rin and he was the reason Rin started to play football. Sae and Rin used to play together and won many games together, they even made a promise to become the two best strikers in the world. However, they got separated when Sae was scouted to play in the inferiors of the Real Madrid. Four years later, Sae and Rin met again while the last one was training late. Sae then tells him that he will become the best midfielder instead of the best striker of the world, the thing that greatly affected Rin since his reason to play football had been his older brother. Sae then challenges Rin to play a one-on-one and tells him that if he defeats him he will retake that dream with Rin. Sae utterly defeats Rin and says he feels disgusted with him and the football of Japan, also telling Rin to never use him as a reason to play football ever again, leaving his younger brother behind while he stays in the field shocked and later at his home swears to destroy Sae. Later on, their relationship fell apart and estranged, never seeing each other until the match between Japan U-20 and Blue Lock Eleven. Sae is absolutely indifferent to Rin and doesn't speak to him until they have another one-on-one, in which Sae tells him that he will never be able to defeat him as long as he keeps considering himself as "Sae Itoshi's younger brother". And while Rin tries his best to prove that he is better that his brother, Sae doesn't pay him attention. Ultimately, despite Rin successfully besting him in their fight, he still looked down on his brother and instead acknowledged his teammate Isagi, for his talent in achieving goals.

Isagi Yoichi

During the Japanese Representative Match, Sae was surprised to find out that Isagi is the "Heart of Blue Lock". He was impressed by how he was able to plan different ways to score goals, to motivate his fellow teammates, and to inspire them to achieve victory throughout the match. Sae was also amazed on how Isagi managed to manipulate Rin into entering Flow, as well as take advantage of Rin's awakening to secure his defining chance for a victory shot. He even bluntly stated to Rin that Isagi will be the one to change Japanese football for the better, making him the first Japanese striker that he ever truly respected. In the aftermath of Japan's victory over Nigeria in the U-20 World Cup, Sae expressed disappointment that Isagi and the rest of the U-20 team didn't score 8 goals instead of 4 against their mediocre Nigerian opponents.

Oliver Aiku Like with all members of the original U20 Japanese team, Sae had a very low opinion of Oliver, considering him to be very mediocre in his plays. Yet, he has shown to respect his clever tactical scheme in manipulating both himself and the heads of the Japan Football Union, which led to his endgame of entering Ryusei Shido into the game against Blue Lock Eleven, to prove to the world once and for all that Japanese football's "team-play" philosophy is defective and "egoism" is the key to victory.

Ryusei Shidou Their first introduction to each other is when Sae tells Shidou that Blue Lock is too small of a cage for him. He tells Shidou to hand over his ego and go wild for Sae’s sake. Shidou first reacts angrily but is much more intrigued by the end of the scene. During the second half of the match, Shidou is finally subbed in. He and Sae pair up instantly, overwhelming not only the other team but their own teammates as well. A fellow U-20 player, Oliver Aiku even comments on how Shidou and Sae are a match made in heaven. After an incident with another player, Shidou is rewarded with a free-kick opportunity to score. During this, he and Sae work together to plan the very best route Shidou can take to score his goal. Sae encourages him to think outside of the box and imagine his very best goal rather than the “realistically possible” goal. Shidou quickly comes up with his ideal goal and tells Sae that he says very exciting things. Sae tells him that this is the time to dream and to fall under his spell. Shidou responds by asking if he’s Cinderella now, then says he’s falling in love. Together, Shidou and Sae score the goal. After their goal, Shidou compliments Sae on his assistance. He tells Sae he likes him and asks for his number. Sae says he’ll give it over if Shidou scores a hat trick (a hat trick is when a player scores three goals in a game). Shidou now looks even more excited than he was before. After a pass from Sae to Shidou, Shidou compares playing football with Sae to the feeling of electricity pulsing through his brain. Sae asks him to elaborate, and he answers by saying that he doesn’t really know, but this is the first time he’s ever felt that his freedom has been understood by someone. Shidou blushes and comments on his excitement again. Sae reminds him that he still needs to score his goal before he gets too excited. After Shidou scores his second goal, his teammates run toward him to congratulate him, but he ignores them and runs straight for Sae to jump on his back. He declares that he wants to play football with him forever and that with Sae he feels a ‘special sensation’ he's never felt with anyone else before. Sae reminds Shidou that he needs to score a hat trick before he’s rewarded, and even goes as far as calling Shidou a horny demon. Shidou responds to this by asking Sae if he can move in with him if he scores ten goals. At the end of the U-20 match, Shidou scored his required hat trick and reminds Sae of his promise to give Shidou his number. Sae responds teasingly by asking if he can at least shower before he gives it over. It's been noted that (aside from Charles Chevalier) Sae is the only player who can tame Shidou.

Bunny Iglesias 💔💔💔 Apart from the fact that Bunny plays for FC Barcha, the direct rival of Sae's team, Re Al, not much is known about their relationship, but it is shown that Sae has bitter and distasteful feelings towards the forward when he was watching him on TV. This can imply that they had a negative past with each other when Sae played in Spain. Bunny is also the main reason why Sae wants to join the U-20 World Cup, insinuating a deep and intense rivalry between the two. In addition, they are both part of the New Generation World XI.

Simple Biography of Sae Itoshi: Sae Itoshi is a pivotal character in the sports manga and anime series Blue Lock, recognized as Japan's premier football prodigy and a member of the prestigious New Generation World XI. Operating as a world-class midfielder for Spain's Real Madrid (RE·AL) Youth team, he serves as both a primary antagonist and a benchmark of global talent for Japan's rising strikers—most notably his younger brother, Rin Itoshi.

Vital Statistics

• Full Name: Sae Itoshi (糸師 冴)
• Age: 18 years old
• Birthday: October 10th
• Height: 180 cm (5'11")
• Position: Central Midfielder / Attacking Midfielder (Former Forward)
• Affiliations: Real Madrid Youth, Japan U-20 National Team
• Dominant Foot: Left
• Key Weapons: Perfect Kick Technique, Metavision, High-Speed Dribbling, Flow State

Early Life and The Broken Dream Sae grew up in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, alongside his younger brother Rin. From a young age, Sae was hailed as a football genius, dominating domestic youth leagues. The brothers shared an intense bond and a mutual dream: Sae would become the world's best striker, and Rin would become the second-best.

Sae's trajectory shifted drastically when he was scouted by the prestigious Spanish club Real Madrid Youth. Moving to Europe alone as a minor, Sae encountered the harsh reality of elite global football. Facing intense competition, isolation, and elite defenders—particularly the mocking Real Madrid senior player Leonardo Luna—Sae realized the vast gap between Japanese football and the rest of the world. This psychological and physical crushing completely destroyed his "ego" as a striker, forcing him to adapt by reinventing himself as a midfielder.

Return to Japan and The Rift When Sae returned to Japan after four years, he was a altered, cold-hearted realist. He bluntly informed Rin that he had abandoned his dream of being a striker to focus on becoming the world's best midfielder. Feeling betrayed and abandoned, Rin lashed out. This confrontation fractured their relationship, turning Sae into an antagonistic figure in Rin's life. Sae deliberately chose to play the villain to force Rin to sever his emotional dependency and develop his own independent football ego.

The Blue Lock Project and U-20 Match Sae initially returned to Japan merely to renew his passport, openly expressing his deep contempt for the "weak" state of Japanese football. However, after overhearing the Japan Football Union's presentation on Ego Jinpachi’s aggressive Blue Lock Project, his curiosity was piqued.

When the Japan U-20 team was scheduled to play against the Blue Lock Eleven, Sae agreed to anchor the U-20 national team on one condition: that the eccentric, unpolished striker Ryusei Shidou be allowed to play alongside him. During the historic U-20 match, Sae put on a masterclass of passing, control, and playmaking, single-handedly pushing the Blue Lock defenders to their absolute limits. Though the U-20 team ultimately lost, the match reignited Sae's interest in Japan’s footballing future, specifically acknowledging players like Yoichi Isagi and prompting him to return to Europe with a renewed focus on conquering the professional world.