Be Blues!

Be Blues! – Ao ni Nare (BE BLUES!〜青になれ〜) is a Japanese association football manga series written and illustrated by Motoyuki Tanaka. It was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday from January 2011 to October 2022, with its chapters collected into 49  volumes.

In 2015, Be Blues! won the 60th Shogakukan Manga Award in the category.

Plot
Ryū Ichijō is a prodigy football player who dreams of becoming a professional player and member of the Japan national team (the "Blues" of the title) by the age of 18. He excels as he proceeds through his schooling, but just as he prepares to start his junior high school he suffers a fall leading to really serious injuries, and has to go through a long period of rehabilitation. Two years after his accident, he is able to play again and starts working to get his skills up again, and to improve so as to achieve his dreams of making it to the national team.

Characters

 * Ryū Ichijō (一条 龍)
 * Yūto Oume (青梅 優人)
 * Tatsuhiko Kuze (久世 立彦)
 * Takumi Sakuraba (桜庭 巧美)

Publication
Written and illustrated by Motoyuki Tanaka, ''Be Blues! – Ao ni Nare was serialized for eleven years in Shogakukan's manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from January 26, 2011, to October 12, 2022. Shogakukan collected its chapters in 49 volumes, released from June 17, 2011, to November 18, 2022.

Reception
Be Blues! won the 60th Shogakukan Manga Award in the category in 2015.