The Blue Lock live-action movie just added a new cast member who actually knows how to play real soccer. Kohei Higuchi will play Zantetsu Tsurugi, a fast and powerful player from Team V. This casting choice makes perfect sense because Higuchi used to train as a professional soccer player before he became an actor.
The film is set to hit Japanese theaters on August 7, 2026. TOHO will distribute the movie, with CREDEUS producing it. Director Yusuke Taki is helming this live-action version of the hit soccer manga series.
A Soccer Dream That Led to Acting
Kohei Higuchi, 25 years old, was born in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. His path to acting started on the soccer field. After finishing high school, he moved to Tokyo to train as a development player for SC Sagamihara in the J.League. His dream was to play professional soccer.
But an injury ended that dream. Just when he thought about giving up and going back home, a talent agency scouted him. That chance meeting changed his life. He signed with Horipro, a major talent agency in Japan.
His soccer background makes him perfect for the Blue Lock live-action movie. He played soccer for 15 years total. The training, discipline, and skills he learned on the field now help him play Zantetsu Tsurugi on screen.
“I was so dedicated to soccer that I even came to Tokyo with the goal of seriously playing in the J.League, so I never thought that the day would come when I would be involved in a soccer-related project as an actor. I feel like I’ve been able to put my experience to good use, and I’m really glad that I continued playing soccer since I was a child, as it makes me think, ‘Maybe I’ve been playing soccer all this time for this day.’” – Kohei Higuchi
Where You Have Seen Kohei Higuchi Before
Kohei Higuchi started his entertainment career in 2020. He won the grand prize at a Popteen men’s model audition on LINE LIVE. This win helped him break into show business.
His biggest role came in 2022. He played Taro Momoi in Avataro Sentai Donbrothers, a long-running Super Sentai series. This is the same franchise that produces Power Rangers in the West. The show ran for nearly a year and gave him his first major lead role. Playing a superhero on TV taught him how to handle action scenes and physical performances.
Fans of Japanese BL dramas know him from My Personal Weatherman (Taikan Yohล), a 2023 series. He played Mizuki Segasaki, a weather forecaster with a complicated private life. The show paired him with actor Atsuki Mashiko. His performance showed he could handle serious, emotional roles.
He has also appeared in several TV dramas:
- Maybe Koe Ga Kikoeru (TBS, 2023)
- The Promise: The Truth from 16 Years Ago (NTV, 2024)
- Divorce Lawyer Spider (NTV, 2024)
- Koifre (MBS, 2025), a romantic series where he had a leading role
On the movie side, his most notable film before the Blue Lock live-action is Nemuru Baka (2025), directed by Yugo Sakamoto. That movie is available on Netflix.
He also works as a model. He has walked runways at Tokyo Girls Collection and appeared in Popteen magazine. He has even been the face of a Jujutsu Kaisen merchandise campaign.
Who Is Zantetsu Tsurugi in Blue Lock
Zantetsu Tsurugi is a member of Team V during the First Selection arc of Blue Lock. His weapons are explosive acceleration and powerful shots with his left foot. He is so fast that even Hyoma Chigiri, one of Blue Lock’s quickest players, admits he cannot beat Zantetsu in short-distance sprints.
But speed is not the only thing that defines Zantetsu. He has a funny habit of messing up common sayings and idioms. He often turns to his teammates to ask if he said something correctly. This running joke makes him one of the funniest characters in the series.
In the Blue Lock live-action movie, Zantetsu plays on Team V alongside Seishiro Nagi and Reo Mikage. These three form the ace trio of their team. They stand in the way of Team Z, led by the main character Yoichi Isagi.
The Complete Cast of Team V
The Blue Lock live-action movie has put together a strong group of actors for Team V.
K from the Japanese boy band &TEAM will play Seishiro Nagi. This marks his first solo film appearance. He commented on his casting, saying he was nervous at first because he had limited acting experience. But because he used to play soccer and became a big fan of the original manga, his desire to play Nagi grew stronger than his worries.
Keito Tsuna will play Reo Mikage. Tsuna has appeared in Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger (another Super Sentai series) and other dramas. He said he made sure to build a good relationship with K outside of filming. He believed their normal interactions would show up in their on-screen chemistry.
Kohei Higuchi rounds out the trio as Zantetsu Tsurugi.
The producer Shinzo Matsuhashi explained why they chose these three actors. He said casting Nagi was extremely difficult. They joked that they should just bring the character himself. But K fit the role perfectly. Despite concerns about his limited acting experience, his performance captured both the coolness of Nagi’s soccer skills and the emotional depth of the character.
For Tsuna, the producer said when they met him, he spoke excitedly about his love for Reo. His dedicated and caring personality made it easy to trust him with the role. He perfectly showed Reo’s leadership along with his human and playful side.
Kohei Higuchi won his role through competitive auditions. The producer said his background as someone who wanted to become a professional soccer player gave him both the technique and mental strength needed for Zantetsu, plus the charm that energizes everyone around him.
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The Blue Lock Story and Its Massive Popularity
Blue Lock started as a manga written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura. It began serialization in Weekly Shonen Magazine (Kodansha) in 2018. The story follows the Blue Lock Project, a program started by the Japan Football Association after the national team gets eliminated from the FIFA World Cup.
The project locks 300 young forwards in a training facility. Only one will come out as the star striker who can lead Japan to win the World Cup. The series has sold over 50 million copies worldwide.
The manga has already been adapted into a successful anime series. Now the live-action movie will bring these characters to life with real actors on the field.
Other Confirmed Cast Members for the Blue Lock Live-Action Movie
The Blue Lock live-action movie has announced many other cast members:
- Fumiya Takahashi as Yoichi Isagi (the main character)
- Kaito Sakurai as Meguru Bachira
- Kyohei Takahashi as Hyoma Chigiri
- Kouta Nomura as Rensuke Kunigami
- Yuzu Aoki as Gurimu Igarashi
- Sho Nishigaki as Asahi Naruhaya
- Yuki Tachibana as Gin Gagamaru
- Raizo Ishikawa as Jingo Raichi
- Joey Iwanaga as Okuhito Iemon
- Shunya Asano as Wataru Kuon
- Yuki Sakurai as Yudai Imamura
- Yuki Kura as Ryosuke Kira
- Masataka Kubota as Jinpachi Ego (the mastermind behind Blue Lock)
A Teaser Trailer Has Already Released
The production team released a new teaser trailer on April 16, 2026. The teaser focuses on Team V and shows off the three new cast members in action. Fans can see Kohei Higuchi as Zantetsu Tsurugi sprinting with explosive speed on the field.
The teaser also gives viewers a look at the overall production quality. The soccer scenes look fast and intense. The actors trained hard to make the football action look real.
Release Information for Global Audiences
The Blue Lock live-action movie will first release in Japan on August 7, 2026.
For viewers in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and India, an international release date has not been announced yet. Previous live-action adaptations from CREDEUS, like Kingdom and Golden Kamuy, eventually got international releases. Fans should expect the movie to arrive on streaming platforms or in select theaters outside Japan later in 2026 or early 2027.
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