The Coming Soon page launched a month before the contest opened.
A nationwide UGC competition that invited fans to prove they had the talent, creativity, passion—and ego—to stand out. Soccer players, artists, cosplayers, and superfans competed across multiple categories, while creators fueled the conversation and fans helped choose the winners. Part competition, part fandom, part real-world Blue Lock experience—all designed to bring the spirit of the manga to life against the backdrop of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
On May 27, the Blue Lock: Diamonds in the Rough hub launched as the centerpiece of the campaign. More than a contest website, it became the home of the competition—bringing together submissions, voting, Blue Lock content, manga promotions, official rules, and community participation in a single destination throughout the campaign. The hub was designed and built from scratch by the Storyarc team—including a custom CMS, synced registration with Kodansha US, a way to submit videos and photos, an automated moderation system, and live voting!
We built a custom voting system where registered users could cast 10 votes each day on their favorite submissions in each category. USers could search and filter the results to find their submission.
Let’s tell your story.
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The campaign significantly expanded Kodansha's owned Instagram audience, growing 134% over the course of the campaign. This growth reflects sustained interest beyond individual campaign posts, increasing the size of Kodansha's owned community for future releases and marketing initiatives.
What Worked: Consistent campaign content, creator partnerships, and live activations combined to drive substantial audience growth. The campaign not only promoted Blue Lock but also strengthened Kodansha's long-term social media presence.
Here are just a few of the over 75 original designs and animations we created for the social campaign…
We designed swipeable galleries so people could get a better understanding of the competition, the categories, and how to enter.
Shen was a perfect fit for Diamonds in the Rough. His comics are funny, weird, instantly recognizable, and already live at the intersection of internet culture, comics, and anime fandom. He created three comic strips to which brought a completely different voice and a lot of personality to the campaign. And of course, he killed it…
A few more examples of the posts we created for the campaign. In this series we stressed that time was running out to cast your vote for your favorite finaists.
To maximize both reach and efficiency, we developed a premium Blue Lock prize box that served multiple roles throughout the campaign. The kit was distributed to creators for unboxing content, provided to press and media partners to support coverage, and repurposed as the weekly raffle prize for participants. By designing a single, high-quality campaign asset with multiple applications, we created a consistent brand experience while extending the campaign's visibility across social media, earned media, and community engagement.
How It Was Used
Influencer Mailers — Generated authentic unboxing content and social posts.
Press Kits — Introduced the competition to media and content creators.
Weekly Raffle Prizes — Rewarded participants and encouraged continued engagement throughout the campaign.
We designed four custom t-shirts with original artwork from Blue Lock creator, Yusuke Nomura and randomized them in each box.
To sustain excitement throughout the campaign, six Blue Lock Gift Boxes were awarded to randomly selected participants during the submission period. Each weekly winner was announced across social media, rewarding fan participation while creating recurring moments of engagement that kept the competition top of mind.
Weekly Raffles
Rather than treating the Blue Lock gift box as a simple promotional item, we designed it as a content engine. Distributed to creators across the manga, anime, and soccer communities, the unboxing experience encouraged authentic reactions while showcasing the campaign and driving audiences to learn more. The result was hundreds of thousands of additional organic views beyond Kodansha's owned channels.
Creator Unboxing Videos
Maddie Gil
FASHION + ANIME INFLUENCER
Anime News Guy
ANIME INFLUENCER
Kazadasama
MANGA + ANIME INFLUENCER
ProjectMoshii
COSPLAY CREATOR
Lag__og
MANGA + ANIME INFLUENCER
Paul.Soles
MANGA + ANIME, FASHION INFLUENCER
Professor Duffy
MANGA + ANIME INFLUENCER
Chill with Eli
MANGA INFLUENCER
Live Giveaway
In coordination with Concacaf, we held a live raffle giveaway with San Diego FC Keeper, CJ dos Santos at Snapdragon Stadium! It brought the campaign directly into the soccer community. The activation extended Blue Lock beyond digital channels, creating an authentic in-stadium moment that connected the fandom with real-world soccer culture.
Anime Expo provided one of the campaign's most visible real-world moments, placing Blue Lock: Diamonds in the Rough in front of one of the world's largest gatherings of manga and anime fans. Two large-format animated digital billboards promoted the competition tin key entry areas, while World Champion Football Freestyler Caitlyn Schrepfer performed at two live panels—including an appearance in front of the Blue Lock creators—bringing the worlds of manga and soccer together in an authentic, unforgettable way.
Anime Expo
During Anime Expo weekend, Blue Lock: Diamonds in the Rough became a featured experience at Kodansha House, with an immersive space designed by Acronym that brought the campaign into the real world. Visitors tested their skills in an interactive kicking challenge, relaxed in a Blue Lock-themed locker room, and watched live freestyle performances by World Champion Caitlyn Schrepfer—giving thousands of manga fans a chance to step inside the world of Blue Lock.
Kodansha House
To reinforce the legitimacy of the Best Striker competition, we partnered with two of San Diego's most recognizable professional soccer players—CJ dos Santos of San Diego FC and Catarina Macario of San Diego Wave FC—to judge the finalists and announce the grand prize winner. Their involvement elevated the competition, strengthened its connection to the sport, and further blurred the line between the world of Blue Lock and real-world soccer.
Judging the Finalists
The campaign culminated with a live winner announcement at San Diego Comic-Con, where the Best Striker and category winners were celebrated in front of a live audience—giving Diamonds in the Rough a memorable finale on one of pop culture’s biggest stages.
To make the moment feel like a true championship, we partnered with Concacaf to create a one-of-a-kind Best Striker trophy. Handcrafted from polished metal and inspired by the timeless design of historic sporting trophies, the award elevated the win beyond a typical promotional prize into something aspirational, prestigious, and built to be earned.
More than a keepsake, the trophy became a physical symbol of everything the campaign set out to achieve: bringing the world of Blue Lock into real life and making Diamonds in the Rough feel less like a fan contest—and more like a championship.
San Diego Comic Con
Electric and in-your-face, just like the greatest strikers, the Diamond In The Rough colors evoke the down and dirty supplies of punk rock posters photocopied onto neon paper stock, and colored in with highlighters. We’re spreading the word of your favorite band of 11.
Color Palette
GRASS STAIN
Hex - 03FF00
CMYK - 50 00 100 00
PMS - 802 C
STRIKER BLUE
Hex - 1A59E5
CMYK - 100 62 00 00
PMS - 2728 C
EGO INK
Hex - 262525
CMYK - 00 00 00 93
PMS - Black 6 C
BLANK CANVAS
Hex - FFFFFF
CMYK - 00 00 00 00
PMS - WHITE
HIGHLIGHT REEL
Hex - ECFD03
CMYK - 00 00 100 00
PMS - 803 C
INNER FLAME
Hex - FF4A89
CMYK - 00 85 16 00
PMS - 806C
PRIMARY
SECONDARY
Loud, raw, and impossible to ignore, the Diamonds in the Rough typography takes its cues from punk flyers, photocopied zines, and hand-cut ransom-note lettering. Bold condensed type crashes into oversized headlines, scribbles, stamps, and imperfect textures—creating a visual language that feels fast, physical, and a little unruly. Like the players themselves, nothing sits politely on the sidelines. Every word fights for attention.
Typography
The Blue Lock: Diamonds in the Rough logo is the signature mark of this campaign and the primary visual anchor across all contest-related materials — digital, print, social, and event. It pairs the Blue Lock masterbrand wordmark with the custom "Diamonds in the Rough" logotype to create a distinct identity for this specific competition.
This logo is exclusive to the Diamonds in the Rough campaign and should not be used for general Blue Lock franchise marketing or non-campaign contexts. All approved files and color variations are available in the asset library — do not recreate, stretch, recolor, or modify the logo in any way.
Campaign Logo
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Kodansha reached out to Storyarc in late 2025 to develop and execute a campaign that expanded Blue Lock’s U.S. fandom, connected with soccer culture leading into the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and built cultural relevance through social and community activations. Blue Lock is a global manga and anime phenomenon centered on an unconventional training program designed to create the world’s greatest striker—where ambition, ego, rivalry, and the drive to win take center stage. The campaign needed to capture that competitive spirit while celebrating Kodansha’s storytelling heritage and tapping into contemporary youth culture, sports fandom, and social behavior. Leveraging the strength of the IP and its cultural positioning, the goal was to create an experience that felt globally ambitious yet locally resonant.
Promotional billboard at the Moxy Hotel in Los Angeles during Anime Expo 2026. Animation by the incredible John Ducusin.
Storyarc
Douglas Parker, Creative Director
Uyen Cao, UX Director
Nate Bear, Art Director / Animator / Editor
Jan-Jan Tayson, Social Media Director
Steve Shuster, Video Editor
Darrel Herbst, Head of Development
Cameron Paul, Full Stack Developer
Andrew Huang, Front-End Developer
Kodansha US
Alvin Lu, President & CEO
Helen Guo, VP of Sales & Marketing
John Ducusin, Design Director / Animator
Ivan Salazar, Senior Marketing Director
Gen Granger, Social Marketing Manager
Misaki Kido, President & CEO
Xillette Stillwell, Social Ad Manager
Elle Kodansha, Social Marketing
Isidore Lu, Original Music Composition
Pacer Print
Gavin Carey, Production
Peter Varady, Sales
Acronym
Kodansha House Design
WeStream UK
Violet Coretnic, Production
Violet Coretnic, Production
Violet Coretnic, Production
Violet Coretnic, Production