Shoei Baro

Baro is a very selfish and arrogant type of forward who strives to be the star of the field at all times. When first arriving at Blue Lock, he was a member of Team X during First Selection and tied for top scorer in his designated stratum.

After the Blue Lock Eleven played against the Japan U-20, Baro is ranked as one of the top players in Blue Lock.

Abilities

Archetype:

• Complete Forward: Complete Forwards are strikers with great technical ability, clinical finishing and physical strength, enabling them to fulfil multiple roles. They can link up with and play in others, fashion chances for themselves, finish off team moves and hold up the ball. These players are often best given the freedom to play as they wish, without rigid tactical instruction, as their versatility allows them to be fluid on the pitch.

Baro's physique enables him to hold up the ball and physically contest other players. His charging ability allows him to dribble and create chances for himself. His shooting and villainous style enable him to finish off team moves, by devouring his teammates. Baro has one of the best physiques in Blue Lock, as well as having one of the best techniques at his age in Japan, as stated by Anri Teieri. Often Baro is given the freedom to play and devour who he wishes on the field, as shown during the Second Selection, as well as by Ego telling Baro to disregard the team's plan and focus on devouring Isagi against the Japan U-20.

Skills:

Middle Shot: Baro's main method of scoring is his powerful and accurate shot, from a position near the middle of the goal. Baro can target the top right corner with incredible reliability, being almost guaranteed to score within a specific area of the goal (29 meters, near the middle). When outside of this specific area however, Baro's accuracy can decrease sharply. He has performed this shot directly from kick off, although it was saved. He has also shown that he can change the aim of the shot, to the top left corner, but this again suffers from a decrease in accuracy. And finally, he performed this shot when he was too far to the side of his range and it hit the post.

Charging Skill: Baro has the ability to create the space for his own shots, by charging through an opponent's defense and into a range for his middle shot. He has multiple attributes and techniques which contribute to his overall charging ability. Baro was able to charge through two of the Iron Wall Quartet, while holding them back, to steal a goal.

• Superior Physicality: Baro is one of the handful of forwards in Blue Lock who has a very strong and muscular physique and he uses this to his advantage when driving the ball down the field or marking players to defend. Baro's physique, as noted by Isagi, is incredible, maintained by a diligent and extensive workout routine that Baro performs before practice. This enables him to leverage his physicality against opposing players to create the space he needs, even managing to charge through a pile up of players with the ball at his feet.
• Heel Flick: Baro overcomes the opponent's defense by flicking the ball up and over them and recovering the ball on its landing, demonstrating strong technical ability.
• Nutmeg: Baro has demonstrated the ability to nutmeg at least two players in quick succession, in order to get through their defense.

Flow State: Flow, as described by Ego, is the state of "total immersion" or "being in the zone". It is the mental state in which a person performing some activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity.

Villainous Soccer: A selfish and unpredictable playing style, which involves Baro "devouring" his own teammates for the sake of his own goal. On the field, Baro will look to where he can steal the ball from his teammates, to capitalise on their positioning and devour them. He can also take this a step further, by observing the way his team evolves their plays and interrupting that process, which he did to score a goal in the U-20 match. Baro developed this playing style when he was forced to go to a new level, at the prospect of Isagi stealing his in the spotlight. This style makes Baro a complete irregularity on the field, making it impossible for even Rin to predict his movements. In fact, the more knowledgeable the opponent is about football, the more likely they are to be overcome by this ability, as it circumvents all conventional wisdom of the sport.

• Chop Feint: A feint wherein which a player uses their off foot to shield the ball, whilst knocking the ball in the other direction with their other foot, effectively misdirecting the opposing player. Baro frequently uses this skill to supplement his charging ability, enabling him to keep his opponent's guessing as to which direction he is going to dribble.
• Lightning Dribble: By making use of chop feints, continuous rebounds, and angled dribbles, Baro is able to perform a mazy dribble that is incredibly difficult to stop. Baro has also demonstrated the ability to use other players as screens, to get past opponents, a testament to the 'villainous' football he adopted.
• Sliding Shot: By manoeuvring into a position where he can intercept a pass, Baro uses his physical strength to exploit the pass and perform a shot at the same time, supporting himself on one knee. He was able to score whilst holding off both Miroku Darai and Kazuma Niou.