If you had told me that a character like Meguru Bachira (蜂楽廻Bachira Meguru) exists in a world as cutthroat as Blue Lock, I wouldn’t have believed you. Like, on the surface, he is unlike any character in the series, almost whimsical and playful compared to the high intensity of every other Football player in his age group. But nope. Turns out, he fits right in with that extreme edge that is Blue Lock’s trademark, maybe too well. Because Meguru Bachira doesn’t do things halfway.
Meguru Bachira is first introduced to us in Blue Lock as one of the fresh blood recruited for the Blue Lock Training Program. But unlike most training camps, which usually focus on building team relationships and sportsmanship, Jinpachi Ego’s master plan is to give way to the most ‘Egoistical’ Football Player in the world. And honestly, Meguru might just be it. Sure, he might not be the sheer amount of talent as Rin Itoshi or be as focused as Yoichi Isagi, but that doesn’t mean it’s smart to underestimate him.
Meguru is a strange one when you get down to it. While the rest of the characters feel somewhat realistic if a little too intense, Meguru is on a whole different level. Like, he is a very interesting character to break down, solely based on the dynamic he brings into the series that is basically a violent Battle Royale anime under the poor disguise of Sports-based Shounen. For a premise that eclectic, you bet that Meguru will have to be a character of immense presence to stand out. But how much of that bravado is a pretense?
Turns out, a lot. Behind that cute whimsical façade, that doesn’t stay up for long, we get to know the real Meguru. Who is, for the lack of a better term, kind of unhinged? Like, no joke, if I do have a favorite character in this series, it’s Meguru. Simply because of how entertaining his entire character arc is. Not to mention violent. So, if you were wondering about Meguru Bachira, and the wiki wasn’t cutting it, here is a little breakdown on the ‘Bowl Cut’ madman of Blue Lock!
Who Is Meguru Bachira?
Meguru Bachira was one of the contenders for the Blue Lock Project, headed By Jinpachi Ego, and later even became part of the Neo Egoist League. He was recruited by Spain FC to take up the position of their new forward. But he started as one of the members of Team Z, alongside the protagonist, Yoichi Isagi. When we first meet Meguru, he seems well-adjusted, if slightly eccentric. But like most things in Blue Lock, nothing is quite what it seems. And the same holds for the eccentric Meguru.
Despite his lazy demeanor, Meguru Bachira is a beast on the field. He is only 17 but has already shown so much prowess and aggression that it rivaled players much more senior than him. And the best part is, he doesn’t take the sport as seriously as his counterparts do. Meguru shows a real love for Football, claiming it as fun and something he genuinely enjoys doing besides just trying to win at it. This might not sound like the philosophy that Blue Lock runs on, but that’s exactly what makes him a great foil to the other characters in the series.
Even when he was part of Team Z, which was categorized as the lowest-ranking team in Blue Lock at the time of the First Selection arc, Meguru stood out for his cool and playful nature. He even actively tries being friends with other characters like Hyoma Chigiri, Yoichi, and even Rin, who famously doesn’t pay attention to anyone outside of them being annoyances.
As an instinctual player, he has a lot of potential as an athlete. And his confidence in his abilities means his Ego, aka the main power in Blue Lock, is pretty concrete. But as stated before, Meguru isn’t all he seems. A traumatic childhood coupled with a need to never be alone has led to some interesting developments in his character.
Hiding The Monster Underneath:
Remember how I said Meguru hid a lot of his troubling nature behind an outgoing personality? Well, because it’s Blue Lock, that means that the ‘darker’ side of him manifests sooner or later. Don’t get me wrong, Meguru Bachira is a pretty cheerful guy, even if he is thrust into a ‘Survival Of The Fittest’ scenario with a bunch of other teens. He is energetic and passionate about football, truly taking joy in the sport.
But it turns out, a lot of that socializing comes from a place of deep-seated hurt. Because as a child, Meguru was not accepted for his eccentric attitude and natural gift for the sport. Instead, he was relentlessly bullied by his peers. This led him to be alienated at a very young age and develop a fear of being left alone. To deal with this fear, a young Meguru dreamt up an imaginary friend, a ‘Monster’ that was the accumulation of him wanting a friend that was actually pushing him into football, instead of mocking him for it.
The Monster became the reason Meguru excelled in the sport, motivating him until he got to Blue Lock, which is where he actually started dealing with his trauma, instead of trying to feed his Monster by finding like-minded individuals, he instead turned to healthier goal of wanting to become the World’s Best Striker.
Best Dribbler In Blue Lock?
So, for a Monster player, you need some monstrous skills. And Meguru Bachira doesn’t exactly hold back. Thanks to his exceptional adaptability, Meguru is gifted as a Dribbler i.e., someone who has very precise control over the ball. This helps them evade defenders and move past them, with acceleration and quick thinking when changing directions as their best friends.
Dribblers use ‘trickery’ to confuse their opponents, creating openings for their teammates to get a goal or even make a score for themselves. And Meguru happens to be one of the best Dribblers around, with the ball being stolen from him being a very rare occurrence. He has kept his own against high-ranking players, and it was evident how important his skills were during his time with Team Z.
While at first, he was more of a proactive Dribbler, more focused on his movements and barrelling through, he has matured his style since. Now, he’s much more counteractive, playing in a way where it takes stock of his foes, instead of rushing in through pure instinct. His skill, Elastic Dribbling, is so advanced and mimics his playful demeanor in its ‘Maze-y’ style, that Isagi thinks it’s impossible to steal the ball from him in a one-on-one match.
He has many other skills that supplement him, such as Key Passer, which means he’s very good at passing the ball to ensure no goal goes missed. Then there is the Flow State, which is the hidden trump card for every serious player, a state of Total Immersion. But what sets Meguru Bachira’s Flow State apart is that when he enters it, he goes into something dubbed a Monstrance.
In Monstrance, we see Meguru become impossibly fast, performing tricks at alarming speeds and little care, making moves on pure instinct. This means that anyone trying to predict his moves is straight out of luck, no matter how skilled they are. Hell, he took on the U20 defenders with this, blowing them straight out of the water with how unpredictable he got.
But being unpredictable is basically Meguru Bachira’s M.O. in Blue Lock. There’s a reason why he ranks so highly in popularity polls.
He’s a fan favorite, for sure. And his growth in the manga has been fascinating to see. Meguru is one of the highlights of Blue Lock, and we can’t wait to see how he excels next!
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