Shoei Baro

**Shoei Baro** (馬狼照英, *Barō Shōei*) was a contender of the Blue Lock Project, who currently plays as a regular for Italy's Ubers FC.

## Appearance

Baro is tall with red eyes and long black hair that he wears up in a spiky style. When he lets it down, his hair is neck length. Baro also has a muscular build, due to his dedicated training regimen, keeping up his physical fitness. At Blue Lock, Baro wears the standard-issued body suit (black with gray stripes) and tracksuit. During the First Selection, he wore Team X’s white #10 jersey and wears Team X's gray-capped cleats. During Second Selection, he wore Team Red's #18 jersey and that later switched to white when he joins Isagi's team. During Third Selection, Baro wore Team B's white jersey and while on the bench for the Blue Lock Eleven, wears his bodysuit and a long black trench jacket. Once subbed in for the second half for the Japan U-20 match, he dons the official Blue Lock #13 jersey.

## Personality

In accordance with his perception of himself as "the King", Baro has an imperious personality, seeing himself above others maintaining an arrogant and selfish attitude. Initially, Baro perceived all others on the field as supporting roles, moving for the sake of his own goals, with himself being the main actor on the stage. He is obsessed with pursuing his own soccer, but doesn't actually like it or have a passion for it. Baro is motivated by the need to face others who play soccer and to use his goals to drag them off the seat of the main actor and replace them. The pleasure obtained through this is something Baro believes is only for the strong. Baro is the kind of player who refuses to pass the ball and whenever he loses possession he endeavors to steal the ball back or steal a goal.

After his symbolic loss to Isagi, where he felt he lost his position as the main actor, Baro adopted a more villainous approach to his own philosophy. He is now willing to adopt a "villain" role if it means stealing back that position. Despite this new wicked take, Baro also matured after that match, being willing to admit when he was beaten and asking Isagi about the soccer he wants to play. Baro was visibly upset when he did not make the Blue Lock Eleven lineup, despite Isagi doing so, and has since been focused and biding his time to play. When Baro is finally subbed in to play the Japan U-20 he still has his overly critical and rude demeanor.

In keeping with his obsessive personality, Baro is a perfectionist when it comes to controlling his environment and routine. He keeps constant order in his surroundings, cleaning and organizing his living space within Blue Lock and getting angry at those who don't. This also extends to the bath area and controlling how people behave within it. Baro's obsession also extends to his training, where he is diligent and stoic. He always performs an extensive routine of physical fitness training, to maintain his strength.

## Abilities

### Archetype:

* **Complete Forward:** Complete Forwards are strikers with great technical ability, clinical finishing, and physical strength, enabling them to fulfill 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 capitalize 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 maneuvering 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.

## Etymology

* The name **Baro** means "pressure and weight."
* Baro's surname **Shōei** (照英) means "Bright Prosperity or Shining Hero."

## Trivia

* He has two younger sisters.
* He would buy a sponge at a convenience store.
* His favorite season is around the end of the rainy season.
* His favorite food is pudding. His mother bought it when he was a child and had flu.
* His favorite music is Hikaru Utada.
* His least favorite subject is Arts.
* His type of person would be someone who loves cleanliness and can clean with him.
* If he has 100 million yen, he would buy a lifetime stock of Quickle Wipers.
* He said that besides the time he was born he never cried.
* He thinks his strength is his egotistical mindset.
* His favorite movie is The Dark Knight