Blue Lock x Monster Strike Collaboration Launches in Japan

Blue Lock has entered Monster Strike for the first time, bringing a time-limited roster, quests, missions, and a paid starter pack to the Japanese version of MIXI's action RPG through September 2, 2026.

What Was Announced

MIXI announced on August 13, 2026, that TV anime Blue Lock would receive its first collaboration with Monster Strike. The in-game event began at 12:00 p.m. Japan Standard Time on Sunday, August 16, and the official notices set the main collaboration window to close at 11:59 a.m. JST on Wednesday, September 2. This is a game event built around the anime's characters; the announcement does not present it as a new anime episode, film, or story installment.

The headline content is a limited-time gacha featuring five characters. Isagi Yoichi, Rin Itoshi, and Seishiro Nagi appear as ★6 units before their in-game evolution, while Meguru Bachira and Hyoma Chigiri enter as ★4 units. The official notices also identify their voice actors: Kazuki Ura, Koki Uchiyama, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Tasuku Kaito, and Soma Saito, respectively. The character selection covers several of the series' best-known rivals rather than focusing on one team.

Reo Mikage is handled separately through a collaboration starter pack. The official Monster Strike notice lists the Japanese price as ¥1,000 and says the pack can be purchased once per person during the event. Kunigami Rensuke is available through login bonuses and the collaboration's selection missions. Those missions are designed as a staged progression: players clear the first selection, then move into later selections as they unlock. The official schedule gives the mission period as August 16 at 12:00 JST through September 5 at 3:59 a.m. JST.

Five additional characters arrive through collaboration quests: Shoei Barou, Tabito Karasu, Jyubei Aryu, Zantetsu Tsurugi, and Ikki Niko. A separate Super Extreme quest for Ryusei Shidou is scheduled to open on August 18 at 7:00 p.m. JST. The quest structure includes first-clear Orb rewards, repeat-clear bonuses for selected bosses, and special scoring bonuses during the collaboration. The event page also notes that some quests have longer time limits than usual, which matters for players trying to fit the event around daily schedules.

There is also a social campaign running from approximately 6:00 p.m. JST on August 13 through 11:59 a.m. JST on September 2. Fans are asked to use the official Monster Strike campaign account and post about the Blue Lock character or scene that made their “ego” burn hottest. The announced prizes are 120 randomly selected collaboration light-up mobile batteries and 50 selectable digital-gift prizes worth ¥10,000 each. The official notices do not state that participation is globally available, so overseas readers should treat eligibility as unconfirmed.

Why It Matters

This is notable because it is the first Blue Lock collaboration announced for Monster Strike, one of Japan's most established mobile action RPGs. The format suits the sports anime's ensemble cast: the gacha emphasizes the central strikers, while quests and mission rewards spread the playable roster across the First Selection, later rivalries, and the U-20 Japan material. In editorial terms, the collaboration is more than a single promotional illustration. It gives different parts of the anime's competitive structure a game-specific role.

The event also shows how a sports manga and anime can travel into a live-service game's timed progression loop. Fans are not simply being offered a static skin. They can collect characters, clear themed quests, unlock voice sets and in-game rewards, and follow a sequence of selections that echoes the source material's elimination format. That does not mean the collaboration changes the anime's canon or confirms future animation news; it means the game's limited-time design is borrowing Blue Lock's competitive language.

For the franchise, the timing is useful as well. The official anime portal continues to present the Neo Egoist League series as the current TV anime project, while the Monster Strike event turns that wider cast into a short-lived participatory campaign. The two official announcements therefore connect the promotion to the existing anime brand without claiming a new production milestone.

Context for International Fans

The practical issue is access. MIXI's corporate release says Monster Strike had passed 65 million users worldwide as of December 2025, but that figure does not by itself confirm that every collaboration item, store, campaign, or payment option is offered in every country. The collaboration details reviewed for this report are published on the Japanese Monster Strike site, and they do not specify an English-language client, overseas rollout, regional pricing, or international sweepstakes eligibility.

Time zones are another easy place to miss the window. The August 16 start at 12:00 JST corresponds to 3:00 a.m. UTC, 4:00 a.m. in the United Kingdom during British Summer Time, 5:00 a.m. in Central European Summer Time, 11:00 p.m. EDT on August 15, and 8:00 p.m. PDT on August 15. The end at 11:59 a.m. JST on September 2 is 2:59 a.m. UTC that same day. The later Super Extreme quest begins at 7:00 p.m. JST on August 18, while daily reset details can differ from a player's local calendar.

Overseas players should first check whether their installed version of Monster Strike displays the event, then verify the in-app event page, purchase terms, and any local campaign rules. The ¥1,000 starter-pack price is the price stated in the Japanese notice, not a promise about another region's currency or storefront. The same caution applies to the X campaign: the official announcement gives the Japanese campaign schedule and prizes but does not confirm international entry conditions.

What Happens Next

The next confirmed checkpoint is the August 18 opening of the Ryusei Shidou Super Extreme quest. The second selection stage becomes available at 4:00 a.m. JST on August 19, according to the official event notice. Players should also watch for the separate gacha pickup rotations, which begin with Rin on August 18, Isagi on August 19, and Nagi on August 20, with additional rotations later in the event window.

The main collaboration ends on September 2 at 11:59 a.m. JST, while the selection missions remain available until September 5 at 3:59 a.m. JST. The official notice gives September 7 at 3:59 a.m. JST as the reward-claim deadline for the mission campaign. These are the dates currently confirmed by the primary sources; maintenance, app-store restrictions, regional availability, and schedule changes should be checked in the official Monster Strike notice before spending money or planning a late-night session.

Information was checked on August 16, 2026, at 12:08 p.m. JST.

Sources

• MIXI's August 13, 2026 press release — confirms the first Blue Lock collaboration, its core roster, campaign dates, and the official featured image.
• Monster Strike's official collaboration notice — lists the gacha schedule, starter pack, quests, missions, rewards, and time limits.
• The official Blue Lock anime portal — provides the franchise's current anime-series context and official production information.

Editorial note: This report is based on the primary sources linked above. Availability, schedules, and announcements can change; verify the latest details with the official source.