Surpassing the Original (Mostly)

Mizuno can be accused of playing it a little too safe at times, because of their Kaizen (a Japanese word that loosely translates to continuous but careful improvement) philosophy, and no boot represents this attitude than the Morelia II. After all, Mizuno will not even call it the Morelia III, even after more than two decades of improvements. But with the release of the Mizuno Morelia Proto Japan, we see something of a break from that tradition – well, somewhat. The new Morelia Proto is very much a child of the Rebula and the Wave Cup. This makes sense as the Rebula series was touted by Mizuno as a modern take on the Wave Cup. With the Morelia Proto, we get the shaping of a Rebula with the touch of the Wave Cup. An astonishing combo that has be almost tweaked to perfection.

Fit and Feel

There are very few boots that have such impressive leather out of the box as a Mizuno made in Japan boot. This is no different with the Morelia Proto. I would argue that the Morelia Proto out of the box is one of the softest Mizuno boots in some time, and it is amazing how pliable the leather feels. The smell is also amazing, and it really speaks to the quality that the Hyogo Shoes factory consistently produces.

Moving onto the leather itself, it is thinner than what is found on the regular Morelia II Japan and is much closer to what is found on the Wave Cup, thus the comparison. However, it is not thinner than something like the Adler Yatagarashu or Adler Horenso. But I would argue that for the Morelia Proto, it does not necessarily need to be that thin as what Mizuno seems to be going for is slightly different. That being, rather than a totally barefoot feel, they wanted to have an ever so slight padding to the upper.

On feet, the Morelia Proto has a nearly perfect fit for me, and there is plenty of adjustability for lots of different shaped feet. On top of this, the soft leather forms to the foot well but there has not been any overstretching to speak of. The boot just continues to fit superbly and for me it is the best fitting boot in Mizuno’s current lineup. Add this to the fact that the boots feel ready for a full match situation quickly, with only about thirty minutes needed for break in time.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a Mizuno boot, the heel fits excellently and there have been no problems in terms of comfort or lockdown. For my own personal preference however, I would have liked to see an extra lacehole towards the top of the boot for a bit more lockdown overall and the ability to do a runner’s knot. I will be adding these laceholes soon after this review as I think it will further enhance the overall lockdown.

This is not to say the lockdown is bad, and the boots do not feel like they are slipping off the feet, it is just more of a personal preference. There are a lot of players in Japan who often do not use the final lacehole on their boots as it seems many players prefer for their ankles to feel a bit freer. So, it makes sense that Mizuno decided to forgo the extra laceholes. And while the boots do have good lockdown, there is also no lacebite because the tongue is decently padded and somehow, on feet the padded tongue works well.

On another personal note, I think the tongue could do with being maybe a couple of millimeters shorter, but this is mostly me just being super picky at this point. However, what is a huge disappointment is the quality of the laces are again very subpar for a boot of this quality and price point. It is weirder still considering this is a limited edition boot and previously some of Mizuno’s limited edition boots, like the Morelia M8 and the Ignitus Remakes came with the brand’s ZeroGlide laces. It is a bizarre and weird cost cutting decision to cheap out on the laces, especially as this has been a complaint even among the most hardcore Mizuno fans for around fifteen years.

That does not take away from the overall quality of the Mizuno Morelia Proto Japan, which I will again argue now has the best upper of any Mizuno boot on the market. The only thing that could possibly bother people about the upper is there is not a lot of midfoot stability versus something like a Morelia Neo Beta. However, for me this is not an issue.

As for sizing, I went with my normal size in most Mizuno’s, which is half a size down from my normal size and the same size I wear in the Mizuno Morelia II Japan and the Mizuno Morelia Neo Beta. The fit is perfect with no space on the end. Unless you have very wide feet, I would recommend going a half size down for most people.

Touch

The touch on the ball in the Morelia Proto borders on the sublime and is the closest thing Mizuno has gotten to recreating the feeling that a Wave Cup gives. It is absurd how excellent the feel for the ball is. Every touch feels so effortless, and I get excited every time I play around with the ball. And that is definitely what Mizuno have been aiming for with these boots, an almost unreal experience on the ball. I am not normally that big of a fan of off-center lacing and yet in the Morelia Proto, it allows for the leather and fit to be borderline perfect.

Dribbling feels ridiculously easy in the boots and the slight thickness of the leather has just enough thickness to help with cushioning the ball while at the same time it almost feels as barefoot as you can get in a leather boot. The vamp is uniform so that there are no random surprises when dribbling. It is about as distractionless as you can get.

While I would prefer an FG plate, credit has to be given to the AG stud layout that Mizuno has used as it is great for grabbing, trapping and rolling the ball around with the bottom of the foot and in a weird way, almost compliments the rest of the boot. Though again, I prefer a firm ground plate.

Passing and Shooting

As one can see, the midfoot of the Morelia Proto has very little in the way of stitching or anything else so there is just a very thin layer of leather between the foot and the ball which means passing is very clean and precise. What you put in is exactly what you get out so there are no excuses but also means that there is nothing superfluous with the Morelia Proto.

Shooting is more of the same and the off-center lacing system is a smart choice because it is just more of the amazing leather between you and the ball. Weirdly, I also find it easy to bend the ball in these boots but that is probably more mental than anything the boots are doing. Still, shooting is enjoyable and at times feels effortless. On AG, the soleplate is good at anchoring the foot down when hitting the ball with power, and obviously less so on grass surfaces, though there are no issues when it is a harder ground.

The best word to sum up the Morelia Proto when it comes to anything involving a ball is ethereal. It is once again this unreal feeling with the ball at your feet that you just have to experience to understand.

Grip

For a lot of people, the Mizuno Morelia Proto Japan is a big win as it has a very good artificial ground soleplate. And there have been people who have wanted a Mizuno Japan model with a proper artificial ground soleplate for a long time. It is great that so many people now want to try a Japan model because they finally feel there is a model that caters to their needs. However, I am not one of those people. I personally have no problem with using many (but not all) firm ground soleplates on AG, and I wish that Mizuno had given us an FG option alongside the AG. I feel that the Wave Cup soleplate specifically would fit well with the Proto or even the Rebula Cup soleplate would be another good option.

The soleplate itself is also a bit too flexible for my liking and if Mizuno wants to continue using this plate, they should add a strong midfoot shank for more stability. It just feels like the soleplate is not as premium as the rest of the boot. Part of this feeling comes from the fact that even a normal Morelia soleplate feels more stable and made with more premium materials versus this AG soleplate.

There is also the fact that this soleplate is found on the Alpha 2 Elite, which is less than half the price of the Morelia Proto and is even on Mizuno’s entry level Monarcida Select MG that retails for 1/4th the price of the Morelia Proto. While the material used to make the soleplate could be higher quality than what is on those models, I have not been able to find any information saying that it is any different from those less expensive models.

It is because of this that even though the soleplate is a good performer and is a great option, it feels like Mizuno has cheapened out on this part Morelia Proto. Which is sad because so much of this boot does so many things right.

Conclusion

In spite of my issue with the soleplate, I cannot ignore how superb the Mizuno Morelia Proto Japan feel on feet. An absolutely dreamlike touch on the ball, combined with an incredible fit means that for me, the boots are the pick of the Innovation Pack. If Mizuno are to release these as a regular model, I personally would like to see an additional FG option alongside the current AG plate. Also, please add the ZeroGlide laces. But really, I am splitting hairs with some of this because the boots are an excellent option for people who mostly play on AG and it is silly how incredible the feel for the ball is. This is the true successor to the Wave Cup and while it would probably never replace the standard Morelia II, the Morelia Proto deserves its own place in Mizuno’s lineup. An outstanding piece of work.

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