Easy recommendation

It seems wild to say that the Morelia Neo series is now in its fifteenth year. While it was once feared by some that it would replace the Mizuno Morelia II, the Neo is now a boot that complements Mizuno’s lineup. It has become the paradigm of modern leather boots. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Morelia Neo is the most popular Elite boot in Japan, with many stores having to announce through social media and email blasts whenever they refill their stock. The Mizuno Morelia Neo V Japan seeks to continue this trend.

Given the legacy and the popularity of the Neo, it is understandable that Mizuno continues to follow the Kaizen philosophy of gradually improving the series over time. The newest model now has a made in Japan reinforcing material through the midfoot in order to improve the wrap around the foot. Similar to the Neo V Beta Japan, the leather is thinner, and the outsole is stiffer. These small improvements have made the boots better, and the Neo V Japan remains one of the easiest boots to recommend. At the same time, it does feel that Mizuno is maybe playing it too safe with the updates.

Fit and Feel

The Neo V Japan is unsurprisingly excellent out of the box, and the thinner leather upper seems like it has just a bit more quality than the Neo 4 Japan. At the same time, the Neo 4 also has an excellent upper, and it’s difficult to tell too much of a difference between the two generations. Besides that, as per usual, the leather is superb and remains (along with the Morelia II Japan) the most premium leather boots on the market.

And premium is a good way to describe the fit as well. The Neo V Japan nicely wraps the foot, and like many other boots available on the Japanese market (think ASICS boots like the X Fly Pro 3), the deep, central lacing system allows you to adjust the boots to the shape of your foot.

While Mizuno lists the boots as 2E width, which is their standard width for their boots, the Neo is well designed to fit a lot of different foot shapes and widths. I would not say the boots are super wide, but they will fit wider feet, as well as medium to narrow feet like mine.

Mizuno’s BF Leather (Barefoot leather, a synthetic material made by Mizuno) returns, and while it is not leather, it is soft to the touch and breaks in nicely. I personally do not feel a difference much between the midfoot here and the previous generation, but it also does not matter too much because the BF material is still great.

The same goes for the lockdown, which is implied by Mizuno to have been improved, but again, I do not really notice anything different. Despite that, the lockdown is good overall, and more than enough for this type of boot.

As I expected, the heel is still nice as well. It wraps the back of the foot naturally and is snug in the spots needed for it to have good lockdown. There is also still that nice amount of cushioning, which, while less cushioned than something like the Morelia II Japan, is still plenty enough to feel comfortable.

In addition to the comfortable and locked in feel of the heel, the Neo continues to have that extra lacehole for a runner’s knot if you feel you need a more snug fit in the heel. It is baffling to me that this isn’t standard on a majority of boots on the market at this point.

Moving onto the insole, it’s fine enough, but considering their great rivals, ASICS offer better insoles, as well as the fact that the Alpha 3 Japan insole uses Mizuno Enerzy cushioning, an improvement can be made here.

Another place that is forever in need of improvement is the laces. Again, Mizuno has ZeroGlide laces and has even released a new ZeroGlide Neo lace, and both are far better than what is standard in their boots. While Mizuno did thin up the laces with the 2020 updates of the Morelia II and Neo 3 Japan, the laces still feel similar to what was on their boots almost twenty years ago. It’s a bizarre oversight.

One thing Mizuno does deserve lots of praise for, as always, is that the durability of their boots is exceptional. I expect it to be no different with Mizuno Morelia Neo V Japan. The build quality is among, if not the, best on the market.

The Neo V Japan is also one of the easiest boots on the market to break in. A combination of the leather, the BF midfoot, and the overall soft feel of the boots means that it does not take long for the boots to feel ready for anything. I personally am able to take a new pair into a match with almost no issues.

As for the sizing, like the previous models, I went half a size down from my normal size, which means I got the Morelia Neo V Japan in a US 8/UK 7/EU 40.5/JP 26, and the fit is perfect for me. Unlike the Neo V Beta Japan, the toe fits me perfectly.

On the ball

In a word, superb. The soft kangaroo leather that Mizuno uses delivers an awesome feel on the ball. It is hard to think of a leather boot that is better than the Neo V Japan in terms of touch on the ball. And maybe the only thing that comes close is Mizuno’s own Morelia II Japan, but the upper is a bit thicker on those.

The touch is soft and natural, and almost as if your feet caress the ball to bring it under your control. And while I wouldn’t say that the upper feels thinner than previously, it is still thin enough to provide a sensual feel.

Of course, since the Neo V is a leather boot, there is not a pingy sensation when hitting the ball with power, but I still find shooting and hitting crossfield balls satisfying. This also goes for dribbling, where the natural material seems to enhance the touch on the ball. This is probably more of a mental thing, but the soft upper certainly doesn’t hurt.

Interestingly, like the Neo 4, the BF midfoot still has a slight stickiness to it. It does wear away a little bit over time, and it is not even that sticky in the first place. But it is enough to be noticeable.

And yes, the bottom of the studs are textured, so I am obviously happy about that, as I love rolling the ball around with the bottom of my foot.

Grip

I am just going to copy and paste what I wrote for the Neo Beta V Japan review (though I will change the name), because it is the same experience:

“Mizuno says that the reworked soleplate works better on AG than their previous models. I’m hard pressed to notice a difference in the grip when compared to the Neo 4 Japan, or even the Neo 3 Japan, so while the studs look different, they don’t really feel different.

The grip is good on most surfaces and is surprisingly grippier than one would expect from a soleplate that has all rounded studs like the Neo’s. However, this is something that was noticeable in the previous models as well.

What has improved, however, is the stiffness and stability of the soleplate. The midfoot shank and outsole materials have been strengthened in order to provide more stability long-term. Interestingly, there is enough snapback now for it to be noticeable.

The snapback is not overly strong, but there is just enough there for it to be a pleasant and welcome surprise. Thus, aside from the reworked midfoot and heel, the soleplate is one of the most important changes Mizuno has made to the Neo series.”

Pricing Issue

I won’t go into as much detail here as I did on the Beta 5 Japan review, but it is still disappointing to see the price go up, especially when the differences feel so minimal. This is even more so the case with the Neo 5 Japan, as at least with the Beta, the midfoot is noticeably improved. With the non Beta Neo, outside of the stiffer soleplate, it is difficult to tell what has changed, and in Japan, we got a 7.5% price increase over the Neo 4 Japan and a 17% increase from the Neo 3 Japan; it all seems just a bit much. While in the US, the price did not go up at all. So it makes me wonder why Japan got a price increase while the US did not.

Playing it too safe

In some ways, Mizuno is in a difficult spot. They have by far the most popular Elite-level boot in Japan, and changing too much might risk that. At the same time, the price continues to go up. From the outside, it is difficult for some people to understand why. It potentially limits the kind of person who would try the boots.

There are some risks Mizuno could take, like offering the Alpha soleplate as an option, as they did for last year’s Innovation Pack Neo 4 Beta Japan. That would be a relatively easy thing for Mizuno to do, and it could make more people want to try the boots, and (somewhat) help justify the new price.

I understand that Mizuno does not need to do anything since their market position is so strong, and the boots are excellent as they are. But the changes seem to be becoming more minimal as time goes on, almost as if Mizuno is scared to do too much.

Mizuno Morelia Neo 5 Beta Japan versus Mizuno Morelia Neo 5 Japan comparison

The new Neo 5 Beta Japan is better in terms of performance versus the standard Neo 5 Japan. There is better lockdown in the midfoot and heel, and the boot wraps the foot better. The flip side of that wrap means that the boot is not a great option for people with wider feet. The other issue is that the non Beta Neo 5 Japan offers 90% of what the Beta offers, and since the standard Neo 5 has a floating tongue, the fit is more adjustable as well.

In fact, I find it difficult to justify the existence of the Neo 5 Beta. I understand that the standard Neo is not available in Europe, but they could just drop the Beta and offer the regular Neo there instead. The price would be lower as well, meaning Mizuno would be likely to sell more pairs.

And yes, the Beta is better, but the difference is so small that many people wearing the Beta could probably be converted to the standard Neo 5 Japan. I understand that this is not the case for everyone, but the eyewatering price of the Beta also makes my case for me. Surely, Mizuno would like to sell more boots instead of pricing out potential customers.

Between the two boots, the standard Neo 5 Japan is the easy choice. It offers a lot of what the Beta does, but it’s cheaper and has a more adjustable fit.

Easy recommendation

The Mizuno Morelia Neo 5 Japan is probably the easiest boot on the market to recommend. It’s comfortable, has great performance, and has the most premium leather of almost any boot on the market. The only knock against it is the price rise and that it is not so different from the previous generation, or even the generation before that. If you can find the Neo 4 Japan or Neo 3 Japan for a reasonable price, there is no need to upgrade to the 5. Despite this, the Neo 5 Japan is the number one answer to what boot I recommend. It offers so much for so many types of players that most people will enjoy them. A brilliant boot that many other boots should still be measured against.

What do you think of the Mizuno Morelia Neo V Japan? Please share this with your friends and make sure to follow me on Instagram!

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I split my time between wearing HAVO Grip Socks and PureGrip Socks for training and matches.

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じゃあね！