©︎ Kanejo Muneyuki, Nomura Yusuke, Kodansha/”BLUE LOCK” Production Committee
So it looks like the animation style hasn’t really improved any from last week, which is a shame. But I still hold out hope that the upcoming U-20 actual games will be better than what we have here. That being said, I had less issues with the visual presentation this week, but I’m not sure if that’s because I’m used to it or because the directing is better. There were moments where I felt certain actions weren’t conveyed properly, and the distance between characters wasn’t always apparent. Overall, the football pitch felt much smaller than I expected, and it definitely took the tension out of some of the action.
However, this episode still elicited a very strong emotional reaction from me after Isagi entered a flow state. This is what BLUE LOCK excels at, being able to introduce the steps required for the protagonist to reach the next point in his evolution, while simultaneously reaching those points correctly after a powerful build-up. The key to excelling in these tournaments, Ego explains, is to both cohabitate with star players and potentially devour them. The first half of the episode was all about achieving the first part, with Isagi taking full advantage of all the players on the field and being able to provide just enough help. However, that’s not the kind of player he wants to be. He wants to be the one to score goals because, at the end of the day, that’s what a striker is supposed to do. My heart sank with him when he missed a shot that was essentially gift-wrapped to him, and I hoped this plot point about his average physical abilities would come up later.
However, there are ways to compensate for your lack of physical ability, as Isaaki’s greatest strength has always been his ability to adapt and analyze. The problem with this, however, is that it can lead to overthinking. When you spend a lot of time thinking in a busy environment where you’re technically expected to make quick judgment decisions, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Therefore, the next step in Isagi’s evolution is to accept all of his analysis and instinctively take the best course of action. After all the time he’d spent…thinking, he needed to stop thinking immediately. The episode visually conveys this instinct in a spectacular way, but when we get a glimpse of what will be expanded upon later, it falls a little flat. However, when the final goal came through, I was on the edge of my seat, and that’s the chemistry I’m looking for in this show. The question now is, will we continue to play other games with other players or will we prepare for the U-20 games in advance?
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AJ is also regularly at twitch As an independent Vtuber bolt machinist They’re there to talk and play retro media!
Blue Lock Season 2 Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
