Blue Lock season 2 kicked off with the right amount of ferocity and build-up to introduce the starting Blue Lock XI lineup against the U-20 Japan National Team. Blue Lock: Episode Nagi was a great recap of the first season but told through Nagi Seishiro’s perspective versus the series’ protagonist Isagi Yoichi. One could even argue that everyone in Blue Lock is the protagonist of the show. Most sports anime feature a main character, like Hinata Shoyo in Haikyu!! or Tetsuya Kuroko in Kuroko’s Basketball.
The first couple of episodes ramped up the Blue Lock XI versus the U-20 team match by showing who was going to get drafted into the starting lineup. These initial scrimmages were a perfect introduction to the newer characters while the core cast underwent character development to find their new weapons. Still, the series wasted no time getting into the Blue Lock XI versus U-20 team match.
This season of Blue Lock was similar to Haikyu!! season 3 which covered one pivotal volleyball match between Karasuno and Shiratorizawa. Blue Lock season 2 almost did the exact same thing where the stakes are just as high—but for soccer. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the first couple of episodes showing the Blue Lock project team building their team chemistry. It was also a wild introduction to the new, highly-instinctual player Shidou Ryusei.
Additionally, the first few episodes of Blue Lock also set up the season’s overarching story-building for Rin and Sae Itoshi. A brotherly rival story always has its merits. The contrast of both brothers’ journeys by the end of this season was a great one, especially as it played into Isagi’s story and character arc. In a strange way, I appreciated the fact that Isagi has a rivalry with Rin despite being teammates and the fact that Isagi is able to sync up with Rin’s plays the best.
“Blue Lock season 2 kicked off with the right amount of ferocity and build-up to introduce the starting Blue Lock XI lineup against the U-20 Japan National Team.”
As for the animation of Blue Lock season 2, I will have to agree with the recent conversation with netizens—but only to a certain extent. A lot of buzz has been coming out about the mismanagement of time and poor wages from Bandai Namco, Kodansha and 8bit—around the animators of this season. I wholeheartedly agree that animators should be getting fair wages and credits, much similarity to the topic of Studio MAPPA’s animators who worked on Jujutsu Kaisen season 2.
But like I said for Jujutsu Kaisen season 2, the story was still compelling enough for me to be entertained. Honestly, the colouring of the Blue Lock series is on-par with the colour clarity of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Many online conversations were comparing this season to a visual novel, which is fair to a certain degree. Yes, there are not a lot of shots of continuous players’ movements but the dialogue and pacing is what keeps the suspense going.
As someone who is a below average to average recreational soccer player in real life, the thinking process of playing and executing physical moves happens in mere seconds. The coolest part of Blue Lock is its ability to breakdown Isagi or any other players’ thinking while moving with the ball—much like other sports anime. This is why I loved this series when it takes the time to explain, and it shows the diagrams from a bird’s eye view. I got to see how geniuses think about their plays before and after executing them.
To me, sports anime series are driven by its characters and less on the animation anyway. It is the same way Ted Lasso used a lot of green screen VFX and camera tricks to film their soccer matches. The character development and team spirit are the core of the series. One could argue what is the point of adapting the manga to anime then.
There is the colouring, the score or BGM, the voice acting and the animation. The narrative is also in there but the first few things the audience is exposed to are typically these four things. Blue Lock season 2 excels in most of these areas. The dialogue between characters felt natural and kept up the competitive spirit and banter amongst the Blue Lock XI and with the U-20 team.
At this season’s core, it never wavers from the core principles of the manga and series. Strikers only think about attacking, and that is what everyone in the Blue Lock XI does. The way each character grew was amazing, and it was cool to see how everything clicked into place from both the Blue Lock XI and U-20 teams.
“Blue Lock excels in colouring, voice acting, and pacing, keeping the suspense alive even without continuous player movement animation.”
No fan can argue about the final episode though. The final counterattack from both teams was a culmination of the animators investing a lot of importance for this scene. It went into a widescreen aspect ratio; it switched to a kagenoshi art style; and it just became a sakuga fest for a few minutes. The use of silence here added to the thrilling, climatic end of the match. It left me gasping for air, and had my mind-boggling to how the match would end. The little animated word “luck” at the final few seconds of the match was like a cherry on top to a nail-biting finale.
At the end of the day, I was not hoping to see a bunch of moving parts at one time in Blue Lock season 2. In comparison to Haikyu!! or Ace of the Diamond, I love it when the animation can take a beat to show the characters’ reactions and hear their internal monologue. While there could have been more fluid animation and motion of characters, the use of hard-black lines and colouring made up for it. The other pitfall in this series is a catchy or hype OP/ED.
I am ecstatic about the next season of Blue Lock based on the teases at the finale of this season. Hopefully, 8bit can restore the faith of its fans as Season 3 kicks off Blue Lock Phase 2, also known as “The Neo Egoist League.” This phase involves one of the most highly anticipated characters, Michael Kaiser. Michael is a football prodigy from Germany’s U-20 squad and is next in line to become one of the best strikers in the world. His nickname, “The Emperor,” says it all.
I am also curious to see if there will be backstories for characters we have not seen yet, such as Shidou. Additionally, Kunigami was teased to be returning, which is great as it shows that every character is important to this series’ plot. The next arc is the biggest in the manga, so it should offer a lot of content to give fans something to look forward to.
Blue Lock season 1 and 2 are available to stream now on Crunchyroll.