I almost forgot how unhinged Blue Lock Season one was in its absence, and this first episode back has sufficiently reminded me why I absolutely adore this sports anime!
Read my Blue Lock Season 1 Episode reviews.
Blue Lock Season 2 Episode 1 Review
Blue Lock is back with season 2 and it is even more unhinged than the last one!
I can’t even lie; I loved watching every minute of it!
Rin’s Big Bro Complex?
It seems like this season will focus on Itoshi Rin’s big brother complex, as the opening sequence showed Rin and Sae having some sort of face-off where Rin was having a mental breakdown over his poor ability to play soccer – then a bowser figurine fell. It was so campy and dramatic and then coupled with the opening credits, I was hooked for the remainder of the episode.
I’m wondering that aside from Rin wanting to prove himself to his brother for attention, if Isagi will get over his Rin complex that he’s developed?
Because Rin literally does not care about Isagi and doesn’t view him (or anybody else at Blue Lock for that matter) as a threat, meanwhile Isagi has made Rin his entire personality when it comes to his soccer goals. I almost wish that Isagi went with Nagi’s team but we’ll get to that later on.
The Potential U-20 Lineups
So, Ego announced 3-pairs of strong players based on the number of goals scored against the actual big league players last season, alongside his personal arbitrary grading system.
One of the bureaucratic super-villains of the series, Buratsuta, called Ego up at the beginning of the episode to tell him how excited he is for his players to go against the league, and by the end of the episode he’s having a full-on anime villain meltdown complete with maniacal laughter, vowing to crush the high school boys for being zealot “idealists”.
Naturally, I now more than even want our boys to beat (or at least score against) the national team, although I’m wondering how realistic that is. I want them to succeed, but about 4/5ths of the lineup Ego announced are characters who must have been on other teams because we don’t know their playstyle, and just learned many of their names.
No. 1 & No. 2 are Itoshi Rin (naturally) and Shidou Ryusei. Everybody expected Rin to be number one, and judging by what I’ve read just about Shidou, he’s a warrior who has the drive and passion that Ego really wants to cultivate with this project.
(Shidou also apparently knocked Kunigami out with their match, but we know based on an after credits scene that he’s still at Blue Lock, just tucked away from the general public.)
Ego wanted the prospectives who join this team (along with all others) to exemplify “assertion” and “coexistence” while pitting both factions against each other to enhance their competitive spirit. Now swinging back to what I mentioned earlier, we already know Rin’s playstyle and how it doesn’t really mesh all that well with Isagi’s, individually on their own. If they had a medium like Nagi or Bachira – it might work out better.
Of course, Bachira knows Isagi better than he knows himself and has joined this team to enhance his own soccer but also, to follow his boy Isagi. Which is much more respectable than Reo, who is absolutely acting like the pathetic ex-girlfriend who knows they have nothing left to offer, but still chases “their man” regardless of knowing the reality of their situation.
If Reo ends up going home after chasing Nagi to this final stage in the game, I absolutely 100% would not be upset to see him go. Reo seriously just gives off bitter ex energy, and doesn’t seem to be improving his soccer game except out of spite to simply chase Nagi to regain control of their “friendship”.
No. 3 & No. 4 are Karasu Tabito and Otoya Eita – two characters we know absolutely nothing about. Significantly less people wanting to join their team, as well when compared to Itoshi and Shidou – which makes sense of course in hindsight. I would like to see what skills they have on display though, so that we can gauge just how strong they are in terms of being players and contenders to go against the national league.
No. 5 & No. 6 are Yukimiya Kenyu and Nagi Seishiro, with Bachira Meguru being the wild card floater who has to play two games during the tryout session.
(Bachira being the wildcard makes sense because he is highly adaptable to whoever he plays with, and meshes well with whatever team he is put on. I believe ego made this decision to test out the final team lineup’s viability for chemical reactions and “coexistence” with one another as a closing point to cross all of his bases to assemble the strongest team of strikers possible.)
Yukimiya reminds me of an Aizen (Bleach) type of villain, and did anybody else find it hilarious that Raichi and Wanima Junichi – literally two of the ugliest players in Blue Lock – were salty that Yukimiya is a pretty boy model in his spare time?
Anywho, we know Nagi is OP and continually grows as a player with ease – I’m guessing Yukimiya has a similar vibe since they are paired, but maybe Yukimiya is more analytical in a way that could enhance Nagi’s soccer and vice-versa.
Either way, I’m excited to see what the new season has in store for us! But, tell me your thoughts.
Does Rin need to get over his big-bro complex immediately? Is Isagi over-thinking things as usual?
Where the heck was Anri, Ego’s assistant this episode?
Leave your thoughts in the comment section below, we’d love to hear from you! Also be sure to follow us for more Blue Lock Episode Reviews and Discussions!
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☆ In Asian Spaces
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