Y'all – there is too much television now.
I know, I sound like someone who’s been around for fifty+ years and has seen the rise and fall of amazing television shows but quite honestly, I’ve only been around for twenty-four years and sometimes, there is literally too much television to catch up on. I spent hours watching some of my favorite shows of the past, like Game of Thrones, or checking out the new shows I really love, like Beef starring Steven Yeun and Ali Wong.
However, one area I have been lacking in is keeping up with my favorite anime coming out, and that’s because my weekends have been stacked with either family events or other things going on that I just haven’t had the time to catch up on my latest obsession from last year, Blue Lock, on Crunchyroll.
But I finally finished Blue Lock Season 1 – and boy, do I have thoughts on what happened in those last few episodes.
Isagi Really Grew Up So Much Throughout This First Season
I remember when I first wrote about Isagi when I watched the first few episodes of Blue Lock, I really liked the fact that he was such a relatable protagonist. He had one goal – to become the best striker, and while at the time that seemed like a feasible goal to achieve, we only start to see just how tough it is as the show goes on.
There are few protagonists in anime that I feel like I can really relate to because most of them usually have such high goals and priorities – like Eren in Attack on Titan or even Izuku in My Hero Academia, even if he is much nicer than Eren – but Isagi has still remained very relatable despite the fact that he’s grown up so much.
He is a completely different person from the first episode, and it’s from all that training, the friends and enemies he has made, and the fact that not only his skill as a player has improved, but his mindset as well. To me, Isagi is honestly so smart and it’s crazy how he is able to see almost any kind of move on the field, aside from the people who are blatantly better than him, like Rin, but even he fooled him at one point. My boy has grown.
Nagi Has Officially Become My Favorite Character
This white-haired badass came out of nowhere and stole my heart so quickly, good lord.
I remember when I first started the show, I really liked Bachira. I thought he was so goofy and fun and the perfect counterpart to someone like Isagi who seemed to be taking the challenge seriously – at least a lot more seriously than the others at that point. Then we got a few episodes into Blue Lock and Nagi just stole my heart in seconds.
I would equate the sudden onset of, “wow, I love this guy,” feelings to that of Levi Ackerman in Season 3 of Attack on Titan. I didn’t think much of him in the first two seasons, and then Season 3 happened and bam – I was obsessed with him because they gave him more story and he was badass. But with Nagi, it was just so sudden. I liked how sarcastic he was but also how he didn’t really care about soccer – he just enjoyed the feeling of winning.
That, in turn, made him want to be better as the game kept going, and then I just really started to love his dynamic with Isagi and Barou as time went on. Such a great character and I need to see him more.
And I Seriously Can’t Wait To See Isagi And Bachira Vs. Barou, Nagi And Chigiri
I mean, I already exclaimed my love for Nagi in the last section but I am here for the idea of Chigiri, Nagi and Barou going at it with Isagi and Bachira. Isagi was picked after their last loss to join the better team, and now, the rivalry is personal.
While a part of me is really excited to see Bachira and Isagi back together, because I originally liked their dynamic the most, I will be sad to see Nagi, Isagi and Barou because their games were honestly so much fun to watch in succession. But, if I have to deal with them being rivals, that’s cool with me too.
I haven’t read the manga, so I’m not sure if they’re going to be facing each other head-on next season because they’ll all be facing Japan’s U20’s, but I have a feeling it’ll be great either way.
It’s A Shame To See Kunigami Go – But It Makes Sense
Kunigami was one of the first characters we were introduced to in Episode 1 and I did really like him. But I actually enjoy the fact that he was kicked out of the selection. Kunigami was a good player, but he didn’t stand out amongst the rest. He had a lot of strength, but that isn’t what makes you such a key player in soccer.
What Kunigami had that many people in this experiment lacked was a genuine good heart, but good hearts don’t get you anywhere in the world, at least here. In order to succeed, you need to put your good heart away and become an egotist, only trying to push yourself forward so you can be the very best, and Kunigami just wasn’t doing that. I’ll miss him, but I think it’s best this way.
The English Language In The Penultimate Episode Threw Me Off At First
When I tell you I was thrown off I literally had to pause my laptop.
Admittedly, I’m used to both sub and dub – I know, a very heated debate, but I like both – and hearing the English language suddenly spoken in a Japanese sub freaking sent me into another dimension. But it honestly makes total sense in the grand scheme of things. The Japanese players are facing people from all over the world – it would make sense that they don’t speak in Japanese and instead we are given Japanese subtitles for the time-being while the English-speakers are on screen.
It makes me wonder if they’ll end up coming back Season 2 because I actually really liked that team dynamic, but we’ll see.
I’m Here For The Sibling Rivalry Between Rin And Sae
Oh, I love a good sibling rivalry. That stuff is my jam.
Rivalries in general always give me so much life in most of my shows, whether it be anime (like Bakugo and Izuku in My Hero Academia) or in live-action TV shows (Dwight and Jim in The Office, anyone? Always makes me snicker). But in a show like this? Where the stakes are so high and it’s brother against brother? A sibling rivalry is freaking awesome.
Rin was a character that was sort of under-the-radar for most of the series. He appeared in a few episodes at first, showing just how skilled he was, and we saw more of him in the back-half. But I can’t wait to see what they do with his character – and how facing his brother, Sae, is going to play into it.
Ugh, I’m Going To Have To Wait A Long Time For Season 2, Aren’t I?
I know we sometimes have to wait long for shows but I have a feeling it’s going to be more than a year for this, huh? I mean, Attack on Titan is making us wait yet another several months before that concludes, and Jujutsu Kaisen had a whole movie released in-between seasons.
I’m worried for Blue Lock and how long it’ll take to animate what the story has so far. They are from another studio besides MAPPA – Blue Lock is animated by Eight Bit – but sometimes it takes a while for these episodes to release. But fine, I’ll be patient – even if I don't like it.
While there are plenty of other awesome anime out there that I intend to check out, I am so happy I decided to watch this show – and truly, I can’t wait to see what it has planned next because I loved it inside and out. I demand to see more Nagi.
