Blue Lock vs. U-20 Japan

The next phase of the controversial Blue Lock project is underway with the candidate pool being dwindled down to just 35. Out of the remaining strikers, only a select few will be chosen to play in an upcoming exhibition game against the current U-20 Japanese soccer team. Playing in this match comes with a caveat: winning will grant the players the right to represent the nation as the new U-20 team, but losing will bring an end to Blue Lock in its entirety. Among the ones left in the running is Yoichi Isagi, who is coming to terms with his own abilities.

To further complicate matters, the six best players in the pool have already been named to the starting lineup and the remaining 29 will have to duke it out to claim a coveted spot. Each candidate must select a top six pairing to team up with for the selection to prove their competence. But if this mishmash of strikers wants to overthrow the current U-20 team, they will need to find a way to combine their playstyles effectively.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Isagi, Yoichi Main

Ura, Kazuki Japanese

Bachira, Meguru Supporting

Kaito, Tasuku Japanese

Nagi, Seishirou Supporting

Shimazaki, Nobunaga Japanese

Chigiri, Hyouma Supporting

Saitou, Souma Japanese

Itoshi, Rin Supporting

Uchiyama, Kouki Japanese

Barou, Shouei Supporting

Suwabe, Junichi Japanese

Kaiser, Michael Supporting

Miyano, Mamoru Japanese

Shidou, Ryuusei Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Mikage, Reo Supporting

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Kunigami, Rensuke Supporting

Iwata, Takaki Producer

Nagahama, Hiroaki Producer

Arisawa, Ryouya Producer

Kawakatsu, Yusuke Producer

Reviews

Dec 29, 2024

MajiMaestro

Recommended

As someone who's reading Blue Lock weekly, I've had mixed feelings on Blue Lock season 2 as I've been watching it, but these feelings slowly started to organize themselves as we approached the finish line. In contrast to the common reaction and very logical conclusion that Blue Lock season 2 animation is... lackluster, I find that if anything it's brutally minimalistic, rather than lazy.

This season still manages to flow with the dramatic moments just as well as before, and the action, while presented through a lot of stills, still has the pacing that makes each offensive exciting to watch unravel. And, putting the animation topic ... aside, all the drawings and illustrations of the characters in the season look incredible, it's absolutely spot-on and fully realized visually, it's the characters I know and love from the manga. One big improvement I find from season 1 is that now they've spliced in split-second shots of much better CGi movement to properly visualize the dribbles and tricks that players do to get past each other, compared to season 1's either pathetic or shoddily presented attempts.

As a dedicated Blue Lock fan, I've gone from lamenting this season, to finding a mutual understanding with it instead. It's still Blue Lock to me, and I feel like it can still be Blue Lock to a lot of people if you give it a chance. There's still love in this adaption, which can be seen in the effort put into the most exciting parts of the arc.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Dec 28, 2024

Ataba

Mixed Feelings

Blue Lock season 2 started on the wrong foot and kept getting better throughout the season.

Animation 6/10: if you have watched the first few episodes you would normally ask why is the rating so high, well that is because there were wonderful animations at the end of the season, especially the last episode, so naturally I had to give it a 6 because it contained 3/10 animations as well as 10/10 animations, the reason for the bad animation is not so clear, it is either the studio rushed the anime or according to internet info only one person animated the season which is not possible.

Story ... 8/10: The hype of the story is still there and has not faded. I don't have anything to comment on other than the fact that the season delivered on crucial moments, and I was not let down in the slightest—well, just a little bit—because of some bad animation moments.

Characters 8/10: with the introduction of new characters the season dived into some of their backstory not leaving us wondering what are they doing in Blue Lock, and already established characters have been made into a better version of themselves with redemption stories and such.

overall if you have watched season 1 and wondering why the first few episodes look so bad don't, because the more you progress through the season the better the quality gets, but that is not an excuse for the horrendous job that the animators did with this season, I even had a hard time watching the first couple of episodes having to wait each week to just watch a PowerPoint presentation of the manga, I hope that they stop rushing animations and take their time with the 3rd season because it has a lot more crucial moments, and I don't mind waiting two or three years for it.

overall 6.5/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Dec 28, 2024

CHOVI2

Not Recommended

Funny

Blue Lock season 2 was a complete disappointment. It's not just that the animation quality was garbage, or that the whole season is dedicated to pretty much only one match (though these points do make it worse), but, for me, the series has stopped working in season 2.

Season 1 introduced great characters, the concept of ego, and a competition dynamic. But season 2 feels a little like the series doesn't know where to go from here. The formula is starting to be the same: Isagi starts as the underdog and ends of doing something awesome. The supporting characters are interesting, but I don't think they ... carry the series anymore. For example, I like Reo and Nagi, but their appearances in this season were kind of minimal, so I didn't feel as invested in them.

I've decided to stop watching this show because I think that, after this season, it's going to crash and burn. The plot doesn't have an interesting direction to evolve, from what I can see.

Add this to the fact that Eight Bit's animation is too stilted and relies too much on bad CGI and what do we have? A series where you have to watch hours of cringe dialogue just for couple of cool moments per season. Yeah, no, thanks.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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