Blue Lock episode 15 aired on Saturday giving us another great episode from start to finish. The animation and artwork were stellar, as it usually is with every episode, and the intensity never once felt like it lacked any sort of weight. However, that doesn’t mean the episode didn’t come without some gripes.
It always seems like the most exciting moments of Blue Lock don’t come from Isagi but rather from the series’ side characters. Luckily, in this episode, Isagi was in the spotlight for most of the heart-pumping moments and the build-up to his final shot that secured a win was extremely well executed by both the production staff and Kazuki Ura (Isagi’s voice actor). And that’s not taking away Baro’s sheer strength and his ability to change the course of a game in an instant, or even Nagi’s pure athleticism. But this episode was Isagi’s to take over and it never once felt like it wasn’t his in the first place.
Baro continues to be my favorite character and it’s no surprise he’s moving on with Isagi and Nagi. And that’s another good part to come out of the episode, the most physical player at Blue Lock is now teaming up with the genius in Nagi and Mr. Awareness himself in Isagi, creating a power trio that could be dangerous no matter who they face. And if it comes true that they’ll be facing Kunigami, Chigiri, and Reo next, then I’m putting all my beats on Isagi, Nagi, and Baro to get the job done. The talent differential between the three is too great. That being said, Kunigami’s shot, Chigiri’s speed, and Reo’s passing can create opportunities for some incredible goals. And I think that’s what’s best about Blue Lock—while it’s easy to predict some outcomes, it’s extremely difficult to predict others.
While Blue Lock‘s side characters do, indeed, tend to have more exciting moments than Isagi himself, that’s also not to say Blue Lock dropped the ball with Naruhaya’s character. I felt like if we learned more of his backstory during the time he and Isagi were teammates, and if he was genuinely a nicer guy, the emotional impact felt in their match, and at the end, would’ve been a little heavier for Isagi, Naruhaya, and myself as a viewer. But the awful timing of his backstory and the fact it was short-lived, topped on his attitude during the match made his entire character one giant shrug of “meh”. It wasn’t necessarily bad, it just left me going “Why are we just now learning this stuff?”
Having learned about Naruhaya’s parents dying when he was young and growing up poor right before he was about to lose the match felt completely out of place. And his attitude toward Isagi during the match only made me shrug my shoulders even more when he was knocked out of Blue Lock entirely. So long Naruhaya, I’ll forget about you by the next episode.
Above all else, the utmost frustrating part of this episode was Isagi constantly talking to himself and narrating every single little detail of what was happening around him. On one hand, I understand that’s just part of his growth as a character and finding out what his true skills are. It’s part of Isagi’s awareness and adaptability prowess. That’s who his character is. But on the other hand, I sometimes feel like it puts a damper on any momentum we’re witnessing during the match. In short, I don’t like how it’s executed but I understand perfectly why it’s done this way—that’s what makes it so frustrating.
Isagi can’t analyze a game before it happens or after certain moments occur, his awareness and adaptability happen in real-time and this is really only one of two ways to convey what he’s thinking. I just wish sometimes we can see Isagi taking what he’s learned and apply that to moments of him in action rather than just standing still in the middle of the field frozen in time like a statue. The puzzle animations were a nice touch and so were the artwork and animation. But sometimes I would like to have some big moments happen with minimal Isagi monologues, or at least until after a big moment happens (the other way to convey what he’s thinking/thought). I want to have someone ask Isagi “How did you manage to do that?” after being defeated then have Isagi break everything down. This way is much more efficient and doesn’t stop the intense pace of play either.
Episode 15 of Blue Lock proved that no other anime series airing right now does a better job of keeping fans of excited for the next episode. I swear, after every single Blue Lock episode, besides the series premiere, I have been tuned into Blue Lock every single Saturday making sure I set aside time to watch it. And now that Isagi joined forces with Baro and might go up against Kunigami and Chigiri, while also having Nagi and Reo face off, it just gives Blue Lock fans another reason to be excited for the next episode. And to add another layer to that, Isagi and Nagi are starting to develop chemistry with each other.
At no point during this season have I thought “I’m not excited for the next episode of Blue Lock” or “the next episode looks like it’ll be boring.” Blue Lock is a lot like a delicious milkshake. Each time you’re about to get one, you’ll start to get excited. And you know that no matter how many times you go back to get one from your favorite stand, you know it’s going to be amazing every single time. But once in a great while the person at the stand puts whip cream on it when you don’t want them to. It doesn’t make the milkshake any worse, it’s just an inconvenience in having to scrape it off. And every now and again, you get that homemade milkshake that’s leaps and bounds better than the one from the stand you go to. That’s Blue Lock at this point for me.
Episode rating: 8.5/10.
Blue Lock episode 16 will air on Saturday, January 28, on Crunchyroll. If you enjoyed Blue Lock Episode 15 then make sure to vote for it in our weekly poll!
Images via Crunchyroll
©Muneyuki Kaneshiro, Yusuke Nomura, Kodansha/”Blue Lock” Production Committee