Blue Lock Episode 6 aired on Saturday and gave us the first major betrayal of the series. Of course, we had a betrayal during the season premiere but it didn’t hold the weight the one from the latest episode did. And more importantly, this week’s betrayal was simultaneously a brilliant setup for next week’s episode—Chigiri’s redemption. (Spoilers ahead)
The Betrayal
I’m still on the fence about whether Kuon’s betrayal of Team Z was either brilliant or basic. In some ways, the betrayal and how everything unfolded was indeed brilliant. This was a build-up that took pretty much most of the season so far to develop. And just over the past few episodes, I started to grow more attached to all the characters and the teamwork they were developing. This is where Blue Lock began to hook me. And, just like Isagi, I found myself completely dumbfounded when Kuon betrayed them.
Another brilliant part of this betrayal was how it was intertwined with Chigiri’s story and his road to redemption. While we received backstories for both Kunigami and Bachira this season already, neither’s backstory was really intertwined with the plot like Chigiri’s is. They each got their episode so we can learn more about them and neither of them really tied into the current events at the Blue Lock, or at least as Chigiri’s has. And having Kuon’s betrayal include two players that were former teammates of Chigiri, and know his history better than any other player on both teams, was a very nice tie-in that set up a possible epic moment from Chigiri next week.
Now, on the other side of this betrayal, I felt like there was something missing. While the betrayal was a shock in its own way, it still felt like it wasn’t that big either. We didn’t get that emotional connection with Chigiri and Kuon as we have with Isagi, Bachira, and Kunigami. And from the very beginning, it was stressed that the Blue Lock is to focus on one’s own ego and help it grow. I even called that betrayals would happen from the very beginning when the season premiere aired. And while Kuon played the part of someone who would take the rules of the Blue Lock and use them to his own personal advantage, it still didn’t leave me jumping off the couch with my mind blown either.
A Major Redemption
The part that I loved so much about this episode more than the betrayal is how it was perfect down to the last-minute detail of setting up Chigiri’s redemption next week. And it’s even better knowing how in the ending for each episode the three main characters you see standing in front of Isagi are Kunigami, Chigiri, and Bachira. So all the signs are pointing to Chigiri overcoming his fear of reinjuring his knee and ending his soccer career for good with an epic moment in Episode 7 and I cannot wait to see what happens. Even more so, when is Bachira’s big moment coming? But we’ll leave that for another time.
The series has done a wonderful job of remaining consistent and constantly pushing the story forward with no backtracking. I can’t sit here and say Chigiri is the most interesting character from the series or a favorite of mine. However, I will definitely give credit to the series for making me extremely curious as to what his unique skill actually is because we’ve basically been teased about what it could possibly be in the past handful of episodes. And, knowing how Blue Lock as a series is, I can say with almost complete certainty that his moment is going to be an epic one and will lead Team Z to a win. Now, what happens with Kuon after this match and what Ego will talk about with the team also has me extremely intrigued. So it’s safe to say that I think I have never wanted to see a new episode of Blue Lock this badly. I need Episode 7 to be here already.
Blue Lock Episode 6 Wrap-Up
Yet again, Blue Lock gave us another all-around solid episode. I noticed some odd animation hiccups here and there while Kuon scored a couple of headers. And a lot of the transitions going from CGI players with an overhead shot quickly cutting to warped 2D characters to give some moments that extra bit of impact they need was oddly timed unlike in previous episodes. But overall, everything was still great from a production standpoint as well. Studio 8bit has given us another all-around solid series.
The only problem I’ve found myself in these past few weeks covering the series is that there isn’t much to really react to. It’s a “take things at face value” kind of series that leaves conversation to be short-lived. That being said, I think that comes to an end with Episode 7. I need to hear Ego’s thoughts on everything that occurred. As someone who wants to create the greatest egoist striker in the entire world to lead Japan to a World Cup, he didn’t look satisfied with how Kuon went about everything despite following the rules Ego laid out for all the participants.
Episode 6 Rating: 8/10
Blue Lock episode 7 will air on Saturday, November 19, on Crunchyroll. If you enjoyed Blue Lock Episode 6 then make sure to vote for it in our weekly poll!
Images via Crunchyroll
©Muneyuki Kaneshiro, Yusuke Nomura, Kodansha/”Blue Lock” Production Committee
