Blue Lock Season 2 Finale (Episode 13 & 14) Review - The Redemption

BLUE LOCK Season 2 released its double-episode finale (Episode 13 & Episode 14), giving an incredibly exciting conclusion to the match against U-20 Japan. I previously wrote about why I thought BLUE LOCK Season 2 was good despite the flaws. It included talking about them focusing on highlighting the key moments, with the strong voice acting and sound design making fans excited even if they’re far and wide.

With the finale, they completely capitalized on this on a larger scale as most of the last episode was a highlight, and it is clear that anyone who watched the finale will be excited to see more. Let’s look into what stood out and how the anime managed to redeem itself, if at least partly.

The Stakes

A simple reason this finale was important is the fact that it featured the final minutes of the match. With 15 minutes left to go, Sae immediately decided to kick the match into a higher gear. Episode 13 was mostly used as the set-up for Rin’s entering of FLOW, which took him completely focusing on his older brother and trying to stop him.

Trying may not be a fair word though, as he actually did manage to completely save the match for BLUE LOCK on numerous occasions. First he took a direct kick from Shido with his face to save the goal, while he later cleared Oliver’s own shot that would’ve been a sure goal. With a single minute left, he took on Sae once again for the final clash, leading to the eventual result.

The Horror Vibes in BLUE LOCK Season 2 Finale

A new thing in the BLUE LOCK Season 2 finale (Episode 13 & Episode 14) was the use of the red filters and effects that combined with the soundtrack to give off a horror vibe. This started at the end of the first episode and fit perfectly for Rin’s breakthrough into the monstrous trance state.

With Rin saying that he’ll “kill everyone,” the accompanying soundtrack and visuals really made it feel way more serious than you’d expect from a soccer match. As he revealed his ‘ugly’ style of breaking his opponents by targeting their specialty, each of the “Iron Quartet” got to experience this new vibe of BLUE LOCK’s number 1.

The Voice Acting and Soundtrack

Once again I have to highlight how crucial the voice acting and soundtrack feel to BLUE LOCK Season 2. Koki Uchiyama, the voice actor of Rin Itoshi, was particularly impressive to me in the finale and I think his performance alone significantly elevated the episode. While the script felt a bit too forced at times, he still managed to deliver the lines powerfully and make me believe Rin had become an unhinged monster.

As for the soundtrack, from the very start of Sae’s counterattack to the moment of the last goal, the OST felt powerful. With the limited animation capabilities, this was very important to help improve the immersion, and I believe BLUE LOCK did a great job with what they had. Finally, everything culminated in the last minute of the match.

The 1 Minute of Greatness

As the referee showed 1 minute of added time, BLUE LOCK Season 2 finale (Episode 13 & Episode 14) seemingly entered its own FLOW and completely leveled up. This came right after Rin hit the cross bar, and we got a cinematic experience from that moment on. While the time in-game was 1 minute, the actual screen-time was closer to ~7.5 minutes.

Sae ran towards the goal, with cool animation for every single dribble as he passed each of the BLUE LOCK members with ease. With all seeming lost, Rin stepped up again. We got a short moment between them as Sae mocked Rin, leading him to the realization that he hates himself rather than the others, and that he is the one that needs breaking.

This had been a recurring feeling since the very start of their backstory, with Rin constantly chasing after his older brother and trying to get acknowledged. His initial goal was to be the second best after all. However, this was doomed since the start, and it was actually nice to see him finally decide once and for all that he has to abandon those emotions.

After he finally breaks through what had been holding him back, Sae comments on his face, suggesting that this is what Rin truly is like when he is free. At this point, I couldn’t even tell if Sae is actually the kind of brother who is playing the bad guy to save the younger one from what he went through himself, or if he just got to a point where he sees Rin as actual trash.

Either way, two clash again for the final time, with the crowd screaming and Sae moving on for another dribble. That’s when Rin sees his chance and clears the ball.

The MC Arrives

Finally, Yoichi Isagi gets his chance to actually shine for everyone to see. Throughout the match, he got plenty of praise, whether from Oliver early on or from Sae himself calling him the heart of BLUE LOCK. He also had plenty of important moments, with the last one being to stop Shido from scoring when even Rin had given up.

However, that wasn’t enough. Anyone would want to see the protagonist actually score in such an important match, and the only time left was this moment. We can also remember how he lost against Rin, back when Rin explained the luck factor to him. It all lead to this huge payoff, as our MC finally utilized luck to score an incredible goal.

As for the production, the decision to repeat his kick over five times, as well as doing the same for the ball hitting the net, felt powerful. With Yoichi about to scream out leading to the crowd’s reactions, I thought this was done incredibly well and it felt satisfying to watch.

Even Anri got a quick moment of spotlight, before Ego clinched his fist in triumph and we got to the aftermath.

What’s Next in BLUE LOCK?

Following the match, Yoichi got yet another big moment as the entire crowd screamed his name during his interview. While timid at first, he ends up declaring that he will be the one to lead the U-20 Japan to a World Cup, marking a new level of motivation for everyone involved.

Ego now has the backing he needs, and he said that the Neo Egoist League is up next. We saw Kunigami appear through the “Wild Card” doors, and Mamoru Miyano has already been cast as Michael Kaiser. It’s clear they have plans for more, so we can only look forward to future announcements.

In case you want to see what happens immediately, here’s where to continue the manga after BLUE LOCK Season 2.

Conclusion

The manga by Muneyuki Kaneshiro already has amazing artwork and over-the-top soccer action that translates beautifully into a shonen battle-manga style, though I hope they can get a better schedule as it goes forward and we can see more of the ‘1 minute’ quality.

Do I think the finale a higher quality completely made up for the lack of it throughout the rest of the season? Definitely not, but I do think that the staff did the absolute best they could and that the final product was an enjoyable watch from start to finish.

If you want to read a more fact-based article about why the 8bit animators are not to blame for the state of the season’s overall quality and why it’s a lot bigger than that, check out In “Defense” of the Blue Lock Anime.

You can also vote for the anime in our Fall 2024 AOTS Awards, or check out our top 30 anime coming in 2025.

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