Does Reo surpass Nagi in Blue Lock? Explained

In Blue Lock chapter 298, after the manga revealed the conclusion to the Manshine City vs. FC Barcha match, Ego Jinpachi revealed the remainder of Neo Egoist League's final rankings. Shockingly, Seishiro Nagi did not make the cutoff for Japan's U-20 squad, as he dropped to Rank 24.

As fans may remember, while Seishiro Nagi did not know much about football, he was almost always ranked among the top players in Blue Lock. So, the question remains whether Reo Mikage's qualifying by himself for the Japan U-20 team means he surpassed Seishiro Nagi as a player.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Blue Lock manga and reflects the author's opinion.

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Nagi was never better than Reo in Blue Lock

Seishiro Nagi as seen in the anime (Image via 8bit)

While Seishiro Nagi was always ranked above Reo Mikage in Blue Lock, those rankings were purely based on the players' abilities as strikers. The Blue Lock project's initial goal was to create the most egoist striker in the world. Hence, when Ego Jinpachi evaluated the candidates, the players' abilities as strikers played a key role in their standings.

As Seishiro Nagi possessed Perfect Ball Control and Trapping skills, crucial abilities for a striker, it was difficult not to rank him high during the evaluations. That said, Seishiro Nagi possessed almost no football knowledge. Everything he learned about football was from Reo Mikage and others. If it wasn't for Chigiri Hyoma, Nagi wouldn't have learned about Dennis Bergkamp or chosen to play for Manshine City.

Reo Mikage as seen in the anime (Image via 8bit)

In comparison, right after Reo Mikage decided on his goal of winning the World Cup, he did everything in his power to become better and more knowledgeable about the sport. He had Mikage Corp build him a virtual soccer stadium and had Ba-Ya hire different professionals to help him with everything a world-class professional player does to get to that level. The training included his diet, health management, technique, mentality, and tactics.

Therefore, while Reo started playing football not so early before Nagi, he became a much better player, versatile as a defender, midfielder, or attacker. He is so good that as long as his physicality allows it, he is capable of copying anyone's abilities.

So, speaking of their overall skills as footballers, Seishiro Nagi was never better than Reo Mikage. Nagi was indeed capable of doing the impossible with his absurd First Touch; however, none of that would have been possible if it wasn't for the players who supported him.

Reo Mikage copying Oliver Aiku's clearance (Image via 8bit)

It isn't like Seishiro Nagi is uncreative, but compared to the other players, he lacks the decision-making that comes naturally to others. This was also the reason he failed to score against FC Barcha. There were two moments in the match when Lavinho and Eito Otoya confronted Nagi to steal the ball from him. While Nagi could have attempted a shot in both situations, he relied on others.

So, it can be concluded that Reo Mikage never surpassed Seishiro Nagi in skill, as he was always the better player. But speaking of rankings, Reo has surpassed Nagi and bumped up his ranking from 16th to 7th. As for Nagi, his rank dropped from 11th to 24th.

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Related Links:

• Can Nagi still return in Blue Lock after his disqualification? Possibilities explored
• Did Nagi get disqualified in Blue Lock chapter 298? Explained
• The Summer Hikaru Died creator gives Blue Lock fans a surprise gift with Nagi's illustration