Nagi's iconic moment may have just saved Blue Lock season 2

Modified Nov 19, 2024 01:30 GMT

Blue Lock season 2 might change its fortunes after Nagi's goal in the latest episode (Image via 8Bit).

Blue Lock season 2 has been going through a lot of problems because of the backstage issues with the working staff and the resulting animation that has been quite static and lackluster. While the general perception of the second season's animation quality has been quite damning, the recent seventh episode featured a possible saving grace and that was Seishiro Nagi's goal against Japan's Under-20s team.

Despite the series still suffering from a lack of fluidity and movement, Nagi's goal is definitely the highlight of Blue Lock season 2 thus far and manages to live up to the hype of the manga. This is due to a variety of factors, such as the use of certain narrative tools, but also shows that this production can still deliver some quality moments despite the issues it has faced thus far.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series. Any opinion expressed here belongs to the author and the people quoted and not Sportskeeda as a publication.

Blue Lock season 2 manages to have a saving grace moment thanks to Nagi's goal in the most recent episode

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As mentioned earlier, Blue Lock season 2 has suffered from major issues when it comes to its animation and reportedly that was due to cuts, reduced budgets, and tight schedules. This was confirmed by two animators who worked on this season, Evakoi and Martin Reyes, who have been quite vocal about how the people collaborating on this 8Bit production are very good but were lacking the time and money to deliver a quality product.

The memes and poor reception, even going as far as calling the episodes "Glorified PowerPoint presentations", became viral, although the recent seventh episode had a saving grace moment through Seishiro Nagi's goal against Japan's youth team. While still not having the greatest animation in the current market, it was fluid enough and had a good moment of build-up to live up to people's expectations.

It is far by the most well-received moment of the season and that is because the episode really marinates on it, showing people's reactions before and after the goal. It also helps that the goal was scored by Nagi, a character so popular that he got his own special movie this year despite not being the protagonist of the series.

Reactions online

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Due to the problems that Evokai and Reyes have mentioned, several animators have left the Blue Lock season 2 project, so there is a very good chance that the following episodes are not going to be an improvement. However, Nagi's goal is a good example that the creative staff knows which moments they need to take to a higher level, so there might be some positive animation sequences for people to enjoy in the near future.

The general perception, though, is of disappointment because of the hype surrounding this arc in the manga. This current match, featuring the Blue Lock team against Japan's Under-20s, further developed the conflict between Rin Itoshi and his brother Sae while also introducing new and charismatic characters, such as defender Oliver Aiku.

"their whole budget went into nagi's goal and im not mad about it at all," someone said.

"i am legit crying the episode is unbearable," another person said.

"I’m Ngl it could be a lot worse tbh but at least the hype is there while watching it," someone else said.

While fans in general have praised the animation of Nagi's big moment of this season, there is also the perspective that the rest of the episode wasn't so good. The still images are drawn beautifully and capture the detailed art of mangaka Yusuke Nomura, but the lack of movement and fluidity in a series centered around football is certainly a problem.

"This scene is the majority of this season’s production budget," someone else said.

"Finally a little fresh air for all of us! With their deadline and everything, we still need to thanks the animator team who work for this season blue lock project! Thank you so much for your hard work!!" another person highlighted.

If anything, hopefully, Blue Lock season 2 can be a cautionary tale of what happens when working staff, even the most talented ones, have to produce in a context that doesn't allow them to thrive.

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Edited by Sreerupa Das