The Fall 2024 Anime Preview Guide

BLUE LOCK 2nd Season

Isagi has made it to the next stage of Blue Lock with a handful of select players but now it looks like their next test will be defending Blue Lock from getting shut down! With the legitimacy of Ego's training methods being questioned, a special match is being set up between Blue Lock's star players and U2 Japan, with the future of Japanese soccer being put on the line! Isagi is still far off from the number one spot, but will he be able to adapt and find new chemical reactions that will allow him to steal the show?

BLUE LOCK 2nd Season is based on the BLUE LOCK manga by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yūsuke Nomura. The anime series is streaming on Crunchyroll on Saturdays.

The first episode of BLUE LOCK season two is understandably a setup episode for the major match that is undoubtedly going to define the entire season. I found it very interesting that season one was all about setting up all of these characters and branching plot lines yet season two is pretty open about how a lot of them have been dropped. There are some characters from the first half of season one that we'll never see again because we need to make room for new and stylish ones. I know Blue Lock is a major facility divided into multiple parts but I still found it funny that we are going into the next major step of the striker project with half of a cast that we barely know anything about. Maybe that's part of the joke, or something happened behind the scenes when this arc was written.

As far as the first episode for season two, I think this does a solid job of establishing where we are and how we are moving forward. With the match against U-20 coming up, this project has to prove the legitimacy behind it. I like that Ego was established as almost this sort of mastermind character who always seemed to know more than everybody else in the room,m and yet the foundation for this arc is predicated on his need to prove this project to those who financially keep it afloat. Now he has to deal with a little bit of desperation, but I think that also acts as a good parallel between him and the other characters in the show. Ego needs to adapt and showcase his resolve, just like how the players on the court need to.

Unlike other sports anime, where characters need to do their best to find the right answer by working together, here, it's more about picking something that personally feels right and then doing your best to prove that it was the right answer all along. I feel like that's a lot more stressful, but I relate to this idea in a world of online entertainers and celebrities. I also see that being a reason for BLUE LOCK's exploding popularity after season one was wrapping up.

This was definitely one of my most anticipated shows of the season after being such a big fan of how season one handled things, particularly during its second half. The show handles character growth and plot progression well by focusing on how Isagi wants to go about his personal evolution. While this episode is definitely slower-paced as it is primarily here for exposition, by the time the episode ended, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for these practice matches to get underway. The directing is sharp, the storyboarding looks pretty thoughtful, and the promise of an epic stage on which to compete is leaving me extra excited.

When the series left off, the Blue Lock itself was in danger. To justify its exorbitant cost, the remaining 35 Blue Lock players need to beat the U-20 Japanese team—i.e., the best Japanese soccer players under 20 years old—in a public match. However, before we get to that, there are some preparations to be made—to pick who will be the 11 players on the field.

Of course, this presents a dilemma in and of itself. Blue Lock's goal is to create the ultimate striker. A person you build an entire team around. So not only are all the members of the program masters of one single position, but they're training to be the opposite of team players. While the Blue Lock members have worked together when forced to—and have friendships with the other players—they all know that, in the end, there can be only one.

The game for who will be on the final team is a two-part one. The top six are expected to show their dominance and force their own temporary team to bend to their wills. Meanwhile, the remainder have to both stand out as an individual and show that they can work as a team—which is very nearly a paradox.

On top of this, each of the non-top players is allowed to choose which team of two top-5 members they want to play with. This is supposed to allow them some agency in how they go about achieving their immediate goal. However, in a metatextual sense, this works as a lens that lets us revisit the rather large cast of the show. Their motivations, histories, and interpersonal relationships.

All in all, this is a solid premiere. It sets up both the larger threat and a more immediate one. It also reintroduces us to our heroes and what makes them tick. And while there was basically no soccer-playing action this week, it looks like next week's episode will be nothing but that.

To go ahead and get the ball rolling, I don't think I've seen a sports anime with a concept that I like even half as much as Blue Lock. It's so ridiculous and over-the-top, dare I say, it's even indulgent, and I can't get enough of it. What won me over was Ego saying that he wanted to turn everyone into a selfish jerk, all in the noble name of getting better at soccer. And y'know what? He has a point. There are so many sports anime about the power of friendship. By god, it's about time we had a sports anime where someone wants to create something that could even loosely be described as a villain factory. And I'm here for it. I'm all in.

By the looks of this first episode, season 2 will be a good old-fashioned tournament arc. Some things are cliché for a reason: who doesn't like a good tournament arc? The Chunin exams, Battle City—the list goes on, but the point I'm getting at here is that tournament arcs are quintessential anime. The setup for the tournament is really interesting as well. More specifically, the tournament aims to determine who gets to play against the Under-20 team. And the tournament layout is pretty interesting, too—pairing two of the top six players with other Bue Lock players. Meanwhile, the top six aren't necessarily guaranteed to fight the Under-20s either and must fight to maintain their ranks.

I also have to talk about the animation, cause my god, it's gorgeous. Don't get me wrong, it was gorgeous in season 1 as well. But there's such a high density of great stills sprinkled throughout the episode—and even when it's not a still, you can always tell that a lot of care was put into it. Especially the facial expressions, which are fantastic—especially Ryusei's. Speaking of which, it probably comes as no surprise, seeing as how I love that Ego is out to create a bunch of jerks, that he's the new character I'm by far the most interested in right now. He has a fiery energy that matches the tone of the rest of the series very well, and best of all, he's not afraid to take Ego's lessons to heart, whether it's on the field or off.

This is one of the stronger premieres that I, at least, have seen so far this season. It has a great concept, great characters, great animation—and now, a tournament arc. I'm excited to see how Blue Lock continues to kick things up a notch this season.