BLUE LOCK 2nd Season

Episode 28

It's funny that I just watched and read Episode Nagi right before watching this episode. Sometimes, the universe works out like that, but taking the focus away from Isagi for a second makes sense, given the narrative's set-up. Nagi and Rio's relationship is interesting because it is contextualized as a codependent relationship. You can interpret that romantically for your fanfic if you want (given the specific word choices used sometimes, I wouldn't be surprised if Muneyuki Kaneshiro knew exactly what he was doing). The point is that from Reo's perspective, a few desires are at odds here. He's a kid with everything he ever wants and no freedom of choice. He's allowed to indulge in all his riches and fancy things as long as he follows the strict path his parents set out for him. Soccer is his escape from all that, and he needs to prove how dedicated he is to the sport. The problem is he still has as a safety net, so he's more or less abandoning that to pursue his goal, even though the show doesn't fully communicate how exactly he's abandoning his wealth. Is the implication that he'll get rid of all his money if he can't make it as a soccer player? I don't know.

The episode is the strongest when it highlights Reo's evolution to prove himself to Nagi. There are a lot of negative conflicting emotions since Reo was the one who got Nagi into soccer in the first place, and now Nagi has evolved to a point where Reo can't keep up with him. Now it's about Reo realizing that if he wants to stick with Nagi, he has to find his path of evolution. The angle they take with Reo in highlighting his strength as a chameleon player is excellent. He doesn't have any particularly amazing feats, but he is the perfect well-rounded player. His saying that he'll be a master of all trades instead of a jack of all trades is a cool direction to take his character, considering that it also coincides with his codependent relationship. He needs to bounce off of others in order to thrive, and it makes me wonder if there is a future where Reo could survive as a striker solely on his own. I don't know if this is the last time we're going to see these two clash with each other. This is most likely setting up how their dynamic will play a part in the U-20 match, but what direction their relationship goes in is anyone's guess.

Season two focuses on other characters, considering that the cast got much bigger out of nowhere, which means we also have a bunch of new actors to look forward to in the dub. I like the range of voice types and accents on display from Hiori and Nanase, who are distinctly from different parts of Japan. Ricco Fajardo gives off good “main character” energy, and Van Barr Jr. sounds delightfully unhinged as Ryusei. I would have liked Matt Shipman's voice to sound a bit softer as Rin, but he does sound suitably detached. Naturally, Derick Snow steals the show as Ego, but I'm looking forward to Alejandro Saab and Jonah Scott attracting the most attention later on as Rin's big brother and Oliver, respectively.

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