BLUELOCK

Episode 14

Man, if last week's episode didn't already grind Isagi's insecurities into the ground, then this episode pushed them deep into the center of the Earth. Seriously, about two-thirds of this episode was just everyone pointing out how, at the end of the day, Isagi is probably the one that people need to worry about the least, because while he is a skilled soccer player, he's only really as skilled as the pieces that he is working with. His spatial awareness allows him to devise great setups and be a good finisher, but both of those strategies almost always involve other people. In a one-on-one match, the only thing that he's going to be overtly aware of is how much of a disadvantage he is at. It's one thing if you recognize your opponent's strengths and limitations, it's another if you can actually do anything about them. It's as if Isagi only just recently learned to drive without actually knowing how to turn on the car by himself.

I like Nagi's argument to Isagi in this episode about how Bachira was probably the closest friend Isagi had at Blue Lock, but he also might have inadvertently been something that Isagi leaned on a little bit too much. Bachira is an expert at dribbling and passing, so he's kind of the perfect partner for Isagi given their skill sets, something that we have seen numerous times in the past. Take that away, and it really does highlight that maybe Isagi wouldn't have gotten this far if he didn't have that. I like how this isn't just pointed out Nagi, his current teammate, but it's also echoed by a former teammate that Isagi previously relied on. We all know this is just a setup for Isagi to prove everybody wrong, thus tapping into that classic sports anime underdog narrative and in some ways, you could argue that it hammers that point over our head a little bit too much. But given the fact that the resolution of this arc is probably going to be reached by the next episode, I think it's a fine setup. Now the question is: what is Isagi missing in order for him to be a player that stands more on his own?

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BLUELOCK is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.