BLUELOCK

Episode 5

It's funny that I was concerned a bit about the show's overall pacing last week, yet this episode wraps up last week's match within the first few minutes. Here we finally get a payoff to one of the main questions the show posited regarding our main character and what he brings to the table. Isagi isn't the strongest, fastest, or most agile of the other team members. He doesn't specialize in anything overly apparent that you think would be indicative of a selfish striker. However, we finally got an extension of all the foreshadowing established since the beginning of episode one: Isagi has incredibly sensitive spatial awareness. He can observe larger areas of the court and adequately predict where is the most optimal place for people to be to score goals. The show portrays it as an instinct that he has yet to capitalize on, but if you think about it, it's one of the best skills a striker could have.

It doesn't matter if you have a fantastic kick or are incredibly nimble if you don't know where the ball will be. If your team is not in possession of it, none of that matters. That was the problem the group was having during this match; they were up against people who were in synch enough to ensure they were in possession as much as possible. However, Isagi was able to disrupt their flow by recognizing their strategy through observation above everybody else. Ironically, his skill is perfect for teamwork. He would also be capable of capitalizing on other people's skills by positioning the ball or players in places where goals are almost guaranteed. We saw a little bit of that in the last match, where he passed it to his teammate even though everybody thought it wouldn't work out.

However, I'm still a bit perplexed as to what exactly this means for the character as an egoist who wants to be the one to score the winning goal all the time. The show is beating us over the head that Isagi made the wrong call at the beginning of the show by passing the ball to his teammate rather than taking the shot himself. Maybe the idea there was supposed to be that he did not develop his skill enough to be aware that it would've been more optimal for him to shoot at that moment. However, he was put in a similar position during the last match, where he passed to his teammate, allowing them to score their only goal. It's funny how this episode doesn't bring that up as an overt parallel because I'm not sure if the idea is that he should be running with the ball to make those goals all the time. After all, the striker on the other team that they lost to lambasted Isagi for passing even though he scored the goal. Is the show saying his skills are best suited for him as an individual, or is it saying they function amazingly as the team's center? The series is trying to say both. It's a little tricky when the overall harsh competitive theme of the series focuses more on individual dominance, and I hope that balance gets more apparent as the series continues.

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BLUELOCK is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.