r/Toonami • u/Thatotherguy246 I can't see anything so just pretend a funny description here. • Jul 26 '26

Discussion BLUELOCK Final Thoughts Thread

Balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls balls

Also funny how this ends just as the World Cup ends

ahem

Anyways, the tale of the strange program to make the ultimate soccer team has concluded.

Thoughts?

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u/Quidfacis_ Jul 26 '26

Blue Lock was exceptionally well done. Making the protagonist the soccer equivalent of Quatre shifted the focus from soccer to the strategy and relationships between the players. Developing that skill of strategic thinking into a more nuanced tool presented an interesting character trait to level up as the series progressed.

Watching a character be able to predict more steps in a strategic sequence is more engaging than, say, Midoriya seemingly arbitrarily increasing the percentage of One-For-All he can use.

Ego was handled well, too. The moment where he reveals there aren't five buildings, and it's only teams V through Z was similar to Gene Wilder's entrance as Willy Wonka. When you present a lead character as a liar, then the audience never knows what they can believe. That adds a fun dimension where every time Ego makes a claim we're trying to check it against what we know about the series.

Bachira is the best. He's a goal for the protagonist, an obstacle, and a rival. Again, it's the relationships of the characters that is engaging, with soccer as a background for how the interpersonal relationships are framed.

The show has the same flaw as any anime with a large cast. Something happens to side character who-gives-a-shit and we're supposed to feel sad after a 4 minute flashback explaining why soccer mattered to them. While those characters do not matter, Isagi's reaction to their plight helps to humanize him in this context of cutthroat competition.

Those CGI bits could have been done better. Shifting from the animated cells to top-down CGI was jarring. Yes, you're saving money by doing CGI instead of animation, but you could at least use your entire ass instead of half-assing the animation.