I watch a LOT of sports anime. From Badminton (Hanebado! is underappreciated, jfc Love All Play was bad but the ending was woth wasting my time I guess), to gymnastics (Taisou Samurai...), to Stride (watch Prince of Stride!), to fucking Kabaddi (Burning Kabaddi was meh to say the least). (Eyeshield 21, Tsubasa, Prince of Tennis, Kuroko, MIX and much of all the classics too of course)
So I know what I'm talking about I think as I love wasting my time on these, there's something comfy about them for me, even when it's bad I very rarely can stop and just wanna follow their lives and journeys. But to give you an idea, I never felt more like I wasted my time watching a sports anime than when I watched Ahiru no Sora holy shit. A very good first 1/3 and then a gigantic waste of time, a slideshow fest made worse by its absolute dogshit ending that triggered that huge time wasting feeling. Even the manga author publicly tweeted it was trash.
Anyways, now that we're done with my intro backstory with sports anime, let's talk about Blue Lock which I have actually read a bit before the series got announced / started. I've actually also read Ao Ashi before it got announced / aired.
So I actually didn't like Blue Lock at all when I read it, I found the MC very 1-dimensional and laughable. I couldn't stand him honestly, and the whole Blue Lock concept was (and still is, anime included) as original as it's predictable and lame in the storytelling side of things.
BUT when while reading the manga I could sense some big moments and it never really hitted with me because the manga layout isn't that impactful in the action phases and also they never left a lasting effect, in the anime on the other hand... MAN, that's some brilliant storyboarding. Episode 07 proved that, I remembered that scene in the manga very well as it was something I liked and wished it got more attention, but the anime did that scene justice and some more. Peak sports drama emotion feeling right there
Not the best timing to write that since 08 really took a downhill path, animation wise especially.
NOW, I've also read some of Ao Ashi before the anime got announced and even if we didn't get to see the best moments of the manga, the show still did a great job adapting it. The story, the deep characters and everything about this sport, is so much more well treated in Ao Ashi. It's honestly the best football (sorry I can't) manga I've ever read, so it's just a question of time for it to become the best football anime I've ever watched ! |