“What is the missing piece to complete this puzzle ?” -Isagi Yoichi
The fookin animation and budget for any scenes that do-not-lead-to-a-goal you dumb c***
I think the easiest way I can define the problem and make a TLDR is with this,
it feels like that blue lock is more of a SCORE them GOALS anime than a Football anime.
Make no mistake, Blue lock is truly the only anime that comes even close to the legendary status of Haikyuu season 3 but the real frustration and gripe that I have with this show are that it falls just short because of how many corners are cut from the animation on off the ball moments and any other moments unrelated to scoring, Can one forgive this bad animation as long as they have Good music, Well-drawn art, Amazing VA, Good plot, and real hype with good animation on high stakes moments?
I know the answer for many is a resounding yes, but seriously the amount of time the hype was under shadowed by janky movements, speed lines-based animation, and just a little bit of VFX where the real sakuga must have gone will leave you cuckolded.
Now I know that animating a football show is hard, and there are some great scenes in the blue lock but most of the animation and art hits only when someone is about to score a goal, ao ashi which was another football anime, we see the game for as it is, players, moving in the frame as a response to the ball, great passes, and pre positionings, actual bird's eye view at certain points. and the thing is, the animation overall was better in Blue lock than in Ao ashi, but,
The distribution of the animation budget is completely fucked.
The person who is about to score IS THE ONLY FOCUS almost 90% of the time, there are very few frames in the blue lock game that have more than 3 characters in them, so we only see a portion of the pie all the time. Every sprint, pass, or defense maneuver is animated with either terrible CGI or just uses still frames or default running animation for it.
Cmon guys, the football I love is not just about scoring, It is the most important factor yes, but not the most important variable.
Plot 9/10
As I said Blue lock from the get-go, had immense potential, but only as a sports-based anime. It Is NOT a real football anime. Though I will admit they took out (very arguably but sadly true) the best aspect of football which is the striker, dramatized it, by making the main character be actually good at his game but just lacking the final piece in most games. added real stakes to it by having a battle royale kind of formula where each loss has real and sometimes permanent consequences, and still manage to have many colorful side characters who arent just plot devices but real threats and competitors to our main Protag who nearly always steal the cake from him. Some of my most memorable moments and high-octane goosebumps have been thanks to blue lock and the final few episodes with isagi vs top 3 were probably the only time a sports anime made me actively grin from ear to ear. It is a flawless combination of tales of passion, talent, hard work, and the concept of winning and losing.
Characters 9/10
Many memorable and passionate young players each have a talent in them that differentiate them from dreamers and makes them achievers who are ready to put their trust, experience and even friendship on the line to achieve what they want, each character is quirky in their own way and one would easily love their interaction during blue lock additional time. Some of the characters are quite animyfied and do break the realm of realism at times (the brothers in one match). It is nice to see the friendship blossom even in the midst of cutthroat competition and rivalry and I love most off-match moments as well which have additional character depth moments. The matches themselves are still able to add meaning to quirks rather than have them become irrelevant.
Sound and VA 10/10
Amazing sound and OST some of which went instantly to my playlists, so many of the scenes are transformed so well due to the absolute banger of goosebumps and hype-inducing soundtrack accompanied by great voice acting, you would feel like rewatching just those scenes over and over, just like that potato chip scene from death note. Most monologues which are frankly for Animation budget saving are delivered so well that you can be forgiven to take those scenes as great ones even though not much might actually be going on in the screen, THe VA and sound team definitely deserve some awards for this, THe OP and ED are all bangers as well.
Art and Animation 6/10
The art of Blue lock is great and unique and some scenes which depict the aura of the players are well drawn, the animation however the Achilles heel of this anime and I have already mentioned a lot about it above so lets just leave it at that.
This is an absolute must-watch for everyone, Though it would be preferable that you treat it as a regular sport-inspired show rather than a football anime, that would let you enjoy it very thoroughly.