Reviews

Jul 6, 2023
Okay, Blue Lock.

Even though nobody cares about default L opinions, I'm doing myself a favour by typing out my harsh rating here instead of filling out the comment section of the anilist entry. It'd look better anyways.

Looking at Blue Lock holistically, it's a very well-done adaptation. It faithfully follows the beats of the manga, focusing the drawings on high-points and extensively using 3d during its low-points. It's definitely worth noting that this is the most impressive implementation of 3D I've seen thus far.

But the quality of the production... still feels rather cheap and underwhelming. The drawings are well done but aren't dynamic and lack fluidity. The effects (in particular, some of the character glows) are even cheaper and you can even see the pixilation in them. And the extensive use of 3D to make up for the lack of moving 2D parts clearly expose the limitations of what the 2-slide-long-powerpoint team could achieve.

So the limitations become the question then. Do you accept a faithful adaptation for a trade of explicit quality?

My answer is no, because having read the manga... my mind will always flock to the manga and none of the moments from the anime. And ultimately, I don't settle for less.

This isn't to disrespect the production team. This is the best lowly B-tier anime that I've seen and sets the bar quite high... in its own weight class.

I can only imagine two scenarios that can explain the quality of this show.

1. The shareholders didn't believe that Blue Lock would take off. Hence, smaller team, lower budget, lower risk.

2. The small team with small budget really wanted to work on Blue Lock, so they went out of their way to secure the contract and le bags.

The thing about this consoomerist era is that very, *very*, VERY high quality stuff is presented to you without any action from the consoomer. It's very cutthroat. Trends move extremely fast and things are so easily forgettable in favour of the next flavour of the month limited edition cute anime twink butt plug.

Therefore, if scenario 1 was true, then the shareholders are to blame for gimping the overall quality of the anime. Case closed. If scenario 2 was true... I would congratulate the team on their success and hope they can expand in the future.

Why would you settle for less in an era where you can always ask for more? There isn't anything wrong with asking for more. You are the target and you can always ask for more. Settling for less... That's a bit weird in an era where past anime can easily outrun the small game anytime, anywhere.

In conclusion,

My recommendation is simple. Completely ignore the anime and read the manga instead. If you can envision a better looking Blue Lock anime that's more dynamic and fluid than the show itself... the anime will feel completely underwhelming in every single regard.

To me, Blue Lock feels like one of the best B-tier anime. Under the hood, it clearly showcases the importance of raw manpower as it defines the limitations of your work. So, if Blue Lock defines the upper limits of a B-tier anime...

... Then the upper limits themselves continue to be quite the disappointment. 3/10.

Until next time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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