Summary
The new episode titled “Chameleon”starts off with Reo finally being able to stand up for himself and telling Nagi to keep his eyes on him and that he is glad to finally be able to play with him again. The Team A trio of Isagi, Hiori and Nanase discuss how Isagi was able to score a goal. Theanalogythat Hiori used to describe reflexively thinking is the same as good players being able to analyze which piece to place where in the heat of the game in Tetris was amazing. Fans of the classic game can easily relate to the fact that once the game speeds up, you barely have any time to think or even react. For that matter, you just place the tiles as fast as they appear in the right place your mind and body collectively suggest.
Watching the trio just chilling together and not fighting over who is better, and they actually complement each other is a nice change for once in the series where everyone is fighting over who is better; not that fans don’t love that; the whole series is about being the best and ego, and that’s why everyone loves it, but seeing a friendly interaction occasionally is pretty nice too.
Second Match Commences
Born Genius vs Lazy Genius
The match starts off nicely with Reo taking the lead andtrying to coordinate with Nagibut not anticipating that they’re playing against the best of the best in Blue Lock. Team A counterattacks with each player showing off their skills against one another, but the star of the first half is Yukimiya, who takes possession of the ball and dribbles past everyone, including Shidou and Rin, without a sweat and shoots for an amazing goal, but just as Jyubei shows up to counterattack, Nagi appears and intercepts the ball, scoring an amazing goal for Team B.
Reo realizes that Nagi is not the same always bored person he forced into soccer just for his sake, but he is actually leagues above now and is actively enjoying soccer. These kinds of bittersweet moments are what fans do appreciate in the show. Because, as strong as these players are, they’re still humans, and some of them are friends or rivals even though they do want to play alongside each other to grow.
Born With Everything
Yet Nothing That You Actually Want
Reo realizes that theTop 6 want absolutely nothing other than being the best strikerin the world. He is aware that he is not like that. He knew even if he lost in Blue Lock, he would still lead a great life as he came from a very successful and wealthy family and was good in every other task he ever performed. Reo still remembers his father telling him that he was born to be his successor at the company and that few people end up being soccer players. “There’s no way you may be one,” he was told.
Reo says everything he just thought was stupid, grinning like a madman. To him, losing means going back to life as usual-boring. As the camera turns to Nagi, Reo thinks that what he wants is right here: “It’s nowhere but here.” Reo powers up, ready to give everything of what he knows could be his final soccer match, and passes to Yukimiya.
Reo’s Awakening
Highlight of The Episode
Once Reo gains possession of the ball and begins to pass it back and forth to Nagi, Shidou tries to stop him. No longer satisfied with just being the jack of all trades, Reo proudly says he can take any position on the field and declares himself the master of all trades. Even though Nagi was open for a pass, Reo decided to play like the top players and caught them all off guard, approaching the net as he attempted to score himself.Kicking with all his might, Reoscores the second goal for Team C, emulating the same shot as Yukimiya. Reo names his new playing style “The Chameleon.”
Even though Team B loses the match and Reo thinks to himself that he still isn’t good enough to beat the Top 6, now he knows how he can evolve. Nagi approaches Reo and complements him on his goal. Reo, however, knows he still can’t play the type of soccer Nagi wants to. He tells Nagi to leave him behind and keep looking down on him while he works on becoming someone Nagi will chase after. Nagi understands and walks away. Although they didn’t really show his backstory in detail, it was a good start. Fans of the duo can only hope at this point that they dive deep into their bond further ahead.
Slightly Better Animation Quality
Ending on A Strong Note
Although the production and animation quality haven’t really improvedmuch, it is slightly better than the previous episodes, maybe because it did not have Isagi placing puzzle pieces the entire episode, or maybe they actually tried slightly harder on this episode, but all in all it was better than what we were shown so far. Reo’s awakening was done nicely too, with the soundtrack on par with Season 1 ofBlue Lock. As fans speculate, it can only go up from here, and we can only hope it gets better once the third selection arc is completed.
During the post-credits scene, we are shown Itoshi Sae entering the JFC, mocking the U-20 team, and saying that they’re just a bunch of high-schoolers and that he is no longer interested in playing for the team, but the JFC manages to convince him that he can replace any striker with whomever he wants in Japan. Sae says he wants an idiot from Blue Lock, which makes it very interesting as he sees someone worthy enough from the Blue Lock project; would it be Isagi or maybe his own brother? Well, we have yet to find out.
The Best Moments In Blue Lock
Obviously That Would Be Additional Time Bonus
As always, the best part of the episodes are the funny moments during additional time. Yukimaru calling out Nagi as a sloth was spot on, and Nagi calling him a Tarsier was totally uncalled for, but that’s why Nagi is so adored by everyone. Reo being a chameleon and Jyubei a glamorous stick insect, while Barou and Tokimitsu being a gorilla couple and Isagi a beetle were all funny, but calling Rin a failed poisonous experiment was the best, and the funniest thing was Rin actually taking part in the game and correcting them that Isagi wasn’t a beetle but a larva taken by a bird.
Overall, the pacing of the episode was slightly better than the previous two episodes, and with the upcoming intense match between Blue Lock and the U-20 team, it is starting to look better for the show. Hopefully, they will focus all their production budget and quality on the upcoming match.
Blue Lock
Cast
Based on Muneyuki Kaneshiro’s soccer manga, Blue Lock revolves around a program to develop a world-class Japanese striker. Just about qualifying, Isagi has to face off against the nation’s best young talents and survive selections, while constantly growing as a player.
