Warning: Contains spoilers for Blue Lock chapter #347.It’s the end of an era for Blue Lock as Isagi and the rest of the team suffer their first major loss in six years. Following Isagi’s devastating loss to Rin in the second selection, Isagi and the rest of Blue Lock never stopped improving on their abilities and penchant for egoism, and not only did they defeat the original U-20 team in a surprise upset, but Isagi’s analytical abilities allowed him to dominate the Neo-Egoist League and be seen as the hero of Blue Lock who would lead Japan to victory in the World Cup.
For years now, the cast of Blue Lock has quickly grown to be all but unstoppable, with Isagi feeling especially unbeatable, but that all came to an end in chapter #347. Following an intense back-and-forth between Blue Lock and the France U-20, it seemed like the match would end in a tie with Isagi or Rin getting the final goal, but their last shot missed, and Loki ran the ball back for a goal to defeat Blue Lock 4-2. It’s Blue Lock’s most devastating loss in ages, and it’s exactly what the series needs right now.
Why Blue Lock’s Massive Loss Was Absolutely Perfect
As surprising as it was for Blue Lock not to even tie with France, it was the only way for the match to end. For starters, ever since the Neo-Egoist League arc, France had been portrayed as the biggest obstacle for Blue Lock to overcome in the World Cup, with Loki and Hugo, specifically, even becoming major rivals for Isagi. If anything, the match was just to establish how much more work Isagi and Blue Lock need to do to defeat France, and that wouldn’t have worked if the match ended on a good note.
More than that, though, was the specific way the Blue Lock team lost to France in chapter #347. Isagi had finally pulled one over on Hugo and was in a perfect position to score a goal, but Rin interfered to take the goal for himself, which sent the ball off-course and allowed Loki to steal the ball and solidify Blue Lock’s defeat. Isagi and Rin were completely out of sync, so if they had scored a goal there, it wouldn’t have felt earned in the slightest.
Why Blue Lock's Massive Twist Needs To Change The Manga Forever
Blue Lock hasn’t delivered such a devastating loss for the heroes in years, and it’s exactly what the manga needs right now. The central thesis of the France match was to challenge the egocentric ideals of the Blue Lock program, as not only did Japan only score goals by playing more traditional soccer, but the match also ended with Isagi fully wavering on his faith in Ego due to Rin’s actions. It’s clear that the cast won’t succeed by just blindly following Blue Lock’s ideology, and hopefully, the Blue Lock manga will follow through on questioning everything.
Blue Lock Anime Returning for Season 3 Despite Disastrous Reception
Blue Lock had a rough second season, but fans are hoping season 3 is the return to form it deserves.
It’s not as if Blue Lock should have the cast completely abandon their ideology, but if anything, the loss to France made it clear that they’ve reached their limits, and if they want to win the World Cup, they need to challenge Ego’s ideals to try and take it further than what it’s currently affording them. As big a loss as this was, Blue Lock chapter #347 finally marks a chance for the cast and story to grow in earnest, and it will be great to see what the manga does with it.
- Release Date
- 2022 - 2024
- Network
- tv asahi, ABC TV, Nagoya TV, HTB, KBC, NCC, Niigata Television Network 21, khb, KFB, HOME, KSB, Kagoshima Broadcasting, OAB, ABA, Iwate Asahi TV, Akita Asahi Broadcasting, Yamagata Television System, Shizuoka Asahi TV, Asahi Broadcasting Nagano, Hokuriku Asahi Broadcasting, Ehime Asahi TV, Yamaguchi Asahi Broadcasting, Kumamoto Asahi Broadcasting, Ryu-Q Asahi Broadcasting
- Directors
- Kazuki Yokoyama, Hiroshi Kimura, Shintaro Inokawa, Kohei Kuratomi, Fukutarou Hattori, Takayuki Tanaka, Yusuke Onoda, Yoshito Mikamo, Kentaro Sugimoto, Masao Kawase, Chihiro Kumano, Takahiro Enokida, Akira Toba, Tokihiro Sasaki, Yasushi Muroya
Cast
-
Kazuki UraYoichi Isagi (voice) -
Tasuku KaitoMeguru Bachira (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Writers
- Taku Kishimoto
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Executive Producer(s)
- Emiko Iijima, Hideo Hirata, Junichi Kimura, Junko Sano, Yohei Takami, Yoichi Sekine
- Producers
- Ryoya Arisawa, Shin Furukawa, Yuki Mori
- Number of Episodes
- 24 Episodes (Season 1); 14 Episodes (Season 2)
- Creator
- Muneyuki Kaneshiro
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
- Studio
- 8bit
- Based On
- Manga
- MyAnimeList Score
- 8.22 (Season 1)
