BLUELOCK

Episode 16

After all the psychological breakdowns and high-stakes soccer matches, it's nice to have an episode that's simply about the characters interacting with each other. While the overarching pressure of what to do next still lingers as Isagi tries to better understand his newly developed weapon, this is mostly a transition episode. A new team is formed with the introduction of Baro, and we get a surprising amount of insight into the opposing team composed of very familiar faces. I wasn't expecting the confrontation with Reo, Kunigami and Chigiri to happen so soon, but given the overall structure for this selection process, I guess it makes sense. I like that as the cast gets smaller and the focus narrows in on characters who we've spent a significant amount of time with, it becomes more difficult to predict who's gonna stay and who's going to go. While I'm pretty confident that Isagi will find a way to prevail in the next round, there is a possibility that he could lose with his team and be the one selected to move on, leaving Nagi and Baro behind. However, if they win, I don't really know who will move on with them, and it might feel like a more significant loss this time since we've gotten to know Chigiri, Reo, and Kunigami by now.

That's obviously all the main stuff that's happening in the forefront, but I like the little hints we get about the stuff that's going on off the court. It's funny that the top team that took in Bachira is having difficulty finding new opponents; after all, who wants to go up against the top three players in the entire facility? I like that Bachira is starting to interact with Rin more and seems confident that he could show Rin the fun side of soccer. I even liked the little bit with Ego talking to the Blue Lock sponsors who are starting to get impatient about not getting a soccer genius that they can flaunt around fast enough. I don't know enough about Japanese soccer to know how much of what Ego is saying applies to real life, but in principle, what he's saying makes sense. Sometimes you can't rush the process for things because while you might end up producing something impressive by your current conventional standards, they might not end up looking that impressive under global competition. Honestly, I kind of feel that way about the show so far. BLUELOCK had a lot of promise when it started, and while it doesn't always stick the landing when it comes to its egotistical cynicism, that idea of needing to be thorough and meticulous for the sake of producing something special is a mentality that the show thoroughly embodies.

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BLUELOCK is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.