Everything For Blue Lock Changes With Nagi’s Surprising Move (2025)

Blue Lock season two is in full swing. Half of the seven episodes at this point have aired, and there are seven still yet to come. This week's seventh episode, titled "Sae Itoshi," was the season's most exciting installment yet, finally getting into the true action of the U-20 match. The threat of losing not just the Blue Lock opportunity, but their soccer careers entirely, looms over the players' heads. So much is riding on this one game, but astoundingly, Blue Lock's players are not cracking under the immense pressure so far.

Not only was the episode groundbreaking and emotionally tense, it included one of the best scenes of the season thus far, featuring Blue Lock player, Nagi Seishiro. Disgruntled fans have continued to voice their displeasure with Eight Bit's animation style that has resulted in a few choppy sequences and admittedly mediocre scenes. Although there has been an undeniable jump in quality from season one to season two of Blue Lock, to the point that the animators even chimed in on the matter, the U-20 Arc story has been enough to make this season a success in spite of its shortcomings.

Blue Lock Episode #7 Finally Introduced Japan’s U-20 Team Properly

The Episode Revealed Each Japan Player's Distinctive Strengths That They Will Use To Take Blue Lock Down

Episode seven was the season's first episode, focusing entirely on the U-20 match, pitting Japan's best against the rising talent recruited by Jinpachi Ego for Blue Lock. The episode established the match-ups between Japan's U-20 team and Blue Lock's team, giving each player an adversary to fight to defeat during the game. At the end of episode #6, Isagi realized Oliver Aiku was his enemy on Japan's team, and the player who would force him to find his "flow." Other players like Miroku Darai and Otoya Eita and Teppei Neru and Kenyu Yukimiya faced off in the same way.

These scenes did a phenomenal job finally introducing the U-20 team to audiences. In the episode, the U-20 team's genius strategy, called the "Iron Wall Quartet", was revealed, aiding Sae Itoshi in scoring the first goal of the game. Japan's team has been consistently hyped up throughout seasons one and two, so getting to know these players' personalities and playing styles has shed light on who they are as well as the threat they pose to Blue Lock's team. One of Episode #7's greatest strengths was how well it introduced this star-studded and nearly unbeatable Japan team to the audience.

Sae Itoshi Proved He Is the Ultimate Egoist and Leader of Japan’s Team

In the Same Scene, Isagi and Blue Lock Were Astounded to Realize the Audience Was Against Them

Japan team player, Sae Itoshi, was not shy about voicing his frustration with his teammates. Although he eventually scored an unexpected sideways goal from a difficult angle, he reprimanded his teammates for letting him down. Sae has no respect for anyone else on his team, or anyone else in the soccer world at all, for that matter, telling his fellow players they are "losers," "monkeys," and "trash." Although adding Sae to their team was certainly an advantage in terms of soccer skill, his harsh and haughty attitude continues to grate on his teammates as he insults them all freely.

The episode also did an excellent job setting the atmosphere of the game and capturing the reactions of the audience eagerly watching in the bleachers. When Sae scored, the audience erupted in a chorus of delighted cheers, horrifying Isagi as he suddenly realized that everyone in the arena was rooting against him and his Blue Lock teammates. Isagi's feeling of visceral horror and disappointment was expressed very well through the animation, voice acting, and his dialogue, making this one of the high points of the episode, although it represented a sorrowful and discouraging moment for the Blue Lock team.

Nagi’s and Sae’s Goals Were Highlights of the Episode, Boasting Remarkable Visuals

Animation Is Steadily Improving in Blue Lock Season Two, Evidenced by Stellar Moments in Episode #7

As far as the animation goes, episode #7 was still, unfortunately, not on par with some of the best sequences in season one. However, the quality is undeniably improving when compared to episodes in the beginning of season two. Some of the scenes in this episode are the best in the season thus far. One such standout was Nagi Seishiro's magnificent footwork, kick, and eventual score for the Blue Lock team. Moments such as these prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is exceptional talent on the Blue Lock animation team, and hopefully more stellar scenes are on the way.

It would make sense for Eight Bit to save the season's best animation for the U-20 match, because this game is the pinnacle of the season and the part of the arc filled with the most movement. As the match continues in the next few episodes, ideally, the animation will continue to be upgraded with this progress. There were a handful of scenes with lackluster animation in the episode, no doubt, but sequences like Nagi and Sae Itoshi's goals boasted some of the most fluid, beautiful animation in season two, causing many fans to call this the season's best episode.

Nagi Seishiro’s Best Moment in Blue Lock History Occurred in Episode #7

Scoring an Unexpected Goal for His Team, Nagi Changed the Audience’s Perception of Blue Lock Completely

What made episode #7 arguably the best of Blue Lock season two was one scene in particular that stunned viewers into silent awe. After Sae Itoshi's goal, Blue Lock scrambled to achieve the upper hand over the opposing team. When all hope seemed loss, Nagi Seishiro pulled out a completely unanticipated move and scored, although he was surrounded and standing at a far distance from the goal. From Nagi's quick reactions to the several seconds of silence from the audience and players after his goal, this moment can only be described as cinematic, putting Blue Lock's team back on top.

This scene established Nagi's progress as a player, as well as earning the audience's respect. Although Blue Lock is technically the away team in this match, spectators cheered for them as delightedly as they did after Sae's goal when Nagi scored. Blue Lock episode #7 deserves to be called season two's best episode by far for this moment alone, but it also excelled in its improved animation, its introduction of Japan's U-20 team, its portrayal of Sae's massive ego, and the soundtrack and voice acting that built an exhilarating atmosphere for this neck and neck match that will decide the future of soccer.

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Blue Lock

TV-14

Animation

Sports

Blue Lock is a sports-centric animated series based on the manga series of the same name. The show follows the Japan Football Association trying to recover from their poor showing in the 2018 FIFA World Cup by hiring a football genius, Ego Jinpachi. With his new intense training regimen, Jinpachi invites the best football players in Japan to compete to become the team's new star player - and high school student Yoichi Isagi may be exactly who he's looking for.

Where to Watch

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*Availability in US

Cast

Ricco Fajardo , Drew Breedlove , Alex Horn , Mark Allen Jr.

Release Date

October 8, 2022

Seasons

2

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll

Writers

Taku Kishimoto

Directors

Tetsuaki Watanabe , Shunsuke Ishikawa