The following contains spoilers for Episode 7 of Blue Lock, “Rush,” now streaming onCrunchyrollandNetflix.
This week’s episode of the soccer animeBlue Lockwas a roller coaster ride when it comes to pacing. It went all over the place, with nail-biting moments of adrenaline and action to slower,more emotional scenes, and back again. That did make the episode go by quickly, and there was some really great action near the end of the soccer match that we will get to soon. Plus, we got our first look at the top team in Team Z’s building, and next week’s contenders, Team V!
Blue Lockis continuing to hold onto its 9th place position on theFall Anime Rankingsaccording to MyAnimeList, though its score has dropped to 8.24 despite last week’s heart-pounding betrayal. Or maybe because of it? Anyway,Blue Lockis heading to the most climatic game of this story arch soon as it is nearly one-quarter of the way finished, so we will keep our eyes on the rankings.
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All Eyes on Chigiri
Isagi is the main character ofBlue Lock, but as we have stated many times in past reviews, often the side characters outshine him. In Episode 7, he was not even the main focus. Most of the screen time went to red-haired Chigiri, who until now has just shown up now and again. We knew that he was keeping his weapon a secret from the rest of the team, and that he had a bad injury in his past that was holding him back from performing on the pitch out of fear.
In “Rush,” we saw a lot of Chigiri’s past. There was along flashbackof his time in high school with the antagonistic Wanima brothers, his ACL injury, and his recovery from it. To Chigiri, the injury represents itself as chains holding him back from reaching the potential that he used to have. In Team Z, he has been just staying back in the defense, not drawing attention to himself and being cold to the rest of his teammates.
Breaking Free
That all changed this week, though! Finally, Chigiri was able to break free from the chains that had been holding him back. We saw a totally new side of his character, one withconfidence, energy, and ambition. Rather than giving up on everything and wanting to lose at Blue Lock so that his soccer career would just end, he returned to wanting to be the world’s top striker.
And finally, his secret weapon was revealed! Chigiri is an incredibly fast sprinter, and his rush towards the goal was incredible. It really had us on the edge of our seat watching him come alive and chase after the ball, surprising both the audience and his teammates (and his rivals!) with his skill and renewed passion. Through his goal in stoppage time, Team Z was able to tie against Team W and not be eliminated from Blue Lock just yet.
Another thing we liked about this point was that Team Z did not just outright win. By tying, they are barely able to stay in the competition which sets the stakes much higher for the final match against top-ranked Team V. It would be easy to just let Team Z win and keep pushing forward as a great team, but it makes for much more interesting story-telling to keep them just barely hanging on.
Cold-Hearted Kuon
We haven’t forgotten about Kuon, and hiscold betrayal in Episode 6that nearly got Team Z kicked out of Blue Lock. This week, we continued to see more of Kuon’s real character, which is cold-hearted and selfish. Whereas he originally had been the coach for Team Z, encouraging everyone with his kindness, it seems it was all an act. Now, he mocks them, taunts them, and more.
After the match, Team Z also finds Kuon trying to sell them out again, this time to Team V. It seems that he did not learn his lesson from the first betrayal not going as he had expected, and this really is who he is. It is also our first chance to see a few of Team V’s mysterious members. All three were alsoquirky and unique, which has been the theme for most characters so far inBlue Lock. We will be seeing more of them very soon!
Next week’s episode will likely be at least the start of the match between Team Z and Team V, which will be the most climatic one so far since it will determine which team will move onto the next stage ofBlue Lock. Don’t forget, though, that even if teams are defeated, the top player on each one will also continue forward in the program. So some of the biggest antagonists from previous episodes will likely be around again soon! We are most curious to see what happens with Kuon next week, since he is still on Team Z…
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