Blue Lock – 19

[Dancing Boy]

Episode 19 of Blue Lock taps into what makes the series as special as it is; relationship drama! In this episode, we get a break-up scene and a make-up scene as Chigiri gets better adjusted as the latest member of Isagi’s team and Isagi makes his next move toward taking Bachira back.

I’M STILL A FAN EVEN THOUGH I WAS SALTY

Reo and Nagi’s break-up made for some juicy drama considering how much build-up there was toward their confrontation. With how much Reo’s been beating the drum of being jilted by Nagi, he hadn’t realized that Nagi had framed his own rejection of Reo as a challenge for him to catch up to him. Similarly to how Bachira told Isagi to come for him and improve to catch up to him, Nagi figured that Reo was going to work hard to reunite with him.

The best-case scenario for Nagi if he lost would’ve been to be taken in so that he can play with Reo once again. But Reo was so offended by the initial rejection that he decided to burn those bridges immediately by taking Nagi’s decision as an outright betrayal. By leaning into this, Reo never really improved himself to match up with Nagi, opting instead on improving so that he could show Nagi that he doesn’t need him.

But in the process, Reo slowed himself down by letting his rage cloud his own self-improvement and getting too caught up in his resentment to hone his skills. It’s what made it all the more devastating when Nagi was more than happy to give Reo the breakup he was seeking. Reo was so obsessed with having Nagi sever the tie for good that he didn’t factor in that Nagi had his own rebuttal in his back pocket.

The match made it more than evident that Reo wasn’t planning on proving he understood Nagi enough to counter him, let alone counter his new loathsome rival Isagi. He was so caught up in the revenge plot that he never knew that Nagi still had faith in playing with him again. But Reo’s spite wound up backfiring as Nagi was very content with letting him know that he not only accepts their separation but rubs the salt in his wounds by telling him outright that he’s annoying and hasn’t caught up with him yet.

NOT SO STRANGE BEDFELLOWS

It was hilarious how much build-up there was towards Chigiri being adamant about cooperating with Isagi’s new team only to hit it off immediately as soon as he noticed Nagi liked Noel Noa as much as he did. It was very wholesome to see Nagi in a genuinely curious mood as he winds up being more invested in learning about Chigiri than any of the moments he’s spent trying to figure out Isagi.

Funny enough, Isagi continues to be plagued by the horrifying split between his athletic personality and his real-life personality. He was so fearless in mocking Barou and calling him a donkey, but quickly dips into his insecure “uwu” point of view the moment he has to share a lunch table with him.

Luckily, Barou goes through some reasonable development of his own as he realized that he wasn’t acting maturely on the field when he was ball-hogging. Still, it can be funny to see how Isagi running his mouth on the field consistently causes him to become a shrinking violet the moment he has to deal with the consequences of his sharp tongue.

FRIENDS WITH THE MONSTER

The main star of this episode, however, was Bachira, and how his backstory sheds light on his own personal insecurities. Rin catches onto Bachira’s personal weakness of needing to rely on a friend or personal connection to others as a way to knock back at him for constantly trying to urge Rin to synergize. But in the process of taking a dig at him, Rin winds up calling attention to Bachira’s general unhappiness with having to rely on his own abilities to move ahead.

It’s productive in making Bachira a better player, and his artist mother is a kind soul who encourages him to look inward at the monster in his subconscious since she’s also familiar with having to rely on her own inner madness to create passionate works of art. At the same time, he was constantly made to feel ashamed of himself or be treated like an outcast because of his spiritual approach and ball-hog tendencies.

I suppose it’s why he holds onto his experience at Blue Lock so dearly. Much like Barou, it’s his first time meeting up with competitive athletes who can actually keep up with him and are equally talented. But as opposed to Barou maintaining the same mindset he kept before Blue Lock, Bachira’s world is immediately blown the moment he starts seeing other people who have monsters of their own.

After all of his troubles in the past, it was adorable to see how Bachira was quick to latch onto Kunigami and immediately fall for Isagi after his judgment call. It was also jarring to see how good the art was in the flashback to the first episode compared to now where things have gotten a bit stilted. Nonetheless, it was heart-warming that Bachira had endeared to Isagi so much for proving to be the partner he’d want to have who values both of their individual monsters and sees Bachira as someone he could build great chemistry on the field with.

It made it all the more hilarious yet touching it was to see how Isagi and Bachira have framed this entire arc as Isagi’s desperate struggle to win Bachira back. It’s envisioned in the same way the rescue arcs in Bleach are framed as the two are amped up to finally have the potential opportunity to reunite.

If Reo and Nagi’s breakup looked as if it came from a soap opera, Isagi’s challenge to Rin is an immediate reminder of J-drama love triangles where two guys are fighting over the same person as if it’s in their nature to compete for the attention and possession of their true companion. It’s ludicrous and funny, but at the same time, I had an earnest spark of joy seeing Isagi and Bachira excited to see each other again, knowing it was Isagi’s push to take him back.

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