It is “kill or be killed” in Blue Lock Episode 15, as someone’s dream is going to come to an end in this episode. Let’s see whose it is in this review!
Blue Lock Episode 15 Overview
Blue Lock is the latest sports anime by the Anime Studio 8bit, previously known for producing critically and commercially acclaimed anime like That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime and Rewrite. The series is directed by Tetsuaki Watanabe, who has been a part of the productions of various anime in the past, such as Haikyuu and Kabaneri Of The Iron Fortress.
Hisashi Toujima serves as the action director for the series, and the anime is based on a manga written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yuusuke Nomura. Click here to read the review of the previous episode in the series.
– Blue Lock Episode 15 Review does not contain spoilers –
Blue Lock Episode 15 Review- Zero Talent
Bless its heart; this show really thought that it did something. It tried its hardest to get an honest-to-God sports anime classic going right in front of our eyes. All the bells and whistles were here- discovering a new talent, a sad backstory reveal, a last-second twist, and a quick turnaround in what it expected to be an all-time classic moment. Why it fell on its ass so badly is not a mystery and is a hilarious consequence of trying too hard to take itself so seriously.
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Let’s talk about this format first. The 4v4 and 3v3 matchups in this selection phase are filled with a lot of potential for excitement and great matchups. However, as this proved, despite the threat of disqualification hanging over everybody’s heads, the 2v2 matches are the least interesting part of the entire show so far. There is but one reason for this- the possibility for great and interesting football is the least in this format. The most that you could do is pass to one other teammate or try to score yourself, with only two possible outcomes for each (pass or fail). It is easy to see why this didn’t work.
That’s not the only reason why Blue Lock Episode 15 didn’t work, but that’s just the most obvious part. The story that it tried to tell of Geniuses vs Normal people also fell flat, as it failed to extract any nuance from it. There was no hard work on the part of the “normal people” the achieve the level of the geniuses, and no one in their right mind would say that Yoichi is a better footballer than Nagi or Barou. He is only around because he is the protagonist, and the other guy does not have this luxury.
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Once you think about it for longer than a minute, the entire concept of “talents” in this show falls flat. Some people have talents like “If I shoot, it goes in” or “I can run the fastest”, meanwhile other people, like Yoichi, are still operating on “I will try and look past my blind spot”, which, in hindsight, should be obvious to a footballer. How is he just discovering this? Is this the guy we are supposed to root for? Is his thing the entire show going to be finding out the most obvious details about football and considering them a talent that he has to hone in? Can he even call himself a shooter at this point?
Blue Lock Episode 15 was at least not lacking in the production department, as the show looked and sounded just as well as it always has. However, the awesome victory theme feels hollow coming after a terrible match such as this one. The show can and has done much better than this in the past. However, it purposefully sabotaged itself with this weird selection stage. It seems like the worst of it is finally over, with us moving onto 3v3 matchups again. Let’s just hope that Yoichi doesn’t lose again.
Verdict
Blue Lock Episode 15 was unintentionally hilarious and a demonstration of why the current selection criteria are bad. Hopefully, what comes next will be more exciting than this.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!