The conclusion to the hard-fought match is upon us in Blue Lock Episode 23. Let’s see which team was able to come out on top in this intense battle!
Blue Lock Episode 23 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 23 Review does not contain spoilers –
Blue Lock Episode 23 Review- Luck
This is going to be a hard review to write without being able to talk about the first minute because that’s when the match ends. Nevertheless, I am ready and willing to take this challenge on, and hopefully, I will evolve through writing this as much as these characters evolve in a single match of theirs. This was a fantastic episode that came out of absolutely nowhere and hit like an absolute truck. When this series is over, which will be soon, this will be seen as a highlight for all the right reasons.
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The philosophy used in the football matches in Blue Lock doesn’t always make a lot of sense. However, sometimes, it hits so well that even people who have never kicked around a ball in their life can grasp how smart the setup was. This episode was one of those times, as the way the match came to an end was completely unexpected, and most people did not see it coming. However, after the show took its sweet time to explain what had happened in the field, it caused a change in perspective that shifted my entire notion of how a football game is played.
Luck is something most people attribute to many things in their surroundings. Find a dollar on the ground? It must be your lucky day! Got an extra nugget in your order? The takeaway Gods smiled on you that day, and you must have gotten lucky. However, we never sit and think about just what steps we followed to get that lucky in the first place. That’s what Blue Lock Episode 23 zeroed in on, and it did it very well. For the first time, the skill gap between two players- Rin and Yoichi, was made obvious and made complete sense.
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Itoshi Rin had been a flavourless character up to this point, but he isn’t anymore, for his being this good makes a lot more sense now. This is why the long conversations that some people lament about this show aren’t as bad as everyone thinks. Even Ego had a bunch of great moments in Blue Lock Episode 23, and all of that came as a part of that conversation about luck that everyone had. The show also did a great job of humanising the Top Three after the conclusion of the match. This episode was unexpectedly awesome. Right up until the end, that is.
I saved this section for a minor complaint that annoys me more than anything else in the show so far. Because of the result of the second selection, Yoichi and his team get to go up against a team of international players. With international players come different languages, and usually in anime, alongside that comes what we fondly refer to as “Engrish”. While the show did manage to get a singular English voice actor, the rest of the dialogue made my ears bleed. You would think that we are past the point of getting cringy foreigners in anime, but apparently not. At least it was a little funny?
Verdict
Blue Lock Episode 23 was an extremely fun outing that featured a great and unexpected twist at the start and had some prime field psychology to impart. Do yourself a favour and watch this episode dubbed to save yourself from the attempts at English, however.
Click here to read the review of the next episode!