One of the most intense sports anime to be ever created- ‘Blue Lock’. Being set in a highly competitive structure, Blue Lock certainly has the appeal of say, a high-stakes game with life on the line – like Squid Game.
The movie Blue Lock: Episode Nagi was released after the end of Season 1. What is it about? Is it really just a recap? Or does it have details that are essential to the story?
1. Is Blue Lock: Episode Nagi just a recap?
Blue Lock anime is an adaptation of the manga. Usually, when a manga is adapted into anime, the screenwriters make sure to include all the character development parts to give shape to the characters.
It may be due to the format of the chapters or maybe due to the limitation of the 25-episode season, but many characters could not get the proper trial by fire and Nirvana growth arcs of their own (unlike in the manga).
Nagi is one of those enigmatic characters in Blue Lock with a certain charm. His lackadaisical manner of doing things, and the way he changes and does a complete 180 when he comes close to a ball despite being of a shorter stature is amazing.
It is a fact that Nagi deserves a separate film to expand upon his life, journey, emotions, and growth arc. But what actually happened in the 90-minute movie?
The movie Episode Nagi, unfortunately, was mostly a recap, a little changed from the original, as the important events that we have seen from other perspectives, like Yoichi Isagi, are shown from his perspective.
Although Nagi does shine in the beginning, that light dims as the story goes on, and around after the first season, we see that Nagi truly grows, but that isn’t included in the movie to keep it limited to a ‘watch-after-season-one’.
Multiple essential moments are cut out, and it fails to flesh out the story of the movie; things such as Rei and Nagi’s lives are barely touched upon until they reach Blue Lock. Even their time in Blue Lock is vague.
Blue Lock is a movie that fails to give depth to its reason for existing, Nagi. It mostly uses scenes from season 1 that include important moments for Nagi. It is majorly a flashback movie, and fails to flesh out character.
2. What is Episode Nagi about?
The movie Episode Nagi has to be seen from the perspective of experience as an anime watcher. Many franchises have gone to have movies, many of which are international hits. But then again, many movies are essential to understanding the whole picture in further seasons.
Movies like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train are important as they are very story-oriented. Meanwhile, Episode Nagi wishes to follow the iconic white-haired Seishiro Nagi, a lazy youth who despises the use of energy. Oh, and he loves video games.
What we can see from Nagi is talent, just pure and raw talent. Across the many prodigies in Blue Lock, Nagi does reach the peak when it comes to intuition and ball handling. He has the uncanny ability just to freeze the ball and divert it elsewhere.
This is well depicted in the anime and shown again in the movie. Nagi, as a character, is inextricably connected to his wealthy friend, Reo Mikage. Reo is the one who motivates Nagi and pushes him, until Nagi far surpasses Reo.
We see Nagi nap around and curl into a ball and play video games; it is indeed a refreshing look from the highly intense, fast-paced story in the anime itself.
In the film, although Nagi is supposed to have his story told, Reo is the one who gets his character fleshed out. Especially since he gets little screen time in the anime. Watching the budding friendship between Nagi and Reo is one of the few redeeming qualities of this movie.
Reo, the wealthy and driven counterpart to Nagi’s aloofness, serves as both a catalyst and a foil. The film does a commendable job of fleshing out Reo, making him more than just a sidekick to Nagi’s genius. Their friendship, which begins as a transactional alliance — a symbiotic relationship of Reo’s ambition and Nagi’s raw talent — slowly evolves into something more profound.
Overall, Episode Nagi is a hybrid between standalone and a recap movie. It is nowhere as essential to the series itself. But for those interested in the couch potato Nagi they can definitely take a look.
3. About BLUELOCK: Episode Nagi
‘Blue Lock: Episode Nagi’ is an upcoming anime film based on the manga of the same name by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Kota Sannomiya. It was launched on June 9, 2022, and is a spinoff of the original Blue Lock manga.
The story focuses on Seishiro Nagi, a character from Blue Lock who has a natural talent for soccer. The manga tells his story before he joined Blue Lock.
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