Since August 2018, the Japanese manga series BLUE LOCK, also stylized as BLUELOCK, has published in Kodansha’s Weekly Shōnen Magazine — publisher of such tales as Go! Go! Loser Ranger! and Girlfriend, Girlfriend. Written by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and illustrated by Yusuke Nomura, BLUE LOCK is a soccer-centered adventure story in which a select group of 300 athletes are brought together and put through a variety of tests and circumstances in order to produce the best striker in all of Japan. This manga, adapted into a 24-episode first-season television series streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu, focuses on the experience of Yoichi Isagi (voiced by Kazuki Ura) through the Blue Lock program. Similar to cinematic releases Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2022) and this year’s Haikyuu!! The Movie — Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump (2024), BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- (劇場版ブルーロック -EPISODE 凪-) takes place within the world of BLUE LOCK, but shifts the focus to the perspective of characters Reo Mikage (voiced by Yuma Uchida) and Seishiro Nagi (voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki). Based on an original story by Muneyuki, written by Taku Kishimoto (The Deer King), and directed by Shunsuke Ishikawa (BLUE LOCK), NAGI certainly offers a new perspective that will shed light on motivations and connections for characters set to support Isagi’s journey, but unfortunately this means that old fans are left rewatching elements seen before and new audiences are likely to get left in the dust.
Reo Mikage (voiced by Yuma Uchida) in BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI-. Photo courtesy of Crunchyroll/Sony Pictures.
Rich kid Reo Mikage is used to getting anything he wants as heir to the Mikage Corporation, but he longs to earn something for himself. Realizing that it’s to win the World Cup, he finds no support from his parents and the dream seems untenable. That is, until he meets fellow high schooler Seishiro Nagi, a young man with a high proficiency in athleticism and a higher desire to do nothing but play video games. Convincing Nagi to join him, Reo crafts a path for the pair where they can fulfill his dream. All seems to be going to plan until a letter arrives declaring them both certified athletes and inviting them to join the previously unknown soccer program Blue Lock. Will this be the last piece to achieve Reo’s dream, the awakening Nagi needs to finally understand what Reo seeks, or something that will test their friendship unlike anything else yet?
BLUE LOCK is very much a film for fans of the manga or series, so let’s look at it from that perspective first.
Seishiro Nagi (voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki) in BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI-. Photo courtesy of Crunchyroll/Sony Pictures.
With series director Shunsuke at the helm and Studio Eight Bit continuing to animate at the levels of the series, NAGI is going to look and sound just as engrossing as one expects. Rather than do something different given the theatrical element, NAGI carries forward not just the character designs from the manga and series, but also the visual language that denotes when characters are getting serious (tapping into their egoist self, as the series might say), resulting in eyes losing their more distinct color or shape and turning into a controlled-yet-chaotic circle of black with a white center, bodies radiating with color specific to their aura, and, in the case of Nagi, leaning on a purple, blue, and black configuration to denote when the athlete is sparked out of his ennui. As with other BLUE LOCK characters, Nagi is given his own specific title, “the genius,” and a twist on his facial presentation when such a state is created within him, and Studio Eightbit (8bit) makes it just as daunting as one would expect for this scale of a release. This results, as one may expect if you watch the series, in stunning action as Nagi and Reo compete against other members of Blue Lock to rise to the top.
L-R: Seishiro Nagi (voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki) and Reo Mikage (voiced by Yuma Uchida) in BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI-. Photo courtesy of Crunchyroll/Sony Pictures.
This particular aspect is what helps separate BLUE LOCK from other shōnen (stories aimed at 12-18-year-old boys). Rather than depicting the characters as fighting demons (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba) or villains (My Hero Academia), BLUE LOCK is more about battling oneself in order to improve within a competitive system that requires the characters to learn about themselves as individuals, to collaborate with competitors to survive, and develop both technical and mental skills necessary to become the best striker in Japan. As expected, Taku’s script must adapt the story already told from Isagi’s view to offer audiences Nagi’s view, presumed from the title, but, just like in the series, it begins with Reo’s discovery of Nagi. This choice by Taku cements how the relationship between Reo and Nagi is connected, establishing them as a unit where the drive of one helps to direct the other and, through their combined might, makes them formidable on the field. But this is BLUE LOCK, which means that each will be tested and, as only one out of 300 will make it, lines will need to be drawn. This is an intriguing emotional dilemma (certainly one that makes the Isagi POV compelling as he develops a rapport with various players), but as a result of having so much internal dialogue happening on the field and so much timeskipping to get Nagi and Reo on the field against Isagi’s Team Z (roughly episode 8 of the series), what needs to mean something of significance often fails to register as little more than a necessary narrative beat to get characters from Point A to Point B instead of some kind of emotional devastation. On the one hand, the use of shortening elements of how Nagi and Reo survive Blue Lock enables more time for soccer matches, specifically the pivotal one with Team Z; however, as a story that stands on its own, it’s reliance on meeting and connecting with the established story hampers the audience from getting to know these two properly and investing in their success or failure.
Seishiro Nagi (voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki) in BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI-. Photo courtesy of Crunchyroll/Sony Pictures.
Consider the approach taken with Jujustu Kaisen 0. It centered on a character not yet introduced into the anime proper (Yuta Okkotsu), enabling audiences new and old to enjoy 0 without the sensation of replication in a new theatrical format or length. Yes, there are characters the anime introduces or uses that, by nature of watching the show, make the movie more impactful, but it’s not a necessity and, therefore, one can enjoy the film without all the backstory. With NAGI, the script is mostly a retread of the series that may bore fans of the series and confuse less familiar audience members. More importantly, because NAGI is a mixture of portions known narrative beats, there’s little that feels fresh for experienced BLUE LOCK audiences and new audiences are going to struggle with characters randomly mentioning “weapons” (a reference to BLUE LOCK coach Jinpachi Ego’s (voiced by Shojiro Yokoi) “direction” of strikers being able to form their own specific skill on the field), why Isagi’s perspective often takes on a puzzle piece style, caring about what happens to the rest of Reo and Nagi’s team since we don’t get to know them past Zantetsu Tsurugi (voiced by Kazuyuki Okitsu), or really processing the significance of the later time-skips to match the close of BLUE LOCK’s season one ender. In preparation for this review, I started the series to get familiar with the characters and the world and found myself still struggling to keep up with what happens in the rush to chrono-match the series.
Seishiro Nagi (voiced by Nobunaga Shimazaki) in BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI-. Photo courtesy of Crunchyroll/Sony Pictures.
BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- is neither destined to blow the roof off the field nor end in a nil. It’s got all the charm and excitement of the series, just shifted to answer questions about the more enigmatic and fierce Nagi. This equates to all the things that fans of the series love being on display, just truncated or remixed in a way that is more accessible to new audiences. But when the films forgets that it’s meant to be its own adventure and not just a companion piece, it stumbles, leaving itself open to lose possession and control of the field.
In North American theaters June 28th, 2024.
For more information, head either to the official U.S. theatrical or Japanese BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- website.
Final Score: 3 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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