BLUELOCK

Episode 9

This episode encapsulated almost everything I love about sports anime, and I was genuinely anxious when the episode ended because I wanted to see more. This match has a sense of buildup and finality, even though we know there will be more afterward. It may be because it is the accumulation of many of the individual characters' revelations about themselves. The idea of the underdogs going up against the best and thus evolving, as a result, isn't new, and the show even makes an undeniable parallel to Dragon Ball to really hammer down that nail. But I like that BLUELOCK tries to recontextualize what it means to evolve and better yourself. Our players aren't necessarily developing a whole new set of skills that would perfectly align with the current situation. Instead, they are fully perfecting the skills they already have mastered and trying to evolve those to a point beyond what they might've comprehended initially.

Whether it's Kunigami increasing the radius of his kick, Bachira utilizing new dribbling skills, Raichi having his overbearing personality way down the opposition, or Chigiri recognizing exactly how his incredible speed works compared to others of a similar skill set, this episode ran the whole gambit of abilities. It's also interesting that the opposing team they are going up against is composed of people who seem to think already that they have peaked, especially with Nagi, the opposing team's ace. I hate characters like him with genius-level skill and an “I can't be bothered” attitude. Still, I like how Team Z throws things in his face toward the end, with how his lack of drive might actually be a weakness and that he can't do anything unless he's ordered to. Plus, I hope this is setting up the idea that Nagi's going to be eating his words later on when everybody else more or less surpasses him because they're putting in the effort. Naturally, this can be a double-edged sword with how dangerous things could get if Nagi actually starts taking things seriously, but that makes me all the more curious how Team Z will pull out a win from this match.

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BLUELOCK is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.