Rewrite this title for a blog post. Remove any site names from it The title is: Blue Lock Episode Nagi: I saw the movie and I went through all the emotions! It's a clever episode before season 2 but I have to warn you…

In October 2022, the Crunchyroll platform launched the first season of the anime. Blue Lock. During the twenty-four episodes of season 1, we followed the journey of Yoichi Isagi, one of the promising football players who obtained his entry ticket for the “Blue Lock” project. His journey strewn with pitfalls notably allowed him to meet Seishirō Nagi, another player who quickly found favor in the eyes of fans of the manga and anime and who occupies a central place in this new film. Today we are a few weeks before the broadcast of season 2, scheduled to begin on October 5 and for a duration of… 14 episodes! So, as a warm-up, fans are preparing, from July 3, to rediscover the history and journey of number 11, Seishirō Nagi. Is this just a recap episode? A movie full of never-before-seen scenes? Do you have to lace up your boots and sprint as fast as Chigiri to the movie theaters to see it? I'll share my thoughts below!

Blue Lock Episode Nagi, a film full of emotions that allows us to better understand the character

As I said, I had the chance to see the film in preview Blue Lock: Episode Nagi which, as its name suggests, allows us to rediscover the events of the first season through a completely different perspective, that of Seishirō Nagi. On paper, it's a good idea, especially because the character Nagi was one of the most mysterious and enigmatic, and I wanted to know what was hidden behind the shell of this football genius. To tell you the truth, on this point, I was not disappointed even if I have two or three remarks to make on this subject.. In the manner of a film of about 80 minutes, which resembles an assembly of episodes in four arcs (the past of Nagi and Mikage Reo, the arrival and the first stages of the Blue Lock, the group stages and the match against Isagi's Z team and, finally, the second stage of the selections with the teams expanding by a player for each match won), Blue Lock: Episode Nagi brings to life and relive both new and cult moments from the first season.

In reality, we understand quite quickly that we are in fact facing a recap episode and I wish we had taken more time to explore Reo and Nagi's past. together in high school, to experience more of their first games together before they were selected to join the Blue Lock program. If I have any complaints about this, I largely found what I was looking for thanks to the portrait of Nagi that the film paints for us throughout its 80 minutes. Even though we discover it in the middle of the first season of Blue Lock, we understand that Nagi is a lazy person. In fact, he doesn't particularly have a dream, nor a burning passion for football, but, for some reason, he likes hanging out with Reo. Through this episode, It is their whole relationship that we see evolving and we also visualize the way in which Nagi, deep down, will gradually abandon his lazy hat to change his state of mind through contact with Reo, the competition and, above all, the other Blue Lock players, especially Isagi.

We therefore see him little by little putting aside his childish aspect – sometimes you have to motivate him by giving him a carrot, like getting his cell phone back -, and questioning himself about what he is experiencing and what he is feeling, And I think it's a good idea for the film to give it more depth in all this waste of energy and tension linked to the challenges of Blue Lock. Casually, this Nagi Episode made me go through all the emotions because, if the values ​​of the Blue Lock advocate selfishness and tend to forge the one and only best scorer in the world, it is also the place of the greatest stories of friendship, of bromances that (often) grab us by the guts! In short, I vibrated throughout the ups and downs of the Nagi/Reo duo and I do not despair of finding them united as at the beginning, notably because their relationship increasingly resonates with that of Isagi and Bachira. It is also thanks to this that it is both so euphoric and so heartbreaking, and that the film gives us a pleasant time.

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A recap episode that's smarter than it seems, even if it will make some people cringe…

Well, on the other hand, we're going to be frank and play devil's advocate, but we understood that the strategy of the studio behind the anime was to sell us a recap episode of the first season a few weeks before kicking off season 2. Certainly, Blue Lock: Nagi Episode is a film in a recap format that's smarter than it seems, but it risks annoying fans who were perhaps expecting another twist or a new storyline to better deepen Nagi's character. At this rate, the studio can sell us lots of different iterations – a version about Itoshi Rin, perhaps? – to make us wait between each season… Anyway, refreshing my memory with this kind of episode only increased my desire to get back into Blue Lockin particular to discover the next episodes. In this regard, the film ends with a nice little surprise, namely two post-credits scenes which, as for me, should make you die of impatience until October 5.

In addition to discovering a little more about Nagi's personality, as I explained before, we also relive the crucial moments of the first season in his presence : the dodgeball test, at the beginning, but especially the epic match between Team V and Team Z where we can see Isagi and his teammates shine thanks to their respective talents, as well as Nagi who increases his potential tenfold against his new rival/friend and reacts to the outcome of this match by learning more about him and his personality. At a fairly fast pace, the film takes us through the crucial stages of the Blue Lock And Just reliving some of the twists and turns or witnessing the crazy actions that punctuate season 1 electrified me.and the soundtrack that accompanied these moments made it all the more memorable.

It is true that some prefer Ao Ashi has Blue Lockbut it must be recognized that the adaptation of the manga by Kaneshiro Muneyuki and Nomura Yusuke manages to blow an epic wind on sports anime and football to the point that I consider that its place among the most popular sports manga adaptations more exhilarating is not overused. Ultimately, if you want to dive back into Blue Lock before season 2 and learning a little more about Nagi, it's a very nice yes but, for those who expect something else, it risks getting stuck as the viewing is not essential, even if we have a good time.