Blue Lock Season 2 Episode 7: Nagi The G.O.A.T

Key Takeaways

• The intense showdown between U-20 and Blue Lock sees Sae Itoshi showcasing his exceptional skills on the field.
• Rin leads Blue Lock in improvising their game plan, emphasizing relentless attacks to outsmart U-20’s defense.
• Nagi Seishiro surprises everyone with an incredible goal, highlighting his prowess and the team’s ongoing improvement in offense.

The insanity of the highly anticipated and intensified showdown kick-offs against Japan’s U-20 Team in Season 2, Episode 7 of Blue Lock, titled “Sae Itoshi.” As the episode’s name suggests, it is clearly focused on showing the skills of Sae Itoshi, whose highly anticipated debut in the U-20 team gained attention not only in Japan but all over the world.

Sae’s arrival on the field brings immense pressure and high expectations, but Blue Lock XI welcomes the challenge—even more so for Rin. The determination in each and every one of them intensifies by the second, foreshadowing the unleashing of their hidden capabilities.

The Match Continues

Ultimate Defense vs. Ultimate Offense

The tug of war between the teams continues as both U-20 and Blue Lock have a lot to prove in this match. Both sides press forward with their star players at the center—the Itoshi brothers. While the U-20 team claims to have analyzed data on Blue Lock XI, the latter still manages to shock U-20 with their unexpected skills, though none can compare to what Sae demonstrates.

The “Lil Genius,” despite being U-20’s star player, initially tries to play as a team to determine their strength and passes to others. However, even with little hope and low expectations from his teammates, he eventually passes to Sendou, who attempts a solid shot. Unfortunately for U-20, Gigamaru’s impressive goalkeeping stops the effort. Left with no choice but to showcase his own brilliance, Sae steps up, intercepts the cleared ball, and scores a goal from an angle that would seem impossible for most players.

Not Over Yet

Improvising Is The Key

Sae’s goal stuns everyone with its display of his incredible talent, particularly shocking Isagi. However, Rin remains unfazed and reassures Isagi to stay focused, vowing to turn the crowd’s cheers into wails. The match resumes as Ego discusses with Anri how Blue Lock’s original training script is no longer effective. He notes that improvisation is the key to victory and believes that the players must discover this approach themselves.

The team begins to rally behind Rin, who takes the lead in figuring out the game. Under his guidance, Blue Lock XI implements a new formation, emphasizing relentless attacks and continuing to shoot until they score, which in this scenario seemed incredibly smart; if you can’t jump over an obstacle, the next best thing would be to break it with brute force.

THE GOAT AND THE MVP

His Name Is Nagi Seishiro

Rin and Isagi lead the charge as they continue to move ahead, using short passes to break through the defense. Bachira joins in as Rin uses a backheel pass to him. Nagi asks for a pass, but Bachira assumes it’s best to pass to Rin as he is their strongest player. Rin gets the ball and tries to copy Sae’s goal, which, as good as he is and as excellent a shot as it was, ultimately falls short and is defended.

Nice to meet you, Japan. I am Nagi Seishiro.

However, Rin’s improvisation is the key to unlocking the whole team’s offensive strategy. Yukimiya and Isagi continue to move forward with insane passes, but Aiku blocks them off too. Next comes Otoya, attempting a shot but also being deflected. The ball bounces to Nagi, the lazy genius whom others have somewhat underestimated at this point. Nagi lift-taps the ball to save it from being cleared and jumps to shoot one of the most insane, if not the best, goals seen in the series so far, all while showing off to the whole of Japan what a legend he is, making the score equal.

Nagi, The Animation Savior

As the ongoing memes suggest that every time Nagi or Bachira appears on screen, the animation improves, this is further proved here. Although it would be an overstatement to say the animation or production was great or even good in this episode, it did have some good frames and scenes. However, Nagi’s score sure did have good animation, and the whole sequence was very well done.

If this is any indication, we might still have hope for the upcoming episodes of Blue Lock, as 8-Bit might have focused all their budget and time on the most important goals. But that is only wishful thinking and speculation at this point. It would be great if this were true, and fans might finally forgive them for almost butchering one of the best and most famous arcs in manga history.