The first season of Blue Lock became an instant hit for fans of anime and soccer alike thanks to its incredible action scenes, impressive voice acting, and captivating animation. However, with the recent release of season two, the latter has come under serious scrutiny from a portion of the fanbase – going back as far as the first trailer. Fans have specifically criticized Bandai Namco for compromising the show’s pre-established quality of animation to only damage the series.
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Blue Lock tells the story of Japan adopting a nontraditional approach to developing a new crop of talented soccer players who will be able to compete on the world’s biggest stage. The Blue Lock program initially only brought in strikers to compete for the top spot, hoping that their talent would make them all improve until the world’s best striker revealed himself. The main character, Yoichi Isagi, worked his way up from the very bottom of the program to compete with prodigies and geniuses while gaining allies and rivals. Blue Lock’s first season did a fantastic job of capturing the intensity and passion of the world’s most popular sport, but fans have grown frustrated with the inconsistency in the show’s second season.
[RELATED: Blue Lock Season 2 to End With Extended Finale (& Here’s How to Watch)]
Blue Lock’s Producer on Season 2 Animation Quality
Blue Lock producer Ryoya Arisawa answered questions fans submitted to the show’s official Instagram account, including some specifically about season two’s animation. When Arisawa was asked about the Blue Lock anime adaptation, he gave the following response:
“I am far from satisfied. Blue Lock is a story about pursuing one’s ‘ego’ to achieve greater strength, and in a way, satisfaction signifies the end of growth.” Arisawa said, adding: “Characters, like Isagi and the others, relentlessly seek greater strength with insatiable determination, whether they win or lose and the same applies to me and everyone involved in the Blue Lock anime. To those ends, I believe we will never allow ourselves to feel fully satisfied moving forward.”
Arisawa also fielded questions about differences between Blue Lock season 1 and season 2, saying, “Having battled exclusively within a closed facility until now, the characters will, for the first time, battle on a grand stage that captures the attention of all of Japan.” Arisawa defended this aspect, saying, “To fully express this shift, we have increased depictions of the outside world and the audience, elements that were rarely seen before.”
Finally, based on first-season feedback, Arisawa wanted to enhance certain Blue Lock experiences, including, but not limited to, the monitor work, imagery sequences, and aura effects. He stressed that the production process is still an iterative stage as they gear up for the season’s conclusion.
In short, it sounds like fans’ observations that there’s a difference in the animation between seasons 1 and 2 were well-founded, given that the studio has made some changes to its approach in light of the new arc. However, only time will tell in future iterations if it actually improves as more changes are made and Arisawa’s team continues to fine-tune their techniques in the pursuit of excellence.
Blue Lock’s second season features one of the series’ most intense and high-stakes chapters. The best players from Jinpachi Ego’s highly experimental program to find Japan’s best striker face off against the country’s U-20 team. It’s a battle of drastically different philosophies with a winner-takes-all approach. So it’s key that the show produces a quality that makes fans stick around long enough to see what’s left to come.
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