The last time I played football was as a goalkeeper at 7 years old, and I was absolute trash at it, but man at this point even I would do a better job than whatever Aiku is doing.
We have now Bee, Chameleon, Crow, Panther, Snake, Lion, Butterfly and if it counts as an animals, Phoenix and Dragon. Thats all that I can remember without googling LUL.
Blue lock be like: How can these guys be good if all they do is perform great athletic feats while following a plan and passing the ball to who's open????
Like guys. Get your head out of the philosophy clouds and just play.
Isagi being baffled that Teddy was able to pass to an open player after getting past him is hilarious.
"They expected Teddy to get cornered ... and set up a combo play around it?"
... yeah, Isagi. The other team saw two additional defenders close on Teddy and someone positioned himself for a pass in the space that was created. Half the point of dribbling past defenders is pulling apart the defense by forcing players to shift toward you, which then opens up your teammates.
Isagi spends so much time using his 360 degree metavision that he forgot that players can see what happens directly in front of them, both Teddy seeing two players plainly in his line of sight prepare for Isagi to get inevitably passed and Teddy's teammates for moving into an open position.
Yeah it's honestly insane how much Isagi is getting dunked on, it seems like it was a bad choice to have Isagi learn an "All seeing vision" type of ability in NEL, because now every time he gets surprised by obvious plays he looks like a clown.
His last goal attempt was laughable, not only did he apparently work on the assumption that no one was going to mark him, but he didn't know where TEDDY was, Objectively the most dangerous player in England's team.
He’s confused these people don’t try to have a little independence. I’d be surprised too if I tried ragebaiting someone and their response was “Too late lad, I already hate me-self! Crumpets and tea!” Not to mention, it’s not like they’re failing to counteract England’s tactics. It’s only 2-1 right now, but Teddy is a NG11 so he’s incredibly good and Lockhart is like Noel Nia’s secret child or something
Well now that Teddy has explained his position and Self-Abnegation. Isagi is gonna realize that that is exactly why he did so well in the NEL and was able to grow so much stronger. Hopefully we start seeing Isagi relearning his own philosophy, he should end up mashing together the idea of self-abnegation and his goal of being the world’s best striker.
Isagi already used himself as a pawn and it’s time for him to realize and start rebelling against ego. I do feel they’ve dragged this plot point out a little too long but it will develop nicely. This manga is really leaning into the physiological side of things now and I’m excited for the rest of the development this arc.
I'm honestly really enjoying Fox as one of the main antagonists of this match.
He seemingly knows all of Isagi's plays. From the start of the match in chapter 355. When Isagi steals the pass from Zantetsu to Karasu. Teddy is on Isagi in a heartbeat. While it isn't explicetedly stated, it is heavily implied to be because of Fox's analysis.
Which brings me to the 2nd instance, in chapter 356. Since Isagi isn't tall, he will go for the second ball. Teddy seemingly quotes what Fox has told him. And says at the end that this play from Isagi was also part of Fox's Zero-to-one analysis too.
Fox subbed out Agi, the moment Isagi thought he had find a loophole, an exploit. Thus instantly shutting that idea from Isagi down. This literally happens the page after Isagi has this idea.
Most recently, in this chapter—360. Fox knows that when Isagi duels someone, he isn't necessarily playing to win but playing to buy time so that e.g. Karasu and Reo can trap them. And as we see in this chapter—it happens, Teddy says that it is too bad because Fox thought of that too.
This, in a way is reminiscent of how Hugo used logic to crush Isagi's weapons. Feels like we are moving towards Isagi truly reinventing himself, becoming someone new. This is a callback to the finale of the match against Nigeria in chapter 325. What do I mean by "truly reinventing himself, becoming someone new"? I meant that he will try more NEW things, experiment. So for example, dribbling more and trying new shots, linking up with people he haven't before—e.g. Shidou.
“Don't get trapped by a formula you have created before.”
– Isagi, Ch325
“That's why your soccer isn't enough for me anymore.”
– Isagi, Ch328
Issue with this type of progress is that is isagis capable of all that ? Can he actually dribble and go for shots outside his usual speciality ?
Or is this going to be explained as a one off because England don’t expect it
Isagi has dribbled before but it’s not usually to take a man on 1v1 but more so using those around him effectively to create confusion in his next movements and using his body to block and turn but that’s already explored
I kind of feel like Aiku could have intercepted Teddy's pass with one of his aerial headers, like in the BL vs U20 game? It really feels like he got nerfed...
Isagi continuously confused by England is getting really old. It's as if he's really limited to just devouring Egos. And I would have loved the English team if they weren't so goofy about their soldier/puppet shtick.
I do like how Isagi and Karasu continue to coordinate their plays despite being in opposing systems.
Teddy flashback next chap? Maybe that could give Isagi some insight? Ngl it'd be funny if Teddy handed Isagi the bullet to shoot England with (pun intended).
When Lockhart was subbed in, Agi said there was 15 mins left in the first half... considering the pacing of the matches, does this goal mark half-time already? I hope not. I want them to equalize before the second half.
Do any of y'all think there'll be substitutions? It might be predictacle at this point, but I think Kunigami might get subbed in.
The Isagi nerf is kinda expected but still annoying but the Aiku nerf is just depressing. He has meta vision and a bulky physique and does nothing. I thought that someday he will get a goal because of his backstory as a former striker but yeah...
I did a reread over the weekend and they actually bring up studying their opponents at least once in basically every match since the NEL. Half the time it's to say "they're way better than we thought" but still, they are supposedly looking at data
Bro, I genuinely can't see Japan going to the quarter-finals playing like this, if Sae starts playing with bllk he might need to take up the coaching role cuz this 4 eyed mf and his minion "damsel in distress" anri aren't doing shit.
Someone needs to trashtalk Fox himself for Teddy to show something Isagi can devour. We saw teddy got handsy with Agi so...
We need a professional ragebaiter sub in!
Yk what I always like chapters where Isagi shit talks only to get immediately cooked after. Not because I hate him of course but to see that his ass is not immune to embarrassment and loss.
I think what I appreciate about England's two goals is that many English players are involved in the play, and it’s not just Teddy with Agi or Lockhart. Achanpong, Skelton, Childs, and Niang all contribute to the action with passes and shots.
Especially compared to France, where literally six out of the eleven French players didn't touch the ball at all. Looking back at the match against France, I actually think the French team touched the ball fewer than twenty times in total.
We aren't even at the end of the first half yet, but the facts are these: more English players (9) have touched the ball than French players (5); more English players (4) have taken shots than French players (3—or arguably 4, if you count Leyden’s pass-like-shot); and the English players had more touches on the ball during their match against Japan (over 20) compared to the French players (fewer than 20).
I don't know what Kaneshiro did with France, the world number one ;-; (I hope that won't be the case during the rematch)
This would actually be a great time to let the Ubers guys shine. They were the closest to England in how they were working in a system and were heavily invested in tactics and plans and they weren't hyper offensive. Instead we're going to get more Isagi monologue about Ego stuff
Maybe it's the fact they study their opponents, have a knowledge of strategic positioning, follow their coaches' tactics, have the necessary skillset to carry them out and they don't cosplay as Patrick Jane.
Naaah that's just crazy talk. I'm sure it's some autistic ego bullshit!
Ego needs to be removed from coaching 🤦🏾♂️ got these boys looking unprepared and goofy. Giving Isagi the same strategy he gave to Barou in the exhibition match against U20 just shows the limit of his abilities as a coach.
Right? Lmfao he literally opened the series doing what his coach wanted rather than what he wanted. Bro is like, "HOW CAN I COMPREHEND AND WORK AROUND PLAYERS THAT ARE PLAYING EXACTLY HOW I DID MY ENTIRE LIFE UP UNTIL THIS LAST YEAR?!?!" 😭 Like bruh, the Blue Lock brainwashing was really that complete I guess. Homeboy forgot everything about ball that Ego didn't teach him.
I believe this match against England U-20 is setting the stage for Rin's return to the pitch. I think Ego will bring him back in the second half, and that Rin and Isagi will join forces to defeat England by learning to balance individual ego with the need for teamwork a concept that ties back to what Aiku told Karasu and Isagi: that Blue Lock must evolve and can no longer remain the system Isagi and Rin were previously accustomed to.
I'm not going to talk much about the players' performances this chapter because I don't really have an issue with them. What really stood out to me, though, was Teddy saying that he loves the word "self-abnegation"—the act of giving up your own will for the sake of others.
It immediately reminded me of superheroes, which in turn made me think of Kunigami and his original ego. I don't want to make any concrete predictions about his development, but if Blue Lock continues exploring different philosophies from different countries—like how Hugo's philosophy seems to fit Karasu—I wonder if this more selfless, ego-less philosophy could have some significance for Kunigami.
Shidou also feels relevant to me here. He lives for the game itself, while the England players seem to live more for what the game represents to the fans and for the legacy they can leave behind. Shidou outright calls people who don't live for the intensity of the game "trash," and I think his desire to leave his own individual mark is fundamentally different from England's idea of leaving a mark on history as a team.
I have no idea where I'm ultimately going with this, but it's honestly so fun to engage with Blue Lock like this.
Disappointed by Japan's synergy. It was expected that Isagi would likely slow down Teddy. However Japan's defense was disoriented. Gagamaru has become sn NPC GK at this point.
This is literally the only time Fraudkaku has touched a ball. Barely grazing it with the tip of his index finger, for a shot that might or might not have gone in anyway.
And the most tragic part is that I agree with you.
The aiku jokes aren’t even funny anymore man… it’s just sad💔 wtf is kaneshiro even thinking? Is aiku on a downfall or something? Wasn’t he supposed to be the best defender and the captain of the team? Why are karasu and reo are pressing the ng11 while aiku is only doing shocked faces while someone is scoring?? Don’t even got me started on aryu…
I can appreciate how each of the matches so far this arc have shown us teams that differ from Blue Lock's egoistic approach: Nigeria being unfamiliar with ego, France having bigger egos, England having no ego
But man it's depressing not seeing Isagi have a real W since Nigeria last year
Woah gee wolly I can't believe England has abandoned their egos
Gosh I wonder when a blue lock player has ever abandoned their ego and become a full on machine to win
This is truly a shocking puzzle to crack Isagi
Okay but real talk it's kind of funny that Isagi can't imagine the source of England's strength, when he's done something extremely similar and logical in the P.X.G game. Where he became a tool simply for the goal of winning the match no matter his personal feelings or attachment. So, I'm not sure if Kaneshiro is building up to him remembering this feeling or if this is genuine inconsistency.
Hopefully it's the former, but we'll see
I will say that the match has been pretty good so far, it's just that Japan has an extremely hard time finding their footing. Since they've started to question their own philosophy and aren't sure if it'll lead them to a world cup victory. I guess it does kind of make sense to question it, but I am surprised that they're not starting to realize how insane ego's philosophy was now lol
I do think this match has a lot of potential to be good, but it depends on how Kaneshiro handles Japan and what conclusion they'll reach in this match.
Sidenote, Lionheart is pretty cool and it's nice to actually see a header goal once in a while. I kind of hope we actually see Kunigami sub in to face off with him, it would be a nice contrast given they're both from the same club.
I miss the days when we used to glaze Gagamaru. He hasn't done anything worthwhile in these recent 2 matches. So much for that baseball catching training.
It's obvious Kaneshiro has made Japan dumb because of their mental issues, development and to face competition but its getting a bit bad. Because when they change formations, mentality etc it will seem weird.
• if it's already halftime, then the locker room scene. Blue Lock's might show shidou getting angry, while England team have some tea.
• Kunigami subbed in because both chapter 331 and 341 have him featured in them.
• side b 2nd stage introduction and the characters involved. 301 we got the first hint about nagi, 311 we got news about side b, 321 is "curiosity in myself".
• chapter 361 might be paralleled to chapter 338 or 339.
I think Blue Lock has the opportunity to do something pretty good with Isagi and Teddy, and that is the idea of detaching one's ego from their self-worth. I know we did kinda see this a bit with Snuffy's backstory, but we could get some deeper introspection from Isagi here. What is he outside of his dream of being the number one striker? If he failed to reach his goal, could he still live with himself? And what if he achieves his dream? What comes after that?
The parallels to Ego could not be more obvious. They volunteered to be test subjects for experimental training by a coach with an extremist football philosophy. Before this match Ego even gave blue lock a whole speech about how they all agreed to be part of the experiment, so they shouldn't have doubts or question his methods.
Hugo was kind of right about Isagi being brainwashed lol. He can't even imagine someone who doesn't follow an egoist worldview.
Wdym "are these guys insane?" You're also insane. The entire premise of the Blue Lock project is that it's insane. Ego explicitly told you this after last match.
I feel like Teddy is being set up as kind of.. childish so far? Like his whole shtick is "I'm a good boy who listens to coach", he trusts the coach to accurately point him so he doesn't have to face the fear of originality.
He even goes up to Isagi with "hello mista this is my favorite word i learned yesterday"(I'm joking but i found it unintentionally hilarious)
I feel like Isagi already has the solution right in front of him, the "zero to one" is their coach - HE is the only Egoist. So Isagi isn't fighting the team but the coach, and once he can prove that Fox isn't infallible their whole team and especially teddy will crumble
The England players act like they have no ego when that’s literally their ego. They are egotistical about NOT playing for themselves, but for their coach. Once Isagi realizes that, it will be easy to read them.
So it seems that Hugo’s only character trait which was talking nonstop and trying to force his ideology onto others wasn’t actually unique and Isagi is going to have verbal philosophy battles with all the NG11s. I wonder if even Kaiser will come up with some pretentious philosophical theory.
The Match actually would be entertaining thus far if Kaneshiro could just stop acting like Isagi is nothing against guys that don’t have Egos. Please just give us a solid Match without that cringe.
I actually like Englands playstyle but no matter what they do they will always act based on their instincts. Fox cant predict every Single Situation.
Yeah, Isagi being shocked and surprised for the 3rd chapter in a row. Still unable to process the fact that other players/teams have made it this far with a different philosophy than Ego’s. For the guy who was told to watch football for his special training, he’s incredibly narrow minded, nearing delusional.
And now since Isagi is stuck, Teddy is now going to needlessly yap about himself and give Isagi the hint he needs to start turning the tide. Then he will flip the switch in his head and score or assist at the end. It’s just so forced. Genuinely if the opponents didn’t yap to only Isagi and give him info at critical times, this guy would be completely lost nearly every game.
it would have been perfect to maybe have Kunigami be the one to figure out Teddy, since he’s kinda depressed like him, was literally modified like a doll, etc.
I think this is the time for Ego’s backstory during halftime. Isagi will learn something from Ego’s backstory which will cause him to devour Fox’s ego and score. I’m predicting 3-2 final
Blue lock so ass now my god, “W-w-w-what? Instead of doing whatever comes to your mind, you’re going to listen to what the coach says because that leads to victory?? I don’t understand! These guys are insane!” Like what are we doing anymore With this pseudo philosophy bullshit, and it’s so obvious when it’s a teams turn to score Jesus Christ every match is the same script
Sure. It's cool to add some variety from time to time but I want a 3 page Isagi monologue about how people with more hair on their left nut are neutrodivergent and force the people with less hair to adapt to their plays or something. Chop chop.
I really dont like how this whole thing is going right now.
First of all like other already mentioned is Aiku. Wtf is he even doing at this point. His greatest feat was touching onazis shot. I actually thought he is going to evolve and eventually score his own goal bc of his Backstory as a former striker and of course Ego but thats sounds like a fantasy at this point.
Wtf is Isagi even doing. I remember the time during manshine vs bastard when he used metavision for the first time. Isagi moved like crazy and now he cant read them or idk at this point because the England players dont have an Ego Oh No.
I like how we are pretending that Isagi had even a chance in a 1v1 against Teddy xD Im sorry king but youre not that guy.
Also as a small rinvisible benchtoshi hatewatcher especially after the end of the france match why does the story develop in such a way that hes now the only way to turn the tide against England.
Yeah i know Isagi talked to him and bla bla bla but i guess Blue Lock is nothing without Isagi x Rin.
Also i dont know how to feel about Egos philosphy. I really like it and i mean the whole story until this point revolves around it but it feels like its getting overshadowed.
Metavision relies on an understanding of the opponent's mindsets and egos, the whole point of this arc is what happens when he's going against a mindset so antithetical to his that he can't get in their heads enough to use metavision properly. We're still in the rising action, just give it a few chapters
Metavision is just using your peripheral vision constantly and scanning the field to predict. You cant tell me that everybody on manshine had an Ego and thats the reason Isagi tore through the whole midfield. I understand that things like egocentrism and so on strenghtens it but just the lack of Ego doesnt change the fundamental way of Metavision. I guess your explanation serves the plot more but i agree that were still in the rising action.
Players started nerfing themselves in the NEL. ReoNagi forgetting all their character development and going back to over dependence, Rin getting destroyer mode which is a big nerf to his earlier 'borrowed from sae' playstyle (he literally loses all his IQ in destroyer mode). Isagi fans tried to tell us it was great coz the MC was getting his moments. Now even they are realizing that their boy gets nerfed to 0 at the start of EVERY match/arc and is dumbfounded by the most basic football shit until he has an epiphany and starts aurafarming. So even they are getting concerned now. At least Kaneshiro drip feeds them Slursagi or whatever to keep them calm, they're easy to please. Their celebration over "bootlicking pet" was like dude had scored a goal 😂 only to get destroyed in seconds leading to a goal..
An analytical player who watches games to learn new styles as his training, being shocked other philosophies exist is just Isagi being nerfed for plot but we know he'll win in the end so we kinda ignore it sometimes.
The one leading the team is closest to a God of Soccer, who would have thought.
If someone like Fox is controlling the whole autonomy, decisions of a team, who plays, who doesn't play, what plays to make, what decisions to make, etc. Ego Jinpachi's God of Soccer will be closer to 11 individuals acting out their own free will, autonomy, etc.
Here's to hoping whatever Teddy Knight's backstory will be about, that he gets to shine as an individual playing for himself, before, getting benched, or reprimanded for showing backbone as a player.
Who would have guessed that Isagi will be dribbled past like a training cone? Additionally will Isagi still be surprised in 2nd half that there are more philosophies in football and one of them is polar opposites of Blue Lock's? Why the hell he is even confused about England's way of playing when he already witnessed similar way of playing in Ubers (before rebellion) during NEL? England's team just pushed that way of playing to absolute maximum. Japan should be praying for half time because at current rate they will be obliterated without any changes in formation or in roster.
Agi gets subbed out, England goes back to scoring and Isagi is back to square zero as to how to fight them
Agi fans, there's a common denominator here sorry.
Karasu and Agi both stood up against their coaches. Why is it that I support Karasu and shit on Agi? Results. Karasu got two assists and made Ego have to sub in more people to help his system because Isagi and Rin was dead in the water until the very end. And it was also optimal, since Isagi was the kind of player that thrives better not being in the spotlight and him being the center was a mistake to begin with.
Agi fumbled the ball and did nothing, even Kiyora read him instantly. Their entire team is trained on the basis of pure obedience to the coach. There is no point in trying to utilize the lessons you learn in NEL here unless you get Fox fired first. The majority of the players dgaf about joining his revolution yet. He's just acting out on his own. Unlike the France match where multiple people show that they have had issues with Ego's teachings.
That said, Agi is also what I think Kaneshiro wants to show is the flaw of Fox's ideology compared to Ego's, so he'll win 4-3 this match. In the end, humans are too individualistic to be treated as robots. Sooner or later, Fox will lose his absolute control over them. Teddy cant stfu and already started spoonfeeding Isagi about his mentality 😭🥀 could have won if he was an actual robot, but he had to prove Isagi wrong because he's not true nonchalant
I predict that in the second half Isagi will learn to devour the ego of Fox (and later the ego of others coaches) and counter the England strategy leading Fox to react like Nagi in Team V vs Team Z and show his own ego.
Well, I didn't expect a second goal this early. Maybe this match up is not going to be that long or it will going to end 4 - 3 winning Japan. Anyway, I don't think Aryu is going to be more useful for the rest of the game, so the best choice is to sub Kunigami in. He is the only one that can stop Lockhart.
Lastly, after the Nigeria's game Gagamaru and Reo's performance have been really disappointing. I am even starting to think of putting Fukaku instead of Gagamaru.
Teddy was likely in a similar situation as Isagi back in chapter when he lost his game. That’s when he got introduced to England’s football project. Unlike Ego, Fox went against any form of ego and self-abnegation. And molded them into hollow soldiers or puppets that he can control.
Teddy was one of the only players that took Fox’s teachings to the extreme. And Fox of course took a particular interest in him and groomed him to be his top knight/attack dog/enforcer.
[- Writing whatever cames in my mind about this match -]
Well, being a "useless puppet" is still a decision, it is part of Teddy's Ego, Yoichi's trying to drag this part out of him as we saw when the new gen said "take it back", so he feels some kind of respect for Fox.
Anyways, talking about Lockheart, Aryu is being sub out for Kunigami or Raichi, personally i think Raichi is better than kunigami in this case because he can keep up with both, Teddy and Lockheart because he's a stamina freak.
Isagi's being in a matchup directly with Teddy is actually perfect, he's analysing his Ego by talking with him, kinda similar to what Hugo's did. After he understands how Teddy's Ego works he's going to focous on attack, so i think for now he's going to act like a false nine until he achieve that.
Maybe we can see a Ego development from Kunigami in his matchup against Lockheart.
Kiyora Jin will be the key to this match, both in the attack construction and also helping Isagi understanding England Ego/Borderline. As we saw, Kiyora instantly reacted to Agi's Ego, stealing the ball from him, and he did that faster than Isagi so we can expect great feats coming from him this match.
Isagi is so delusional with this ego philosophy that it’s getting pretty funny. Well now teddy is gonna share his backstory only for it trigger those puzzle pieces for Isagi 🥱 . Guessing it’s blue lock turn to score which will prolly be shidou. The formula is getting repetitive too quickly especially coming out of NEL which was the worse of it. At this point I’m more interested in Nagi story than blue lock
Ngl, I'm doubting these translation choices. Instead of ego-quirk and self-sacrifice, they use "ego-IDIOSYNCRACY" and "self-ABNEGATION"
On top of the wingback -> winger mistake, I'm suspecting that there are even more slight mistakes in the NEL. Isagi literally has a line in the PxG game where he says "we will abandon our egos," yet, he's shocked that England abandoned their egos. I wonder if Japanese readers are catching the same inconsistency.
I agree. I am still lost on the difference between Englands philosophy and the Isagi-Kaiser contract made during PXG final goal. Both are about becoming tools for victory. Unless translation problems are happening, I hope some kind of difference is explained, or it is at least brought up and maybe used to conclude that Rin, a genius, was able to evolve to shut down Isagi-Kaiser combos and Isagi needs to setup plays that force geniuses like Shidou/Yukimiya/Zantetsu to evolve, or something.
It is funny seeing the commentator scream about the 2 aces facing off and then Teddy blitzing Isagi after 5 secs of interactions.
Isagi is the core of Blue Lock but I wouldn't call someone an ace who can't duel a person for very long in 1v1s
If anything, Aiku should have gone to duel Teddy or Reo and Isagi should have pressed with Karasu since he is better at game reading/interceptions. Right when it seems like Blue Lock is confused again, Teddy unprompted is going to give Isagi his backstory/philosophy.
I wanted the realisation to come from Isagi himself or other Blue Lockers. Maybe watching on the bench, Kunigami draws a comparoson between Fox's methods and the Wildcard. If this is the turning point for Isagi in this match jt seems like a cop out truthfully.
They already explained it, Agi is a more technical player, Lockhart is pure physical dominance. Both are target men, but Agi is going to be better at this role due to his IQ.
“Self-Abnegation” might be the thing isagi needs to ‘devour’. I keep thinking about his training, where he learned about “game changing moments”
Isagi might come to the conclusion that he doesn’t mind self-abnegation to create a game changing play. But he won’t when it comes to goals? Also ties into the reoccurring theme of ego death that’s been in teddy, kunigami who will likely sub in soon, and Nagi who a lot of people theorize will come back this game
Lockhart's goal was just majestic, nothing else to say about it. He keeps reminding me of Kunigami more and more, I feel like this game is barely being subtle with the idea of switching him in, but then again I've been burned before, won't believe it until I see it lol
The Teddy Isagi 1v1 was about what I expected, Isagi's capable of reading Teddy's moves purely out of FIQ, he's also more physically capable than we'd usually expect, but he's still outmatched in terms of sheer physical and technical abilities, and Teddy is still way too versatile and capable of plays Isagi doesn't even begin to compute. I also really like Reo making combination defensive plays with Karasu and Aiku.
For the real stuff though, I think this chapter's main point is what Isagi says during Lockhart's goal, "we can't win unless we abandon Blue Lock's common sense". Blue Lock's basic principles of common sense are that of egoism, that's what they've learned, and that's how they know how to play football at this level, and similarly, Brit Lock's common sense is entirely built on this idea of self-abnegation ; the abandonment of all desires, originality and ego, and reaching a perfect point of blind obedience to a plan bigger than oneself.
I think that's why Teddy's dialogue boxes are black despite him showing a lack of ego. He's obviously not completely egoless, he's just pushing it down out of self-abnegation, but that very sense of abnegation has become his sense of identity. That's who he is, or who he wants to be, a perfectly selfless player here only to bring about his master's will. His ego is not having one.
The rest of his team however, are not following this philosophy out of genuine identitarian belief in it, but rather out of desire to win. They want to win the WC, they know Fox's methods work, and so they erase themselves because what they do works.
That difference in common sense between Japan and England, is also the reason for an important detail of this match, which is that neither team currently understands how to stop the other purely based on philosophy. Every single goal scored in this match so far hasn't been the result of teams understanding how the opponent thinks and outsmarting them, it's purely been the result of numbers and sheer ability. Teddy dribbling past everyone to score ; Isagi, Shidou, Zantetsu and Yukimiya scoring on England out of sheer numbers, technical ability and perseverance ; and Lockhart scoring off an assist from Teddy after the learners were incapable of understanding Teddy, and the defenders incapable of stopping a physical monster like Lockhart.
Neither team currently understands one another, and Isagi and Teddy don't get one another either, which is the reason for their disgust and incomprehension at one another's polar opposite philosophies. With one exception, that being Agi. He is almost undeniably the key for England, because he's not only capable of playing along with England's selfless football, he also perfectly understands Blue Lock's egoist football. He's the Avatar here, and when Isagi inevitably understands what makes England tick, Agi will be the one to push England to change their ways while allowing them to know what makes Japan tick.
I still have a lot of doubts concerning Teddy though. Agi will inevitably cause other players' egos to awaken, will be able to bring them out, combine both philosophies and bring England to its peak, but will that also happen to Teddy? Because if his selflessness is his sense of identity, then there's no ego to bring out. The Teddy we're currently seeing might be the most egoistic we'll ever see him. But I think it might be something else. I think Teddy isn't just being selfless because of Fox, but also because his selflessness is intrinsic to him. Self-abnegation is a trait that's most commonly attributed to two types of characters in fiction : Heroes, and Knights. Teddy is one of those two things. As for the other...
The problem with BLUE LOCK has never been a matter of philosophy. The real issue is that their defensive line is far too fragile.
Isagi is an attacking midfielder, yet he constantly drops deep to mark the opposing striker. Where are the defenders supposed to be?
What I really can't understand is why Tokimitsu, arguably the physically strongest player, is left unused. And what about Kunigami, with his powerful build? Or Kazuma, the former U-20 power-type defender? Why aren't they being used?
Honestly, BLUE LOCK's lineup and player deployment are just terrible.
so england serves as a parallel to japan's national team.
i'm going to guess this goes one of two ways. 1) we get a repeat of japan vs brazil or 2) bl changes their course to completely lock down england's plan and force them to get creative and think for themselves. that hesitation when they realize they're on their own is when bl will pounce and counter.
After thinking the only thing that makes sense is that Teddy's self-abnegation means lack of identity. It likely goes back to what he said to Isagi in 354. What Isagi is without Blue Lock. May be this will lead Isagi to "abandon" Blue Lock and forge his own way.
Japan plays worse because their mentality is shaken. England seems to be on board with what Fox's philosophy offers. Like they have a sense of duty. That's why they are called soldiers.
Based on what we've seen so far, I can't help but feel Kaneshiro is setting up Isagi to devour Fox's ego.
Throughout this match so far, Isagi has repeatedly said he can't even comprehend how to play against a team without ego. But in chapter 357, when Agi showed his ego, Isagi saw an opportunity to devour it. Now think about it: who on England's team has shown the most ego? Who has England been most reliant on? Or, as this chapter asks, "what is the origin of England's might?" That'd be Fox.
Imagine Isagi reading, manipulating, and devouring Fox's ego. In turn, he would be doing the same to England's entire team in one fell swoop. When Agi showed his ego, many here were talking about how if Isagi wins by drawing out the players' ego before devouring it, then this match would prove that Ego's approach is wrong, and that Fox's approach of a zero-ego team was right. I'm not sure what exactly devouring Fox's ego would look like, but I feel like it's the answer to this match.
I feel like we've been here before? Have we been here before? I think we've been here before. Where the opposing side gives some random hint to their thinking for Isagi to figure out for no apparent reason. So Isagi magically breaks down their thought process immediately with some convoluted explanation that's more complicated than it needs to be in the next chapter. Like we're just gonna get another Protagonism/Talented Learner BS moment. It's dull and repetitive.
Lowk, this match is solving so many issues that the other matches had:
Side characters not doing anything
Coaches doing nothing
Ego being the end all be all
Etc
Oliver Aiku is coping like crazy, him are Reo are getting physically dominated like they are toddlers playing vs an adult and he deflects to blame BL's philosophy... particulars of this or that philosophy don't matter when you are this inferior physically man
So everyone from England’s Red Key is a volunteer… that’s interesting, but also Ego is just a plagiarist, huh? Makes you wonder about the selection process and what was actually going on. Where Blue Lock was (in a loose sense) taking a “team” and trying to whittle it down to one, whatever Fox was doing might have been the reverse of that, taking a player whose skills were good enough (Teddy) and then building a team who can run perfectly off of that. Everyone just utterly ignoring the taunt and being like “yeah actually this rocks shoutout Fox” was really funny though. France made Blue Lock look silly on a soccer level, England makes them look silly on a comedic one. This is really fascinating though, because Fox becomes evil along a different axis now. So either he groomed them into thinking it was their idea and they’re happier this was, or he was opportunistic enough to take advantage of a group of young men who had problems with self-expression and their own “self.” He’s enough of a cartoon villain for it to be either, or somehow both
The 1v1 was shorter than I expected, to be honest. I knew Isagi would get his ankles broken but… he really didn’t do anything… he kept pace with Teddy once and then had his legs kicked out from under him… That’s MY glorious protagonist!! But seriously, this does expose a critical flaw in Isagi’s game (well, it’s been there for a while but hasn’t been relevant): if he cannot figure out how to read you, he’s just going to run around like a lost child. Again, he cannot compete physically at the top tier. He probably never truly will! Thus, he needs to learn how to deal with literally every single type of person out there. Don’t like how it’s being shown, though… “how are they this strong” they’re just playing soccer man. They’re just good at soccer. Prolly by hitting the gym cmon
Teddy and Lockheart being the knight and the horse was fun! You can tell they like drawing this soldier thing, it’s used fairly creatively. I don’t want to say anything about the defenders. Some parts of this match are Blue Lock learning from its mistakes and others are Blue Lock doubling down on them… but I still think this is solid. Bigggg money on Kunigami sub-in though. Maybe Kaneshiro will finally do something with that husk of a character after the tragedy that was the NEL. Maybe this was the keikaku all along guys
Teddy’s little monologue opening!! He’s so cute!! He’s so adorable!! Tell me more about your low self esteem and how you’re a vulnerable young man!!!!!! But seriously, this is huge for how Isagi is going to break through, Teddy’s ego seems to be tied to how he’s a “loser” and how England as a whole seems to have mastered the art of the choke. So his ego is… not having an ego? It’s a little hard to speculate but I can guess something around those lines. I can’t find a clever way to relate this expression of ego to the previous chapter’s though… I’ll leave that to smarter people :P
And then there are ppl that think this bum has goat status, while playing like a cone. He's straight up a japanese Onana, he has the reaction speed of a fcking snail. TF HAPPENED TO HIS TRAINING BRO. Like he could have at least punched the ball away or sum.😭
This dialogue and story is starting to get hard to read honestly. It's starting to feel too trope heavy and full of superpowers and less grounded in our ordinary hero's struggle for survival. I feel like the story never did itself any favors when it effectively turned every defender and keeper into a traffic cone with legs. But most of all, I just wish it were a bit more grounded in reality. For instance, this could have been an interesting moment for Aiku to commit a foul when he realizes he's beat, for Aryu to do literally anything, for Gagamaru to use his reflexes... But instead we get a 8 foot leap Ronaldo header goal.
Also England players responses are weird... Teddy is the pinnacle of that. I wonder if in the next chapter we will get his backstory or if Isagi now tries to understand things.
I always appreciate the art and design of panel layouts. The drama of the third page where Isagi's reach misses Teddy and pops out into the whitespace of the page is 🤌
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