If you’re a One Piece fan, Funko has the Monkey D. Luffy Trains Kung Fu Dugong Pop! Moment figures. The Pop! Moment line captures iconic scenes from a movie or show, and this Crunchyroll exclusive (MSRP: $39.99) is available here.

The Pop Parade line by Good Smile Company is great for those who want detailed and beautifully painted figures without the crazy prices of larger statues. Crunchyroll has the exclusive Helsing OVA Alucard Pop Up Parade Figure for $60.99 here.

Perfect Blue is a 1997 anime movie by legendary Japanese director Satoshi Kon (Tokyo Godfathers, Paprika, Paranoia Agent). Mima Kirigoe is brought to life as a Crunchyroll-exclusive figure via the Pop Up Parade line and retails for $30.99. It’s available here.

One Piece – Luffy & Ace Portrait.Of.Pirates NEO-MAXIMUM Figure Set (Bond Between Brothers 20th LIMITED Ver.) is available as a Crunchyroll Exclusive for $252.99. You can get it here.

Bleach and Ichigo fans can get the Crunchyroll exclusive Pop! vinyl figure where he is in his Final Getsuga Tensho form. He’s available for $14.99 here.

Many anime are based on manga, and popular anime such as Blue Lock and Frieren are based on the manga by Muneyuki Kaneshiro/Yusuke Nomura and Kanehito Yamada/Tsukasa Abe, respectively. Crunchyroll Store has the exclusive variant cover for Blue Lock Manga Volume 1, which is available here. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End Manga Volume 1 is available here.

The Crunchyroll Store has many collectibles and apparel for anime fans, and you can check them out at store.crunchyroll.com.

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Plot summary

The episode picks up from where Season 1 left off, with Jinpachi Ego’s bold challenge to pit Blue Lock’s XI’s egoist strikers against the established U-20 Japanese national team. The episode focuses on the preparation for the crucial match, with much of the drama centering on which players will secure their spots on the team. Even though this is just a setup episode, the stakes feel high as we find out who will be teaming up with who.

Character development

Once again, Yoichi Isagi finds himself in a familiar position: the underdog. However, this time, the pressure feels even more intense. He must prove his worth by joining the top-ranked players—players we’ve seen in-depth last season and those introduced in the season 1 finale. Isagi’s journey continues to be one of the most compelling aspects of Blue Lock. Watching him navigate the challenge of rising to the top in a highly competitive environment is still thrilling. What skills will Isagi unlock to be one of the top players? Who can he rely on to assist him to the top? Will friends become foes or vice versa? These are the types of questions that made the first season popular and will continue in the upcoming season.

While the focus here is on setting up the rest of the season, introducing new, top-tier players brings fresh energy to the series. These new players add more significant obstacles to Isagi’s ambitions, and it’ll be interesting to see why they’re at the top of the competition and how Isagi can combat them. The competitive dynamics between rivals and the introduction of new talent keep the energy up throughout. The competition feels fiercer than ever, and it’s clear that the series is gearing up for bigger challenges and higher stakes.

Overall thoughts

Overall, while the episode serves primarily to set the scene for the rest of the season, it does so effectively. It builds anticipation for the big match ahead against the U-20 team while reigniting the familiar tensions that have made Blue Lock such a compelling watch. Not to mention, it’s intriguing to see Isagi and the other players’ thought processes on who’s joining whom. Yes, it’s not the most action-packed episode, but it did its job in creating hype for what’s to come for the rest of the season.

Check out the first episode of the new season of Blue Lock on Crunchyroll on Saturday, October 5th, at 9:00 AM PT.

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The audience regularly chanted this throughout the BLUE LOCK panel at Anime Expo 2024, raising their index finger to punctuate the phrase, which gives you an idea of how fun and light-hearted the discussion was.

First-timers at Anime Expo, the special guests included:

Kazuki Ura, the Japanese voice for protagonist Yoichi Isagi, was extremely energetic and endearing, sporting the U.S. exclusive BLUE LOCK Aloha blue shirt.

Megumu Tsuchiya, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Weekly Shonen Magazine & The Editor of BLUE LOCK Manga.

Ryoya Arisawa, the Animation Producer of the BLUE LOCK anime series.

One of my favorite things about attending panels for the shows I’m a fan of is getting the “behind-the-scenes” glimpse of the crew that holds very relatable interests. 

For instance, Ura-san gushed about visiting the Dodger stadium and seeing Shohei Ohtani in action, along with the “very delicious” hot dogs. Arisawa-san dreamily described his love for the local beer, particularly Golden Road Brewing. It’s moments like these where you, as the fan, enjoy seeing their enjoyment and are glad they got to take a well-deserved break from working on the popular BLUE LOCK series. 

An Intense Sports Anime That Gets You Hyped

Based on the award-winning manga by Muneyuki Kaneshiro, the anime features 300 high school forwards pitted against each other in the BLUE LOCK training program. They compete to be the ace striker to lead Japan’s National Team in the next World Cup Tournament. If eliminated, the player will NEVER be able to play for the national team.

It’s like Squid Game but soccer. And instead of actual death, it’s the death of their soccer career, which, for the athletes, can feel like the same thing. 

Even with 24 episodes, Season 1 moves fast, with each episode better than the previous, making you look forward to the telltale signs of the spiral eyes, aura colors, and flying puzzle pieces that let you know things are about to get serious. 

I don’t particularly reach for sports anime; however, I was pleasantly surprised with BLUE LOCK. The recently released movie Episode Nagi was enjoyable, too, even if it was primarily a recap, but from a different player’s perspective. 

All About That Ego

When Ura-san was asked if there was any particular scene that was difficult to act, he replied:

“When I had to tell Nagi, ‘Shut up, genius.’ That was a difficult scene because I had to make it authentic and dig deep within my ego to make it happen. So I practiced it a lot while walking down a street, reciting it to myself, and yes, I got some weird looks!”

Additional ways that he prepares himself for recording are some method acting, such as not eating the day of recording or not playing his favorite game, to be more in tune with Isagi’s rollercoaster emotions and the challenges he faces.

Tsuchiya-san also shared that since the show’s main theme is fighting with ego, the team is careful never to make any of the characters reach a point where they give up. 

Fight on, egoists!

Season 2 Kicking Off on October 5

For long-time BLUE LOCK fans since 2022, the Season 2 announcement was highly welcomed, and the audience was treated to the sneak peek trailer:

While Season 1 focused on Isagi’s transformation, working his way from the bottom, in Season 2, viewers can expect growth in new areas, especially as the BLUE LOCK Eleven compete against the Japan U-20 (Japan National Under-20 soccer team) in a new environment outside the training center.

We’ll see how our favorite characters adapt to this new field setting with live spectators and how Nagi grows even further than he did in the movie.

The first season of BLUE LOCK can be streamed on Crunchyroll, and showtime availability for BLUE LOCK The Movie: Episode Nagi can be found here. 

Season 2 will premiere on October 5, 2024, also on Crunchyroll. It will consist of 14 episodes, which are expected to be released weekly. 

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