#Nagi Seishiro meta

[just-some-sorta-person]

Karasu and Otoya’s Backstories Reflect Aspects of Nagi as a Character.

“Karasu never shows his true nature bc he doesn’t believe he’s an interesting person”, “When anything unpleasant happened to Otoya he’d overwrite it bc thinking was pointless”

Familiar?

Karasu never shows his true nature because he doesn’t believe he’s interesting He’s aware he’s mediocre but doesn’t want others to know so he formed a mechanism of self protection to keep others from realizing He’s afraid of being hurt, self conscious

Otoya goes with the flow- if unpleasant things happen to him, he overwrites it and forgets. He thinks thinking is pointless. Worrying about something means it’s beyond his current capabilities so he doesn’t and he doesn’t want to. He refuses to introspect- I uh I mean despair

Not wanting to think about your weaknesses, unpleasant aspects of your life, and not wanting to worry about having to use excessive effort to get what you want For both Nagi and Otoya, this kind of thinking leads to a fixed mindset.

Like how Otoya said worrying about something meant it was beyond ur capabilities, in his LN Nagi says that working hard to become special means you aren’t special. So Otoya doesn’t worry and Nagi doesn’t want to work hard, especially given that working hard is ���a pain”.

If ability is inherent then why make yourself go through something unpleasant to fight against an impossibility? Like how Otoya calls thinking “pointless”, Nagi calls it “a pain”. So they both avoid thinking

When unpleasant things happen he insists on ignoring it and focusing on other things. Take Nagi’s reaction to Reo breaking up with him as a key example. It’s unpleasant to think about Reo, so he tries not to

Nagi even gets mad when Bachira reminds him of Reo. “I don’t need weaklings like you on the field” and it’s a huge “pain” to think about. So he focuses instead on being reborn and crushing Rin. You even see a similar thing in that extra where Nagi picks a fight with everyone

Even before Reo, Nagi ignored unpleasant things in his life, choosing not to care and therefore not fixing them. Otoya “did things he liked” but Nagi’s version was more so “avoided things he didn’t like” which is why his free floating lifestyle ends up looking more depressing.

Otoya overwrites unpleasant things in his life with fun things but Nagi doesn’t do that. - well, maybe until he started pecking at his shell in bllk. Instead Nagi decides that it doesn’t matter. For example: Sure Nagi is alone and no one likes him, but he’s fine like this

It’s not a lie to say Nagi didn’t yearn for companionship before Reo but just because he didn’t explicitly experience the feeling of “loneliness” doesn’t mean that he was happy or that he didn’t experience the emotional downsides of being alone.

You could say that emptiness was always there and then it was only when Reo filled it and left that it became noticeable. Nagi was fine with everyone disliking him but when someone showed signs of actually enjoying his company it became worth making an effort for.

So it’s not that Nagi is inherently incapable of human connections or that he doesn’t like having someone he’s connected to. Reo or not, I think it’s clear that companionship makes Nagi happy. It’s just that Nagi was entirely focused on avoiding the downsides of human contact while being unaware of the upsides. In a similar way that Nagi was entirely focused on avoiding the “pain” of trying before he experienced frustration and was unaware of the thrill he could get from feeling challenged because he was so overgrown as a genius.

Nagi says he wasn’t lonely and I trust him a little in the sense that he really didn’t want to interact with people and he doesn’t seem to get lonely easily. But can’t you be lonely by virtue of suffering for your aloneness or must you feel the distinct emptiness to claim the title?

(more LN excerpts)

Hm. Well. Within the parallel from before, while Otoya says “don’t worry” Nagi says “don’t try”. Tho this later shifts to a milder but still inhibiting take “don’t give it your all”. Tho ofc Nagi also doesn’t like thinking about his weaknesses.

Nagi’s avoidance leads into Karasu’s backstory bc they’re both afraid of being hurt, and believe they aren’t interesting. While Karasu protects himself from others“realizing his true nature” I’d say Nagi protects himself from anyone including himself “realizing his true nature”

Unlike Karasu, Nagi doesn’t have awareness of his limits, so he doesn’t “know he’s mediocre” or use analysis for protection. Nagi just doesn’t believe in his own value +uses his Otoya-like “It doesn’t matter to me” “it’s a pain to think about so let’s not” strategy as protection

Let’s backtrack a bit. I said Nagi protects himself from realizing his true nature. This is related to Nagi not being aware of his limits or believing in his own value. He didn’t even think he was a prodigy until recently with his realization in the current match

Nagi says if someone works hard to prove they’re special, it means they aren’t special in the first place. Presumedly because if you give something your all, you’ve fully unveiled yourself and if you’re still struggling then, then your full self has just proven to be not enough

For this reason, competition and trying hard make very little sense to Nagi. Why would someone give their all and unveil themselves as not special? It’s cringe/embarrassing to prove how lame you are by struggling as your truest self. You’re unveiling your true nature as “normal”

At least if you achieve nothing by lack of effort you won’t prove to the world how un-special you really are. This is not a good way of thinking btw haha… it’s struggling as your best self that’s admirable. Nagi also states that no one would be interested in him anyways.

He repeats this when meeting Reo btw, when it seems Reo might be interested in him. He self-deprecates when describing Reo’s unusual interest in him to Zantetsu- he really doesn’t get why Reo’s so excited and doesn’t see himself as a prodigy until he starts testing himself out

Nagi actively says Reo is weird for not being bothered by him. when Reo insists Nagi has value, it’s meaningful to Nagi bc before Reo he was sure he didn’t. And because he was sure he didn’t have value, Nagi never did anything.

Not caring and avoiding trying protected Nagi from his potential/hypothetical lack of value. In the same way that avoidance protects Nagi from his feelings about the whole Reo situation. If you never confront it you never have to deal with it. Growing pains are brutal.

Excerpts from Nagi’s Light Novel were taken from here translated by mzk_70 on twitter, mzk70.bsky.social on blue sky

This is a crosspost of a thread made on August 7, 2024

[gildeddlily]

absolutely losing my mind because of these two!!!

so.

are these two actually toxic, or are they just kids who don't know how to communicate? easy, they're just kids! (this was fast)

reading the manga will not make you understand that (or im just stupid), and this is why I'm thanking the author on.my.knees for the spin-off!

so.

after watching the anime I fled to ao3, of course. read some works about Rin and Isagi, managed to not spoil myself anything.

then i read the U20 arc. after reading every ryusae I could find (writing one myself rn, doing god's work) I finished to read the manga cause, yk, I wanted to know what would happen with my babies and then boom! Reo and Nagi!!!

I didn't particularly care about them at first: Nagi was strong ofc, but kind of boring? he's not my favourite archetype, and while I loved Reo I hated their fight and wanted nothing to do with them. key word(s), at first.

then, then! I randomly read some fics about them cause they'd started to grow on me, and boom, tons of fics about their breakup/makeup. stunning works, ofc, but I started to see so many "Reo's fault" "Nagi's fault" "toxic relationship" that I kind of started to get uncomfortable (sometimes people throw around the word toxic when it's nothing like that), so what's to do? read the spin off ofc.

that I did, and now not only I love them both with all of my heart, but I'm Reo's number one fan (and kinnie)!

and I developed a deep hatred for those "toxic x" theories and takes. SO. let me blabber and rant.

they love each other so much!!

this is Nagi.

he thinks "damn, soccer/football is a pain, I hate sweating and running, but I don't hate Reo" even though most of the time he spends with Reo is spent playing soccer/football (I won't choose one english is so confusing- in italian it's literally called kick).

he doesn't feel forced to be Reo's friend, he likes it.

because Reo loves him, it's as simple as that.

he wants to be Nagi's friend "despite" Nagi's personality: this is something he currently says through the spin-off, which made me cry- Reo truly is the first person who ever accepted Nagi as someone who is lazy and unmotivated, who complains a lot, who doesn't put any effort in what he does, who doesn't offer much.

Or at least he thinks that he doesn't have anything special to offer, until Reo arrives.

he still has those terribly self-deprecating thoughts, but now he has something to offer, his talent.

(and after a period of happiness, their honeymoon phase one could call it, he starts to doubt the sincerity of Reo's care. from thinking "i'm not his slave, i'm his partner" he starts to doubt Reo's honesty: "maybe he only wanted to be my friend because of my talent, a talent he knows how to use"- since he still thinks that he's got nothing to offer! but we will talk about this later.)

this is Reo!

he thinks "I wanted to be the one who could make you love soccer/football, the one able to light up something in you" but he also thinks "seeing you like that, even if it wasn't me who'd done that, made me happy".

he's so jealous he's almost funny, and isn't that the most teenager thing ever?

who wouldn't be jealous after working so hard to be special to someone, just for someone else to take the place you're working so hard for?

it's terrible, but still, it doesn't stop Reo from being happy that Nagi found something exciting.

something that made Nagi as happy as the combo Nagi-soccer/football made Reo happy.

the thing is, Nagi thinks he's Reo's friend because of his talent, which maybe it's true. maybe, hadn't Nagi been a genius, they wouldn't have become friends, but his talent was the sparkle that made him become Reo's treasure.

Reo is someone who has everything, who gets everything he wants, or as he says everything except what he really wants.

for that, he has to work.

so, what he wants is to play soccer/football, and to play it with Nagi.

(in order to be Nagi's friend, he needs to work hard, because he needs to be honest and gain Nagi's trust- this is how friendship works: even when it seems flawless and easy, there's so much work behind it, and knowing it is important. most of the times we only realise it once we lost that bond- for example, Nagi. Reo already knew it, and this is why he tried so hard to not leave Nagi's side)

at one point, the two things became linked to one another, and his dream turns into "winning with Nagi, my partner". Because Nagi is talented, is special, and Reo saw his talent, and how Nagi was unable to do the same. He wants to show Nagi that soccer/football is fun, that his talent isn't a pain, that he is special, because Nagi doesn't know it, and for Reo a star that doesn't see his its own light? is just preposterous.

He cares for Nagi and loves everything about him, even all the "bad" things, and he doesn't think that Nagi has to change, and this is what, for me, makes their break-up way more serious and relatable for a lot of people.

it triggers a "I'll change to be better" "for me you never had to change" "I need to change for myself" dynamic.

2. changing and longing is way more fun when you're doing it together!!!

so they split up.

Nagi doesn't do it because he likes Isagi more, or because his style of play is more interesting, he does it because Isagi was stronger than Nagi and Reo: entering Blue Lock, Nagi had trust in Reo's ability to use his talent to win, he didn't even think about failing, and while Barou came close to making him feel like he could loose, Nagi overpowered him at the end- but then Isagi beats Nagi, and Reo with him.

Nagi understands that Reo's dream can't become reality if they aren't the strongest, and if being together doesn't work, maybe they should split up, part ways, become stronger and then join forces again, and win everything. win the world cup.

while his friendship with Isagi is sweet and I love them, for Nagi Isagi is like a cyclette.

he'll use the cyclette to get get fit and make his bf swoon over his legs, he won't stay with the cyclette once he doesn't need the training anymore. and even if he will, it will always be just the cyclette he uses to get fit "for" his bf.

(metaphor isn't metaphoring)

Reo doesn't know that.

he knows he's strong, but he knows that Isagi and Nagi are on a whole other level and he feels threatened. he fears that Nagi will choose Isagi instead of him, and he tries desperately to not loose Nagi.

Nagi is his dream. Slowly, day after day, Nagi became part of his dream, and now he's losing not only his best friend but the dream that made him free.

Reo says it himself- he knows that Nagi did the smartest thing by leaving, but he's young and scared and sees it as Nagi leaving him.

He feels abandoned, and he thinks that Nagi is abandoning his dream to go with the bigger fish, the apex predator, in order to become the best striker, by forgetting the promises they made at the start of Blue Lock, to stay together til the end.

Neither of them forgets the other.

Nagi leaves, and all he thinks about it "I need Reo to see this" "I can't wait to let him see how much I've improved", and he misses Reo, just as much as Reo misses him.

the only difference?

Reo is oblivious about Nagi's real feelings and thought process, and his thinking of Nagi turns into spiraling into depression and self-hatred.

so Nagi changes.

he starts to see the beauty in soccer/football, he finally sees what Reo had tried to make him see for months, and he's thrilled. he's having fun. he's grateful that Reo convinced him to not discard Blue Lock immediately. he's different.

different why? because Isagi beat him? because Blue Lock happened?

he changed not when Isagi beat them, but the moment he became Reo's friend, and found a reason to do something.

because Reo was the first person to ever tell him that his laziness, boredom, his oh so troublesome antics were alright, that he was what he was, and he was enough not only for Reo, but for the whole world.

Reo accepted him even when he was set on being static, made him want to change, and now that he's changing he feels worthy of being loved so much.

"you saw something in me back then, you forced to me work hard, and now thanks to you I ('m on my way to) realised my own worth, now I found something exciting"

he changes.

Reo sees him after what, a few days, and he's already improved so much.

and he thinks that he was Nagi's cage, his personal dead weight, that Nagi may have been his treasure but he wasn't Nagi's. that Nagi doesn't need him anymore. if Nagi doesn't need him, what will be of his dream?

(we could start a long-ass post ab mental health and recovering but I won't for my own sanity)

what's his worth then, since he got into Blue Lock just to stay with Nagi till the end- especially when he can't even be number two, with Isagi there- and Nagi won't be with him anymore?

he needs to change too.

3. destroying yourself in order to change (no fun)

Reo says that he isn't brave enough to destroy himself like the others do.

Isagi, Barou, Nagi, Chigiri, they all destroy themselves in order to become stronger and change, evolve, but Reo can't. he's scared, he's confused, the whole arc is just him looking like that. then what does he do?

he lets Nagi destroy him. "If I can't do it, Nagi will" don't you understand you're doing exactly what you say you're unable to do? the fact that you're not the one pulling the trigger doesn't mean that you're not killing yourself

he pushes Nagi until he snaps and tells Reo to fuck off, that he's a pain, that he's weak and someone Nagi doesn't want anything to do with, because that's what Reo thinks.

He thinks Nagi doesn't want to be with him anymore, he's feeling guilty for what he thought (later later), he's insecure- and instead of being reasonable, he founds a way to confirm his "irrational" fears.

"I'm not being insecure since Nagi confirmed it"

he sabotages himself. that's the nail in the coffin.

instead of destroying himself with football/soccer, by learning from a lost match, he destroys himself with life, by putting on the line his relationship with the person he (not exaggerating) loves most in the world.

he's unable to distinguish life from soccer/football (and this will be the aspect that makes him so different from most of the other characters), because since meeting Nagi they've become one thing. soccer/football is his life, Nagi is his life, because they're his only chance at being happy.

(Nagi is able to distinguish between the court and Reo: this way, Reo is just as special as Isagi is, since Isagi may have made him see the fun in soccer/football, but Reo made him get angry. Nagi who thinks that his strong quality is the fact he never gets angry, that he's a pacifist. Isagi is his soccer/football revolution, Reo is his life revolution.

Reo can't. they all insult each other on the field, but they're all friends afterwards. not Reo. not yet)

now he's lost Nagi, and his dream, and he has to pick himself up from the ground.

this is how Reo changes.

4. miscommunication is a beast

As I said before, Nagi starts to think that Reo only cared about him because of his talent. he's angry at Reo. he doesn't understand why Reo said those things, why he was so stupid, why he didn't understand Nagi.

he says "I'm not his toy" and he isn't, but really, try to get into his shoes.

he thinks his partner, his best friend, doesn't believe in them as a duo anymore, doesn't want to believe in them like he used to now that Nagi has changed, now that he's more "independent" from Reo.

"what, now that I know how to fight alone, he doesn't want me anymore?" that would be anyone's first thought.

and he doubts Reo's trust in their dream.

when did Reo start to have so little faith in them, in Nagi? when did he give up on them? he thinks that, after spending weeks trying to improve just to make Reo's dream true.

and he's angry, but he still hopes to play with Reo again.

he still want to, because him and Reo are partners and Nagi still believes in their dream. because he remembers Reo's passion, and he believes in him.

+) 5. being relatable as fuck

(what kid with absent/abusive parents never thought back on their action and went anxiously all "Am I just like them?")

Reo begs Nagi to stop being so strong, stop improving so quickly, stop running towards a place Reo can't reach yet, and isn't this a human thing to do? He desperately wants to be with Nagi, and thinks that he'd rather stop him from improving rather than lose him. He thinks "Please, give up on your dream, your ego"- and isn't that familiar?

he just thought the same thing his father, a man he hates and despises and who doesn't believe in Reo, told him. and he said that to Nagi. Nagi who gave him a ticket to the top by being at his side, who let him see hope.

he panics. am I just like him? Am I cruel enough to wish for someone to give up on their dreams, just to get something out of their failure?

he's different from his father, because he's seventeen, he's scared to lose his best friend, and we can be irrational in situations like this one. does he know it? no, the same way he doesn't understand that Nagi didn't left because of him.

so yes, he's in the worst head-space ever.

isn't he relatable? this is what that made reo my favourite character in a second, probably. he's so human and he makes so many mistakes and he's so stupid sometimes, but I can see myself in him very clearly.

and now.

in what way is their relationship not balanced? their love and care not mutual? in what way one used or manipulated the other?

I think they're flawed, and they made mistakes, and they hurt each other, but I also think that we throw in the word "toxic" the moment a relationship isn't perfect.

they're friends and they're teens, they will make mistakes and they will hurt each other, and their friendship (and they were roommates) won't be perfect- this doesn't make it less genuine or beautiful.

don't get me started on what happens in the manga (really don't do it) (all of this was just nagi's spin off!!!)

[lauretra]

The Rebel Heir: A quick analysis of the character arcs of Killua Zoldyck and Reo Mikage

What do Reo Mikage from Blue Lock and Killua Zoldyck from Hunter x Hunter have in common? Much more than one would like to believe. Both are characters with similar arcs and codependent relationships. I wanted to analyze both of them because I think their differences and similarities are mind-blowing, but also because they are a type of character that are extremely interesting and the moral of their story inspires thousands of kids who may be watching their respective series.

this meta is gonna have spoilers of both series!!!!

They both come from wealthy, patriarchal families where their future lies in being the heir to their parents' businesses. Killua is the heir to a family of assassins, while Reo of his family's multibillionare company. Both are manipulated by their families in order for them to remain the heirs. In Killua (and because the series allows it) the manipulation is more explicit: torture, harassment and warnings. While in Reo his father mentions to him that it is “for his own good” and that “only the chosen ones can play soccer, you are not one of them.”

Killua's dad (Silva) and Reo's dad are shadows of what Killua and Reo should become: a big killer who runs the family and a businessman in a traditional family. Its their "destiny"

The two rebel against this fate that seems boring/painful to them and decide to have their own lives for their own. In the way, they meet someone who represents freedom and an escape from the life they don't want. That other person offers them an alternative of hope and friendship: A promise that their lifes are gonna change forever.

Both Reo and Killua become devoted and codependent to those people. The other two people may seem less involved in the relationship from an outside perspective, but both Nagi and Gon appreciate and value their partner. I want to emphasize that for both Reonagi and Killugon, the other is their first real friend. All of these children/teenagers lived isolated from the world (or self-isolated) so this lack of experience in friendship is what makes the dynamic of both of them can be seen as out of balance. Also, because of their family background, both Reo and Killua see friendship as a “transaction” in a sense that for them, they only have value if they prove valuable to their partner, in Killua's case as a battle companion/protector and in Reo's case as a soccer player.

Both killugon and nagireo promise to be together. Gon and Killua under the stars and Nagi and Reo before entering blue lock. I don't consider Nagi and Gon to have similar arcs (somewhat in the sense of having to find their own dreams, Gon outside of his father's expectations and Nagi from something that motivates him as Nagi, but thats a type of hero journey), but what I do consider them to be similar in is how the fandom perceives them: the one that “dominates” the relationship. I think this is more because for both Gon and Nagi (before epinagi) we weren't much in their thoughts (Nagi and Gon externalizes their thoughts while Killua and Reo Internalizes), however Gon and Nagi are devoted to Killua and Reo, and this has been proven a thousand times.

** I wanted to emphasize here that those who make the promise to stay together are Nagi and Gon respectively, emphasizing the desire to want to be with their partner.

Both couples have a separation arc that meant stretching the established dynamic to the maximum. Blue Lock challenges Nagi and Reo as a duo of genius/talented learners, the Chimera Ants challenge Gon and Killua as friends and companions with and horrible war happening.

These arcs (2nd selection and CAA) allows to explore their relationship in its entirety. The lack of experience of previous friendships is noticeable in the handling of communication. Of course, here there are internal problems of the characters (Killua and Reo with problems of self-worth, Gon going through his first grief and Nagi learning that he has to motivate himself and improve and that being a “genius” is not enough), but there are also external problems that strain the relationship, in the case of Killugon is more obvious because the circumstances caused them to be involved in a war, in the case of Nagi and Reo is Blue lock itself and the encounter with other players (Isagi) that represent a threat to the dream they share.

Both Killua and Reo have problems communicating clearly and being able to express their feelings and fears to their partner. Killua wanted to ask Gon what their relationship meant to him, while Reo wanted to show himself happy with Nagi's changes. They both failed and that lack of communication leads to tragedy. Of course this is not only their fault, Gon isolated himself and Nagi has the social skills of a cactus, so it was not easy for Killua and Reo to affirm the relationship with words.

The insecurities of both, added to the circumstances and the poor communication with their partners lead them to having to show their most vulnerable side to others. Because of these misunderstandings and lack of maturity from Nagi, Reo, Killua and Gon, the relationship ends in a separation arc where they have to learn to grow apart from each other. It's difficult, because for both Killugon and Nagireo, the other is their first real friend. All of these children were isolated people who recognize in each other a first deep and sincere friendship. Likewise, both Nagi and Gon say harsh words to their partners “Because this is not your fight!” and “I don't care anymore, you are a pain”. Both words come from frustration, but they are hard to hear, specially from the person you cared the most.

Now is when things start to diverge. Killua, in the process of saving Gon, is reunited with his sister on a journey that depicts Killua facing his traumas (his family) and being able to rise up so he can show devotion to his friend once again, but this time it's different, this time Killua wants Gon to apologize. This is the first time Killua asks something in return from Gon, their relationship is changing. Reo, on the other hand, starts to work on himself, in the process of wanting to show his value to Nagi he creates his ability “The chameleon”, a beautiful power that allows him to copy others, but also allows him to face his traumas: if, in the words of his father, Reo was not “chosen” to be able to play soccer unlike the others who were, he has no choice but to copy those “chosen ones”. Reo and Nagi's relationship also changes, Reo's goal now is to show themselves on the field as equals.

At the end of Hunter x Hunter, Killua decides not to follow Gon after saving him from his horrible contract nen. Now Killua has other priorities: helping his sister who needs him and protect her. Killua understands that his relationship with Gon has changed and that while they are still friends, he needs time to heal and to be able to be with his sister Alluka. the penultimate chapter of the anime ends with Gon and Killua going their separate ways, but this time Killua has a dream to protect and gon returns home, we complete the full circle and their relationship “swings”.

On the other hand, in the current NEL arc in Blue Lock, Nagi and Reo end up on the same team. Nagi and Reo's relationship also changes, it is now Nagi who seeks out Reo and asks for his help. However, due to Nagi's lack of insight, the relationship becomes unbalanced again: the moves they make are no longer scoring goals and his mentors tell him that a separation is imminent.

Reo is not doing it on purpose. He has always had a habit of “overwatering” Nagi even before the breakup, and Nagi is telling him all the things Reo wanted to hear. He's simply too proactive to the point that he ends up helping to enable Nagi's lazy habits. That said, that's mostly Nagi's fault for being lazy and continuing to rely on people even though he knows it's something he needs to improve.

Killua decides to part ways with Gon temporarily and finds a dream that goes beyond just caring for Alluka: Killua, as the caring and kind child he is, finds his worth in caring for others. But now, Killua must ask himself the question of what he wants for himself. He must find his worth beyond an “other.”

Reo must ask himself the same question and understand that his friendship with Nagi goes beyond being just soccer players: they are friends and their bond is unbreakable. He doesn't have to be just Nagi's "wingman", he can also score his own goals and be an indispensable midfielder for the match.

I hope you enjoyed the comparison. Both characters are amazing and they are so loving and caring about their friends that I find it inspiring!

[cactusjuiceisquenchy]

So I was thinking that the whole introduction to nagireo felt vaguely familiar. Like, I’ve seen this play before! But I couldn’t remember why,, until just now!

Compare this to

(I can’t remember the actual chapter’s panels but episode Nagi flashes back to it)

In the Original beta version of haikyuu, kageyama finds hinata exactly the same way reo finds nagi, wandering around school wishing they had a better partner and then BOOM crazy human feat followed by immediately pressuring this random guy to join their sport. The parallels are crazy. I like to think the spirits of og kagehina live on in nagireo, it’s very amusing to me.

[lightpinkstuff]

Two things:

I wanted to put these two pages together to see the difference in Nagi's body language in these two similar moments. In the first, he seems more forward, confident, and determined. In the second, he's got his hand on his neck, a gesture that shows he's feeling nervous (in that whole sequence he keeps doing similar motions, touching his neck/shoulder/back of his head). I don't have anything to say about it, it just makes me sad ;v;

I realised that the layout of these two pages is extremely similar?? Is it just in my head?? Idk what this means, but it's got to have been intentional. It has to mean something in the narrative, right??

[harley-joking]

I was thinking while reading the manga (that 'I am no longer enough to satisfy you' frame) and reading other opinions about the ship in my native language (from people who ship them and people who don't) that Nagi is certainly seen as insensitive/manipulative/cold to Reo in the main manga (without reading ep Nagi/which does give us his POV/and how much he cares about Reo).

But even and with all that, without his pov (his motives) and in the main manga we are told: That Nagi went to play for 6 months a sport he was indifferent to (he went to practice and all, and it was time he could spend on his cell instead) and even stayed in bluelock initially (mega effort) for Reo.

Reo wanted him there, and so he stayed. Just because of Reo.

In retrospect, this is one of the ways to see how much he cares. I mean imagine the level of effort that such a lazy person has made for Reo so far and without asking for anything in return. Just because he was his friend (he fell in love).

Some people are very hard on Nagi.

[usagi-yoichi]

A while ago, @lizzieonka , @echarie and I were discussing the possibility of Nagi getting kicked out of Blue Lock and uh last chapter isn’t exactly reassuring ?

Let’s just break down what happened :

- Nagi struggled to score a goal under the direction of Agni so he ditched him in favor of a less experienced player - Reo - because he expected his friend to anticipate his needs

- Using the new combination, Nagi surprised both Isagi and Kaiser by showing his innate abilities and training allow him to try riskier tricks and he scored

- With this stunt, Nagi decided he had defeated Isagi but during the counter attack of the Bastard München, Isagi beat him twice : preventing his goal and passing past him while attacking

- Despite their defeat, Nagi got a proposition of 80~millions - which is more than what Isagi got

- While Nagi was disappointed in losing the game, Reo encouraged him to set himself a new objective : to reach a value of 300 millions

So. Reo is such a bad influence here I can’t even begin to tell you how frustrated I am with him.

Right now, there are two issues with Nagi :

1) He doesn’t realise his goal was a one-time, circumstances-dependant lucky stunt.

2) His laziness seriously impedes any progress he might make.

So focusing on issue 1 : Nagi scored a miraculous goal based only on talent (he didn’t plan anything, it was pure luck he was able to do it) and on the lack of intel regarding his abilities for the other team. As shown later, Isagi can easily block Nagi if he knows what to expect from him. Which is quite the issue : Nagi can actually be countered by anyone who can foresee his actions and even more so if Reo isn’t here. He completely depends on Reo’s judgement and skill to be useful. The offer he got after this match is more related to the hype following his goal than to his actual ability and Nagi lacks the self awareness to realise he’s heading straight toward a wall.

Focusing on issue 2 : being with Agni was tough but beneficial to Nagi. I personally think that regardless of who he teamed up though, it would’ve ended poorly. Had he stayed with Agni, Nagi is too lazy to actually put in the effort and he gave up at the first obstacle and I think this cycle who’ve gone on and on because Nagi’s being actively delusional here. Being with Reo is also bad news since Reo is over anticipating Nagi’s actions : Reo is scoring through Nagi much like Isagi scored through Yukimiya. Although it seems like a symbiotic relationship, it’s far from fair for both parties : the scorers here are but puppets that act on the whim of another player. While Yukimiya has enough ego to realise this much and talk it out with Isagi, Nagi doesn’t seem to care or actually notice he’s virtually not doing anything but being a tool. Since it’s easier for Nagi not to think too much about all this, he simply concerns himself with winning the game and calls it a day. As a result, he can’t input any kind of imaginative process or any strategy in his style, all is thought and directed by Reo.

From this we get two conclusions : Nagi is extremely dependant on Reo and Reo isn’t acting in Nagi’s best interest.

Instead of reminding Nagi that his first objective is far from achieved, Reo urges him to move forward to another goal - one that makes sense for Reo but not Nagi. Reo reinforces the delusion that Nagi is suddenly the miracle ace striker of Blue Lock by reminding him of his salary proposition and the hype around Nagi’s goal. But considering how Nagi seems more and more like he’s returning to being Reo’s thing/tool, it feels more like Reo is basking in this glory through Nagi rather than being happy for him. He discards Nagi’s previous goal to urge him back into their duo. It almost feels like a toxic relationship.

In conclusion, Nagi is in for a tough wake up call sooner or later and sooner would be better as it’d be best to attend this issue before Nagi is either too far gone or lagging behind so much he can’t make up for it. I was hoping Reo would help Nagi with his current issues but it seems lizzieonka was right and he’s only going to make it worse.

[just-some-sorta-person]

Huh. My interpretation of Eta was slightly different in that I found it kinda ambiguous. As in, the point was more about the value of not ignoring the past or you’ll repeat toxic cycles. Regaining ur memory and choosing to try again anyways while knowing what could go wrong (hence Joel saying “okay” instead of “it doesn’t matter or won’t happen” to Clementines description of how their relationship fell in the first place and will fall again if they act the same) and taking that chance could go right or wrong because you’re not going in as the same people as last time. But are you different enough? Only taking that chance will tell you. And it very well could end badly, but as long as you made the choice knowingly it’s not that wrong. And maybe you can end up with something better than before, because you acknowledge what happened in the past and decide to do better.

(Keeping in mind Nagi’s explicitly stated problems in avoiding hurt ie introspection and his current epinagi refusal to think to the past where Reo rejected him, “erasing” those memories)

it's interesting that Nagi's favorite movie is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind just because the theme of that movie is falling in and out and then back in love, even if it's toxic and won't work out.

trying to love someone over and over even if it hurts you. they're a mistake you can't stop making.

and then Reo's favorite movie is the Truman Show, a movie about a man who's spent his entire life being exploited and played with like a puppet.

something he is both a victim and perpetrator of.

now blue lock is having major writing issues right now, but I won't deny, Kaneshiro is fucking cooking with his character bibles.

Shidou's favorite song being "Pink Spider" is fucking brilliant and I'll talk about that later, but the NagiReo preferences are fascinating.

[natsuslover]

bllk boys as american high school stereotypes ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

notes— bc i miss being a senior in high school watching bllk every saturday while working on college apps :(

ft. yoichi isagi, seishiro nagi, meguru bachira, reo mikage

warnings: none :)

yoichi isagi - the accomplished nerd

you cannot tell me this kid wouldn’t at least be ranked top 6% or smth

like he would definitely have his whole high school life and college career planned out using his meta vision or whatever

he would “devour” all of his tests, quizzes, concept checks, etc.

and not to mention that he plays soccer

i know for a fact dude would milk the soccer thing for all it’s worth on his college apps

like in every other sentence on his college essay he would be talking about his soccer trauma lmao

he would also be a part of so many other clubs just to have a stacked resumé

i feel like he would study a lot too like just because he wants to do well in school in general

he’s one of those nerds that’s not necessarily popular but everyone knows him because people talk about his grades and his rank and they look up to him and stuff

was definitely cancelled for a bit for calling one of his classmates a slur after getting a bad grade on a group project…

seishiro nagi - the “invisible” kid

he’s not actually invisible he just never shows up to class lmao

he shows up occasionally to get the bare minimum of school hours so he can graduate, and also shows up for test days because making up work is a pain

he usually just sits in the back of class and is either sleeping or blatantly playing on his phone but the teachers never say anything because they lowkey forget he exists

but somehow he still has perfect grades??

he doesn’t think he has a lot of friends because he thinks it’s too much energy to keep up with a social life

and yet he’s still pretty popular and was somehow dragged into a huge friend group without even trying

a lot of girls have hallway crushes on him and try to flirt with him but he doesn’t even notice

and if he does he just pretends he doesn’t.

he couldn’t care less about school and just goes because he has to and internally complains about wanting to go home the entire day

meguru bachira - the weird kid

i’m sorry i love bachira but he’d definitely be that one kid people laugh at in the hallways

not necessarily in a “he gets bullied” way but just like, he’s weird and he knows it, everyone else knows it, and he’s genuinely funny

he’s like the weird kid that everyone’s friends with if ykwim

but it’s also kind of sad because he has no real friends

his grades are good enough i suppose; he doesn’t really try but he’ll get into a pretty decent college so he’s fine

doesn’t take school all that seriously

definitely the class joker

and is the subject of teacher gossip pretty much everyday because they find him incredibly tiring to deal with

other kids have seen him talking to himself in the hallways so they’re kind of creeped out by him

he’s completely aware that people talk about him behind his back but he doesn’t really care because he like being able to make people laugh

reo mikage - the rich kid

this one is obvious lol

he’s always wearing luxury brand names to school like it’s nothing

like catch this man in the hallway in gucci shoes, a louis vuitton jacket, prada sunglasses, and spraying his chanel perfume everywhere because the hallway smells like shit

people become friends with him just in the hopes that he’ll buy them super bougie stuff for their birthdays or whenever

he’s literally a nepo baby so he doesn’t even have to do well in school to get into a good college

has girls falling for him left and right but he knows it’s just because he happens to be wealthy and genetically fortunate

definitely would be a popular kid that gets along well with everyone

he’s really modest about his wealth but also not modest at all at the same time

the teachers try to suck up to him because they’re adamant that he’s going to be successful in the future (and he probably will)

blows money on his friends every time they hang out and throws the best parties with expensive ass alcohol

[just-some-sorta-person]

I think about Zantetsu’s emotional intelligence sometimes

How he immediately understood Reo’s importance to Nagi with a few vague words, and his “Nagi..” in the extra from the end of 2nd sel. when Nagi was worried abt Reo.

When Zantetsu asks Nagi why he plays soccer and Nagi responds "It's because of Reo, or more like Reo's fault", he's immediately intrigued. He understands that there must be more to Nagi's feelings.

When Nagi goes on to say "All I'm doing is tagging along", Zantetsu doesn't take his words at face value and assume Nagi is just going with the flow like he's saying. Instead, he sees Nagi saying he's there because of Reo, and understands that Nagi wouldn't be there if he didn't want to or had no reason due to his objection to hard work.

Taking these things into account, Zantetsu concludes that "It's Reo's fault" and "I'm tagging along" means Nagi is most likely here because he likes Reo, and asks his next question under that assumption. "What's so great about that guy? (that you would go so far for him)"

He reads inbetween the lines. Nagi never said he liked Reo and did all this because he liked him. But Zantetsu heard these things and immediately clocked Nagi’s dedication

Then when Nagi said Reo was the first to show interest in him, Zantetsu says Nagi may be weird but he’s not a bad guy. And I think that’s him acknowledging Nagi’s gratefulness toward Reo, and the dedication that results from that.

Something Reo still hasn't understood throughout Nagi and Reo's entire friendship, Zantetsu understood in a short conversation. We can compare this to when Reo had a similar interaction with Nagi.

You could say Nagi's being even more direct here. (Direct, for him). "I don't wanna play soccer but being with you isn't a pain, so its fine" This pretty heavily implies that Nagi only plays soccer/endures it because he enjoys Reo's company. Reo doesn't get this. To be fair to him though, it's always a harder thing to get when it happens to you, as opposed to when you're an outsider.

I think Zantetsu has a point when he says truly smart people are too kind to point out the dumbness of others. In the sense that nagi and reo have no problem being mean girls TM and they are very emotionally immature, despite being geniuses. (Or maybe because..?)

They are also just emotionally immature in general due to being teenagers. Being smart simply =|= maturity it seems.

[lauretra]

The Chameleon: ability unlocked through pain and resilience

When Reo tells his parents that his dream is to win the World Cup, Reo's father tells him to forget it, that “only a few are chosen to be able to play soccer”.

After this encounter of frustration and anger, Reo meets Nagi. Nagi, unlike Reo, is one of those chosen to be able to play soccer. His ball trap is equal to a genius and he can effortlessly make incredible plays. He is different from Reo in Reo´s mind

When Reo goes through his worst moment in Blue Lock after being left out by Nagi, he mentions that unlike him and the other players “he doesn't have the confidence to be able to die and be reborn”. In order to know your ego, you have to know your worst side and embrace it. For psychoanalysis, one way of conceiving the ego is as the place of negotiation, making adjustments, psychological calculations to find a way to live with ourselves and in the world. Reo, contrary to what he believes, he lets himself “die” Nagi ends up “killing” him. And worst of all, Reo is not chosen. I think this hurts more if we look at it from the perspective that his father told him “you are not one of the chosen ones to play soccer”, again Reo proved he was not chosen. Throughout that game Reo faced self-esteem issues and felt that his abilities were minimized. He kept comparing himself to Isagi and Nagi, which only made the situation worse.

We don't know what Reo must have gone through during his stay with Shidou, but he mentions to Isagi in their conversation in the monitor room that the only thing that kept him here was his desire for revenge. He begins to question his side with Nagi more and more. Unlike him, he's not a genius, he doesn't improve the way like Nagi did. What value do I have then? am I someone useful to keep around?

All this changes in the match of the third selection. Reo begins to feel overwhelmed by the “light” of the top six. He begins to question his stay at Blue Lock “Hey Reo, become the one who chooses, not the one waiting to be chosen" I think these words were powerful for Reo not only in a sense of the pain they caused him for being abandoned by Nagi, but also because of what his father said to him.

Out of all insecurities, traumas and low self-esteem Reo manages to unlock the Chameleon “I will become an idiot too” “I am no longer the master of a little, call me the master of all tricks”. For me, this is an answer to all of Reo's fears. If Reo is not a chosen one, if his path is not to be a genius (something I personally disagree with), then he will copy all geniuses “if I don't have a special skill, then I will take pride in what I have and occupy it to my advantage”. This responds to everything that Reo went through in the second selection, but at the same time, it is a response to his father's words and isagi´s words. He now has the ability to CHOOSE any technique.

For many pre-Hispanic cultures, the chameleon has a deep spiritual meaning, representing the connection to adaptability and transformation. This animal teaches us the importance of being flexible and able to change according to circumstances. It possesses the ability to change its color and adapt to the surrounding environment. This ability to camouflage reminds us that we must always be willing to adjust and adapt to the different situations we face in life. In addition, the chameleon teaches us about internal transformation. As it sheds its skin, we can also learn to free ourselves from old beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that no longer serve us. This process of transformation allows us to grow and evolve spiritually.

By observing the chameleon, we can reflect on how we are handling the changes in our lives. Are we being resistant or are we able to adapt and accept the new? Are we willing to change our approach when necessary?

The energy of the chameleon invites us to embrace adaptability and transformation in our spiritual quest. It reminds us that by being flexible and open to change, we can achieve greater personal growth and a greater connection to our inner self.

Reo becomes a flexible player. He was able to adapt automatically in the U20 match as a defender (the most difficult position to enter as a change) and stop Shidou. He is a one-man army. He can generate attacks at will, read the time of the game, occupy other players. The Chameleon is his answer to his deepest fears, is a powerful technique made of resilience and the desire to transform oneself and become better: He can now choose.

[mathematical-apprentice]

I like the classifications, they are definitely apt, but I think there are some issues with your classification.

The Striver and Supporter classifications are a lot broader than the Strategist and Saboteur categories. I think classifying them into a major class and a sub class would yield more accurate classification.

The main classes would be Striver and Supporter, with the main difference between them being what drives their growth. Strivers would be driven by an innate desire to see themselves improve, while the Supporter would be driven by a desire to see somebody else succeed.

In which case Isagi would also fall into the Striver class with most of the others and Reo would fall quite squarely into the Supporter class along with Ness. Hiori would be a Striver funny enough, despite the fact that he wants to make someone the Greatest striker. That's because his dream is not attached to a single person, so long as he is playing with a striker his drive is still there.

The second classification could be based on how they achieve their dream, strategist and saboteur could fall here. But I haven't fleshed this out.

Another point I'd like to raise is that Barou is a bit of a Saboteur, especially when you consider the U20 match where he devoured Isagi. But I might have to go through the Saboteur class again to understand the criteria for it.

Also is part of the Criteria for the Strategist having Meta Vision? Because I don't think Snuffy has Meta Vision, but I think he falls into this class. But that might just be Snuffy as a Manager/Coach.

Just went through it again. Ego types not playstyles. But my Striver-Supporter dual classification still stands, it's just the subclasses that may be an issue.

You could use, Strategist, Saboteur and some others

Strategist: carful planning and problem solving

Saboteur: disruption and destruction

I think Niko and Rin are Strategists rather than Saboteurs. Shidou is definitely a Saboteur.

Barou doesn't fall into either class so we'll need more classes. So maybe a class for those like him. I'm not sure who those are though

You could have a Savant class, who are interested in technical skills. People like Bachira and Nagi could fall into this class; Bachira with dribbling and Nagi with trapping.

Thinking about it, Nagi might actually fall into the Supporter class, considering how his drive seems to be tied to Isagi sort of.

So Nagi-Reo is actually a Supporter-Supporter matching, so we're waiting to see Nagi's evolution into a Striver class.

An issue that I just thought of is, what are the criteria for making a class (or subclass in this case).

4S Blue Lock Ego Classification

*had to type out the title as well even though it’s redundant because the banner is already there. otherwise, tumblr would refer to this post as “Strategist” just because it’s the first heading ajhfdhafdhsg

Strategist

A Strategist is fueled by the desire for success through careful planning and problem-solving. They find fulfillment in being in control of the situation and having others revolve around their vision.

Known characters with this ego: Kaiser (?), Isagi, and Hiori*

Kaiser’s name has a question mark because I’m not sure that he belongs here. He’s currently undergoing development, so who knows if he’s just a Strategist out of desperation to get on top of his current situation. I am thinking he could also be a Striver, what with that science-backed shot he’s been practicing, not to mention his amazing bicycle kick goal during the Ubers match.

As for Hiori, I was deliberating whether to classify him as a Strategist or a Supporter since he once explicitly said, “I want my soccer to ‘produce’ the world’s best striker.” In the end, I went with the former because of how much he values being in control of his life. Also, it’s not like he supports others because he enjoys the feeling of being needed. He only does it to flex his mind.

(Writing this, I realize how oddly Hiori’s arc was resolved. He ended up like his parents 💀)

Supporter

A Supporter is fueled by the desire to be indispensable to someone else’s success. They find fulfillment in providing valuable assistance and thrive on the positive impact they have on others.

Known characters with this ego: Kurona, Ness, and Nanase

Saboteur

A Saboteur is driven by the desire to destroy and disrupt. They find fulfillment in undermining their enemies’ plans and obliterating their efforts.

Known characters with this ego: Niko, Lorenzo, Sae, and Rin

Striver

A Striver is fueled by the desire for personal growth. They continually push themselves beyond their limits to hone their skills, finding fulfillment when they successfully break boundaries.

Known characters with this ego: Bachira, Chigiri, Yukimiya, and Barou

...I have a paper due tomorrow, yet I spent over 4 hours on this post ha ha...

This is an update of my old ego types post. I thought the wording of that one could be improved, and while looking for panels as proof of their ego types, I realized I had put some characters in the wrong categories.

I still didn’t include Nagi and Reo, though. I have no idea what types they are. Nagi, especially, hasn’t figured out what fuels him. On the other hand, Reo can either be a Supporter (for wanting to make Nagi #1) or a Strategist (for having unlocked metavision and being able to keep up with Isagi).

Kiyora right now should be a Supporter, but depending on how Kaneshiro handles his arc, he may end up as a Striver by the end of the match against PxG.

Ah, as much as I’d love to sort everybody, I don’t have the time! Feel free to add on to this post with what categories you think the others belong to.

[cactusjuiceisquenchy]

I really like that blue lock is a series that doesn’t allow it’s players to get comfortable in a supporting role. With a sport like this, we naturally come across quite a few duos, and they tend to be composed of a dominant striker and a support position passer who believes wholeheartedly in the other’s goal making ability. spoilers ahead

We see this with reo and Nagi, and Kaiser and ness and recently with isagi and hiori.

And to a certain extent, it works. These strikers need someone who can keep up with them and bring their goals into fruition. This is one way the striker can get stronger. We even see Julian from France actively working to create this partner for himself in the latest match.

But blue lock is making a point to show that the type of ego that is focused on another is not the best path forward for either player. This is first shown in nagi and reo. They have to break up to become stronger. I watched some videos and read some stuff online and the consensus seemed to be that reo gave in a bit too easily. It would have been better if he continued on his path without nagi. And the awesome bait and switch is that the narrative AGREES. The signs are all pointing to a breakup part 2. I think having them working together again served two purposes. It reaffirmed their relationship and shared goal. And it proved that they aren’t ready to work together again yet. Reo’s ego CANNOT be nagi or they will not make it to the world stage. This is really smart because it sets up their shared goal to be playing together again in the future to win the World Cup. They cannot evolve if they are codependent.

The same goes for Kaiser and ness. Each was using the other as a crutch. For Kaiser, ness allowed him to defend his throne and for ness, Kaiser became his whole reason for playing. We’ve seen this story before. In Order to grow and evolve, the duo has to split and Kaiser leaves ness to continue chasing his evolution. I think he knew on some level he was also holding ness back. Im hoping we get to see ness evolve during this match or the future in a world without Kaiser.

Finally— hiori. Now this one is actually special because unlike the others, hiori’s ego isn’t actually isagi, rather it is to develop the worlds greatest striker. Isagi just so happens to fit the bill at the moment. The play style and position is close to reo and ness but the intrinsic motivation is a bit more self centered than theirs. I think this is probably more aligned with the narrative’s ideal version for this role. It’s also very similar to Charles who has a selfish play style despite being a primary passer(idk the right term for this position sorry). That said, we have to wait and see if it ends up working out for him.

Long story short, if you want to pass, be someone who chooses where to pass, not who to pass to.

If you want to strike, be able to do it with your own power, not reliant on someone giving you the ball.

That way once the ultimate chemical reaction occurs, it becomes truly spectacular.

Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.

[la2yn0va]

Blue lock and Sonic characters and their HSR gameplay style.

Isagi Yoichi:

5-Star Quantum—Erudition

Basic attack: A kick to a single enemy that then causes a small explosion, damaging the targeted enemy and adjacent enemies.

Skill attack: using meta vision, Isagi lowers every enemies attack power, then sends a powerful attack to all enemies with multiple powerful kicks.

Technique: Before battle, Isagi can use his meta vision to lower the enemies attack permanently! He also adds a permanent element weakness based on who’s the DPS of the team!

Talent: If 3 enemies are debuffed after isagis attack, he will restore 30 extra Energy, while his teammates gain a an energy regeneration buff for 3 turns! This effect can stack twice.

Ultimate: Isagi uses his meta vision to its fullest potential! Adding a permanent attack debuff to all enemies along with the incoming waves! He will then verbally assault the enemies adding a taunt effect before slamming a soccer ball so hard it bounces to every enemy at least twice before exploding!! While the taunted enemies attack Isagi, he will continue to add debuffs to the ones who attack him. This last 4 turns.

Rin Itoshi:

5-Star Physical—Destruction

Basic Attack: Rin kicks a soccer ball into the face of a single enemy, causing massive damage

Skill Attack: Rin kicks a soccer ball that explodes upon contact, causing damage to the targeted enemy and adjacent ones.

Technique: Before battle, Rin can activate his technique, causing a taunt effect on the enemies. Rin will also gain a speed and attack buff before proceeding to destroy his enemies.

Talent: After gaining 6 stacks of ‘Destroyed Dreams’ Rin activates his destruction eyes, causing massive damage to ALL enemies.

Ultimate: Rin activates his eyes of destruction. Causing his action to advance forward 120%. All enemies will attack Rin and he will proceed to counter all attacks while destroying the enemies defense permanently. After all enemies attack, Rin will let out a massive attack, causing a base damage of 100k to all enemies. If only one enemy is one the field the base damage increases to 500k.

Oliver Aiku:

5 Star Imaginary—Preservation

Basic Attack: Aiku attacks one enemy with two basic punches before suplexing the enemy to the ground.

Skill Attack: Aiku will put up a shield on himself, when enemies attack him he adds 500 shields to his teammates.

Technique: Before a battle Aiku will add 250 shield to himself and his teammates, and gaining 3 stacks of ‘Cops n’ Robbers’

Talent: When Aiku gains 12 stacks of ‘Cops n’ Robbers’ Aiku will completely destroy the enemies attack power and add 800 shields to himself and teammates. Oliver will also jump infront of attacks meant for his teammates, taking all attacks for 3 turns.

Ultimate: Aiku will add a full bar of shields to himself and teammates while blocking the enemies attacks and redirecting them back at the enemies.

Bachira Meguru

5 Star Wind—Hunt

Basic Attack: Bachira will speed around a singular enemy and kick three soccer balls into them.

Skill Attack: Bachira attacks the enemy with multiple soccer balls, kicking the balls to the enemies legs, gut, chest, then ending with a kick to the face.

Technique: Bachira will increase his own speed and his allies attack before a battle. This can be stacked three times.

Talent: Bachira will has a 50% base chance to send a FuA to an enemy with the highest heath and/or attack power once the enemy is attacked.

Ultimate: Bachira will awaken his monster and send multiple speedy yet powerful attacks to a singular enemy. Once finished Bachira’s talent will increase to a 120% base chance for 5 turns.

Nagi Seishiro

5 Star Ice—Nihility

Basic Attack: Nagi sends a soccer ball into the face of a single enemy

Skill Attack: Nagi kicks a ball to every enemy, adding a slow debuff to every enemy.

Technique: Nagi adds an ice weakness and defense weakness to all enemies before battle.

Talent: after 3 turns Nagi will switch paths and follow the path of the hunt. Nagi will be hard set on the enemy whom attacked him and send multiple soccer balls of ice into the targeted enemy.

Ultimate: Nagi seishiro will become motivated, upping his stats to become the strongest on the field. He attacks all enemies and inputs a freeze and attack debuff to every enemy. Nagi will follow the path of the hunt once ultimate is finished, charging his attacks to become more aggressive and powerful.

Sonic

5 Star Wind—The Hunt

Basic Attack: Sonic attacks a single enemy with his famous dash attack, spinning into the enemy and have a 25% fixed chance to add wind shear.

Skill Attack: Sonic spins around the targeted enemy, causing a tornado attack and adding both wind shear and daze debuff on the enemy for 3 turns.

Technique: Before battle, Sonic will taunt the enemy causing all enemies to attack Sonic, but when they attack Sonic will dodge their attacks and counter with a much stronger attack. This last for 3 turns and enemies will continue to attack Sonic until they hit him once making the taunt disappear.

Talent: Sonic has a 25% chance to send a FuA when teamed up with characters not from his universe. 50% chance when teamed up with one person, 75% with two, and 100% chance when in a team full of Sonic characters.

Sonic also has different FuA’s with different characters. For shadow, him and Sonic will barrage the enemy with high speed attacks.

For knuckles, he will start with an uppercut, then Sonic will respond with an axe kick from the sky, slamming the enemy into the ground and making them bounce up long enough for Sonic to hit the ground. Sonic then charges a punch with his speed and knuckles coats his fist with fire/chaos energy before both slamming their fist into the enemy.

Tails will simply blast the enemy while Sonic attacks them. Eggman will do the same, however he’ll be aiming for Sonic, who’ll dodge all the blast while attacking the enemy, ending the FuA by taunting Eggman.

Ultimate: Sonic attacks all enemies in his super sonic form! Flying at light speed he attacks every enemy before ending with a colossal chaos blast, damaging all enemies.

Shadow

5 Star Imaginary—Erudition

Basic Attack: For shadows basic he attacks three enemies by moving at lightspeed, ending by blasting the enemies with the fire from his air shoes.

Skill Attack: For his skill, shadow jumps in the air and sends multiple large chaos spears to every enemy, ending with an explosion.

Technique: before battle, shadow can summon one of the seven chaos emeralds, causing different effects for himself, allies, and enemies.

The green will up his speed majorly and his allies.

The blue will allow himself and teammates to counter attacks for 2 turns

The white will cause a confusion debuff for enemies, making them attack themselves and their allies for 3 turns.

The yellow will add a full bar of shields for himself and allies.

The red will cause a taunt effect on enemies for 1 turn. Enemies who attack shadow will multiple his attack power by 4. Once all enemies attack shadow he will release a chaos blast on all enemies with 250% crit damage.

The cyan will cause a basic freeze effect on enemies and will back shadow invulnerable for 3 whole turns.

The purple will cause shadow and his allies to gain 100% energy regeneration rate for the entire battle.

Talent: when shadow’s health reaches below 50% he will gain a random chaos emerald effect permanently. This will disappear once he is healed above 50% or is knocked down.

Ultimate: Shadow removes his inhibitor rings before releasing a large chaos blast, then using chaos control to teleport all enemies into space and look up to be attacked by the Space Colony Ark’s laser until they reach the planet below and the attack ends with a final explosion. (Call me Micheal fucking Bay) causing the enemy burn and imprisonment.

Knuckles

5 Star Fire—The Hunt

Basic Attacks: Knuckes attacks one enemy with two jabs then an uppercut so hard he causes the air molecules to explode

Skill Attack: Knuckles gains an attack buff from the master emerald—then attacking the enemy and decreasing their speed and de-advancing them to the bottom of the turn. This attack buff stacks three times and last for 5 turns

Technique: Before battle, Knuckles will become more aware of his surroundings to protect the master emerald. This allows him to send counter attacks for the whole battle.

Talent: After getting 7 stacks of ‘Chaos’ knuckles will enter into his Hyper Knuckles form for 7 turns. When in this form knuckles defense will be lowered completely but his attack and speed will increase 6x, and he will attack ever enemy on the battle field.

Ultimate: Knuckles will attack everyone with his ultimate. Landing infront of the master emerald and vowing to protect it. Only for Eggman to steal it and cause angel island to crash into the enemies.

Tails

5 Star Quantum—Harmony

Basic Attack: Tails sends a ring bullet into a single enemy.

Skill attack: Tails attacks three enemies, spinning his tails so fast he cuts their bodies causing a wind shear and bleeding debuff.

Technique: Tails will up all his allies defense, attack, speed, and ERR for 3 turns.

Talent: When tails is teamed with sonic, he will change his battle style to support his allies attack, when tails is paired with knuckles he will support his allies defense. When teamed with both he will add a chaos emerald effect from shadows technique. This will last for 3 turns.

Ultimate: Tails will use the power of the chaos emeralds to recover all skill points and allowing allies to use their skills without consuming any skill points for 2 whole turns.

Dr. Ivo Robotnik Eggman

5 Star Quantum—Destruction

Basic attack: Eggman will send a blast and punch from his mecha. Attacking one enemy with a punch and three enemies with the blast.

Skill attack: Eggman will send multiple rockets to attack all enemies while adding a random debuff.

Technique: Before battle, Eggman will summon one of his many robots allowing for a 5th ally to enter the battle! Each robot follows a different path, but all will focus on adding as many debuffs as possible.

Talent: when Eggman is hit with a killing blow, he will revel a chaos emerald! Using it to swap his health with the enemies health and sending a comedically large boxing glove into the face of the enemy.

Ultimate: Using the stolen master emerald, Eggman will summon his most capable and deadly robot! Metal Sonic! With eggman’s genius he will use the master emerald to turn Neo Metal Sonic into SUPER Neo Metal Sonic! Before commanding the death of the enemies! Eggman will then be switched out for Super Neo Metal Sonic until the mechanical menace is defeated. Eggman will have also recovered all health and rid himself of all debuffs.

———

This was fun to make. What do yall think?

[daydreamingoncloud9]

CW: Manga spoilers

No because what the hell is this?

Why is the manga able to better convey Nagi's joy at seeing Reo again and how much of a shock it was for both him and the viewers that Reo slapped his hand away?

Nagi's eyes don't actually light up or anything in the manga version but he still looks happier to see Reo again compared to the anime version which actually puts light in his eyes.

And even if we're being more lenient and say that this take is too harsh and subjective because animation can't always replicate the manga art and its expressiveness (which valid), there will still be things to critique about this adaptation.

Namely, the changing and omitting of panels regarding Nagi's feelings towards Reo. I'm not even saying 'feelings' in a romantic sense here, just in general how his care for Reo is minimised because the anime decided that some things were replaceable when they are not.

Take changing Nagi's thoughts from naked Reo to their first meeting for example. It might seem like a safe decision at first but it's really not if you consider the context.

In this scene, Barou, Isagi and Nagi are discussing who would be able to make up for what they lack. A critical strength if you will.

Isagi and Barou have the same idea of what 'critical strength' is, a skill or physical attribute that will help them advance in the next matches. Something that will help them with football.

But what does Nagi say instead? What does he consider to be his critical strength?

Reo. Just Reo.

To Nagi, there was no need to mention skills because Reo himself was enough. Not a specific attribute that Reo had, but rather Reo as a person.

And yes, while you could interpret Nagi saying "Reo" as his way of acknowledging Reo's skills and proficiency as a player (and I do think that was part of his answer), I genuinely think that Nagi's answer was more because he wanted Reo to be by his side again as his teammate rather than his enemy or rival.

Because when he said "We promised we'd be together at the end", the image that came up was of Reo being cold and distant, a stark contrast to how he usually is with Nagi.

The Reo that would later declare that they were now rivals because he wasn't chosen.

So it makes complete sense for him to say he wants to choose Reo now because he doesn't want to be rivals with Reo.

He doesn't want to be on opposite sides if it means being treated coldly like this because he cares for their relationship and how Reo treats him.

And this is why changing the scene to their first meeting doesn't work because the implications are entirely different.

Not only does it erase the nuances in Nagi's decision and how Nagi makes more emotional rather than rational decisions when it concerns Reo, but it also makes it seem like their promise was made during their first meeting, which is completely wrong if you read Episode Nagi.

Plus, an English-speaking anime-only fan would also get the wrong idea when reading the subtitles.

"I did promise him we'd play together again" and "We promised we'd be together at the end" have two completely different implications.

The former implies a one-sided promise that only centers around 'playing together' while the latter implies a collective agreement to be with each other even after this whole thing is over.

And while you could say this is nitpicky (and I would agree normally) it just doesn't bode well for Reo, Nagi and reonagi/nagireo fans when

1) the anime director has already stated that "Reo one-sidedly shows affection to Nagi"

2) the anime's original content paints Reo as the obsessive woman in their relationship who forces himself on Nagi constantly because of love (implicating Reo further for his possessiveness in the Second Selection)

3) the anime has already cut out one of the few panels we have of Nagi showing emotions on his usually stoic face (which was incidentally connected to Reo surprise surprise)

Plus, Nagi has been shown to be someone who isn't expressive compared to everyone else in the cast, especially Reo who is an open book, so small details like these do matter because it helps to paint a better picture of how he thinks and feels.

They can't just cut out these details simply because it's minute and small (therefore seemingly irrelevant) because it then creates a false depiction of who Nagi actually is.

And this false depiction will then definitely colour how people interpret the canon material. Hence, the one-sided reonagi allegations.

So when Nagi's "ore wa yappa reo ka na? 'Saigo wa futari de'-tte yakusoku-shitashi" is translated to "I guess I'd have to choose Reo. I did promise him we'd play together again" when it's more akin to "For me I guess, of course it'll have to be Reo. We promised 'it'll be the two of us at the end', after all" like in the manga, it does matter because now (with our larger context in mind), the scene implies that Nagi is reluctantly keeping up with a promise that was forced on him during their first meeting, rather than him wanting to keep the promise he and Reo made together at the start of Blue Lock because it means something to him.

(Side note, I do not speak Japanese so the subtitle translation is based on a limited understanding of the language so if anyone actually fluent in Japanese wants to correct the translation, please do so.)

At this point, even if we ignore the animation faults, I personally feel like the anime isn't worth watching anymore, not if they're going to continue mischaracterising Nagi and Reo like this.

So I haven't even watched the newest episode BUT FROM THE CLIPS POSTED ON TWT 8BIT BUTCHERED ALL OF NAGI'S MICRO EXPRESSIONS TO BRING REO DOWN FURTHER + SUPPORT THE "REONAGI ONE-SIDED" STANCE??????

@daydreamingoncloud9 THERES RLLY NO WORDS FOR THIS SHIT, STEWING IN DENIAL RN 😭😭😭 😭😭 WE GASLIT OURSELVES INTO BELIEVING THE INTERVIEW WAS A MARKETING TACTIC BUT THEY DO THIS??????

[usagi-yoichi]

There has been much talk about how Nagi might be in way over his head and how he’s being delusional about his abilities ( @echarie @lizzieonka you know what I mean)

I’m worried about Nagi but I don’t feel like he might be kicked out of Blue Lock for two reasons :

1. The match against Munchen proved him wrong.

After teaming up with Agi with no avail and finally scoring using Reo to do the work for him, it seemed like Nagi might never realise how limited his ways were. However, after this, he got defeated not once but twice by Isagi, and in different circumstances. When he was attempting to score, Nagi could have thought it was chance or just Isagi being his usual self but the second time, Isagi passed him while Nagi was defending. Much less usual and much more symptomatic of Nagi’s restricted patter of behavior being predictable. At this point, even Nagi can’t deny that it just doesn’t work. What he’s doing doesn’t allow him to actually beat Isagi.

2. Reo wouldn’t let him sink.

Even Reo would realise how fruitless their entire endeavor is for Nagi. The question is : since Reo is now able to hold his ground, will he be mature enough to let Nagi on his own or will he keep him trapped in his delusion ? I think the two will occur, the latter then the former with Nagi progressively realising he needs to do the work on his own. While it’s a bit worrisome there aren’t anymore “training sessions” where Ego could put up exercises to lead Nagi to that discovery, I think he has the potential to learn.

The real issue is : does he have the will to ? And I think that Isagi and Reo are key players in this. Nagi’s ego must’ve been hurt by Isagi’s ability to outsmart him and his dismissive remarks so I expect him to react strongly and Reo is still invested in Nagi so he’ll help. Maybe the best for Nagi isn’t to do all this learning on his own like Agi was trying to drive him to do but to be accompanied along the way by someone who’s worried about him.

Btw, I think that’s why he didn’t change his mindset during phase two : Isagi kept serving Nagi the passes he needed because it was beneficial to Isagi to manage those chemical reactions and drive the game like he always does but since Nagi just got along with it, he never grew up himself.