#rin itoshi analysis

[starweed]

my thoughts on itoshi rin and how his relationship with his brother has affected the way he has played football throughout the manga

to me it feels quite obvious that rin still cares about sae quite a bit. quite literally almost all of rin’s football career has been built around his brother, from the beginning of it to the u-20 match.

in the beginning, it started with rin thinking that sae looked cool and wanting to watch with his big brother play. then people realized he was actually pretty good at football himself, so he decided to start playing with sae because, “why wouldn’t playing football with your brother be fun?” this is when football was fun, it was mostly just hanging out with his big brother and eating ice cream together. we also don’t really know much about this time in rin’s life other than a few manga panels, so i don’t have much to say other than this is when got into football and he enjoyed it. i do feel like at first he mostly enjoyed it because he was playing with sae.

then, sae goes to spain, and this is when we first start to see changes in rin’s football. it’s in this stage that rin’s football both becomes about getting better and is when he first starts to enjoy it without sae. it becomes about getting good enough so that he can still walk with sae on the path to becoming the two best strikers in the world. it’s still enjoyable, but it’s mostly fun because he knows that sae is going to come back and they’re going to be great together. sae’s going to come back and they’ll both have gotten better and football will be even more enjoyable.

then sae actually comes back, and it’s apparent that all is not well. their confrontation happens and the football that rin had built up in the time that sae was away crumbled around him. football was no longer about playing with his brother, that had been made abundantly clear to him by sae himself. i imagine that it takes a bit of time for rin to decide what to do with himself after that. we just get a fade to black in the manga after rin and sae’s confrontation in the manga, but we do know that it was in winter. i don’t know how seasons in japan work or when football season is, but i imagine that having rin’s and isagi’s big life changing moments happen on the same day would be kind of unlikely (but who knows, this is a sports manga and the timeline is blurry).

the next change to his football is likely when he gets the letter to blue lock. this is when football becomes a tool to use in the goal of proving sae wrong. proving that he did deserve to be part of sae’s life, and that sae was in the wrong for saying what he did. football was now about making sae feel like rin did with the added weight of guilt. making sae feel guilty about how he treated rin when he returned from spain. blue lock is just a way for him to streamline that process. the facility gives him access to top trainers and training facilities, as well as the opportunities he needs to get back at sae. this football isn’t about enjoyment or happiness or anything that the football he played before was about. this football was about his anger and his need for revenge, at the same time it was also about his want for his older brother back. his want for his brother to love him like he used to, to wrap him up in his arms and take him out for ice cream and sit by the ocean with him. this football was football filled with grief over the fact that his relationship with his brother will never be the same because he is not good enough.

then the u-20 match happens, and this marks yet another change to rin’s football. this is when sae manages to fully cement himself as a world class jerk in both my mind and in rin’s. after this match rin is pissed off, like he is mad mad. he takes some of that anger out on isagi because he’s a) the one that sae praised, and b) the one who walked up to rin who was clearly spitting mad and tried to have a conversation. but after the u-20 match, this is when rin starts to play football for himself. this is when rin lets go of playing for sae altogether, and i am so excited to see what that looks like. this is rin accepting that if sae’s going to be a jerk to him for the rest of his life then he’s not going to let him run it anymore. this is rin not letting go of all the bullshit that he went through with sae, but accepting that it happened and kind of moving on.

of course, this is all from rin’s perspective. i’d like to see what sae thinks of what went down between the two of them, it’s likely much different than how rin views it.

at the time that i’m writing this post (ch 231 of the manga is latest chapter) we haven’t seen any of our paris x gen pals since they chose their team, so that means we haven’t seen rin in a while. i feel like rin’s new play style will be extremely interesting to see (especially from isagi’s pov, it’s like that boy can’t not wax poetry about rin), especially since pxg’s mentor is julian loki. since he’s in the same age range as all of blue lock it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the team.

and the u-20 match really good writing, in my opinion. it really expands on rin and sae’s relationship in way that hadn’t happened before and hasn’t happened since, at the time of this post, and that context is why i can even make this post.

hope that you enjoyed my ramblings about rin, i just think he’s neat

[aesterblaster]

Thinking about self hatred and how it's such a plague in Blue Lock. Thinking about how Rin can't look in the mirror because of how much he reminds himself of Sae, but how he tells Isagi to look at him. How even characters who think of themselves as filth get angry, how Kenyu has bursts of it, how Kaiser chokes himself. How deep down every single character in Blue Lock is begging to be loved and understood. The light in their eyes when someone believes in them and the deep pit of depression they fall into when no one does.

How Reo and Ness are hated by parts of the fandom probably BECAUSE their self hatred is so viceral and so obvious you can fucking feel it. Yet characters like Barou and Kunigami are seen as edgy because they hide their self hatred behind an equally destructive facade, a mask of controlled apathy for those around them. The way the coaches have to cradle the fragile, fragile souls of these boys while still pushing them to be better. Begging them to believe they are capable and picking them up after they pass out, stopping them from falling into the same imposter syndrome they've witnessed again and again (that even they are not immune to).

Thinking about how even Ego Jinpachi doesn't take care of himself.

[glamourscat]

⋆. 𐙚 ˚ My thoughts on the Itoshi brothers’ dynamic ⋆. 𐙚 ˚

The Itoshi brothers’ dynamic is so damn sad, and it breaks my heart a little more every time I think about it.

The thing is, we know that Rin is deeply upset (and that’s an understatement) with Sae. Sae made him a promise, the one about becoming the best players in the world together. Reading the manga makes you understand that the way Sae says it, it’s meant as nothing more than “child talk.” You know, when you’re a child and you feel you’re on top of the world? Exactly like that. When you feel you’re invincible and nothing can break you.

But then Sae left for Spain, alone. He was still just a kid. We don’t know what happened during his time abroad, but we can speculate that it wasn’t easy. Easy to adapt, given the cultural differences between Japan and Spain. It probably wasn’t easy to understand and come to terms with the fact that he was not “the best in the world” like he used to be in the little team he played for in Japan. He went to Spain, met stronger opponents, and his dream got crushed. From a striker to a midfielder, because he saw better talents than him. Because he was probably made to feel like his talent wasn’t worth even trying.

You can’t tell me that a little boy with so much substance, joy, passion, and determination to become the number one striker is suddenly reduced to nothing but a shell of who he was. Sure, people grow, but we are talking about a massive jump. We are talking about a kid left to his own devices, alone, without a family by his side in a foreign country.

Which leads me to Rin. I understand his anger. The way he feels betrayed when Sae comes back and suddenly it’s not about “us” together, but about “us” separately. I understand the way he felt betrayed because while Rin poured every ounce of his sweat and tears into leveling up for Sae—his older brother had instead “moved on,” logically. While Rin was breaking himself in four to become someone good enough for Sae, keeping the promise they made close to heart, Sae hadn’t thought about it twice.

Sure, you can blame Rin and say he was too naive, too childish. But he was. He was all those things; he was a child. What child, a younger brother at that, wouldn’t take into consideration the words from his older brother? Younger siblings thrive off their older ones, becoming who they are as individuals by looking up to their older siblings, most of the times at least. It’s obvious why Rin chose football and not another sport, for example. Why he stopped receiving presents from Santa at 8 because his brother had stopped at 10—and if Sae stopped, then so would he, despite still longing for presents.

The betrayal hit Rin particularly hard because while he still had no idea who he was or is, he had at least Sae to look up to. And he was under the impression that the two of them would become the best together. But then Sae comes back, and that dream is out the window.

I’m not going to sit here and debate ethics, because morally speaking, neither Rin nor Sae are perfect beings. They are both equally flawed, and that’s what makes this tragic. Fast forward to now, with Rin being 16/17 and Sae 18, this is where the issues flow in.

They are both old enough to know that the words Sae spoke in the past and the present are wrong and hurtful. No, it’s not “sibling dynamics.” You can be as angry as you want with the world, with your sibling. But to speak like that, then pretend nothing happened and genuinely be confused about why your little brother is “acting out” is next-level madness. Last time I checked, we don’t know exactly what type of individuals Rin’s and Sae’s parents are. But, seeing how their kids react to conflict and hard emotions, it’s safe to say they probably aren’t the best parents. And there’s some emotional neglect involved.

Back to what I was saying, when you’re 16 your emotions are so damn high, this is not me trying to excuse Rin, it’s me understanding where he comes from. It doesn’t excuse the type of person he has become. It’s me sympathising with his situation, because when you live in an environment where you’re forced to either survive or get eaten—you choose survival, no matter what it takes to achieve it. He is a nasty piece of work, with his sharp edges, closed off emotionally and mentally. Slightly judgmental and extremely angry. At himself, at everything. His anger, however, doesn’t mutate like Shidou’s into violence on the field. Rin’s anger is thin, at times invisible. It seeps through the cracks and makes him bitter and sorrowful.

That said, when you come to terms with the fact that Sae has no idea on why Rin is so angry at him and the reason for his anger—passing off his attitude and words as simple “teenage angst” — makes me feel many ways, and none are positive. To me, it’s absurd seeing your little brother acting so hostile towards you, seeing the clear signs of anger and frustration but also sadness in him, and passing it off as “Rin is acting out.” How? Genuinely, how?

You see your brother on the verge of screaming at you on the football field, in front of thousands of people present and live during the U20 match, and what do you do? Further insult him? Girl— It’s the way Sae is not even trying to understand. You can think all you want that your brother is going through a phase, and maybe it’s just me, but if I see my younger sibling acting out, I’m going to talk to them. It doesn’t have to be an emotional confrontation per se, but a simple “what the hell is going on with you?” kind of thing. Letting them know that you’re there for them.

But, with the hypothetical scenario where the Itoshi brothers grew up in an emotionally neglectful house, it makes sense why Sae doesn’t even know how to approach Rin. Ultimately, however, the fact that Sae has no idea why his brother is “acting out,” why Rin is just so angry, makes the whole thing even sadder. Because while Rin took everything to heart and that anger, the delusion is slowly consuming him—Sae has no idea what’s going on. And if Rin finds out that Sae doesn’t even know/didn’t even notice, I think it would end even worse than it already is.

There, we will see his anger explode to unimaginable levels. Anger turning into self-destruction. Rin would truly become a shell of himself, unsure of what direction to take. Because how do you even begin to explain to your little brother that his anger, the way he was feeling, wasn’t even noticed or acknowledged by his older brother? How do you even begin to explain that Sae doesn’t even understand why Rin is reacting the way he is? Truth is, Sae is emotionally unavailable, and Rin is a ticking bomb ready to explode really soon.

© GLAMOURSCAT

[chodzacaparodia]

It's so wholesome that each member of "Team Kindness" (Isagi, Hiori and Nanase) is somehow attracted to Rin, one of the people with the most anger in Blue Lock.

It started with Isagi, who starts treating Rin as his biggest rival almost from the very beginning and tries to surpass him:

Then there is Hiori, who was the only one who was willing to give Rin a helping hand without hesitation:

And recently Nanase, who wanted to become Rin's disciple, also joined this group:

+ Honorable mention: Bachira who, although not officially a member of "Team Kindness", is the best boy and he deserves to be here, because he also freely makes contact with Rin without much resistance:

Rin is not a person who attracts others with his positive energy. It's quite the opposite. You may get the impression that he pushes others away and wants to stay away from them. After all, he doesn't need anyone. But somehow he lets Isagi, Hiori, Nanase and Bachira, i.e. people who are perceived as kind (at least at the beginning of the series for some of them) and want to make contact with him, into his space. And this is beautiful.

[boinin]

panel and scanlation of the new Rin oneshot, via hoshi

it's such a small thing but like, there's something really heartbreaking about this. The brothers are similar, far more alike than they differ and by rights, they should get on.

but... Sae went through something in Spain. He lost his dream, and had to choose another. When he came home, looking for sympathy or maybe understanding, Rin threw it back in his face. So Sae went and did the unforgivable.

And now Rin can't even look at his own reflection without dwelling on his bitterness towards Sae 🥲

Their relationship isn't totally lost for good though. Rin does decide to see Sae's game. Later on in Blue Lock, he addresses the situation as follows:

And while the U20 match proves to be a set-back for them, note that Sae doesn't really discount Rin's worth as a striker. He simply doesn't address him.

He says Isagi will change Japanese football, because he was able to draw out Rin's instinctual (most optimal) playstyle. Rin takes this as a diss. While it was shitty of Sae to skim over Rin's growth, I'm not sure he intended to hurt Rin so badly. I think Sae may just want to see Rin thrive as a striker with his own style of play, not as a hollow imitation of Sae. Hence his praise of Isagi.

Rin gets this close to realising this, but his grudge against Isagi blinds him.

Eventually, there'll be a reckoning for these two, on or off the pitch. I really hope the manga gives them some closure, as much as I enjoy edgelord Rin. I suspect miscommunication is as much their problem as it is Nagi and Reo's. 🥲

[someprettyname]

Y'know. There's this interesting thing that i noticed. Look at all the top players in NEL right now - Kaiser, Rin, Isagi, Barou. They all have this urge to crucify other's dreams. They all enjoy it. And I know! I know you might say "But Mira. I know that. That's how Ego works."

But hear me out! The fascinating part is how it manifests differently. It's just very nice to catch on it y'know? And the moment you see that urge rise in someone you just KNOW they will end up as a top player now or later.

I know the saying goes like "True egoist fights for HIS goals." But why does he do that? YES! Their main motivation is the feeling they get when they SNATCH AND DESTROY someone ELSE'S dream.

I mean look at it. Look at all those top 4 names I mentioned. Kaiser calls it malice. Isagi got goosebumps when he made Niko cry. Barou accepted it straight up when he was "dethroned" by Isagi. And now we got Rin's thought processes too. How he looks at the top talent as enemy and would gladly go down if it means he gets to destroy them.

Hehe well. :3

That's just one common thing I noticed, thought I'd yap about it.

[mathematical-apprentice]

nobody in PXG is normal lol

[miraamio]

Itoshi Rin - To sculpt an identity

The very first identity Itoshi Rin has is not one he creates for himself, but rather one that is handed to him. It comes as a byproduct of his brother’s ardour and indefatigability towards football. He is Itoshi Sae, the genius prodigy’s little brother, Itoshi Rin. It is simple, it requires no formulation of titles, beliefs or ideologies that are exclusive for Rin, for he can exist as a shadow. 

“I can be the best, and you can be the second best.”

To Rin, football is not a dream he wishes to accomplish alone. Unlike Sae, who dreams of the world, Rin dreams of a position next to Sae for his dream is not football, it is football with Sae. 

Rin associates himself with Sae, intertwines their identities together to fuel a shared dream. It works out because his competition was never Sae, not initially at least. 

Which is why the deconstruction of this identity provokes a salvo of baseless accusations, all too aggressive in nature. Rin’s questioning of Sae is childish in every regard, it gives us a look into the fragile nature of Rin and his perception of competition in football, as someone who thrived in the shadow of his brother, he fails to comprehend the world outside.

Sae’s arrival from Spain, his shift in demeanour and the transition of his dream to be more accommodating of his ability serves as a brief interlook into the fleeting and fragile nature of childhood aspirations sustained by the lack of awareness of the outer world. 

However, to still be able to pursue this dream, despite having made alterations to the original variant of it, is still a privilege, one that Itoshi Rin does not understand. 

To him, Sae merely seems to be going astray. Giving up on their dream, choosing to be someone other than what he had promised his brother of being. The very essence of it reeks of betrayal, to Rin, who has carefully nurtured himself all these years just to stand next to Itoshi Sae. 

Sae, however, gives Rin an opening into retaining this dream again. He extends a hand, thereby attempting to rekindle the formation of a heart.

“You are not the same brother I shared a dream with.”

“I am the younger brother of the world’s greatest striker.”

In hindsight, Sae’s response to Rin’s disagreement may have seemed harsh, but it is unfair to have a bias for either of the two in this specific interaction as both appear to be very self absorbed in their own complexes.

A thorough dissection of the said interaction may yield a more nuanced conclusion to their fallout. 

This is where Rin’s reconstruction of an identity begins, which, comically, ends up orbiting around Sae too. It is convenient for him to villainize Sae as it allows him to construct his identity around him once again, he already has the blueprint. 

In retrospect Rin’s association with Sae ran deep, like roots of flora intertwined beneath earth, detaching himself from his brother acted as a guise of a goal that carved a path for Rin to have a distorted, and more warped perception of what retaining a dream meant. Being Sae Itoshi’s brother was never a complex for Rin until he decided to make it one. 

“My brother…is really nice.”

“I want the same cleats as my brother.”

Rin's need to sculpt an identity from scratch began after Sae’s arrival, however, it was only after he met Isagi that the reconstruction began. Rin’s perception of Sae is a very delicate one, despite his attempts at villainizing him, it only takes a mere acknowledgement from Sae (directed towards Isagi) for Rin to shift his focus, even if it's momentary. It was only then that he was able to look somewhere that wasn’t in the direction of his brother which is very crucial to his character as Rin’s idolisation of Sae constricted his worldview to the point that to him, the one standing at the very summit of football was Sae. 

“When someone is better at soccer than me. So far it's only my big brother,”

Itoshi’s brother's feud is fabricated on a chain of misconceptions and misdirected accusations. However, it strips Rin off something he had gambled his entire existence upon. And perhaps in hindsight, to Rin it was never really a gamble. 

“My brother is the best striker in the world, can I also become that?”

It was hardly an afterthought, let alone a gamble. 

“Can I also become cool and strong? Like my brother.”

Itoshi Rin’s imitation of his brother, was a stimulus honed to become a second nature to him. Which is almost amusing considering how he wounds up becoming anti parallel to everything Sae Itoshi is in terms of football. 

[madarasfloofyhair]

looking in the mirror and seeing him. looking in the mirror, and the resemblance making you want to claw your own skin out, filling you with rage and self-hatred. that's rin itoshi, relieving the betrayal he felt, his dream crushed, his hopefulness and naivety crushed under the weight of his older brother returning home—different. sae itoshi's tired eyes, his unpacked suitcase, his spitting words, calm and so so fucking mean. 'you make me want to vomit', 'what have you been doing these past three years?' threading the rin itoshi's future inner thoughts of pure worthlessness and standards and internal conflict and distance and drive. there's preciousness shattered from when sae used to hold his hand. the calm care in how he'd look out for rin, his eyes sharp and knowing in older-sibling ways, mysterious and cool to rin, but foreboding to us. what the hell happened to sae? what the hell happened in spain? it was this incident that drew a line between them; it's under this line that they both grew. messy teenage years, a hard distance between them. and yet - they look the same. they appear the same in the way siblings realistically do: enough differences and similarities in physical appearances that help cut the lines of their personalities but don't prevent the air of inevitability between them. the same morning routine, the same eyes, the same phrases, tone of speaking, a pretence at the same outward cutting displeasure, but a difference in how far one's willing to take it, who excels where. rin itoshi serves as a bridge to sae itoshi, in the set-up of the story, and in the set-up of rin's own life. from the words sae gave to him back then, he's been tied down. he's been chained, unable to let go, and excel. what pushed him forward was the one thing he needed to—needs to—break free of. there's too much mystery about sae's own feelings, what he thinks privately when he looks at the boy he changed forever. whether his intentions were more complex then we'll ever come to know. instead, we watch them fight on japan's stage, cameras everywhere, curious gazes, for all to see and wonder at. 

[onceonafullmoon]

Character Analysis Yaps

Part 1: Sae

Aka just some rambles about Sae and his personality, not really proof read

I think Sae as a character is sort of convoluted, but not necessarily for the reasons most people would think. In terms of soccer when you view him he seems sort of unreachable, after all, he is a prodigy and he’s got a great brain. But who is Sae outside of that bubble of soccer?

Well, he’s a blunt, singularly focused, asshole type of guy… but I think he’s also someone who values domesticity and comfort, and that he’s someone who deeply cherishes his close ones.

I think a great example of this is apparent with his brother. But he’s been shown to take the fall for Rin consistently when he messed up (ex. Rin breaking his toys) and even being there to comfort Rin when Rin wonders if no one will like him due to his more off putting personality traits. Sae doesn’t offer false comfort by saying that people will like Rin, instead he says that even if no one likes him, his older brother will always be there for him.

Even later on, when Rin and Sae have their confrontation, Sae’s choices of words are harsh, but underneath it, there’s honest advice. That advice being that Rin, if he really wants to be a pro player, should stop seeing football as a way to bond with his brother and find his own appreciation for the game untethered by other people. Even when Sae says that he’s never seen Rin as anything but an eyesore, he’s pushing Rin away, not to further his own goals, but to further Rin’s goals by helping Rin move away from depending on Sae. Obviously, that doesn’t exactly work due to Rin’s obsessive tendencies, but it’s clear that Sae has been doing two things: one, really testing if Rin wants to play soccer and two, making sure that Rin knows what lies ahead on his path to become a pro.

I think these reasons show some insight into his childhood and his personality. Once again, two main points, one, that some part of Sae mourns his childhood/ a loss of the sense of normalcy and two that Sae is a deeply considerate person.

Obviously, daily interactions aren’t exactly shown in the manga, but there are a few key hints to the fact that Sae does crave this comfort and most of these come from the Egoist Bible. 

The first thing that stood out to me is that his favorite anime is Crayon Shin-Chan, which is targeted towards children, which I think furthers my point for his sense of longing for those unburdened childhood days. This is also interesting to me because his favorite movie is Taxi Driver which is a drastic leap in genre change and could serve as a contradiction to what I said before about him craving comfort. However, despite the somewhat violent and unsettling nature of Taxi Driver, the director himself stated that the movie “…arose from my feeling that movies are really a kind of dream-state…”, which I believe serves to show the type of comfort that Sae seeks out. The movie also is largely about male loneliness which could serve to reflect Sae’s mental state being both isolated in his own country as a prodigy and in Spain as an outsider.

The second thing that stood out to me was that Sae’s least favorite food was French fries. Now normally this wouldn’t mean much, but I think it’s interesting to note that Sae doesn’t hate French Fries, he actually thinks that they’re “addictive”, and that the only reason he doesn’t like them is that they’re unhealthy. I think it’s interesting that his least favorite food wasn’t something he disliked, but rather something that he craved but wouldn’t allow himself to have because he’s so committed to football. It makes you think about what other things Sae must have given up, what average everyday things he found solace in that he felt like he needed to remove, that he now finds distaste in, simply because he can no longer enjoy them unburdened.

Finally, the last and the most heart wrenching piece from the Egoist Bible is the question of what he would do if he didn’t play football, and he finds that he can’t even provide an answer. Because for Sae, his whole life, since he was one, has been focused on honing one talent, and everything else has seemed to fall second, only becoming important when he needs it to further that one skill. Perhaps that’s why he values the simple things outside of football, because he never even got a chance to develop a taste for anything outside of that bubble. And maybe that’s why he was so harsh towards his brother, someone who he saw as unburdened by his talent, slowly growing into someone like him.

[miyamiwu]

4S Blue Lock Ego Classification v2

@mathematical-apprentice left some insightful suggestions on v1, and I’ve been pondering over them to see how I can improve the classification system. Although I think their idea for a major class and sub class is good, I decided to keep all the classes on the same level for the sake of simplicity. @mathematical-apprentice has also pointed out that the Striver and Supporter classes are too broad, and I think this was just because I didn’t define them well. What v2 will include, then, is better definitions on the different categories to make them more specific, limiting their scope. Additionally, I will be changing the name of Striver to Savant because I think it better captures the idea I have for that class. More examples for each class will also be included.

Moreover, I would just like to clarify that this system is meant to classify character egos based on what a character desires and what would bring them fulfillment (i.e. what would boost their ego). It does not refer to how a character plays.

Lastly, all characters strive to improve in one way or another, but how they measure their improvement varies. This is also partly why I decided to rename the Striver class because it sounded like they’re the only class who cares about self-improvement when that isn’t the case at all.

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. They may have metavision, but it is not a precursor to be assigned to this class. (Metavision is a tool that any character of any class can use; it is simply a means to an end.)

Characters with this ego: Isagi, Hiori, and Snuffy

(Too lazy to find a panel for Snuffy, but I don’t think I need to prove this. You get it.)

Isagi is the very obvious example of this for reasons I don’t have to explain.

Then as mentioned in v1, Hiori is so close to falling under the Supporter class because of how he desires to “produce the world’s best striker.” However, I opted to put him under the Strategist class because he is not bound to any one striker, nor is he supporting anyone for the mere sake of seeing them succeed. And in a way, Hiori is a lot like his parents.

Savant

A Savant is fueled by the desire to win through their weapon (or personal style, in the absence of a clearly-defined weapon), as they greatly think of it as a part of their identity and not just a tool that can help them win. They focus a lot on sharpening their weapon and may follow a training regimen that targets its enhancement.

Characters with this ego: Bachira, Chigiri, Yukimiya, Kaiser, Lavinho, and Chris

(Once again too lazy to find relevant panels for the coaches…)

Bachira’s and Chigiri’s developments in the NEL arc centered on them improving their weapons and making a name for themselves based on it (i.e. Ginga x Monster or just Monster, and Red 44)

Yukimiya’s Sword Screw (alt. tl, “Sword Pierce”) shot is a direct improvement of his previously blocked shot, but it didn’t come out of nowhere. He took inspiration from Chris’ shot, understood it, then made it his own. This shot is also an assertion of what he believes in, the “sword” piercing through his fate (“I won’t hand my fate or my ego over to god!” –c202)

In v1, Kaiser was tentatively put under the Strategist class, as it wasn’t clear yet in the manga what his ego type should be. But after c266, it is now apparent that Kaiser is a Savant. His magnus shot was something he thought of and carefully crafted, and him executing it was an assertion of his identity, a callback to the young!Michael Kaiser. (Heck, his own weapon is even called Kaiser Impact.)

Saboteur

A Saboteur is driven by the desire to destroy and disrupt, as it is a way for them to mark their presence in the world. They find fulfillment in undermining their enemies’ plans and obliterating their efforts.

Characters with this ego: Aiku, Niko, Lorenzo, Sae, Rin, and Barou

Niko, Sae, and Rin all have metavision, so it can be easy to confuse them as Strategists. But as aforementioned metavision is just a tool, and these three have decided to use it as a means for destruction.

To better understand the difference between Strategist and Saboteur, just look at the Isagi-Yukimiya winning goal in the match against Manshine City. This play shows how Isagi is a strategist through and through, as he found pleasure in defeating Kaiser not through direct destruction but by outwitting him.

You may also wonder why I put Rin under Saboteur and not Strategist. This is because Saboteur is his true ego. Right now, he’s acting like a Strategist, still obsessed with planning and calculating, but that’s not where his true strength lies. Sae knows this, so he keeps provoking Rin in order to bring out his Saboteur ego. And to be a Saboteur, you must have someone you want to destroy. In the beginning, Sae used himself as a target for Rin, but after Rin defeated him in a 1v1 during the U20 match, he then shifts the target to Isagi so Rin can still have the drive to destroy.

Now, for Barou, I previously put him under the Striver/Savant class, but after @mathematical-apprentice pointed out that they should be a Saboteur instead, I realized that they were right. Barou’s new weapon is even called predator eye, and he’s obsessed with hunting/killing.

Supporter

The class that nobody should hate because Supporters have done nothing wrong ever.

A Supporter is fueled by the desire to see their partner succeed. They find fulfillment in providing valuable assistance and thrive on the positive impact they have on their partner. Their development thus revolve around how they can become more useful to their partner.

Characters with this ego: Ness, Nanase, and Kurona

With ego often interpreted to be equivalent to selfishness, it can be easy to dismiss Supporters as having no backbones or in need of a development arc to evolve into a typical bluelocker who’s strong and independent. But I believe that there’s also strength and beauty in being content with oneself and seeking instead to serve others. Not everybody has to want to be a star.

Besides, without Supporters, a lot of strikers won’t be able to do much. (Especially you, Isagi!)

Kunigami gets me. (And idk what class Kunigami should belong to, but for sure he’s no Supporter.)

Characters I’m not sure how to classify...

Nagi - Although Nagi is in football because of his shared dream with Reo, I don’t think he’s actually a Supporter. I think he should either be a Savant or a Saboteur.

Reo - Most likely a Supporter, with how obsessed he is in seeing Nagi succeed. But I’m gonna have to see how the MC vs Barcha match plays out to decide for sure. He may also be a Strategist.

Kiyora - He needs more screentime coz I honestly can’t tell. But I think he’s either a Supporter or a Saboteur

Kunigami - Savant/Supporter before his emo era. I don’t know what’s up with him right now, but I’m leaning into Kunigami being a Saboteur post-development (if he ever gets one coz he’s been cooking for too long now…)

Hmm… I should make a uquiz of this sometime...

But for now, take this and go!

[aesterblaster]

With the way the author is starting to give more realistic and depressing backstories (which has been happening for a while tbf ...see naruhaya) I'm praying to fucking god that Sae's life in Spain was either just mildly taxing or never gets revealed. Like I want it to stay a mystery forever why he came back such an asshole LMAO he just hates soccer in Japan that much 😭

Sae vs Rin gets so much funnier when you think of it as them just being diehard fans of opposing sports teams...

[stupidbluelockrants]

blue lock anime sucks in showing rin’s emotions. why? cause when luna had mentioned sae to rin, the anime showed rin gritting his teeth as a way to saying rin “hates” him.

but in the manga, it clearly shows a sad longing face on rin. rin doesn’t hate sae, he just wants to beat his brother in football to show he is capable of doing the dream they used to share and wants to change his mind on japans future on football. rin is also open about his relationship with sae, saying it’s awkward between them but healthy. rin has no grudge against sae and just wants to fix their relationship a bit.

SPOILER

in the U-20 arc, when blue lock had won, sae had went to rin and rin’s eyes immediately lightened up and said “nii-chan” as he still adores his brother.

rin thought sae had finally acknowledged him, changed his mind, and wants to pick up where they left off at and chase their dreams once again.

but he was let down as soon sae had said the name “isagi yoichi.”

JUSTICE FOR RINS CHARACTER

[chodzacaparodia]

Rin and Sae just hanging out together over popsicles is one of the cutest things in Blue Lock.

However, after Sae's betrayal, ice cream certainly stopped tasting the same for Rin.

Just imagine. You have your favorite delicacy and the person closest to you often buys it for you because they know you like it. You associate this ice cream with this particular person. But this person hurt you like no one else. You feel betrayed by them and start to hating them. From now on, your favorite food will automatically bring back memories of the person you always ate it with. Ice cream will always taste bitter.

Sae ruined Rin's taste of ice cream forever.

[boinin]

Batten down the hatches: Rin's ego is about to land

The latest chapters show Rin playing with an unfamiliar aura: what looks like swirling rivulets of water.

This represents the refinement of his ego and playstyle since the under-20 match. But what exactly are they going for with the swirling water? Here's my two cents.

Rin is strongly associated with water, specifically the sea. He grew up by the coast; he and Sae shared a love of watching the sunset over the water after training together. Those childhood memories are turbulent now, like dark clouds on the ocean's horizon.

It's here he realises that he can no longer play the puppetmaster football that helped him thrive in Blue Lock. As good as he is, it wasn't authentic... and it's nowhere near where he needs to be to compete with his brother, or even Isagi.

Rin's flow state is the most unique out of any others we've seen. Let's dig into it. All panels are from the official translation, which is important as the translation choices are 1) consistent and 2) likely chosen carefully.

In the dying moments of the match, Rin complains about feeling restrained. Being Itoshi Rin is eating him alive.

Cool, calm and aloof.

A genius. Prodigy. Puppetmaster.

Team player. Team captain.

Isagi Yoichi's partner. Shidou Ryuusei's rival.

Itoshi Sae's little brother.

The prospect of defeat rudely wakes him up. His pretence comes crashing down hard, triggered by his ineffectiveness in spite of the teammates around him. It's one of the best rugpulls in sports manga.

When the power of friendship comes knocking, Itoshi Rin tells it to fuck off and die.

What a glorious moment... and not just because it posits Rin as a Uchiha Sasuke kinnie. I prompt you to examine his eyes in this panel.

They're a swirling vortex of hate and destruction, befitting Blue Lock's angstiest character. The shape reminds me of this:

Satellite images of Hurricane Franklin and Hurricane Idalia, August 2023. Image credit: NOAA Satellites.

Rin's true ego, which he unleashes against Sae, is a storm.

Optional soundtrack for the rest of this post (because Rin 100% listens to this once it comes out in Blue Lock's universe).

Although it isn't portrayed visually as such in the under-20 arc, the metaphor fits Rin's evolving playstyle. What is more destructive, more uncontrollable, more senseless than a hurricane? A violent force of nature that we can predict but never avert?

When a storm approaches, all we can do is rank it, track it, then attempt to mitigate the inevitable damage.

In football terms? Sounds a lot like playing Rin.

It's even alluded to in chapter 250: the graphics for Rin's formation are similar to the satellite images of large storms.

Within the U20 match, there are exchanges that support this theory. Darai calls Rin's evolving playstyle arrogant and avaricious. The latter (meaning extreme greed) is evocative of a force that pursues what it wants without regard for anything in its surroundings. What it can't have, it destroys.

Niou is confident enough in his physicality to try withstand his opponent's attrack. Rin literally flips him into the air. Niou's hubris brings to mind all man-made constructs which are supposedly storm-proof... until a cyclone comes along and proves otherwise.

The contrast between Rin and Sae's egos are interesting. If we accept Rin's is a storm, i.e. a destructive force of nature that cannot be controlled, Sae's is the opposite despite being as impossible to defy. Sae's motif is defined in the manga as "beautiful destruction", plays and passes depicted in graceful data strings. Rather than natural, his playstyle is sleek and controlled, and dominant to the point of appearing pre-ordained by his opponents.

Their attitudes are equally different. While Rin drools and loses composure in the final minutes, Sae does little more than raise his eyebrows throughout the entire game. He's completely emotionless.

It's the extremes of human nature: animalistic rage versus robotic detachment. This time, the latter wins. Will Rin have an opportunity to face his brother again, with a better grasp on his ego? Here's hoping.

My final thoughts on Rin are speculative. How does one beat a storm? Not just endure—but subdue and calm one?

It's beyond human capability. The ability to control the weather exists only in myth and fantasy, and even then it's usually in the hands of powerful entities, not mere heroes or wizards.

Subduing something as powerful as a hurricane would require a god.

Is this Isagi and Rin's endgame?

Time will tell.

[hiorintruther]

A comprehensive not-PowerPoint presentation on why I ship hiorin even though they’ve only interacted twice… and that’s being liberal with the word “interact”

(For @zevacheiznekam coz they asked me to 😌)

Do bear in mind that Hiorin as a ship is quite largely based in headcanon. While shippers like myself use canon as a basis to scrape whatever details we can about Hiori and Rin, their (brief) interactions and their personalities, canon material is more of an anchor from which several generally accepted headcanons have sprouted which we all kinda sorta abide by, although different people might have slightly different interpretations. This is just my interpretation. Also, this did sort of start as a crackship for me but then I started actually thinking about it and, uh, I don’t think it’s a crackship anymore when I’ve written nearly 50k words of fanfic for it on my AO3…

For starters, I began shipping Hiorin based on one singular interaction. It also happens to be the only one of two times where they properly talk to each other at all. This interaction (below) comes from the U-20 match, right after Rin has been roundhouse kicked in the face by Shidou. It was a moment that surprised me because despite spending the match getting progressively more and more aggressive to everyone else, Rin here isn’t aggressive towards Hiori. He lets Hiori help him up and they even manage to engage in a very brief but mutual conversation.

Now sure, Hiori is just being nice here and Rin is probably a bit stunned. They haven’t interacted since this moment in the manga and likely won’t again in any real capacity. Still, it was this interaction that got me trying to imagine what it might look like if they could be closer — mostly in the context of Rin actually being able to make a proper friend. He does seem to have a certain level of tolerance for Hiori that he doesn’t for the rest of Blue Lock (which I’ll explain later), plus Hiori is probably the only one patient, kind AND calm enough to be capable of being Rin’s friend without Rin despising it. Other kind characters like Nanase and Bachira are in my opinion too bubbly and talkative in canon for Rin’s more broody personality (although I do love a good sunshine x storm-cloud ship don’t get me wrong). Meanwhile, Hiori is equally as kind but calmer. More quiet. He’s also not got a drive to try and defeat Rin or devour him, which I think Rin would appreciate given he hates people who do try to go against him like Isagi and Shidou.

The only other substantial interaction we have for hiorin comes from the Third Selection tryouts match in which they’re placed on the same team. I’ve already made a post about it so go to that here for the relevant screenshots from the manga. I will copy over the conclusions from the post though. From this match I inferred that:

Hiori can keep up with Rin like it’s a regular day (speaking to Hiori’s adaptability)

This, for Rin, translates to “Hiori is reliable”

Rin can trust Hiori to definitely get the ball to where it needs to be if they cooperate, even though they’ve never played together before (and they didn’t even discuss a plan beforehand but were able to immediately link up without issue — see again Hiori being adaptable)

Rin doesn’t look down on Hiori the way he does with Isagi or Shidou, probably because he doesn’t see Hiori as a threat or insulting

This concludes all of their interactions in the manga. From here, me and other shippers use these small conclusions from canon as well as canon-adjacent information from things like the Egoist Bible Character Book to build a hypothetical situation in which they ARE able to start talking to each other more often and build a bond. Most of the fics about this pairing that take place in the canon universe will deal with overcoming the hurdle of ‘getting them to actually interact’. For us shippers, after that hurdle has been cleared it’s rather smooth sailing to imagine a relationship forming for a lot of reasons.

To begin, the obvious thing to focus on is their similar backstories. More specifically, the emotional responses they have to their backstories and how it could be a source of understanding between them (spoilers for the manga up to chapter 206). The resentment Rin holds towards Sae is incredibly similar to the resentment Hiori holds towards his parents. Both have canonically been shown wanting to hurt/kill their family members due to how these family members treated them, as well as the feelings of false love associated with these family members being a big part of why Rin and Hiori want to hurt them. Rin feels betrayed by Sae because he thinks Sae pretended to love him and care about him in their childhood to further his own ambition only to throw it all away like it was meaningless, meanwhile Hiori feels that his parents don’t actually love him and only want him to be the best because they never could be. This similarity is something that us shippers tend to use as way for Hiori to be able to understand Rin in a way that other characters can’t, as well as a way for Rin to be able to actually articulate his emotions surrounding Sae to someone who is able to understand him to a certain degree and won’t think he’s being “too edgy” or “over-reacting”. We can count in Hiori to not be judgemental of Rin.

Beyond their families though, the two of them just have similar interests and personalities. Rin likes horror games (Egoist Bible) and Hiori is a gamer. They’re both quiet, more reserved and Hiori’s ideal type in a romantic partner is someone who will leave him alone a lot (Blue Lock wiki). They’re ‘no-nonsense’ people who prefer to be blunt and to the point. It might seem a bit superficial but considering they basically never interact, it’s rather a lot to go on.

Overall, the completely made up dynamic that has been created by us shippers after taking all of this information into account goes something like this:

Rin doesn’t find Hiori as annoying or threatening as the rest of Blue Lock because Hiori is adaptable, no-nonsense and doesn’t try to come for Rin’s position as number 1

Hiori has an understanding of Rin’s trauma because he himself experienced something incredibly similar

They get over the ‘start talking’ hurdle and begin to realise that they actually have similar interests and can hold a conversation for longer than 2 seconds

The relationship builds from there, with Hiori being the ‘exception’ in Rin’s life and Rin being a safety where Hiori can talk about his true feelings without having to filter himself or be kind

In terms of other headcanons, these are a couple that I’ve seen floating around:

Neither of them like PDA very much. You might see them holding hands if you’re lucky

They play co-op together a lot, especially co-op horror games

They don’t pry into each other’s business. If one of them wants to talk about something, they will

They have the type of relationship where they’ll sit in silence not talking to each other for 30 minutes, then one nudges the other a bit and suddenly they’re cuddling (only in private, obviously)

They have had many long, depressing trauma-dump sessions with each other

It isn’t a depressing relationship though, mostly because Hiori is a light in Rin’s life and Rin feels like he can be more ‘the old him’ around Hiori (see: Rin’s light novel)

They both like striped clothing (see: Rin’s casual design and Hiori’s onesie, coaster design and child design)

And with that, I have finally finished my overly long, overly indulgent explanation into why I and others ship hiorin. It’s 3am for me rn so I might have missed smth so if any other hiorin shippers out there in the aether wanna drop in with their perspectives and/or stuff I forgot to mention, feel free! As for @zevacheiznekam, I hope this answered your question and you didn’t get too bored half way through 😅

(Also, if you wanna see some hiorin artwork, uh, shameless plug)

Sources used:

Blue Lock manga

Egoist Bible

Blue Lock light novels (we’re actually getting a Hiori one later this year which will hopefully add some fuel to the hcs!)

Nomura’s art