Review | BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- Future of the Force

“BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- is a compelling spinoff focusing on Nagi Seishiro’s awakening to the world of football. It’s a blast from start to finish with epic stylized game scenes. But, this film is more than just an anime about football, it’s all about character development.”

BLUE LOCK is a sports anime based on the best-selling manga by Muneyuki Kaneshiro. The first season debuted in October 2022 and became an instant hit among anime fans. And as everyone eagerly awaits for season 2 that will premiere this October, the hit series is coming to the big screen with a spinoff. BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- was first released in Japan in April. It then held its International Premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 10 in France. The film is distributed by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment outside of Asia. It releases on June 28 in the US and July 5 across the UK. It will be available in both Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed in English.

STORY

BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- focuses on Nagi Seishiro as its title indicates. It’s a side story that takes place during the first season but seen from the perspective of this character. And as such, if you haven’t watched the series yet, this film can actually be your starting point and you can then watch season 1 before the second one premieres. If you have watched the first season beforehand, it will obviously enhance your viewing experience.

BLUE LOCK has everything you would expect from a sports anime. Indeed, it delivers a captivating story with epic sports scene but at its heart it’s all about character development. I’ve said it before but I will say it again – a great sports anime isn’t one that just focuses on the sport itself, but one that is able to explore its characters in depth. And this film surely does that with Nagi Seishiro. He has an incredible character development. One that clearly makes this character my favourite.

Nagi Seishiro is someone who just wants to live a peaceful life playing video games and being lazy. However, that’s not how Reo Mikage sees it for Nagi when he discovers his outstanding hidden talent for football. One day, they receive an invitation to the BLUE LOCK project to become the world’s best striker. This is the start of Nagi’s awakening journey to the world of football. Even if you don’t like football like me, you can still enjoy this film because it’s not just about the sports, it’s about the characters.

MORE THAN JUST RIVALS OR FRIENDS

As often with sports anime, the main character has a special type of relationship with another character like in Free! and Tsurune. It’s one that is never clearly defined, it goes beyond friendship and beyond rivalry. Undoubtedly, there is a queer subtext with the relationship between Nagi Seishiro and Reo Mikage. Nagi and Reo share a lot of cute scenes together especially in the first half of the film. Some of these scenes and their relationship in general is open to interpretation. It’s a common story trope for sports anime with fans cheering for their favourite ship with collaborations producing illustrations supporting such ships. This idea of shipping characters definitely adds another layer of investment from the audience to the characters and their stories. The ship NagiReo is one that you will find yourself cheering for the whole time.

VISUALS & SOUNDTRACK

Moreover, BLUE LOCK has beautiful visuals from highly detailed character designs to stylized football scenes. These football scenes are not meant to be realistic, it’s meant to be a spectacle and this is exactly what they are. It brings epicness to the game and it’s simply a joy to watch. Because the characters are all ikemen and it’s a sports anime, as you would expect BLUE LOCK features plenty of shirtless scenes highlighting the characters’ prominent muscles. Finally, Jun Murayama has composed the score. It’s an electrifying one that works in harmony with the football scenes and the more emotional scenes taking place between the characters. The track used for the NagiReo scenes definitely has a BL vibe which adds to the ship factor. Nissy and SKY-HI perform the theme song ‘Stormy.’ It’s one that puts you in the mood. You will be listening to it quite a few times.

VERDICT

BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- is a compelling spinoff focusing on Nagi Seishiro’s awakening to the world of football. It’s a blast from start to finish with epic stylized game scenes. But, this film is more than just an anime about football, it’s all about character development. NagiReo fans, this is the film you were waiting for, it delivers all kind of cute scenes between the two characters. It’s the perfect story to watch while you wait for season 2. As usual, I recommend to watch it in Japanese with subtitles to get the full experience.

BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- releases in UK cinemas on July 5 and June 28 in the US.

The full international rollout for the film is as follows:

June 27: Greece, Hungry, Denmark, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Georgia, Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Central America, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela

June 28: Latvia, Estonia, Nigeria, Turkey
July 3: France, French Speaking Africa
July 4: Portugal, Lithuania, Croatia, Serbia
July 5: UK, Spain, Ireland, Malta, Gibraltar
July 11: Netherlands, Brazil, Chile
July 12: Belgium, Norway, Luxembourg, Romania, Moldova, S. Africa
July 17: Italy
July 18: Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Israel
July 19: Sweden, Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, Kenya
July 23: Germany, Austria, Switzerland-DE