Blue Lock 284: The meaning of Winning
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Hi everyone, I'll skip the usual introductory talk and get to the essential facts, as there are many to cover. As usual, I also released a video and invite you to Subscribe to the channel if you enjoy the content.
(Incoming long post, please sit back and enjoy the cooking. )
Why does the Blue Lock Project exist?
The concept behind the Blue Lock project is that Japan's football can only reach the highest level in the world if a revolutionary striker is developed. This idea emphasizes the importance of individual talent. While we may speculate about whether this remains the ultimate goal, it's clear that having more innovative strikers would benefit the future of Japan's football. To be regarded as the best in the world, one must produce results demonstrating this status. In football, this means winning matches. The winning team is determined by who scores more goals than their opponents, whether during regular time, extra time, or even in a penalty shootout
What is a revolutionary striker? What kind of egotism is Jenpachi Ego seeking? He mentioned it himself quite early on: he is looking for individuals who disregard common sense and are obsessed with their own victory. The common sense of others does not influence such people.
The Definition of the Egotism Jenpachi Ego seeks
Ego is looking for strikers who will not necessarily try to fit into our logic, and yes, I mean us the readers too.
The end justifies the means?
When you look at what Jenpachi Ego is looking for one might think that the end justifies the means. However, that is not the case. Kuon was introduced early on to demonstrate that there are unacceptable ways to achieve victory. His actions led Ego to label him as the lowest of the low. It's important to remember that while Ego promotes an obsession with personal logic for the sake of winning, he simultaneously criticizes Kuon for doing the same. This contradiction highlights that Ego's principles only apply in specific contexts.
Ego criticizes Kuon for doing exactly what he preached about
For example, "malicia" can be applied similarly to Igaguri to bend the rules. However, it should never be used to intentionally harm opponents or betray teammates, especially if doing so leads to the team's loss for personal gain.
Jenpachi Ego is searching for someone with unique logic and methods for winning, ensuring that the results meet the world's expectations. The value of a striker will always be evaluated based on global standards, meaning it doesn't matter if you have a world-style approach or a self-styled ego; your worth as a striker will be assessed through a world-style lens. This evaluation includes questions like: How many goals did you score? How remarkable were the goals you scored? Do you only score against weaker teams and fail to perform in high-stakes situations? Do you negatively impact your team's performance?
Whether you agree or not, because using this framework will make your favorite characters look worse in the grand scheme of things, you cannot deny that the whole story has repeatedly hammered this concept. Noel Noa serves as a prime example of living according to one's own principles. When his achievements are analyzed through a "word-style lens," he ranks among the top strikers in the world. This success was not his initial intention; it emerged as a byproduct of his approach. The auction system in the NEL also reflects this phenomenon. Isagi's status as Japan's hero is similarly a result of his actions. While one could argue that Rin performed better than Isagi in the U-20 game, the world recognizes Isagi as the heart of the team. He contributed with one assist and scored the winning goal. Additionally, he made a crucial interception at a critical moment to block Sae's corner kick aimed at Shidou. All these results place him high in the rankings when viewed from a "word-style lens."
Newsflash, plot is important to any story
Many of you seem to forget that we are engaged in a story, and as such, the plot is important. Some people have complained about why Loki didn't attempt to connect with Charles on the pitch. However, the story makes it clear that he only entered the field because of Rin.
This explains why he aimed to set up Rin for the final goal to conclude the game. You may not agree with this interpretation, but it is what the story conveys. Is it consistent? Yes, it is. Whether you like it or not is entirely up to you( Loki couldn't have been allowed to link up with Charles because Loki could have ended the game by himself. )
Isagi, 284 chapters in and still misunderstood
People often complain that Isagi can't stop Rin on his own. But do you understand the sport you're watching? In football, defense isn't just a skill contest or a competition to see who can perform better. The best defense is the one that prevents goals from being scored. It doesn't matter if one player worked well with another or if the goalkeeper made an incredible save; what counts is that the defense did not concede a goal on that play. Even the mighty Rin, in his "destroyer mode," couldn't score. That's what really matters. Isagi's approach outsmarted Rin's logic, and that's the bottom line. From a "world-style" perspective, one could argue that Rin chose the hardest path to achieve his goal, facing five players in the grand scheme of things, while Shidou was only marked by Ness.
Shidou was only marked by Ness
If Rin had made a pass at that moment, don't you think Shidou would have easily outmaneuvered Ness and scored? Rin's failing to score will certainly not contribute positively to his assessment, even though no one can dispute his incredible skills. While this may be a harsh truth, it is how the world perceives the situation. Rin wanted to crush Isagi and that is why he went head first in there instead of exploring the other options at his disposal given his damn near unlimited skills.
It's absurd how people praise Isagi for his ability to swiftly adapt and eliminate any feelings or ideas that hinder his progress, yet complain when he does just that and considers other options—including the clearly superior choice of teaming up with Kaiser. How is this out of character for Isagi? I'm consistently emphasizing that winning is his top priority. It might be time to remind you that I told you so. Isagi's willingness to sacrifice everything for victory is proof of his commitment to achieving success, and it showcases his determination to do whatever it takes, of course, while making sure that he scores high on a "world-style" assessment. Teamwork definitely adds point to his assessment and the world sees it that way. Again, you may not like it but it is the truth. Football is a team sport after all
Theories about the next chapter
The next chapter will be interesting because I am curious to see the terms of Isagi and Kaiser's agreement. Will they agree to team up only for defense, or will they also collaborate on offense? If they do, who will be responsible for scoring? Is it up to the player in the better scoring position? In this case, both Isagi and Kaiser will need to involve their teammates and communicate their plan, which means we are on the verge of seeing the entire BM team play together for the first time ever in the NEL. Kaiser is too clever to miss this opportunity; he wants to win just as much as Isagi does especially after going back to his Zero. So far, although not intentionally, both players have been working together to some extent, each using the other. If they now decide to willingly cooperate, I believe we are about to witness the best chemical reaction in the series to date.
On a side note, I have been asking to have this version of Isagi more often. F-U-C-K the nice behavior, give me the slur-Isagi. Bring me that big dawg Energy. Yes this is what I love to see. Isagi dropped the most respectful insult I have read in a minute: the politically correct and corporate version of calling Loki a pace merchant. And by the way, Noel Noa showed us in this game how to stop a speedster like Loki, you do stay close to him and limit his range. It obviously take elite physicality and other things I couln't begin to name here but I think Loki is beatable like any player and Noel Noa showed a Blueprint of that.
I will end this post with the following parting words, regarding Isagi's evolution in the future. At some point, when the authors will be tired of recycling the same concepts but at a different level of analysis, the final piece will always be experience. Experience will be the final piece allowing players to improve. Isagi already knows it and I will see you in a couple of hundred chapters when he realizes it.
Some of the different level of analysis I talked about:
We evolved from Egocentrism Piece to Ego type theories, Genius/Talented learner
We went from direct shots to Lefty shot to Two-gun volley
We went from Isagi thinking he should use himself as a pawn in the game against Manshine to effectively him doing it in this game thanks to him dismissing his "petty" emotions/feelings
etc...
Kindly share your thoughts!