rui ルイ

if you, too, seem to be thrown by the information that started circling around the most trusted source of information on the internet (/sarcasm), then take a look under the cut for an explanation.

aside from rin and sae, reo is referred to by his given name most of the time and kaiser referred to isagi by the latter's given name the whole time as well.

if aiku was his given name then perhaps he asked to be referred to as aiku when he introduced himself or something. or maybe people just know him as aiku and referred to him as such?

though, i'm not sure how oliver aiku is written. is it written as (family name)(given name) or westernised (given name)(family name) 😅 it's kinda confusing since it's a mixed name.

i think people just accept aiku as the first name because the author said so lol. even though it seemed like he only thought of it in the moment.

The players seriously “ranked” each other.

Who is mentally the strongest?

Best: Isagi, Shidou, Barou

Worst: Tokimitsu, Reo, Igaguri

Nagi’s commentary: “Gotta be Isagi. He’s always fighting among the Egoists. Something’s wrong with his head.”

Tokimitsu’s commentary: “Looking at the current state of Reo-kun, it makes sense that he’s ranked second…ah, no, no I’m not making fun of him! I’m sorry!" 

Who is physically the strongest?

Best: Aiku, Barou, Niou

Worst: Igaguri, Neru, Niko

Karasu’s commentary: “That guy’s a monster. It’s not just a talent, but a body built through hardwork and determination! Not that I’d know.”

Igaguri’s commentary: “Ugh! Shut up! I’ll do push-ups and sit-ups! Bench presses too! Ouch…! Gimme a break.”

Who is the fastest?

Best: Chigiri, Zantetsu, Yukimiya

Worst: Niou, Hiiragi, Igaguri 

Yukimiya’s commentary: “In simple top speed, Chigiri-kun is the best. But I’m not losing in other areas.”

Niou’s commentary: “Even if you’re slow, you can do just well with good positioning. That’s soccer!”

Who is the best at crossing (centering)?

Best: Sae, Bachira, Hiori

Worst: Igaguri, Nanase, Ishikari

Hiori’s commentary: “Well, all of Itoshi Sae’s kicks are perfectly designed. I admire him.”

Igaguri’s commentary: “I kno-! I know it already so shut up! Namu Amida Butsu Super Cross! Ugh…! Wait… call the ambulance…” 

Who is most likely to succeed as a coach?

Best: Aiku, Sae, Isagi

Worst:Rin, Shidou, Otoya

Barou’s commentary: “The only person who can give me orders is Aiku. I won’t accept anyone else, all rejected.  Hmph.”

Isagi’s commentary: “I think the team would be in utter chaos.”

Who cries easily?

Best: Chigiri, Yukimiya, Bachira

Worst: Sae, Barou, Gagamaru

Bachira’s commentary: "Chigirin’s tears are cool tears.”

Aryu’s commentary: “If Itoshi Sae were to cry, it would be when he became the world’s best. That would be the moment of ultimate styl.”*

Who has the strongest supernatural sense?

Best: Rin, Hiori, Karasu

Worst: Gagamaru, Otoya, Bachira

Rin’s commentary: “Huh?  I don’t have a supernatural sense. I just like horrors. I was told that I was possessed by 200 vengeful spirits, though." 

Gagamaru’s commentary: "I’ve talked with the mountain spirits before. They’re not ghosts, right?”

He looks like, "Wait, wait! I can explain!" and then proceeds to explain nothing. He is such a donkey (affectionate). Like, who WILLINGLY just T H R O W S themselves.

And then he proceeds to stare as if it's my fault.

Boy, don't look at me like I was the one who pushed you.

AND HE IS SO TINYYYYYYYYYYYY🤏🏻

The little hands, AWWWWWWWW!

And I take back my previous statement—he isn't R O U N D, he is a B A L L O O N!

If not asymmetrical, this streak thingy.

If not the random streak, its boys with long hair overwaxing.

This morning, though, is one of those days where his mood isn’t exactly warm and welcoming. He wakes up grumpy, burying himself deeper under the blankets, eyes squeezed shut, clearly reluctant to face the world—mostly to avoid the sight of his wild bed hair in the mirror. To you, he looks like a little angry kitten, albeit one with claws.

“You’re going to have to get up eventually, you know…” you say, already up and stretching. He groans in response, and you know it means Leave me alone, I want to sleep. But you’re not giving up that easily. As you step toward the window to open the curtains, something soft hits your back and drops to the floor—a pillow.

“Don’t even think about it,” he warns, his voice low and rough from sleep. “Meine Liebe.” The way he says it—both affectionate and unmistakably annoyed when he adds the nickname.

“Don’t even think about lying in bed all day,” you retort, perching on the edge of the bed beside him. Gently, you trace the tattoo on his arm, adding, “Michael Kaiser.” If he were more awake, he’d probably argue back, teasing you just to get a reaction. But right now, he’s too tired even for that. Instead, he just reaches over, pulling you back onto the bed beside him. You tense for a moment, then give in as he wraps his arms around you.

Maybe today, giving in to his whims wouldn’t be so bad. Snuggling into his warmth, you close your eyes, letting his embrace lull you back toward sleep. You’ll both get up eventually…but right now, staying here feels just perfect.

Honestly, I might be misunderstanding the words, but I think Shidou's actions were intentional, and that's so, so sweet! Like, he is generally perceived as a violent, aggressive and obscene person when in reality, he is just a sweet lil lad who'd, probably, draw little hearts all over you if you allowed him.

I watched the anime before reading the manga, so the first time I saw Shidou was him trying to kick off Isagi's head. I didn't think much of it that time—I mean, we already had Raichi who is aggressive for no reason at all, so not a big deal to have somebody who is violent for no reason at all, right?

But then I picked up the manga and read things, saw things, re-read things which just made things muddier for me than earlier. No, it's not the same as Itoshi brothers—whenever I think that I've fully understood these brothers, they whiplash me with something that makes me go, "How did I miss this?" meanwhile lines just get blurrier in Shidou's case.

And now that the Egoist Bible Vol.2 has been released, we have so much new information about so many characters including Shidou! But unlike my expectations, I, somewhat, became more confused (about him):

This kind of answer really isn't something I could expect from him—it feels more like Karasu's or Yukimiya. I might've nearly shed a tear when I first read it, and then I re-read it again to confirm it was really his answer.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling him stupid or anything—he is actually quite smart—but seeing this feels strangely strange. It feels out of the blue just like when I first got to know that he last cried at the end of the day when he became nothing. Such stuffs just throw me off guard when, on a broader perspective, he is depicted as a violent, short-tempered, mischievous and foul-mouthed soccer-loving player.

Also, looking back at things, I'm quite surprised that he actually praised Kunigami first:

Even in the small glimpse of Kunigami's POV:

He seemed rather calm.

In fact, if I were to overthink and look too deeply...

...he nearly looked disappointed, and maybe even sad.

Like, we know that in his first match during the second selection, he attacked his opponent team because they weren't making him explode, so he tried igniting things by beating them up.

Then why didn't he do the same with Kunigami?

I mean, Kuni was just a slime who couldn't help him level up, right? Then why didn't he just try to crack open his skull? Kuni was able to take a hit from him earlier too, didn't he? So why not ignite him?

In Kunigami's words, Wild Card was some kind of experiment to create a player with physical stats and/or abilities which are par with Noa's. It's, basically, making a copy of Noa, but.. why? There's was no need of it when Blue Lock already had this dude:

Are you getting me?

Alright, alright, I understand that a holographic robot would be much different than a human being, but it's not like Kunigami acts completely like Noa either—the orange head is way too aggressive.

Before anyone says, "Oh! It's the built-up frustration 'cause of the Wild Card!" let me remind you that Kunigami was aggressive way before that too—rewatch the first selection's matches, you'll understand what I'm tryna say. Though I won't deny that Wild Card definitely had, at least, some kind of contribution.

I mean, we all know how calm and nearly emotionless Noa behaves. Yes, yes, there are instances where this Master Striker has shown agitation:

Dim and Dimmer, LOL!

But despite that, Noa still looks very calm, y'know, unlike Kunigami who has shown visible irritation throughout NEL, and we have never seen Ego calling out on it too. So, does this mean that one's behaviour doesn't matter as long as they have the same physical stats as the world's (current) best striker? Then shouldn't Ego have invested more on Blue Locker's physical attributes to make them tough and strong and ambidextrous like Noa? Hm?

Also, Ego once said this:

Kunigami being some kind of obstacle or benchmark for the other Blue Lock-ers to overcome to improve themselves sounds a lot reasonable, but isn't it unfair? I mean, except BM, every other team—FC Barcha, Manshine City, Ubers, and PxG—only played with (against) Kunigami ONLY once meanwhile BM got to play with him in four matches!

Are you getting me?

Well, the main reason for this post was actually this panel:

Everybody knew that Kunigami was going to have some kind of rage against Shidou in the match, but the sheer intensity with which the ginger actually went against the blond caught me off guard. And it made me wonder why exactly Kunigami is mad at Shidou—is it simply because he got kicked out of Blue Lock because of him? Is it because he lost the match to him? Or is it because he think he (Shidou) is the reason why he (Kunigami) lost his ego?

Personally, I don't have any confident answer to any of my own questions, but I'm pretty confident that this (maybe one sided?) rivalry will make a lot of sense after Shidou's backstory is revealed—just like Kaiser's behaviour towards Isagi started to make sense after his backstory was revealed—because I really don't buy that Shidou thought Kunigami wasn't a good enough player when someone like Barou gave some kind of indirect acknowledgement to Kuni:

Considering this Ubers' King's behaviour, being 'wanted' by him is a pretty big praise.

Yes, we did have that locker room chapter after PxG Vs Manshine City, but it isn't same as the above—it doesn't tell us how everything was like in the start.

I really want to know how everyone reacted to eachother, especially Rin and Shidou. And how did Loki handled things? Was Charles under control during introduction like how Kaiser was besides Noa, Agi was besides Chris, and Lorenzo was besides Snuffy? Or was Charles a menace from the very first second? Was he hopping around the Blue Lock-ers like a bumblebee?

So many questions! But no answer, why? Was the flashback only meant for the introduction of Coaches? And since we knew Loki beforehand that's why we weren't given one?

However, the main question is why did Rin and Shidou chose PxG, and I think I have an answer for the former one.

Do you remember the introduction given at the start about the team France? Yes:

"...the new, young upstart of the European leagues..."

"....running on its way to being the top league in Europe."

And in that interview, Sae said this:

You getting me?

As for Shidou, I can't think for a reason except that his favourite soccer player is from Sweden. I mean, Shidou focuses a lot on explosive soccer which should mean that he wants to play with/against good players, but the world's best striker, Noel Noa, is on the other team...? Hm?

Which leaves me with a hunch that maybe, maybe Shidou chose PxG because of Loki.

We can't forget that Loki was a part of the Team World Five and no Blue Lock Team (of the second selection) won against them. So, maybe Loki caught Shidou's eyes back then? He did seem quite happy to see him:

Besides, as the story progresses more, Loki just seems to get more and more important bits by bits. I think he'll have a major role during the World Cup arc.

His main ability, copy, is pretty overpowered, y'know.

Yes, yes, I understand that he can't generate the exact 100% ability of someone, but it's still hella goated! Just imagine having Sae as your opponent and when you finally think you have broke past him, another person who is like Sae suddenly appears in front of you—(almost) double Sae in the same team!

You getting my point?

Reo really has what it takes to be the top contender for the place of World's Best Striker. And those who have read the Light Novel know how quickly he learned everything about soccer and nearly aced everything. He has a great physique which has become better under Chris' guidance, and he is smart too. Also, we can NOT forget that it's has not been long since he started playing—compared to other Blue Lock-ers who have been playing for like a decade—so if given enough time, Reo can indeed be a great soccer player!

...

And that's where the issue, I think and guess, arises.

You see, Reo never dreamt of being a great striker or a soccer player. He, simply, has always said from the start that he wants to win the World Cup, which also explains his so called obsession with Nagi.

(I think I'll make another post for the above Nagi statement.)

Furthermore, I think he has what I like to call, "Not-the-main-character syndrome". And it basically means that doesn't matter how cool you are or how cool are the things you do, you'll forever remain outshined 'cause you are not the main character.

No, I'm not complaining that Isagi is stealing Reo's spotlight or something—Isagi is the main character, so obviously he should be treated like one otherwise what's the point, y'know.

However, I do kinda wish I could see more of this ability of Reo. I mean, this copy ability is so explore-able, and we can easily imagine how well it could've been written if it were an ability of, the main character, Isagi. For example: metavision. If it weren't an ability of Isagi's, then it would've just been an extraordinary ability of extraordinary players like Kaiser and Aiku. But that isn't the case! It's an ability of Isagi! So it's well-explored and well-written, which makes me ponder over what we have missed about copy ability.

I don't know why but they look an old couple arguing, LOOOOOL.

I mean, this is the full page:

AWOOP! Jumpscare, Rin.

Rin is the main focus and everyone else is also focusing on him—everybody is facing him and then we have those two tussling with eachother like, "MOVE!" "NO, YOU MOVE!" "NUH-UH!" "FYM NUH-UH?!"

They just look so funny to me.

I mean, imagine returning home after 4 years and seeing your lil brother be not so little anymore. He has grown taller and, in fact, he has grown taller than you too. He is not the lil kid you used to know—he looks similar to the kid who bid you goodbye at the airport, and that kid was happy, so why he doesn't look at you with those big, sparkling eyes anymore? Where did you go wrong?

He who used to think that it's okay to be weird because you are weird too is now saying that you aren't the same big brother he used to know? He who followed you around like a puppy is now standing in front of you and talking back to you? He is even raising his voice at you—his voice changed, didn't it? It's much heavier. It's not the same anymore.

Of course, of course, he lost the only dream he had, but so did you—you also lost the dream. He lost the brothers' bond, but so did you. For four years, you couldn't look out for him, but your whole life no one did for you too—no one lied to your parents for your mistakes, no one taught you that it was okay to be weird. You did what you could—you even bought ice creams for him. You were there for him just as you promised.

In the above panel, Sae received the soccer ball for the first time during the U-20 match, and look at Rin in that lil panel—it's tough to explain, but before this, Rin was always shown to be hostile whenever Sae was mentioned/involved in a conversation. However, in this lil panel, Rin just looks so.. soft(?). There's a subtle and endearing kind of curiosity faintly visible in his expression, like, "Oh? What is he doing? What is he going to do now? I want to see, I want to see."

Are you getting me?

Of course, that lil panel is rather small and it's difficult to add too much detail in small spaces, so maybe that's why?

Who knows.

And how can we forget this panel when Shidou, unintentionally, kicked Rin's face:

I have talked about this panel before too, I think.

You see, Sae's face never had much expressions throughout the animanga—his face is kinda like 24/7 in nonchalant mode—so it's not that difficult to sense even the slightest changes in his face. I agree that if someone were to get kicked right in their face, anybody will be shocked, but, y'know, I just like to think that Sae's 'shocked' expression was more 'cause of the instinct an older sibling feels whenever their younger sibling(s) get(s) hurt.

And considering the recent chapters (270 & 271), I don't think my words are too farfetched.

On the same note, this:

This one is from Episode Omotesando and seeing the narrative, it seems like it's Rin's POV. And to think that this is how Sae is present in Rin's memory just tears my soul apart, y'know.

The flashback of the snowy night can be considered as a third POV, and we all saw Sae's expressions...

...which are vastly different than what we see Rin remembering him as—different than the lenses of Rin. So, is it a subtle hint that Rin saw something that we, readers, couldn't see? Since in the third POV, we only see disdain and anger and even disgust on Sae's face, but in Rin's memory—in the way Rin remembers his face—we see a whirlwind of emotions, and we can almost see a pitiful and even a sorry epression, like, "I'm angry with you and I know that it's not exactly your fault, but I don't know what else to feel."

"You're always laughing, and telling me to get my shit together"

This makes me think of Bachira's first awakening, where the rest of Team Z (especially Isagi) are super downtrodden and feeling defeated from Team V's three point lead, Isagi is on the verge of realizing/accepting that this is the end of his soccer career, when Bachira laughs. A huge thing I love about Bachira is that yes sure he wants to be the best striker in the world, but compared to many other characters Bachira is literally just here to have a good time. He's always chilling and I love that for him. But that's the thing that's always surprising Isagi, is that Bachira is just having fun. Bachira is always encouraging Isagi to be better because he himself isn't weighed down by as much doubt and fear as everyone else. Bachira is always laughing and smiling and telling Isagi to believe more in himself, aka get his shit together.

"So tell me what's your secret? It's like you know something I don't"

On a very similar note, this relates to just how differently Isagi operates from Bachira. During tag, Bachira has the audacity to fall asleep, take the ball for himself, risk getting eliminated, he jumps on Kunigami's back and smiles when Isagi tries to tag him. And again, when everyone else has nearly accepted defeat from Team V Bachira actually gets excited. Isagi could never feel that way, even if he wanted to (but that's also kind of what he loves about him).

"You put up with me. Honestly I'm just trying to find the perfect way to say sorry if I kill your vibe."

Okay I'll admit with this one I'm reaching a little outside of canon, but I love this lyric, and it makes me think of Isagi needing to win Bachira back during second selection. Bachira loves playing soccer with Isagi, and regardless of the fact that being separated helped them grow, Bachira outright said he wanted to stay with Isagi until the end. So him getting stolen was a gut punch, you could say it really killed his vibe. I like to think Isagi probably knows this. And of course, Isagi feels the blame falls on him, that he's the one who lost Bachira, that it's his fault his best friend was forced to leave. When they reunite, Isagi does indeed say he's sorry for failing to win him back, and I'm sure indirectly for losing him in the first place. And also, because third time's the charm, Isagi is always sort of motivationally falling behind Bachira, who always seems to be having more fun. The lyric makes me think of how Isagi might feel Bachira has to 'put up' with the way Isagi can struggle with doubt and fear, possibly killing Bachira's carefree and unafraid vibe.

"I hope you know that I'm trying to keep my shit together in a world that wants to tear us all apart"

You know it's almost like the Blue Lock program, where 300 high school students are pitted against one another to weed out the single best striker of them all, is trying to tear all of them apart. And yet despite this, Isagi still wanted to win Bachira back. Not just to get back up in the second selection and not be eliminated, he specifically wanted to steal him back. And in order to do that, Isagi DOES get his shit together, in the form of evolving and devouring and getting better.

"You still find a way to keep me smiling, it's so inspiring."

I actually made a post about this already (that got so so so many more notes than I was expecting??) about how whenever Bachira does something impressive, it always makes Isagi happy. When it's someone else, Isagi is always like "he did that!?! that's insane!!! how am I going to beat that???" but when it's Bachira? It's always "woahhhh... Bachira you're so cool! You're amazing! You make me want to get better!" I haven't completely caught up with the manga and I'm a pretty casual enjoyer of media so I'm no expert but in my opinion I feel it's very obvious that Bachira inspires Isagi the most. Characters like Rin and Barou make Isagi want to beat them, sure, but Bachira is the one that always blows Isagi away and leaves him in awe. He's the one that makes Isagi want to get better, so he can feel as good/proud as Bachira seems to.

"'Cause I'm on your side, and I know that you're on mine- even when you kill my vibe, even when you kill my vibe"