𝑴𝒐𝒃𝒊...~⭐️

Okay so like—after the whole U-20 vs Blue Lock match, BLLK took over the U-20 team, then took like 2 weeks off out of BLLK. Ego and Anri then launched the Neo Ego League (the N.E.L for short) where all the Blue Lockers would choose which of the top five European clubs they want to play for based on what the team specialises in and basically fight to survive by showing off their individual talents.

This is because Ego wanted to avoid that chances of the Blue Lockers getting too comfortable with their playstyles in Japan as the U-20 World Cup was 100 days away. Having players that are strong at home, but weak everywhere else around the world is a sure way to get eliminated in the group stages, so thrusting them into a new environment with world class players would basically be forcing them to hone their body, mind, and playstyle in rapid succession to keep up with the world class players and to be one of the 23 players that survive the NEL, bringing BLLK closer to it's goal of creating the world's best striker.

Players are ranked in an auction fashion—by how much football clubs are willing to bet on them, essentially putting price tags on players to see how much they're worth. If their ranking was high enough, then congrats to them! Not only did they survive the NEL, but they also made a name for themselves in terms of popularity and potential future club signings.

However, If their ranking was too low, -INCOMING SPOILER- like in the case of Nagi where his ranking dropped from ¥88,000,000 to ¥24,000,000, putting him at 24th place, or like Igaguri who only got to play one match for a couple minutes bc he's DOGSHIT, then they are locked out at the end of the league.

Also—before I forget to mention it, the NEL also acts as an entertainment project as everything (except the bedrooms ofc) is being broadcasted worldwide. So basically its both a football broadcasting network but for Blue Lock specifically and a reality TV 😛

I can't explain all the matches bc we would genuinely be here FOREVER so I'm just gonna skip to the newer stuff.

We are currently in the U-20 World Cup arc where there are 64 countries divided into 16 groups and each group has 4 countries.

Japan (aka BLLK) is apart of Group A, which shares a group with France, England, and Nigeria. Japan has just got back from absolutely destroying Nigeria, beating them 4-0. They then went on to lose the match against France after Rin tried stealing a goal from Isagi, which he promptly missed, leading France to steal the ball back and score the winning goal, making it 3-2. Long story short, Ego crashed out on them and now they absolutely have to win their next match against England or else they'll get eliminated from the U-20 World Cup entirely.

While all this is happening, Burastuta (the chairman of the JFU) created a knock off version of Blue Lock called "Side B" where all the eliminated players from BLLK play elimination games (basically just the first few episodes of season 1) until there are 2 winners selected to be apart of the Burastuta 3.

The Burastuta 3 is a deal that Burastuta and Ego made where Burastuta gets to pick 3 additional players to be apart of the U-20 Japan team in exchange for funding Blue Lock TV. Burastuta has already picked Sae Itoshi as one of the Burastuta 3, but Nagi is fighting in Side B to be of of those 3.

That's basically it for now?? Leaks come out tomorrow so you'll probably see me spam posting about it LMAO

ANYWAYS THANK U FOR LETTING ME YOU MOOTIE CUTIE

The chapter opens with Isagi asking everyone what they think "ego" means. Everyone has different answers, with Bachira defining it as a monster inside of you, Chigiri saying that it's your essential self (a person you need to be/the perfect version of yourself), and Reo saying that it's the selfish portion of yourself.

They all have different definitions of one thing, but I feel like they all intertwine in one way or another. For example, Reo's essential self is just the version of himself that is more selfish, or the selfish portion of Bachira could just be his monster.

In the end, the three answers given weren't incorrect, given the fact that any of the answers could be applied to one of the three if only you twist the wording a bit. The only reason they were different was because the three of them have lived different lives and see things in a different light.

Thats where Ego comes in and gives us his definition of the word. To summarise, the compass you use to navigate life and decision making is your ego. Your ego establishes your own personal philosophies—what you believe is right and wrong, what you like, what you dislike, what you hate, what you love, etc. If you apply this to football, then your ego may lead you to play a specific position, have a unique playstyle, have specific requirements in order to play to your fullest potential, etc. So, I feel like the general definition of ego is just how you navigate your life while having human desires and what you choose to do with them.

The way I think about is that a regular person navigates life with a somewhat rusty compass. The compass is still in use, but is often disregarded as people see putting yourself first before others as selfish and arrogant. But an egoist's compass looks newly bought and cared for; being unabashed about putting themselves before others—even being willing to sacrifice other people's dreams for the sake of their own.

This is just what I think in terms of what chapter 350. After chapter 351, I think of it more like a regular person's compass pulls them in the direction of wherever their heart pulls them to, but has the ability to be misdirected and swayed by other things and/or people, while an egoist's compass is more polished, as it is dead set on a certain goal and won't let anything lead it astray, but I digress,,

This is where Karasu points out a flaw in Ego’s philosophy. He states the fact that, although Rin and Isagi were following their egos, they still lost the match. Matter of fact—they lost the match because they were following their egos.

Ego then goes onto to say that the reason that blue lock failed was because some of the players didn't believe that they could be the world's best, which is where I immediately stop agreeing with Ego.

Because even if that were true, you have essentially groomed 23 boys into being selfish, egotistical strikers, but the moment a few of them "stops believing they're the world's best" the whole team falls apart?? I guess it was because it was Isagi specifically who supposedly stopped believing he could be the world's best which caused his plays to stagnant, which in turn caused Rin's plays to stagnant beside him due to his codependency. But I feel like if this program is built on creating the best striker you'd have players who'd be able to fill in the gaps of the main strikers if they ever fell flat considering the fact that they have also been training to be a striker.

Also this page l is genuinely just so?? Icky to me?? I understand that being the best striker means taking the opportunity to score a goal whenever the chance is given no matter what position, but when you're in a tournament as big as the U-20 World Cup, you can't always abide by that philosophy. You're going to have to play as your position and you're going to have to play in a way that benefits the team and not yourself, and this is what I personally believe makes the top egoist and the best egoist.

This is just my opinion, but I personally believe the top egoist is someone who has fully submitted to their egos without question in order to get the best results for themselves, while the best egoist is someone who has also submitted to their egos, but still has control over what to do and what not to do in order to get the best personal and overall result. Basically just knowing when and when not to listen to their egos.

Someone who always takes the opportunity to score a goal, but is willing to see when it's realistically impossible and settle for playmaking or an assist like Karasu or (NEL) Isagi, is a much better and flexible striker than someone who mindlessly obeys their ego and only plays for themselves with little to no regard for their team like Rin or pre "listen up Barou" Barou lolol. This is also why I think metavision is 100x better than predator eye, but I'm tired asf so I'm just gonna leave it here.