StillNotGinger10

I love the different tone between the main manga and Episode Nagi. Isagi’s story has panic laced throughout it, a sense of “if we lose this, I’ll never play soccer again” that we just don’t get with Nagi.

In the beginning, I don’t think Nagi ever considered they could lose, not unless it was on purpose. He tried to sneakily get himself out so often, or he’d make a situation where Reo had to put in effort, but he never seemed concerned that Reo would lose and have to give up soccer. He was fine quitting himself, but I think he always assumed Reo would continue on. Or even that Reo would be smart and stubborn enough to drag Nagi with him. There was no real danger of elimination and it made the story more lighthearted than Isagi’s for a while.

Of course that changed once he lost to Isagi’s team and decided to put in effort. After that, Episode Nagi kept throwing angst at us with the NagiReo pining.

But even after defeat, I still don’t think Nagi was worried about losing and having to quit soccer. Isagi was constantly worried that if he lost a match he’d never recover, but Nagi’s thoughts were all about how he had to win so he could see Reo again. He needed to improve so he could become the best in the world with Reo. He never seemed too worried that he and Reo wouldn’t make it to the end of the next stage, and I just love how much he believes in them.

And my NagiReo shipping heart loves how much his motivation is centered around Reo. He doesn’t just want to improve because he loves soccer now or because he wants to be the best. He wants to be the world’s best striker with Reo.

But I also want to talk about how Nagi is trying to grow. I love watching his journey. This is a prodigy, who doesn’t realize he’s a prodigy. He doesn’t understand that what’s easy for him is hard for others, and he’s never really had to try at anything in his life. So it’s so fun for me to watch him realize that he’s talented and he can rely on that while he’s learning more.

I also like how his biggest weakness is that he doesn’t know soccer. That fits so well with why he doesn’t realize that his moves are impressive, but I also think it gives him a strength because he thinks up new things constantly and it’s just limited to already existing moves.

Nagi is such an impressive player that at first it was strange to me that he struggled so much after leaving Reo. But it makes so much sense once I thought about it! Nagi is now facing much tougher opponents, and he’s doing it without Reo. Of course these games with smaller teams bring out his flaws when he doesn’t know anything about formations, plays, the different roles, etc. Nagi shows he’s smart often in the story, but he’s not smart about this, not yet.

And I think this is a difficult weakness for Nagi to overcome because he can’t just gain knowledge in a match. He’s gaining experience, which is helping, but he can only study professionals once he’s back in his dorm with his phone/Youtube (or when playing against pros).

I like that we’ve seen him watching videos of playstyles that match his, even if he didn’t know which pros to look up. Especially because normally Nagi would rather sleep or play video games than research like that. But it’s also why I love that Chigiri then steps in to recommend videos and help him. Their friendship is so cute, and I just absolutely loved that scene between them (plus the chaos of Barou finding them later when they starts messing up the room).

Isagi seems so much more impressive here than I remembered in the anime! I'm not sure if that means it's different in the anime or if it's because Isagi is a bit of an unreliable narrator. I kept thinking that while reading this chapter. There were a few times where people saw him as their equal while he sees himself as nothing. Or where someone notices a talent he has that he's surprised to discover in himself later.

Like here:

Ryosuke Kira remembered Isagi, imagined being on the same team as him, and purposefully asked him to address him less formally. This all says to me that others see more in Isagi than he sees in himself.

(Though, I can't tell if Ryosuke wanting passes from Isagi is a compliment or if he's seeing him as a good teammate but not a good striker.)

In the game that starts the chapter, Isagi did the same thing as Ryosuke, he got the ball and set himself up for an important shot. The only difference is that Isagi didn't take the shot. I think it'd make sense if that messed with his confidence and made him an unreliable narrator.

But clearly he is a good enough soccer player to get himself invited to Blue Lock even with that pass and missed goal at the end of his game. And he's good enough for a star player to notice and remember.

So, I'm definitely interested in reading more and seeing how else I read Isagi differently in the manga.

Ryosuke also noticed right away that Isagi has "impressive field perspective and a high football IQ." That becomes so important later! But Isagi seemed so surprised in the anime. It's interesting that others notice it when only playing against him once, but he may not even realize it himself even after being complimented on it here.

Something else I noticed is that we definitely see signs of Isagi's ego early on. I haven't watched the anime in a few months, so I didn't remember that! It's also easier to really slow down and notice something in the manga.

In this page, his team is trying to comfort themselves, and Isagi isn't having it. It's upset they lost and that he passed just for his teammate to miss. He doesn't care that the team had fun because he wanted to him. Definitely a sign of ego.

And here when Ego is describing being the star of the world cup, of caring more about having the most goals and attention than being a team player, it wakes something up in Isagi. It's like he had this ego in him all along and just needed permission to be selfish. As soon as he has it, he runs forward to be the first one to enter Blue Lock.

After reading that, I decided to skip over to Episode Nagi to compare the beginning of Isagi's story with Nagi's.

Nagi also is talked about, but he seems way more conscious of it. Isagi was surprised someone knew of him. Nagi knew people didn't like him. He was surprised Reo stayed around. He just didn't show a reaction to this other than when talking to Reo, and even then he didn't go into detail.

And during the first match, Nagi didn't consider passing to anyone. He did was Reo said and made a goal, unlike Isagi, who chose to pass. Though it's interesting that Isagi was also listening to others when playing as a team player. They both end up thinking for themselves later at Blue Lock and growing stronger because of it.

But I love that here Nagi is confused why this opponent thinks he'd be in trouble. For Nagi, this is easy. He knows he's good, and unlike Isagi, he doesn't question that fact.

For Nagi, it's easy to imagine winning the world cup. Isagi sees it as a dream he has to chase and work for. Nagi sees it as something inevitable if he tried for it, but putting in that effort would be a pain and that doesn't sound fun to him.

That's why Isagi is the first through the door and he's taking it at a run and Nagi is the last through the door and only with Reo motivating him to go that way instead of the exit.

Isagi has something to prove to himself. Nagi just doesn't want to leave or disappoint Reo. Though, he definitely seemed intrigued by Ego's words, and I know from the anime that once he's challenged more he'll find his own ego and intrinsic motivation.

And of course that challenge and growth will come when he meets Isagi, our main character. But I love that he already noticed him right away.

Again, Isagi doesn't think he's memorable, but Nagi noticed him instead of the star player next to him. Maybe he stood out because he's the main character, or maybe Nagi could tell he was worth keeping an eye on.