The Fall 2024 Manga Guide

Blue Lock: Episode Nagi

What's It About? 

The new prequel manga to the smash-hit soccer action series Blue Lock! How does a listless slacker who thinks everything's a huge pain turn into one of Japan's top scorers? Find out, as high schooler Reo Mikage sets out to fan the flames of ambition in future soccer prodigy Seishiro Nagi, in BLUELOCK -Episode Nagi-.

Second-year high school student Reo Mikage wants nothing more than to escape his illustrious family's shadow by becoming a soccer star and winning the World Cup. The only thing that's missing is a talented diamond in the rough who can help him achieve his dream. That's when he sets his sights on Seishiro Nagi, a notorious slacker whose quick reflexes are the only hint of athletic ability. Can Reo find the switch to awaken the beast inside Nagi?

BLUELOCK -Episode Nagi- has a story by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and art by Kōta Sannomiya, with English translation by Nate Derr (digital edition) and Dasia Payne (print edition). This volume was lettered by Chris Burgener (digital edition) and Michael Martin (print edition). Published by Kodansha Comics (October 15, 2024).

Is It Worth Reading?

I love BLUE LOCK, and considering its incredibly expansive cast, doing spin-off titles that showcase a lot of the other characters outside Isagi sounds like a genius idea. It's nice to get more fleshed-out backstories of what brought some of these soccer players to Blue Lock in the first place or maybe expand upon what life in Blue Lock was like before these characters got introduced to the main story. The reason why the creator decided to go with Nagi of all characters as the central focus is one that I roughly understand yet personally don't agree with. Out of all the characters that had deeply emotional or personal reasons to be at Blue Lock, we decided to focus on the prodigy whose main character arc is about learning to give a damn.

I like Nagi as a character in the main BLUE LOCK storyline and when the series really hits its stride, he can be a fun character. He functions great as a rival for Isagi as this bottomless well of talent can be dangerous when he is finally given a reason to take things seriously. When you make that character the protagonist though, what you are extensively doing is watching a story about someone who barely has any agency and has to get dragged around for the plot to happen. The story tries its best by bouncing out Reo as a dual protagonist, but he also runs into the same issues as he's also a super-talented rich kid with something to prove. I don't relate to either of these characters on any type of personal or mental level. Granted I don't relate super hard to a majority of the characters in BLUE LOCK but they are at least entertaining or their journeys lead to explosive developments.

By making this story a prequel, we are extensively creating an environment where nothing can happen that surpasses the peaks of the main story. The soccer matches here are still exhilarating and the artwork does carry a lot of the same momentum that the original series does. But I can't help but ask why I should care about anything that is going on. I know that Nagi is a popular character in the series, but this manga actually makes me question why that might be the case. If you're already a fan of BLUE LOCK and are reading the series or watching the anime, then I don't think there's anything in here that'll be better than what you've already seen.