From October 5 to December 28, 2024, TV Asahi’s IM Animation block showed the blue lock season 2 animation, which was called vs. U-20 Japan. Eight Bit made the season, which continued the story of Yoichi Isagi and his fellow strikers as they battled the tough U-20 Japan National Team. People liked the story and character development, however the quality of the animation came under a lot of criticism. This article goes into detail about the blue lock season 2 animation, looking at what the production team did, the problems they ran into, and how both reviewers and fans reacted.
Creative Direction and the Production Team
Yūji Haibara was in charge of the blue lock season 2 animation, and Taku Kishimoto was in charge of the screenplays for the whole series. Kenji Tanabe was in charge of the major character designs and the animation direction. He worked with Tomoko Mori and Sorato Shimizu. As action director, Tadayoshi Okimura made sure that the sequences were exciting and full of energy. Jun Murayama wrote the soundtrack, which added to the high-stakes feel of the bouts.
The production crew wanted to improve the visual storytelling by building on what they had done in the first season. But much though they tried, the season had a lot of problems that hurt the quality of the animation.
Problems with the quality of animation
Fans noticed a big reduction in the quality of the animation in the second episode, which was a big problem. People didn’t like how the scenes looked since the characters seemed to slide across the screen instead of moving smoothly. People on social networking sites paid a lot of attention to this phenomena, which is often called the “PowerPoint animation” effect.
Martin Reyes, an animator who worked on the project, spoke up about these worries in public. He said that the production committee had cut back on the resources available for the episode, which made it harder to stay on schedule and under budget. Even though the animators did their best, a lot of their work was changed or left out of the final edit, which is why viewers saw such poor animation quality.
Effects on the industry and comparisons
The problems that blue lock season 2 animation is having are similar to problems that the anime industry as a whole is having. including other studios that have had problems, including MAPPA, Blue Lock’s production problems brought up worries about working conditions and how resources are used. These problems show how hard it is to keep up with production timelines and budgets while still making high-quality animation.
The Last Episodes and Redemption
Even though there were problems early in blue lock season 2 animation, the latter two episodes were praised for their animation quality. The final game versus the U-20 Japan National Team had smooth animation and exciting action scenes, ending with Isagi’s important goal. Fans and journalists alike praised the return of high-quality animation, with certain episodes placing among the best-rated anime episodes of the year on IMDb.
Final Thoughts
There were both good and bad times during the blue lock season 2 animation. The first few episodes had a lot of problems, but the series ended on a high note, showing that great things can happen when you have enough time and money. It’s clear that the production staff is committed to the project, and the lessons learnt from this season could be useful in the future of the anime industry. Fans are excited for the next chapter, and they hope that the excitement from the season finale will keep going, which will keep the animation quality high in the future.
