hiori my favorite gorgeous femboy streamer discord mod king 🥹
literally isagi needs to be sending him roses and thank-yous every single day
AND WE APPARENTLY GET HIORI-CHAN BACKSTORY?!?!??! imma punch his parents btw they're evil as fuckkk.
the first half of the volume def warranted a 4.5 ⭐, with all sorts of character deep-dives and delicious fanservice. there needs to be more stuff outside of the matches!! all the characters' physical and emotional development is so delicious, hell i can't adore it enough.
I LOVE KARASU I LOVE KARASU I LOVE KARASU I LOVE KARASU I LOVE KARASU
while hiori and karasu have shipping potential, i think the fact that karasu helped hiori sort of figure some stuff out shows how strong their friendship (or sportsplayer-ship) is. they're such a well-written duo, even if their screentime together is brief. god i love karasu (AND HIORI!!) so much.
yukimiya also gets plenty of features here! our gorgeous handsome model king who deserves all the eyeball surgeries he needs (also this volume was great fanfic research material haha). as for isagi, he gets a LOT of physical development and a somewhat noticeable pinch of character dev too. i like how everyone's leveling up in a way that still doesn't feel like a block of overpoweredness.
but ew k**ser was here. poor ness. fanfic research (i don't ship kainess hot take btw)
but the second half started to fail miserably, like we meet lorenzo who gets flanderized right off the bat (being money-obsessed, ending all his sentences with ",okay?"). you're telling me this guy and oliver fucking dilfku are under 20? ain't no fucking way. and mid ass lorenzo's gold teeth just look rotten, okay? gold where?!
4.5 ⭐️ for domestic reo and nagi, bathing together and chatting about their common dreams and goals. for mean boy ness and kainess drama. so toxic, so good. i need their backstory NOW.
Why is *spoiler redacted* so scary looking, I hate it. It looks like they have no bones.
Isagi and Barou at the end of 209 had me CACKLING.
Also, I see things like BL ranking and my brain does not automatically go ah yes... Blue Lock Ranking. It's trying to gas light me into thinking is means Boys Love Ranking...
I adore how this volume changes the status quo of Blue Lock's storytelling style, and there's no better way that Kaneshiro could've kicked off what is my personal favorite match in the series.
One common complaint I hear from readers early on in the story is that Isagi's growth feels formulaic. He plays against a new opponent, struggles at first, but undergoes an adaptation that allows him to not only compete, but dominate. Some people think that this cheapens his growth since he'll just end up struggling again, but that's the entire point of his character - just because he beat Nagi in the first selection didn't mean he was ready for the World Cup, for example. He still had to move up a level quite a few times to get to that point, and every time he moves up a level, he struggles, as one would expect. The first time Isagi struggles is in the first selection's shitshow matches, where every team is full of 11 strikers, if they're even a team at all. So it doesn't cheapen this when he struggles again later, given that THAT time, it's in a 3v3 against Blue Lock's best player, as opposed to some guy (Nagi) who's been playing the game for half a year. Nor does it cheapen it the NEXT time he struggles, which is when he's playing against presumably the best players in the country, rather than just the best among a 300-person project. Nor does it cheapen it in THIS arc, where he still struggled in the first two matches, since he's now playing against the best-of-the-best European clubs, yet another level up. At this point, there's only one level still remaining - being able to compete against the best U-20 national teams in the world, like France or Spain. And when that happens, sure, I expect him to struggle.
But in this volume, finally, it feels like this struggle isn't an obligatory part of every match, and Isagi's hot streak has finally kicked off. The start of Bastard vs. Uber's is incredible, displaying Isagi's new capabilities as he easily stops a deadly attack from Ubers, spins around to counter, and scores with his non-dominant leg. He has never been this dominant this early in a match, and it's great to see the story head in this direction, keeping things fresh. This streak of dominating from the kickoff carries for more than another 100 chapters - the next time he's truly helpless is when he plays against the French team in the World Cup, which is exactly what one would expect his next challenge to be. As goated as Isagi has become, he is not yet the best in the world. Not by a long shot.
There's still stakes, but the protagonist's growth makes the start of this match an incredibly compelling read, and I don't think Kaneshiro could have started this match off better. Also, I love Hiori's backstory - he was one of my favorite characters even before I read this volume for the first time, and I loved that he gets his chance in the spotlight during this match. The characterizations, illustrations, and plays are all perfectly done, and I can't really imagine a way that this volume could be improved. Pure excellence
Can I please have an Episode Aiku spinoff that's him on the Ubers with Princess Barou and Aryu PLEASE
Hiori made me sad, {spoiler} also makes me sad, can't tell if Isagi is delusional or still levelling up, Kaiser is still 100% perfect (I miss Shidou and Sae best duo)
66 MILI BARCHA CONTRACT TO BACHIRA… BUT 88 MILLION MANSHINE CITY CONTRACT TO NAGI SEISHIRO!!!!! we going to england baby!!! also “what i expect from my rival” yukimiya, TRUST you are not apart of this conversation. and ness suck kaiser’s dick more holy hell. isagi goal finally in the beginnings of a match, that’s gone shoot his value through the roof. also ubers have the best chemistry as a team besides barcha.. fucking italians. barou also hatrick murderer he’s too cold with it
Intensity, Drama, and Emotional Damage (you know the meme)
The INTENSITY!!! The first game wraps up, Isagi is out here going 110%, and the stakes just keep climbing. Before the next match, a great deal of training, strategy, and personal development is undertaken—resulting in some of the most compelling story moments in the series so far. The focus isn’t solely on the action, as this volume is imbued with serious emotional weight, rich character drama, and a deeper exploration of what drives each player forward. And with Italy looming on the horizon, it is certain that things are about to become even wilder.
This volume had everything—intense action, deep backstories, insane rivalry tension, and more than enough character moments to make my heart explode. Might be my favorite so far.
3.5. Willing to round this up to a 4 but also not really because a certain pairing is cribbed too hard from Kuroo/Kenma and the fujobait is really blatant. Also the classic Isagi Problem ramped up to 11 because he immediately got the play. SNOOZE!!! Anyway... Barou is the best to ever do it which is why I was willing to give this a 4. Alas.
I took a BLLK uQuiz and I got Hiori Yo, my kin! My baby, my child! He deserves nothing but all the love in the world!
l feel like there's not enough brain cells in this volume—nevermind the fantastic plays on the game—because they're all so silly and full of childlike idiocy, I love them silly blorbos! Anyway, Isagi's first goal after three assists, he's an evolution maniac!
Hiori is a sweet baby and he made me so sad. Lorenzo AKA Zombie AKA the newest thing to haunt my nightmare is beyond horrifying. WHY IS HE DRAWN LIKE THAT PLEASE STOP.