Assessment of 6 Blue Lock Characters on Isagi Yoichi
Isagi Yoichi, the main character in the anime Blue Lock, is a football player who once experienced disappointment due to his failure to lead his school team to the national tournament. However, his life changes when he receives an invitation to join Blue Lock, an environment that makes him feel fulfilled. In Blue Lock, Isagi interacts with various characters who provide assessments of his strengths and weaknesses in playing football.
Here are the assessments of six Blue Lock characters on Isagi Yoichi:
1. Barou Shouei Deems Isagi Yoichi Unworthy to be a Striker
As the match between Team Z and Team X was about to conclude, Bachira launched a long pass from the midfield that soared beautifully and landed precisely at Isagi's feet, who was positioned just outside Team X's penalty box.
In his heart, Isagi was confident that his long-range shot would sail straight into Team X's goal, scoring an extraordinary goal. However, to his astonishment, Isagi's movement was suddenly halted by the appearance of Barou from Team X, who seemed to materialize like a devil before him, blocking his path with surprise and a daunting challenge.
Even though Isagi recognized his role as a striker was to overcome Barou's solid defense on his path to the goal, suddenly Isagi forgot his ambition to score a goal on his own. Instead, Isagi passed the ball to Kunigami, and with his long-range shot, Kunigami successfully scored a goal that shook Team X's net.
After the match ended with a score of 5-1 in favor of Team X over Team Z, Barou approached Isagi and straightforwardly delivered his message. Barou revealed that the fear that gripped Isagi when confronted with the threat of an opponent blocking his path to the goal had shattered Isagi's honor as a striker. With unwavering confidence, Barou drew the firm conclusion that Isagi lacked the potential required to become a true striker.
As a result, Isagi was thrown into shock when Barou uttered words that pierced his heart. Isagi contemplated his actions, which were meant to score a goal, but instead he chose to pass. The feeling of regret haunted his mind, making Isagi feel humiliated as a striker.
Suddenly, Isagi was reminded of when his school team was defeated in the final match. That memory brought back the bitterness of facing the opponent's goalkeeper and having a golden opportunity to score, yet choosing to pass to his teammate. Ironically, the outcome didn't align with his hopes, as his teammate failed to score.
Like a recurring nightmare, Isagi was trapped in a vicious cycle where he kept repeating the mistakes of the past: passing to a teammate when facing the opponent's goalkeeper. Eventually, Isagi realized that he hadn't changed at all since arriving at Blue Lock.
2. Kunigami Acknowledges Isagi Yoichi's Quick Decision-making.
When the players of Team Z were organizing their formation to strengthen their team, Kuon, appointed as the strategist, gathered the individual abilities of Team Z's players. However, Isagi was the only member of Team Z who hadn't revealed his standout ability to Kuon. Isagi was still hesitant within himself, weighing what he could actually contribute. Though deep down, Isagi was aware that he didn't possess remarkable individual skills to showcase,
After Kunigami treated Isagi to a steak in the Blue Lock cafeteria as a reward for the brilliant assist that led to a goal in the match against Team X, Kunigami admitted to being very curious about Isagi's decision to pass to him. Kunigami was being marked by an opponent's defender, while Raichi was running free without being guarded and was closer to Isagi.
Isagi explained to Kunigami the reasoning behind his pass, stating that he did it reflexively and unconsciously. Isagi argued that if he passed to Raichi, there was still a chance that Barou, who was facing Isagi, would easily intercept Raichi.
Kunigami told Isagi that his individual ability was like a premonition that led to goals. With high praise, Kunigami acknowledged that Isagi had quick decision-making skills and referred to Isagi's ability as something extraordinary.
3. Ikki Niko Likens Isagi Yoichi to himself.
After the first half, Team Z fell into the clever trap set by Team Y, orchestrated by Niko. Cunningly, Niko lured all the players of Team Z to advance and attempt to break through Team Y's parked bus defense.
Next, Niko, who managed to steal the ball in the defensive area, immediately spotted a gap and swiftly sent a through pass towards Ohkawa. Ohkawa, being the lone forward of Team Y without any markers, moved freely towards Team Z's goal. With impressive composure, Ohkawa skillfully scored a brilliant goal, giving Team Y a 1-0 lead over Team Z until the end of the first half.
Entering the second half, Team Z got the chance to take a corner kick. All Team Z players gathered inside Team Y's penalty box in hopes of scoring. Fortunately, Isagi Yoichi's intuition proved accurate: the Team Y goalkeeper would deflect the corner kick, directing it to Niko, who would then deliver a pass to Ohkawa for a counterattack.
Thus, Isagi Yoichi successfully intercepted the ball headed towards Niko and attempted a long-range shot towards Team Y's goal. Although Isagi Yoichi's shot was briefly blocked by Niko, Gagamaru seized the opportunity and netted a goal against Team Y. Finally, Team Z managed to equalize the score to 1-1 against Team Y.
Afterwards, Niko praised Isagi's intelligence for accurately discerning Niko's strategy in orchestrating the counterattack. Without Isagi's insight, Team Z would have easily fallen to Team Y. Niko, being a talented player with a pair of eyes that comprehensively survey the field and a sharp mind to provide instructions to his teammates, also conveyed to Isagi that Isagi possesses vision and intelligence on par with his own.
4. Chigiri Hyoma Highlights Isagi Yoichi's Brilliance
One night, Isagi walked into Team Z's CCTV room and found Chigiri there. Isagi shared his story about his sleep troubles that led him to rewatch the match between Team Z and Team Y. As it turned out, Chigiri also struggled with sleep, but he was fixated on the unforgettable moment when Isagi scored an epic goal that brought Team Z a dramatic victory against Team Y.
In that Team Z versus Team Y match, Chigiri believed that Isagi was experiencing the pinnacle of his success as a striker. Isagi humbly acknowledged that the goal would never fade from his memory, but he felt it was impossible to replicate such a successful goal in other matches because what Isagi did initially was just run.
Furthermore, Chigiri, with admiration, revealed Isagi's exceptional talent, which is his extraordinary ability of spatial awareness. Chigiri explained that most players tend to rely on their perspective and personal judgment when kicking the ball, especially when running fast and dribbling, which limits their field of view.
However, Isagi's Spatial Awareness ability allows him to seemingly control the entire field and find surprising moments. Like a deity observing the field from the heights of the sky, Isagi has a broad view that encompasses the entire field. With this ability, Isagi can sense the scent of a goal and overcome any obstacles, allowing him to create unpredictable goals that no one can foresee.
Unfortunately, based on Chigiri's observation, Isagi's Spatial Awareness ability can only be activated through intuition alone. If only Isagi could consciously control his ability, his vision and mind would become powerful assets on the field.
5. Kuon Wataru Calls Isagi Yoichi's Individual Skill useless.
When Team W was leading 3-2 against Team Z, Isagi from Team Z made a determined effort to equalize the score to 3-3 by attempting to dribble the ball on his own. However, the Wanima Brothers easily stopped Isagi's movement and took the ball from him.
This was because Kuon, a player from Team Z, had committed betrayal by leaking individual information and playing the tactics of his teammates to Team W. Through Kuon's accurate assessment, it became evident that Isagi was a player with exceptional Spatial Awareness abilities. However, when Isagi was dribbling the ball alone, he was just a foolish person who couldn't do much due to Isagi's limited individual skill in dominating one-on-one situations.
As the second half was coming to an end, Isagi was still trying to penetrate Team W's defense in order to equalize the score. Wanima Keisuke and Kuon, who previously underestimated Isagi's abilities, were surprised to see Isagi dribbling the ball past them.
Moreover, Isagi rejected the request from his teammate in Team Z to pass the ball because he had the ambition to score a goal himself. However, in an instant, Wanima Junichi managed to stop Isagi with a tackle that made him fall and lose the ball. This incident was a heavy blow to Isagi, while Wanima Keisuke couldn't help but laugh while mocking Isagi's very poor dribbling skills.
6. Naruhaya Calls Isagi Yoichi a Genius in Adaptation
When Naruhaya and Isagi found themselves in the same predicament, they suffered a defeat in the 3-on-3 match. As a result, their team was left with only two players, as one of their teammates was taken by the winning team. In a worrisome situation, as they were forced to play a 2-on-2 match, the stakes were high. If they lost and their teammate was taken, one of them would be eliminated from Blue Lock.
Taking a big risk, Naruhaya dared Isagi to face off against each other, and Isagi accepted the challenge because he also wanted to challenge Naruhaya. Truthfully, Isagi really wanted to take Barou from Naruhaya, and vice versa, Naruhaya wanted to take Nagi from Isagi. Naruhaya informed Isagi that if their team lost, neither of them would be chosen. This was because both Isagi and Naruhaya did not want weak teammates; they needed exceptional players like Barou and Nagi to progress further in Blue Lock.
Thus, the showdown between Team Red, represented by Naruhaya and Barou, and Team White, represented by Isagi and Nagi, commenced. In this match, Barou's scoring ability was on par with Nagi's excellence, so the victory depended on Naruhaya and Isagi.
Later, Naruhaya confidently approached Isagi and explained why he dared to challenge Isagi, as Naruhaya believed he could defeat Isagi. As former teammates in Team Z, Naruhaya knew that Isagi was not the kind of player who could engage in solo fights to create opportunities by dominating one-on-one situations, as Isagi relied on his teammates' assistance to score goals. Moreover, Naruhaya reminded Isagi that both of them were just ordinary humans without special talents like Barou and Nagi.
Afterward, Isagi realized the similarity between himself and Naruhaya; they each had their own strengths and weaknesses. Naruhaya possessed effective body movements and speed to outmaneuver opponents and halt attacks, but lacked accuracy in shooting to score goals. Meanwhile, Isagi excelled in direct shots that could score with high precision but lacked the ability to get past opposing players and struggled to enter the opponent's penalty box.
Frustrated by Team White equalizing the score with Team Red, Barou attempted a shot from the middle of the field toward Team White's goal, hoping to score the fifth goal and secure victory for Team Red. However, Barou's shot hit the goalpost, and Naruhaya had a chance to retrieve the rebound.
However, in that crucial moment, Naruhaya was caught in a dilemma between passing to Barou or imitating Isagi's direct free-kick technique. Ultimately, with a bold move, Naruhaya launched a direct shot at the goal, but unfortunately, the ball only hit the goalpost and failed to become the desired goal.
Inspired by Naruhaya's action, Isagi decided to emulate Naruhaya's exceptional moving skill while Barou was guarding his movement. Isagi realized that one-on-one situations didn't only occur when he had the ball but also when he moved without it. Understanding the limits of human sight, Isagi recognized that Barou couldn't monitor both Isagi and Nagi simultaneously.
Cleverly, Isagi successfully defeated Barou in a one-on-one duel by exploiting Barou's blind spot in vision. Finally, Nagi, who had gained control of the ball rebounding from Naruhaya's shot, quickly sent a pass to Isagi. With confidence, Isagi executed a perfect direct shot, scoring the decisive fifth goal for Team White.
After being defeated by Isagi, Naruhaya finally admitted his mistake in assessing Isagi as an ordinary player, as Isagi was indeed an exceptional player. Naruhaya realized that Isagi was always capable of transforming and reshaping his abilities into their best versions. Therefore, Naruhaya proudly referred to Isagi as a genius at adaptation.