Blue Lock fans have been vocal about the disappointing dip of animation quality in season two compared to the first season, and the series’ producer shed some light on these design changes.
In 2023, Blue Lock was the best-selling manga in Japan, selling over 10 million copies, and the series became one of the best selling manga of all time, surpassing 40 million copies sold.
Much of that success and massive popularity growth can be attributed to its successful 2023 anime adaptation. Season 1 introduced the Blue Lock program as Ego Jinpachi set out to create the world’s best striker.
After leaving fans on the edge of their seats wanting more, season two was one of the most highly-anticipated shows of the 2024 fall season – but a shocking decline in animation quality drove some fans away.
Most complaints are centered around the smooth action scenes from the first season being replaced by motionless images and choppy transitions that some compared to a PowerPoint presentation.
Blue Lock’s producer, Ryoya Arisawa, answered fan questions about the hit series submitted on the anime’s official Instagram account, where he addressed concerns about the animation differences.
Why did the animation change in Blue Lock season 2?
When asked if he was happy with the anime adaptation, Arisawa responded, “ I am far from satisfied… Characters, like Isagi and the others, relentlessly seek greater strength with insatiable determination, whether they win or lose and the same applies to me and everyone involved in the ‘BLUE LOCK’ anime.”
Arisawa attributes the animation differences to the characters moving from a closed facility to a a grand stage in front of a large audience against Japan’s U-20 team.
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“To fully express this shift, we have increased depictions of the outside world and the audience, elements that were rarely seen before,” Arisawa said. “Additionally, reflecting on the lessons and feedback from the first season, we have enhanced aspects such as monitor work, imagery sequences, and aura effects.”
The producer admitted that this was all done with the aim to “build up to an exciting climax,” but it fails to address the issues fans and studio staff members have raised about the animation differences.
On October 21, Reyes, one of the show’s animators who worked in Season 2 Episode 2, opened up about the unfair treatment in Studio 8bit.
“Despite the low pay and negligible time, we did the best we could… basically, they eliminated all the movement, some frames or they just made them differently,” Reyes said.
Reyes claimed that the work they did was different than what ended up being published, and that would explain the motionless frames that have plagued the first several episodes.
Although Arisawa argued that this was an intentional design shift, it’s clear fans and animators have a different interpretation of what went wrong in season two.
