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A review by mushroomlove
Blue Lock, Vol. 13 by Muneyuki Kaneshiro
funny
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This was great build up, really pumps you up for the next volume.
My major critique would be it's pacing. Blue Lock's fast pacing has worked in it's favor thus far, not having the games drag for too long and keeping the reader engaged, but this volume seemed almost rushed. The tryouts being fastforwarded through Isagi over sleeping is smart, since they weren't going to be very important or engaging outside of the protagonists' game, but it seemed the rest of the volume was desperate to get to the next game and had little to no cool-down time to better understand the characters.
Having chosen the finalists for the match against the U-20 team and having two weeks to train was a perfect opportunity to pause the action and help the reader get a better grasp of the characters. Most of the top players were only recently introduced and could've used more development since they're now playing an important role. Not only that, but it would've been nice to see everyone's reactions to the finalists. How are the players in the starting line up feeling? Are they worried about playing a position they don't specialize in? Is the goalie feeling pressured to block all the goals even though they've never played as one before? Is there any imposter syndrome present? How are the ones that didn't get picked feeling? Is their spirit shattered? How's their self esteem? Are they relieved they aren't the center of attention? Do they feel like trash in comparison to the others? Or do they think this to be an injustice and are working to prove everybody wrong?
So much could've been done with the characters in the time between the third selection and the match against the U-20 team, but none of it was done in favor of rushing to the action. The action won't be nearly as impactful if the reader has no real connection to the characters. Instead of a look inside the characters' heads in the two weeks leading up to the next match, we get a look at training on day one, a lesson on "flow" and a preamble to the big game.
(still a fun read tho)
My major critique would be it's pacing. Blue Lock's fast pacing has worked in it's favor thus far, not having the games drag for too long and keeping the reader engaged, but this volume seemed almost rushed. The tryouts being fastforwarded through Isagi over sleeping is smart, since they weren't going to be very important or engaging outside of the protagonists' game, but it seemed the rest of the volume was desperate to get to the next game and had little to no cool-down time to better understand the characters.
Having chosen the finalists for the match against the U-20 team and having two weeks to train was a perfect opportunity to pause the action and help the reader get a better grasp of the characters. Most of the top players were only recently introduced and could've used more development since they're now playing an important role. Not only that, but it would've been nice to see everyone's reactions to the finalists. How are the players in the starting line up feeling? Are they worried about playing a position they don't specialize in? Is the goalie feeling pressured to block all the goals even though they've never played as one before? Is there any imposter syndrome present? How are the ones that didn't get picked feeling? Is their spirit shattered? How's their self esteem? Are they relieved they aren't the center of attention? Do they feel like trash in comparison to the others? Or do they think this to be an injustice and are working to prove everybody wrong?
So much could've been done with the characters in the time between the third selection and the match against the U-20 team, but none of it was done in favor of rushing to the action. The action won't be nearly as impactful if the reader has no real connection to the characters. Instead of a look inside the characters' heads in the two weeks leading up to the next match, we get a look at training on day one, a lesson on "flow" and a preamble to the big game.
(still a fun read tho)