Blue Lock Animator Reveals Why Season 2 Looks So, So Bad

When it comes to anime, fans expect their fave series to meet certain expectations. Sports titles are expected to invest heavily in animation as they feature high-octane action. From Slam Dunk to Haikyu, we have seen this investment pay off, and Blue Lock season one followed that method. However, that plot was lost somewhere during the production of Blue Lock season two, and an animator is now speaking out about the horrific misstep.

Taking to social media, Martin Reyes wants to set the record straight about Blue Lock. The animator worked on the anime’s second season, and his behind-the-scenes breakdown of the series is damning. According to Reyes, he was originally set to work on five episodes of Blue Lock season two, but he dipped after animating parts of episode two because of the show’s impossible schedule.

What Happened to Blue Lock Season 2?

“I worked on the second episode of Blue Lock, and I can tell you why it’s animation is so bad. Months ago, I started working on Blue Lock season two where I worked not only on one episode… not even two or three but rather five episodes. I began working on episode two and had to do 20 cuts from start to finish,” Reyes explains.

“Strangely, problems [with Blue Lock] hadn’t arose yet. I’m sure I am not alone in this, but the work I did ended up not being released. Despite the low pay and short turn around, we did the best we could. Many of my animations were [cut] in the final edit; Basically, all their movement was eliminated. I don’t blame the person who worked on my cuts after me; They probably did all they could with the time they were given.”

@martinkiings

Lamentable resultado🥱🙇‍♂️ Creo que me falto agregar que aunque hubiesemos intentado llevar la animación mas lejos, el director eliminaria la mayor cantidad de frames posible para poder llegar a tiempo a la entrega, el resultado? El mismo que se vio en el episodio… #bluelock #sakuga

♬ sonido original – MartinKiings

Continuing, the animator went on to place blame on the production committee that oversees Blue Lock for how bad season two looks. “These problems…are a result of certain production committees. They take on projects with profit in mind but don’t care about the condition their workers face. It’s because of this that I did not work on more Blue Lock episodes. Once I finished working on episode two, I decided to leave, and the final result ended up a disaster as I expected. I am not able to feel proud of the work that was uploaded.”

As you can see above, Reyes went so far as to post one of his original cuts from Blue Lock season two. The clip is unfinished as the animator was tasked with layout work, but there is a world of difference already. In Reyes’ cut, there is actual running animation, and we are shown lots of dynamic action. When Blue Lock season two brought episode two to life, well – the animation was stiff to put lightly. Its characters were lucky if their feet moved at all while running, so clearly, something got lost in translation as BBlue Lock continued production.

Can Blue Lock Season 3 Redeem the Anime?

According to Reyes, the crux of the issue behind Blue Lock season two falls on executives. The animation team was not given enough time to make season two look as good as season one. While Reyes managed to turn around a well-animated layout, the show’s other animation teams could not see the vision through. Corners were cut by designers and colorists and animators in latter stages. This did not happen out of laziness but rather intense time crunch. Reyes says the downfall of Blue Lock could have been avoided with better production scheduling, but the show’s committee did not care to intervene.

As you can imagine, fans of Blue Lock are incredibly disappointed with season two. The show’s first season was a hit, and its popularity gave the Kodansha manga a massive sales boost. Creators Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura are still piecing out the manga, but their work now has a shadow to contend with. Blue Lock season two is being hailed as one of the worst unseatings in anime. And if the anime gets a season three order, the production committee better reevaluate its deadlines or face further humiliation.

What do you think about this Blue Lock confession? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.