Blue Lock animator sheds light on “bad” Season 2 animation

As a longtime anime enthusiast who has been following Blue Lock since its inception, I must say I am deeply disheartened by the quality of the second season’s animation. Having witnessed the meteoric rise of this series and its captivating storyline, it is disappointing to see such a beloved franchise suffer at the hands of an underperforming studio.


The second season of the popular manga and TV series, Blue Lock, has faced criticism regarding its animation quality, with concerns raised by viewers. However, these issues have been acknowledged by animator Martin Reyes.

Instead of diving right into new content, Blue Lock Season 2 is choosing to adapt Chapters 109-151, focusing on the Blue Lock vs Japan U-20 match. This arc will also serve to conclude the Third Selection Arc that was initially introduced in the previous season. After a year’s wait for a second season, some fans may have felt let down by this approach.

Despite the fact that the manga enjoys immense popularity, it’s rather unexpected that the anime adaptation doesn’t live up to expectations in certain areas – while some visuals are impressive, others seem static and lacking movement.

In an open discussion, one of the animators from the series, Reyes, who contributed to Season 2’s second episode, has spoken out about the perceived injustice at Studio 8bit. Furthermore, he alleged that the studio stripped away all his movements and referred to the animation as a “catastrophe.

… la animación de blue lock 2 no tendrá salvación si sigue en ese estudio. ..

— Arnold⚔Ackerman #WeWantN.GonzalezcomoAsa (@elbartman96) October 21, 2024

Based on a Reddit interpretation of Reyes’ TikTok post, he shared that he was involved in the production of the second episode of Blue Lock, and he plans to explain why its animation quality seemed subpar. Previously, he had been assigned to work not just on one, but five episodes for the upcoming second season of Blue Lock.

I began working on the second episode, focusing on handling twenty cuts, essentially creating each scene from scratch. Interestingly, issues didn’t crop up during this phase of work. I have a strong feeling that neither myself nor the other animators who contributed to this episode were responsible for the final version that was published.

“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.

However, it’s important to note that the issues aren’t attributable to those who followed me. Given their limited time, they likely did their best. Unfortunately, as in many shows including JJK and most animes, these problems often stem from the anime production committees who tend to prioritize financial gain over worker welfare.

“I didn’t work on any other episodes of Blue Lock after the second one because, as it turned out, the final result was a disappointment, just like I had feared. Consequently, I felt this wasn’t a project I could take pride in publishing. However, I was given permission to publish one of my 22 cuts.

For those wondering, Blue Lock Season 2 has a total of 14 episodes scheduled to air, and as of November 1, 2024, four have already been broadcasted. Given this, it’s highly improbable that the production studio will enhance the animation quality during the ongoing season.

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2024-11-01 14:48