| 2/5 Stars | ★★☆☆☆

Trigger Warnings for Blue Lock: Episode Nagi 1: Failure, forced proximity

Blue Lock: Episode Nagi 1 is the first installment in the spin-off series from Blue Lock. In this spin-off we follow Nagi, an absolute prodigy at soccer with little-to-no drive. Particularly in this volume, we also learn more about Reo, Nagi's "forced proximity" friend. This volume follows all the way through the first trial after entering Ego's Blue Lock establishment.

This is a pointless spin-off. There was literally a portion of the volume that was word-for-word the same as the original. I understand that it is due to them all being in the same location for Ego's speech, but come on. Why not focus more on Nagi's game at that time and have him totally zoned out or something? That being said, I really do love these characters in the base Blue Lock series. I just wish we would have learned more about them organically through that series, not by creating an additional spin-off manga.

This manga does not add anything to the Blue Lock lore. If anything, I think this almost muddies it. If the original Blue Lock series was meant to have these focuses, why wasn't it simply built in the series from the beginning? Thank you to Muneyuki Kaneshiro, Kota Samnomiya, Yusuke Nomura, Kodansha Comics, and NetGalley for an advanced reader e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Welcome back to Blue Lock!!! As an intro to the world of Blue Lock or returning to read Nagi's story, readers will meet Nagi and Reo pre-Blue Lock and read how Nagi's journey to the best striker in the world and unlocking his ego began.

Nagi and Reo's relationship is one of the best of the Blue Lock universe so getting to see more of them, and the focus on the ever-mysterious Nagi, was so interesting. From pre-Blue Lock to their first challenge when they enter, the difference between Nagi and Reo and the others makes the story enjoyable even if you know what to expect.

I really enjoy the art style, specifically how motion is drawn which is so important in a sports manga.

As this does retell from Nagi's POV the Blue Lock story, I do wonder how much will be new to readers of Blue Lock, even by telling this from Nagi's perspective and focusing on him is interesting as his take (and he is) so different from Isagi.

Especially if you know how their story progresses, you'll really enjoy the first volume of Episode Nagi - and I can't wait for more!

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Blue Lock: Episode Nagi is a spin off of Blue Lock mainly following Nagi *& Reo, both having very different reasons for why they start playing soccer. While one does it to prove something to his father the other has friendship that inspires him to give his best. There story is just beginning and I can't wait to see what the next few volumes have for us.
There are a lot of characters like the original series considering the number of players so picking up the first volume in Blue Lock universe can be a little overwhelming but it's totally worth it.

Blue Lock: Episode Nagi is a spin-off that concentrates on Nagi and Reo. This a prequel, but well made too. Reo Mikage comes from a rich family, but wants something for himself and soccer fills that void in him - he wants to win at the World Cup and be the best soccer player out there. He cannot do that on his own and he wants Seishiro Nagi to help him realize that dream, but the guy is a slacker. But, he has amazing reflexes and great potential too and the two participate in the competition to become the best in Japan. Well, the setting is surely the same formula that's in the original series, but it worked there too. I hope the series offers something more and not just reuse stuff and there's lots of potential and personal growth (I see the hints). I love sports series and I hope there's going to be something amazing for us!

The art looks extremely nice and lively. The movements look cool and you can see them, which is especially nice and hard to do well. I don't know how long this series will be, but I hope it gives us more info about the system and creates paths to the original series. That would be amazing.

Interesting, it should obviously be read at least after having read many volumes of blue lock to get an idea of ​​what Nagi's life was like before and what happens even during the moments when he was not yet with Isagi.

This series follows two unlikely friends Reo and Nagi. Reo from a rich background with a desire to prove himself and Nagi who's just here for the ride, in between playing video games and naps, as they try to become amazing soccer players. Though fast friends, the reader can see how this duo has become more than just friends of convenience. This spin-off of the beloved and popular Blue Lock isn’t something to be slept on. The characters are charming, their drives are genuine, and the plot is fast paced.

I actually finally finished watching the anime yesterday and I was really in the mood to continue reading Blue lock so when i saw that the earc of the first volume of the spin off was available I didn't even hesitate for a second.

This volume introduces us to Nagi and Reo before the events of Blue Lock. I really enjoyed seeing them interact and watching theit friendship form.
I really enjoyed seeing the team dynamic and the whole thing from a perspective that wasn't Isagi's.
This definitely made me like Nagi and Reo even more.

Surprisingly Gran was one of my fave characters of this even if she appeared for only a bit.

Definitely recommend checking it out if you are into Blue Lock and I'll be definitely picking up the next volume.

“i’ll show you a life that’s way more interesting than gaming and napping all day!”

after the first season of blue lock i became obsessed.

it’s dramatic, full of humour and has one of my favourite tropes: a found family. i love and appreciate that blue lock doesn’t fixate on the teamwork aspect of football as the only method to winning, but rather the ego and individualism of each player. it’s harsh and bloodthirsty.

it was so easy to fall in love with seishirou nagi.

a classic anime character—a lazy genius who finds everything tiresome and would rather video game and nap all day, if he could. my true spirit animal!!

it was refreshing seeing everyone’s entrance into blue lock from reo and nagi’s perspectives, but witnessing reo and nagi’s budding friendship and the formation of the ‘dream team’ in more detail is an absolute and wholesome experience. this volume is fast-paced however manages to remain entertaining despite it.

Firstly, for those that do not know this is a spinoff to Blue Lock. The main series goes more into what Blue Lock is and follows Isagi as the main character and we are introduced to several other characters.

Now for this series, we are following Nagi and Reo. The title is Episode Nagi but we get a ton of back story on Reo too. Although I am assuming later on in the series we will be getting more focus on Nagi (I will not include any spoilers for those who have not read/watched Blue Lock). I did like how the series started out before they entered Blue Lock. I am wondering how much time was between them starting the soccer team and Blue Lock though- it seemed like a short period. The two characters do complement each other with one as the go-getter and the dream then the other is indifferent and sees everything as a pain. Something else I liked is even though Reo has this big dream, he saw Nagi's potential and ended up including him in his goal. There are some funny moments and toward the end also get more information about some of the other characters that show up in the main series . Overall, I enjoyed it and the art is like that of the main series which is nice that it is consistent.

I have never read Blue Lock before but had heard amazing things, so as soon as I saw this manga I knew I needed to try it.

I really liked both Nagi and Reo’s characters. Even though their friendship developed very quickly, they had good chemistry and rapport so it still felt natural. I hope we see more of Gran in the next volumes!

Thanks netgalley and publisher for a digital copy!

I was so excited to dive into this spin off prequel. I first discovered this series through watching the anime, and I was happy to discover that this spin off is just as entertaining! Love Nagi’s character. All characters are fleshed out and unique. The art is great and does justice to reading a sports manga that has a lot of movement. I can’t wait to continue with the series!

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this volume.

Having read and watched Blue Lock I was excited to read this prequel story about Nagi. Nagi is one of your typical stereotypes that frequently crop up in manga - the lazy genius who thinks everything is “面倒くさい” (tiresome)

Part of what makes Blue Lock a fun and compelling story is it goes against all your typical sports stories where teamwork is the only way to win. This is purely about individualism and ego. It’s cut-throat and harsh.

There’s some really dynamic panelling and action. It’s hard to translate a sport to an inked page but it’s carried out flawlessly here.

All in all, a fun read like always.

I'm glad I was able to read this here, alongside the release of the movie. I actually liked Nagi from the beginning and was sad, when he was taken out, so seeing his arc is really cool!

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this manga

As far as I know, this is an off-series to the original series under the same name and I am now interested in the original series.

This was a fast-paced very fun read about a rich boy who has a dream and brings his friend along with him and it was so much fun seeing these two's friendship and how they had a connection etc.

LOVED seeing a new perspective of Nagi and Reo (bonus points because Nagi is one of my favorite characters)! I can’t wait to continue with this series as the volumes come out and thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of volume 1! I seriously cannot wait to read more from Nagi’s POV!

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC!

I really love Bluelock so I was excited to see that Nagi, one of my favorite characters, was getting a spin off series! In this volume, we follow Nagi and Reo as they get invited to compete in an experiment to create the best striker. I enjoyed getting to see more of Nagi and Reo’s relationship. I also liked getting to see the story from Nagi’s point of view. I really liked this volume and I’ll definitely be keeping up with this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an ARC copy!

The concept was intriguing and brought me in from the beginning. I loved the characters and think their personalities are fun, as they are complete opposites. I requested this on NetGalley recently and didn't know that there was already a whole series and that this was a spinoff until the very end, so excuse me while I go and devour everything else!!

Thank you to netgalley for sending me a copy of Blue Lock for review. My husband loves the anime Blue Lock so when I saw this I thought I'd give it a go and I'll just say I'm definitely watching the anime now, this was a fast paced manga and I wasn't bored at any point. The characters all felt very fleshed out and I will definitely be continuing with the series.