Blue LockSeason 2was one of the most anticipated anime adaptations in 2024, but fans' expectations quickly turned into disbelief after the release of episode 2, which presented a noticeable downgrade in animation quality. But while the animation studio 8-Bit has yet to make an official statement about the causes ofBlue Lock’s recent adaptation issues, one of the series’ animators, Martín Reyes, known online by his handleMartinKiings, has shared his experience and the reasons behind the anime’s controversial animation quality drop.
Blue Lockis one of the most hyped animes in recent years, with an increasing popularity that led it to become the best-selling manga of 2023, which raises the expectations of viewers who anticipated an improved and more detailed adaptation for its new season. However,Blue Lock Season 2has created controversywith what fans call “slideshow animation” for its awkward transitions and lack of character movement. However, despite many fans backlashing at the animators,MartinKiings has revealed that they aren’t to blame forBlue Lock’s lack of fluid animation.
Blue Lock Season 2Animator Reveals Production Issues
The Hit Sports Anime Highly Awaited Continuation Faced Time Problems
The Chilean animator MartinKiings, who had previously worked on animes likeNier: AutomataandDan Da Dan, recentlyposted a video on his TikTok accountwhere he broke the silence about his experience working in the second episode ofBlue Lock Season 2.According to MartinKiiings, the issues didn’t start during the early stage, but the animation was modified in its final version. He also declared that he and the rest of the animators did their best at the workload requested of them despite the low payment and tight schedule they had to work on.
I worked on the second episode of Blue Lock, and I will tell you why its animation was so bad. Several months ago, I started working on Blue Lock season 2. One in which I would work not only on 1 episode or 2 or 3, but rather 5 episodes. I started working on the second episode, in which I had to take charge of approximately 20 cuts, animating these scenes from scratch, that is, layout.
But curiously, the problems didn’t start at this point. I’m sure that not only me but also all the animators who worked on this episode didn’t do the job that ended up being the final result. Despite the low payment and short time we were given, we did the best we could.
Additionally, MartinKiing alleged the series’ production committee cut out many resources done by the animators due to lack of time. He also revealed that even though he was originally assigned to work on 5 episodes of the season, he decided to leave the project after working only on one, as the production issues made him uncertain about the final quality of the project. The animator finalized by showing one of the cuts he made that he was allowed to share.
“The problems came after the production was tight with their schedule, and they decided to remove many of the resources that were used for the animation. Many of my animations were capped in the final version. Basically, they eliminated all the movement, some frames, or they just made them differently. But the fault doesn’t lie in the one that came after me, since they probably did all they could with the short time they had.
These problems, just like in Jujutsu Kaisen in the past or in the vast majority of animes, are a result of the production committee of certain animes that take projects just thinking about the money and not the condition of its workers. And it’s because of this that I didn’t work on any more episodes of Blue Lock. Once I finished working on the second episode, I decided to get out, and as I thought, the final result ended up being disastrous. This made it a job that I’m not proud to upload.
When trying to meet a tight schedule, anime production teams often decide to cut frames and simplify movement to have fewer corrections to make, which helps them save time and be able to meet deadlines. While this practice is sometimes easy to conceal in some anime projects, cutting frames in animes likeBlue Lock, which is about the dynamic movement during the matches, is even harder to overlook for the viewers but also reveals the pressure put on the production teams to deliver a final product even if it wasn’t as they envisioned at first.
Blue Lock’s Controversial Animation Explained
Blue Lock’s Animation Problems Highlight An Industry-Wide Concern
Despite its good premiere,Blue Lock Season 2, episode 2 was controversial for its drop in animation quality during the first tryout match,with many still frames, scenes with hardly any movement, completely static shots masked with visual effects during an important play, and off-putting transitions that feel like a slideshow presentation. This sparked criticism and mockery from the viewers, but mostly disappointedBlue Lock’sfans, who were expecting the quality of the first half of season 1.
Blue Lock Fans Should Look Past Season 2’s Bad Animation and Focus on Its Great Story
Despite underwhelming animation, season 2 of Blue Lock adapts one of the manga’s best arcs, resulting in a great story.
The working conditions for animators have always been tough, but this has become especially pronouncedwith recent popular anime adaptations that have experienced dropping animation, likeTower of God Season 2andUzumaki, and this is mostly due to rushed production time. However, while the recent statements from MartinKiings could darken fans' hope for the rest of the season, since he only spoke about the production of the first episodes and nothing is certain for the next arc, fans should still wait to see if theanticipated match of Blue Lock against the Japan U-20presents an improved animation.
Source: @martinkiings on TikTok(Translation)
Blue Lock
Cast
Blue Lock is a sports-centric animated series based on the manga series of the same name. The show follows the Japan Football Association trying to recover from their poor showing in the 2018 FIFA World Cup by hiring a football genius, Ego Jinpachi. With his new intense training regimen, Jinpachi invites the best football players in Japan to compete to become the team’s new star player - and high school student Yoichi Isagi may be exactly who he’s looking for.
