Blue Lock Season 2 was one of the most anticipated anime adaptations of 2024, but fan expectations quickly turned to disbelief following the release of episode 2, which featured a noticeable drop in animation quality. But while animation studio 8-Bit has yet to make an official statement about the causes of the Blue Lockrecent adaptation problems, one of the series’ animators, Martín Reyes, known online by his name MartinKiings shared his experience and the reasons behind the controversial drop in anime animation quality.
Blue Lock is one of the hottest anime in recent years, with an increasing popularity that has led it to become the best-selling manga of 2023, which increases the expectations of viewers who anticipated an improved and more detailed adaptation for its new season. However, Blue Lock Season 2 created controversy with what fans call “slideshow animation” for its awkward transitions and lack of character movement. However, despite many fans reacting against the animators, MartinKiings revealed that they are not to blame for Blue Locklack of fluid animation.
Blue Lock Season 2 Animator reveals production problems
The long-awaited sequel to the hit sports anime faced timing issues
Chilean animator MartinKiings, who has worked on animes such as Nier: Automata and Dan-Danrecently posted a video on his TikTok account where he broke his silence about his work experience in the second episode of Blue Lock Season 2. According to MartinKiiings, the problems did not start in the initial phase, but the animation was modified in its final version. He also stated that he and the other animators did their best in the workload asked of them, despite the low salary and tight schedule they had to work on.
I worked on the second episode of Blue Lock and I’m going to tell you why its animation was so bad. Several months ago, I started working on Season 2 of Blue Lock. One where I would work on not just 1 episode, 2 or 3, but 5 episodes. I started working on the second episode, in which I had to take care of approximately 20 cuts, animating these scenes from scratch, in other words, layout.
But, interestingly, the problems did not start at this time. I’m sure that not only me, but also all the animators who worked on this episode didn’t do the work that ended up being the final result. Despite the low pay and the short time given to us, we did the best we could.
Additionally, MartinKiing alleged that the series’ production committee cut many of the animators’ resources 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 only working on one, as production issues left him unsure about the final quality of the project. The animator finished by showing one of the cuts he made and which he was able to share.
“The problems arose after the production got tight with the schedule and they decided to remove many of the resources that were used for the animation. Many of my animations were limited in the final version. Basically, they eliminated all the movement, some frames, or just did them differently. But it’s not the fault of those who came after me, as they probably did everything they could with the little time they had.
These problems, just like in Jujutsu Kaisen in the past or in the vast majority of animes, are the result of the production committee of certain animes that carry out projects thinking only about money and not the condition of their workers. And that’s why I didn’t work on any more episodes of Blue Lock. As soon as I finished working on the second episode, I decided to leave and, as I thought, the end result turned out to be disastrous. This made it a piece of work I’m not proud to submit.
When trying to meet a tight schedule, anime production teams often decide to cut frames and simplify movement so they have fewer corrections to make, which helps them save time and meet deadlines. While this practice is sometimes easy to hide in some anime projects, cropping frames in anime like Blue Lockwhich deals with the dynamic movement during matches, is even harder for viewers to ignore, but it also reveals the pressure placed on production teams to deliver a final product, even if it’s not how they initially imagined.
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Despite the good debut, Blue Lock Season 2episode 2 was controversial due to the drop in animation quality during the first test match, with lots of still frames, scenes with barely any movement, completely still shots masked with visual effects during an important set piece, and underwhelming transitions that look like a slideshow. This drew criticism and mockery from viewers, but mostly disappointed Blue Lock fans, who expected the quality of the first half of the 1st season.
Working conditions for animators have always been difficult, but this has become especially pronounced with recent adaptations of popular anime that have suffered declines in animation, such as Tower of God season 2 and Uzumakiand this is mainly due to the rushed production time. However, although MartinKiings’ recent statements may dim fans’ hopes for the rest of the season, as he has only spoken about the production of the first few episodes and nothing is certain for the next arc, fans must still wait and see if the Blue Lock’s anticipated game against Japan U20 features improved animation.
Source:@martinkiings on TikTok (Translation)