BLUELOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- is a retelling of the early events of BLUELOCK through the eyes of Nagi and Mikage. However, that's not to say this is a recap or compilation film. Rather, a good 70% of the film is newly animated footage as the story follows their first meeting, their growing friendship, and the first few trials of the Blue Lock competition.

It is these additions to the story that are the most interesting. Not only do we get to see a completely different version of the soccer tag game that starts things off, but we also see how Nagi and Mikage deal with the other teams we saw Isagi and his friends confront in the early part of the TV series.

Of course, the real meat of the story is centered around the titular Nagi. We spend most of the film in his head—hearing his internal struggle to understand his opponents and himself. This allows us to see that his growth as a character isn't the light switch flip it seems to be in the main anime but is instead a gradual process that culminates in his game with Isagi (and the choices he makes after).

Throughout the film, Nagi goes from being perpetually bored to not being bored when he's with Mikage to caring about soccer after clashing with Isagi. This vastly improves his character by making him far more nuanced and understandable—which is important given how prominent he becomes in the series overall.

Mostly, BLUELOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- works as a standalone film. While knowing the rules of the various challenges within Blue Lock and how Isagi dealt with them adds an extra layer to the story, the focus on Nagi makes the film watchable even without that information.

...And then comes the last 10 minutes of the film.

This film's climax is when Nagi must choose between Isagi and Mikage. Everything in the film builds to this choice. Thus, the logical conclusion point for the film is right after Nagi makes it. However, instead of doing this, the film becomes a montage cramming 12 episodes of action into 10 minutes. It's visual chaos. It's impossible to follow what goes on, and even the key moments with Nagi and Mikage from the series' back half are almost completely cut. Or, to put it another way, this film would be far better if it were 10 minutes shorter.

As for the presentation, the film looks great—as good as the TV anime in most places and better than it in others. Nagi's flame and skull motif looks great, and the visuals, in general, show just how invested Nagi is at any given moment in what's going on. Conversely, the music is largely forgettable, but it does its job well enough.

In the end, BLUELOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- is a great companion piece to the original BLUELOCK and a halfway-decent standalone film. It would be even better if it weren't for its final minutes (and their unnecessary need to catch us up to the end of the first season of the TV anime). Still, BLUELOCK fans will enjoy this one, even if it stumbles a bit on the landing.