When you haven’t watched a single episode of a series before, it can be hard knowing quite when to enter. Sure, starting from the beginning is always a possibility, but sometimes you want to just jump right in with the latest offering. Of course that can make you feel more than a little behind. That’s not the case with Blue Lock: Episode Nagi, because it starts from the beginning, showing you the story from the viewpoint of a different character. What this means is that if the movie intrigues you, you can go back to the series. You can watch it from the beginning to see the story told out from a different perspective.

Blue Lock: Episode Nagi tells the story of Seishiro Nagi (Nobunaga Shimazaki). He’s a second-year high schooler who spends most of his time playing games on his phone. He isn’t interested in much else either. But when he meets Reo Mikage (Yuma Uchida), the latter talks him into joining the soccer team. It’s there that he showcases his talent for the sport. And soon, the duo become a strong team that the school recognize for their skills. They have so much talented in fact that their abilities suck theminto the mysterious Blue Lock. Blue Lock is a world forcing them to endure grueling training sessions and strong competition. If they can win, they will face the pro team and represent Japan on the world stage.

While the above recap may sound strange, the story is pretty interesting and will keep you hooked. It’s a story of competition and friendship, and eventually betrayal. Nagi is the prototypical antagonist of the story, but we mustn’t confuse him with being a villain. He’s not looking to harm anyone, he just wants to win, and to do it he has a different viewpoint than the protagonist. They are rivals, and shouldn’t be looked at as good or evil. Seeing Nagi’s story play out before watching any of the other episodes is a rather fun introduction to the series.

It’s sure to give more of an inside look as to why Nagi decides to travel down the road he eventually chooses. It can also help remove any bias towards him that you might have otherwise felt. The story is also full of action, so there is never a boring moment that makes you want to turn it off.  As a feature film, the animation in Blue Lock: Episode Nagi is crisp and clear as well, which helps you stay glued to the screen. It elevates the story, but not to the extent that it overshadows it.

Over all, Blue Lock: Episode Nagi is an entertaining anime that tells a unique story. It’s character driven, and it makes you want to know more. Not only is the film for die hard fans who will enjoy the unique perspective of the story, but fans who’ve never seen an episode before will also enjoy it. In fact it will make going back to the beginning now something they will want to do.