Who’s getting the fifth place in the salary auction ranking-- the genius or the chameleon?
Isagi starts analysing his current playstyle and realises that he’s been missing the ‘fire’ which made him love football. The manga chapter then revealed the third and fourth place holders at the salary auction ranking, and none of them are Reo or Nagi. But as focus moves to Manshine City vs. Barcha match, we realise that both Nagi and Reo need to start playing on their own without depending on one another.
Spoiler Alert: This article contains major spoilers from the manga.
Blue Lock Chapter 297 recap
Image: Kodansha/ Muneyuki Kaneshiro/ Yusuke Nomura
Nagi stares at Reo and thinks about how the other boy has sacrificed his own fire to give someone like him a dream. Reo tells him to go score two goals so they can win, and Nagi wonders how he gets the confidence to act so cool when he’s also scared. But he promises to fire Reo up just like the other boy had done for him. Back in the present, Isagi realises that he’s been following a formula to win over the geniuses by wanting to beat them and coming up with a logical way to do so. However, he misses the fire from before which made him make impossible and irreproducible moves. Unfortunately, he can’t reproduce that fire with logic no matter how hard he tries.
Ego announces that Shidou got the third highest offer after Isagi and Rin at 160 million Yen, while Barou is close after with 150 million Yen. Back at the match, Nagi realises that if Barcha scores another goal, it’s over for them. He looks at Reo and wonders where he will pass it to. He perfectly predicts the spot and gets the ball, and vows to become the Nagi his friend wants him to be. But he starts doubting himself and wonders if he should shoot when he’s so far away from the goal. During this, Lavinho makes his way through to him and tries to take the ball away. But Chris Prince cuts through and says that it’s not over for Manshine City yet.
Chris runs away with the ball, leaving both Lavinho and Nagi confused. Ignoring Nagi, Chris says that he won’t waste his time on Egoists who don’t chase their ideals. He then makes a curved pass to none other than Reo Mikage. He tells Reo to score because he wants to see the boy’s future. Reo copies Otoya’s previous move with ease and passes him. He then jumps up and scores a fantastic goal that even takes Nagi’s breath away. The genius realises that Reo can already live on his own without depending on Nagi. Reo, tries to apologise to Nagi for scoring instead of passing to him but the other boy stops him. Instead, he says sorry for his childish belief that Reo will always be there for him. He’s glad that Reo can get fired up on his own, and realises it’s time for him to do the same. He apologises one last time for being such a pain.
Blue Lock Chapter 297 review
Image: Kodansha/ Muneyuki Kaneshiro/ Yusuke Nomura
Being a fan of Nagi and Reo is not for the weak of heart. The duo has gotten through a lot of ups and downs throughout the manga. Unfortunately, Nagi and Reo both need to realise that depending on each other won’t help them become the egoists they came to Blue Lock for. Much like Reo, Nagi also needs to blaze a path for himself, by himself. All the other top spot holders- Isagi, Rin, Shidou, and Barou, became the best because they refused to be dependant on anyone and played to score goals on their own. With Reo’s goal, it’s proven that deep inside, he has realised this, but refuses to let go of Nagi due to their past. But now that Nagi is determined to make it on his own, the two will definitely make it to the top of Blue Lock. As their fan, I can only hope it doesn’t put a strain on their friendship again.
Blue Lock Chapter 298 release date
Image: Kodansha/ Muneyuki Kaneshiro/ Yusuke Nomura
The Blue Lock Chapter 298 release date is Tuesday, 1 April, 2025. Fans can read the chapter on the official K Manga website and app by Kodansha.
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