Qiuqa put together 10 key points after watching Blue Lock Episode 4.

1. Kuon Catalogs Team Z’s Weapons

As Team Z finalized their formation, Kuon—their designated tactician—began cataloging each player’s individual skills, or “weapons.”

The inventory of Team Z’s weapons was as follows: Raichi possessed pinpoint shooting technique; Naruhaya specialized in slipping behind the defense; Gagamaru was known for his raw agility; Lemon was a versatile utility player; Igaguri had an unyielding spirit; Kunigami boasted a devastating left-footed strike; Imamura relied on speed and technique; Bachira excelled at dribbling; and Kuon had an impressive vertical leap.

Isagi, however, had yet to reveal his primary weapon. He was still searching within himself, weighing what he could actually bring to the table. Kuon simply told him to figure it out and let him know later. Deep down, Isagi realized he didn’t have a standout individual skill to boast about. Meanwhile, Chigiri chose to keep his weapon a secret, a decision the rest of the team accepted.

2. The “My Turn to be Striker” Strategy

Kuon devised a method to harness Team Z’s offensive weapons, ensuring the players wouldn’t just act selfishly, but instead work together by maximizing each other’s strengths. He called this strategy “My Turn to be Striker.”

Kuon implemented an ultra-offensive scheme tailored to everyone’s individual weapons. They would take turns playing as the central striker, while the rest of the team adapted their playstyle to support whoever was currently leading the attack. Kuon established a rule: every ten minutes, the players would rotate one position clockwise. Everyone would get a turn as striker, except for Lemon, who would remain the goalkeeper, and Chigiri, who opted to stay on defense.

On the pitch, Team Z practiced understanding and supporting the weapon of whoever was currently acting as striker. Driven by the looming threat that another loss would end their soccer careers forever, Team Z finally began to unite as a real team.

3. Isagi Yoichi Asks Why Kunigami Plays Soccer

While eating dinner in the Blue Lock cafeteria, Isagi wrestled with a crisis of confidence, haunted by his lack of a reliable weapon on the field. Suddenly, Kunigami approached him. He thanked Isagi, expressing genuine gratitude for the pass he had converted into a goal.

Isagi took the opportunity to ask Kunigami why he played soccer. He admitted his admiration for Kunigami’s powerful strikes and physical dominance. Kunigami replied that he wanted to be a soccer superhero. Since childhood, he had never cared for sentai heroes, giant robots, or pirates. Instead, his idols were the strikers on the pitch who scored the goals that won games.

To Kunigami, soccer players weren’t fictional characters; they were real-life superheroes who fueled his passion and gave him courage. He didn’t care if others found it ridiculous or laughed at him; he felt no shame. Kunigami’s life motto was simple: to achieve his dreams, he would fight the world fair and square.

4. Kunigami Identifies Isagi Yoichi’s Weapon

Additionally, Kunigami had grown concerned watching Isagi constantly eat plain natto due to his low ranking in Blue Lock. As a token of appreciation for the assist, Kunigami decided to cash in his goal bonus points at the cafeteria for a steak, splitting half of it with Isagi as a special reward.

Kunigami was also deeply curious about Isagi’s decision to pass to him. After all, Kunigami had been marked by an opposing defender, while Raichi was running completely unmarked and positioned much closer to Isagi.

Isagi explained that the pass was purely a subconscious reflex. He reasoned that if he had passed to Raichi, there was still a chance that Barou—who was pressing Isagi at the time—could have easily intercepted or stopped him.

Furthermore, Isagi revealed the true reason behind the play: a gut feeling told him that a long-range shot from Kunigami would find the back of the net. Isagi had personally felt the sheer power of Kunigami’s kick during Blue Lock’s initial tag test, where Kunigami had unleashed a blistering shot at his target.

Hearing this, Kunigami pointed out that Isagi’s individual weapon was precisely this instinct—a sixth sense for sniffing out goals. With genuine praise, Kunigami acknowledged Isagi’s rapid decision-making, calling his ability truly remarkable.

5. Team Z vs. Team Y Begins

Before kickoff against Team Y, Kuon reminded his teammates that their opponents had also lost their first match. Because of this, Team Y would undoubtedly fight tooth and nail for a victory this time around.

As the match began, Team Z relied on Bachira’s dribbling as their primary weapon to pierce Team Y’s defense. Bachira pushed forward as far as he could, but Team Y had already anticipated this tactic. They deployed three players who successfully suffocated his operating space. Left with no choice, Bachira passed the ball to Igaguri.

Shortly after, Raichi fed the ball to Kunigami, hoping his signature long-range strike would break the deadlock. However, Team Y had accounted for Kunigami’s threat as well. Two center-backs successfully blocked the shot, preventing the ball from ever reaching the net.

6. Team Y’s Counterattack

 

The ball found its way back to Bachira, who immediately relayed it to Kunigami, hoping a second attempt from distance would succeed. Unfortunately, Team Y’s center-backs blocked the shot once again. This time, the rebound fell directly to the feet of a Team Y player, Niko.

Niko instantly launched a rapid counterattack, sending a piercing through ball to Okawa, who was sprinting entirely unmarked by Team Z’s defense. With chilling composure, Okawa easily slotted the ball past Lemon, putting Team Y ahead 1-0.

It finally clicked for Isagi. This was why Team Y hadn’t been actively attacking, opting instead to keep nine players on defense and leaving only Okawa up front. While they appeared overwhelmed by Team Z’s attempts to break down their “park the bus” defense, Team Y had actually been baiting Team Z into pushing their entire squad forward. Isagi realized that Team Y’s strategy was to focus heavily on defense, steal the ball, and launch lightning-fast counterattacks with Okawa acting as the spearhead.

7. Team Y’s Frustrating Playstyle

Raichi furiously berated Naruhaya for letting Okawa run free, but Naruhaya fired back, arguing that he needed backup to stop Okawa and couldn’t mark him alone. Kuon tried to defuse the tension, reminding them they were only down by one goal.

The match continued. Naruhaya sent a cross toward Kuon deep in Team Y’s territory. Utilizing his impressive vertical leap, Kuon successfully headed the ball down to Kunigami. However, Kunigami hesitated a fraction of a second too long before making a move, allowing Niko to swoop in and steal possession.

Afterward, Niko and the rest of Team Y simply passed the ball around their own defensive third, killing time for the final ten minutes of the half to protect their 1-0 lead. Consequently, Team Z struggled to even touch the ball before the halftime whistle blew.

8. Team Z’s Locker Room

In the locker room, Raichi was livid that Team Z had failed to win back possession, especially since the final ten minutes had been his turn to play striker. Naruhaya countered, arguing that focusing on defense and pausing their weapon rotation at the end of the half was the right call; if Team Y had scored again, Team Z would be finished. Igaguri pleaded with Naruhaya and Raichi to stop fighting, noting that even professional teams struggle to crack a “park the bus” defense.

Chigiri chimed in, suggesting that rather than cycling through ineffective weapons, Team Z should rely heavily on players like Bachira and Kunigami, who had already proven they could pressure Team Y. Raichi bristled at Chigiri’s comment and moved to confront him, but Kuon quickly intervened to calm him down.

Kuon maintained that changing their strategy now was too risky. He stood by the “My Turn to be Striker” system, confident that Team Y would eventually crack under the constant rotation of their offensive weapons. He urged his team not to let the fear of Okawa’s counterattacks paralyze them.

9. Isagi Yoichi’s Intuition

Team Y opened the second half exactly as they ended the first: endlessly passing the ball in their own half to run down the clock and protect their 1-0 lead. Once again, Team Z struggled to gain possession. Imamura, whose turn it was to play striker, grew incredibly frustrated; he couldn’t showcase his skills if his team never touched the ball.

Imamura likened the struggle of stealing the ball from Team Y to wooing an aloof girl: she seems impossible to win over, but once she falls, she falls hard. Lost in his own strange analogy, Imamura’s pressing became sluggish and ineffective. Nevertheless, his initial pressure was just enough to force an error, allowing Gagamaru to successfully intercept the ball.

Gagamaru immediately fed the ball to Isagi, who then launched a cross deep into Team Y’s penalty box. Refusing to waste his turn as the focal point of the attack, Gagamaru used his raw agility to dive and head Isagi’s cross. The Team Y goalkeeper barely managed to parry it out of bounds, awarding Team Z a corner kick.

With the corner kick opportunity, every single Team Z player crowded into Team Y’s penalty box, desperate to equalize. Fortunately, Isagi’s intuition kicked in with terrifying accuracy. He foresaw exactly what would happen: Team Y’s goalkeeper would punch the corner kick away, aiming right at Niko, who would then instantly feed it to Okawa for a lethal counterattack.

Moving purely on this instinct, Isagi intercepted the clearance before it could ever reach Niko. Without hesitating, Isagi fired a shot from distance. Although Niko desperately threw himself at the ball and partially blocked it, the deflection sent it spinning toward the net. Gagamaru pounced on the loose ball and drove it home. Finally, Team Z equalized, tying the game 1-1.

10. Niko Ikki’s Assessment of Isagi Yoichi

In the aftermath of the goal, Niko commended Isagi’s tactical brilliance for perfectly reading his counterattack setup. Niko admitted that without Isagi’s extraordinary spatial awareness, Team Z would have easily been swallowed up in defeat by Team Y.

Unfazed, Isagi looked him in the eye and stated firmly, “I won’t let you operate freely anymore, and Team Z is going to win this match.”

Niko fired back with absolute conviction, “You might have the same vision as I do, but don’t ever dream of beating me. Because I am the one who will dominate this entire pitch.”