Episode 12: The Second Selection

Entering a small chamber, Isagi faces a holographic goalkeeper called the Blue Lock Man and a shrinking target zone. He learns the First Stage demands 100 goals in 90 minutes as the ball and keeper reset in new positions each time. He races through the levels, at first enjoying how the drill recreates the final instant before goal, but stalls when defenders appear and the fired balls begin to spin. Teieri explains the room uses high-resolution panels and chipped balls to let physical contact with the AI keeper feel real, and admits the technology has drained their funds; Ego does not care.

Pushing to the maximum level, Isagi keeps missing until he recalls how Bachira, Kunigami, and Chigiri once shaped his chances. Needing strength to fight alone, he corrects his technique, cutting to seventy percent power and pouring his focus onto the point of contact, which lets him finally reach 100 goals and clear the stage.

The Second Stage requires forming a team of three. Isagi expects to pair with Bachira, but Nagi, moved by their earlier match, asks to join Isagi even after Mikage taught him the game. A hurt Mikage relents, and Isagi accepts Nagi alongside Bachira. Elsewhere, Kunigami and Chigiri, left behind by the trio, decide to team up together.

Advancing to the Third Stage, Isagi's trio finds Rin Itoshi, Jyubei Aryu, and Aoshi Tokimitsu waiting. Ego explains the format, dubbed the Rivalry Battle: three-versus-three matches with a Blue Lock Man in each goal, first to five goals winning and stealing a player from the losers to build a four-man team. That squad then plays a four-versus-four Fourth Stage, steals again, and the resulting five clear the Fifth Stage to pass. Losing teams shrink and drop back a stage, and any two-man team's unpicked player is disqualified.

Teams may choose their own opponents by mutual agreement, so Ego posts real rankings based on First Stage clear order. Itoshi, ranked highly, coldly calls Aryu and Tokimitsu mere numbers, stating Blue Lock is only a stepping stone toward the national team and surpassing his brother. Hearing that Itoshi does not care whom he faces, Isagi walks over and declares his ego wants to play against Itoshi.

The episode is set in the Second Selection Arc, with Chaos ga Kiwamaru and WINNER as its themes. The Additional Time skit, "His Bro Speaks!", shows Keisuke Wanima tearfully parting from his advancing brother Junichi, who normally cannot speak clearly yet vows to crush those who separated them, unnerving Isagi and Bachira.