Why the heck are they wearing shibari suits ?
On ⛓️alienation and ⛓️💥freedom in that soccer manga you know well
Abstract : We will explore the themes of submission and domination within the character dynamics, then it we'll lead us to further themes as alienation and freedom.
I will mainly focus on Kaiser/Ness, Barou and Isagi.
1) SUBMISSION AND DOMINANCE 🔩
The shibari suits. They’re awesome.
One of the first things that comes in mind (well, mine at least) when you look at Bllk art direction, is the predominance of bondage themed symbols. The shibari suits, the art covers with collars and chains. But of course it’s not gratuitous.
These things are indeed symbols that lead to fundamental themes in Blue Lock, such as submission and dominance within the character dynamics.
These themes are highlighted in the characters' dialogues : « Good boy/Yes, boss » (NagiReo), « I’m a king and you’re a peasant » (Barou, probably), the infamous « Auf Die Knie/On your knees » (Kaiser)… There’s honestly too much to write down all the occurrences. It's a pyrotechnic festival of degrading remarks. And of course we see that dynamic in the characters' actions : blows, jersey grabbing, hair pulling, kneeling down and so on.
Several character dynamics revolve around that dom/sub thing ; and of course it’s not a sexual thing in the narrow sense of the expression (See previous post about libido). They’re not really whipping themselves in a gay club backroom.
It’s a dom/sub dynamic in a broader sense that lies at the core of any imbalanced relationship (which is a must if you’re writing character dynamics).
Rivalry, this sport manga trope (and shounen trope in general), feasts on that imbalance. It would not be interesting if the protagonist won in their first try. A compelling story is always about conflict (great or small). It needs an established struggle that the protagonist has to overcome. In that dom/sub symbolism, it means that the protagonist must shift the balance of power to go on with their journey.
🌹The sad sl*t and his puppy 🐩
At first glance, it’s obvious that Kaiser is the dom of his relationship with Ness. He acts like a complete prick, uses him and hurt him both physically and emotionally, like the sadistic psycho he is.
When Isagi enters the stage, Kaiser asserts himself as a dominant character (« On you knees » is literally one of his first sentences in the manga). Their relationship as rivals is a battle of egos (as always) to see who’s going to be on which side of the leash. At first, Kaiser is holding the leash of course or the stakes would be very low.
As Isagi gradually learns to resist him, Kaiser’s dom persona is thrown off balance and he loses his sh*t. He overreacts in various ways, screams, makes super scary faces, takes out his frustration on poor Ness who is always here to clean the mess.
As his dom persona is in danger, the author offers Kaiser’s backstory on a plate. Perfect timing. This backstory highlights unspeakable traumas and explains a lot about his projected identity (« I’m a dom »). He alienates others, just as he himself has been alienated. He asserts himself as a dom because it’s the only coping mechanism he found to escape the dehumanization he has endured.
And this raises this issue (which does not only concern Kaiser) : who is the real sub, in the end ?
The marvelous scene between Ness and Kaiser at the end of NEL arc (chap. 301) embodies the shift of power.
Long story short : Kaiser is the real sub.
Hegel (XIXe s.) addresses this very issue in what’s called the « master and slave dialectic » : at first glance, the master is superior to the slave of course ; but the slave works, and struggles, and pushes himself to try to escape the situation, while the master becomes more and more passive due to over-confidence ; finally, the slave has evolved while the master has just stagnated ; he realizes, too late, that his so-called power depends entirely on the slave, and that he’s nothing without him.
And that expresses a seemingly contradictory truth : only the ones that experience alienation can evolve, and ultimately, gain freedom.
2) ⛓️ALIENATION AND FREEDOM⛓️💥 :
The term alienation is used to describe a negation of who you are. It can be at work, when your job doesn’t fit your inner values and make you feel miserable (see Marx on that topic), it can be in basically a lot of your social interactions if you are denied by discriminatory laws and behaviors (when you’re a victim of racism, sexism, LGBTphobia etc.).
Alienation means that you’re chained in a way or another, that you’re not allowed to be yourself. It goes to a deep level, where even you don’t allow yourself to be yourself (this is an important point).
This is the meaning of that chain-themed art direction : characters in Bllk experience several kinds of alienation.
First of all, there are external constraints : Hiori and Reo, for example, are held back by their parents’ expectations ; Rin is held back by his brother’s inability to acknowledge him (or just to be nice with him, come on Sae that’s not that complicated you cold b*tch) ; Chigiri and Yukimiya are held back by physical wound or illness.
That’s why we see Chigiri’s leg chained in some panels. When he finally manages to shake off the fear of hurting himself again, the symbolic bond breaks.
But as always, the real deal is not the external side of alienation (the seriousness of which I do not deny), it’s the internal side of it, the internal constraints :
What pulled Chigiri back was not his wound after all, it was his fear to be hurt again, and even further, it’s the fear to become someone he’s not. That’s the real alienation. And since the main concept of Bllk is identity, you see how fertile the alienation theme is to character development.
👑To elaborate on this topic, we will now focus on The King 🦁
At first, Barou Shouei is not at all a victim of alienation… He’s the King, he asserts himself as such and fears no opposition. He’s depicted as a character with a strong affirmative force. He doesn’t bother to be nice to others and calls them « peasants » or « losers » ; he asserts his dominance on them, he holds the leash, because his identity is strong and stable.
When Isagi calls into question that untouched authority (Barou’s King-ness), he introduces deny and contradiction into his world view. At first Barou is not willing to change and buries himself in denial. Isagi does tell that he’s ruining his potential by refusing to acknowledge any challenge or frustration (chap.61).
In chapter 62, Isagi finally manages to break Barou’s self-confidence, and calls him a « loser », which is the ultimate negation of Barou’s projected self (being a winner, a king). Barou’s identity is now denied and stripped off himself, which leaves him devastated, shattered. He collapses and sees a future in which he’s nothing but a depressed adult watching soccer on TV with a beer in hand.
The tables are turned. The alienation has crippled the lion king.
Now, we need to use that dialectic concept briefly introduced earlier. It’s the key to understand all that alienation/freedom stuff :
Dialectic is a process that applies to everything, as long as it concerns human affairs (because you need self-awareness to experience it).
It begins with one element (1). That one element, being alone, is stable. But being stable, it’s stagnant and boring. It’s the affirmation phase. Then comes the second element (2). Its mere existence challenges the first element by introducing Alterity. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an actual conflict, but it can be. The first element is set off balance. It’s the negation phase. Then, if the opportunity arises, the first element overcomes the contradiction, the phase of negation, by implementing new ways of existing, inspired by the struggle it has just undergone. So it becomes a new element (3). It’s the synthesis phase, called Aufhebung in german. It’s a self-transcendence thing, meaning that the Self acknowledges the Other and absorbs (« devours ») some elements of that Other in order to become a different and stronger Self (See Hegel, The Phenomenology of Spirit).
If this is too abstract, check this out :
When Barou overcomes the negation phase, he becomes who he truly is (a king indeed), but not in the way he had initially imagined it. He shifts to a different king persona, a villain shadowy king who is better at soccer. Because this is a soccer manga, remember ?
(Side note: all this rant about "chemical reaction" is another metaphore that works for the dialectic process; you need at least two elements to make a chemical reaction, and create a new substance.)
🧩Isagi’s rivalry dialectic⤴️
Isagi experiences the cycle affirmation/negation/synthesis several times. It’s the core of his development as a character (and the core of every character to be honest).
First, he approaches the game with a plan in mind (1), then he is confronted to a rival who annihilates his path to the goal (2), and then, he overcomes the challenge and reinvent himself in order to become better (3). And he scores. GOOOOOAAAL
Do you remember that line from Nietzsche ? « What does not kill me makes me stronger. » (Twilight of the idols, 1889). This could be Isagi’s motto.
It may appears as something boring in the long run, because Isagi seems to go in circles. But the important thing to understand is that synthesis is not only phase (1) + phase (2), a mere addition or juxtaposition of two elements. It’s a trans-formative process that adds layers of content. That’s why dialectic does not go in circles as it may seems. It’s an upward spiral :
And you certainly already understood that the dialectic progress has no end, because as a human being you’ll always have to face new challenges just by existing and being around people.
That’s why Isagi can never be the world’s best once and for all. Let’s say he achieves his goal. He’ll have to find other challenges to devour. If he settles comfortably into the « world’s best » persona and fears no contradiction, he’ll become the master of the Hegelian master/slave dynamic : he’ll be confident, stagnant, boring (like these wealthy men in their fifties whom you have already come across), and he’ll ultimately lose to someone hungrier than him.
And maybe, then, he will regain the hunger.
The bondage aesthetic symbolizes the submission/domination character dynamic, in which the roles are not that clearly defined, and in which the tables can be turned. A seemingly dominant character can be very fragile (because of over-confidence like Barou, or hidden traumas like Kaiser), and a seemingly submissive character can be the one in charge (like Ness who is indispensable to Kaiser, or Isagi because despite his apparent inferiority, he constantly manipulates stronger characters to get what he wants).
The bondage aesthetic also embodies the concept of alienation. Alienation is indeed a painful thing to experience, but it’s also an essential catalyst for change and progress. Without contradiction, you stagnate into denial of alterity and turn in circles. No one can be self-sufficient, and a fictional character cannot either. To gain their freedom (and become who they truly are (if there is such a thing as a « true self », but I keep this for another time)) the character has to be challenged and has to be able to overcome the challenge (it’s not easy, and it is a subject well-suited to storytelling).
Because if you can’t enter phase 3 of the dialectic process (synthesis), well, you’re just stuck into that ping-pong motion between idle assertions and slaps in your face.
What does not kill you makes you stronger, or it can just break you. And that’s not cool 😢
The more I write about this, the more I could go on. I’ve just scratched the surface, but your time is precious. If you read this, I’m really honored. You can ask for details or challenge my point of view, I’ll be glad if you do it.
I state again that I do not pretend to speak the absolute truth. I just use the tools in my possession to give an interpretation. Interpretation always allows for more interpretations. It is neither a scientific demonstration nor a dogmatic religious assertion.
I think I’ll do a bonus post for Shidou and Sae on the sub/dom topic. Another for Nagi and Reo ? Who knows.
And maybe one about Ego Jinpachi ? He’s an interesting character, master of puppets, but certainly alienated in some ways. Did you notice that Anri is the only character to this day who does not wear a collar on the art cover ? Whereas Ego, who is the Blue Lock’s mastermind, does wear one. I’m curious about that. Like he’s chained by his own beliefs or something.
More philosophical rants:
Eros & Thanatos or On libido and death impulses on Bllk
Sae is the trigger Shidou is the bullet
