Blue Lock: Episode Nagi manga set to end - Should fans be worried?

Blue Lock: Episode Nagi is a beloved spin-off series revolving around the lazy genius, Seishiro Nagi, and the Chameleon, Reo Mikage. The manga, created by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Kouta Sannomiya, has been serialized since June 2022 in Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shonen Magazine. It follows a monthly release schedule and has 34 chapters at the time of writing.

Given Nagi’s shocking fate in the main storyline of the Blue Lock manga, the only crutch fans could lean upon was Nagi’s spin-off story. Unfortunately, a few days back, they received the harsh announcement that Blue Lock: Episode Nagi is set to conclude on August 12, 2025, with its eighth volume.

While the main Blue Lock series follows Yoichi Isagi’s path towards manifesting his ego in the project to find Japan’s top striker, Episode Nagi gives readers insight into Nagi and Reo’s past, as well as the matches they play in Project Blue Lock. The manga has risen to popularity due to its deep dive into two of the main series’ most popular characters.

In particular, Nagi—who never reveals his thoughts properly and is introverted—is explored in depth through this story. It starts by showcasing his unwillingness to play football, after which Reo comes up with clever ways to motivate him.

Upon joining Jinpachi Ego’s project, however, Nagi gradually begins getting excited on his own, becoming immersed in high-intensity matches and driven by a desire to surpass Isagi. His complex state of mind, where he has short bursts of egoism but keeps struggling to fully materialize it, perfectly foreshadowed his elimination in Blue Lock’s Neo Egoist League.

Nevertheless, given the recency of Nagi being forced to leave the project in the parent story, fans were still hoping to enjoy his presence in Episode Nagi. However, the creators have decided to provide no relief, ending Nagi’s story in the spin-off, too.

The latest chapters of Blue Lock: Episode Nagi saw Nagi battling the foreign all-star team, while Reo finally qualified from the second selection stage, discovering his chameleon copying talent. Therefore, since the manga is set to end in August, fans can only expect 2-3 more chapters.

This will likely follow the final selection stage before the U-20 match, where the Blue Lock players will be divided into teams along with the top six performers, including Nagi, to compete against each other. This will help decide the final lineup for the U-20 match. Both Reo and Nagi will have their moments to shine, solidifying their positions on the team.

Why fans should not be worried about Blue Lock: Episode Nagi ending

Despite Nagi’s elimination, most fans remained convinced he would eventually return to the story due to his importance up until that point. However, with the Episode Nagi manga ending around the same time he was cut from the Neo Egoist League, fans have recently been worrying that the writers may be attempting to sever all ties with the prodigy.

However, this is most likely not the case. In the original story, Nagi’s progression in Project Blue Lock was mostly not covered until the Third Selection Arc, since the focus remained on Isagi. Episode Nagi covered these events in greater detail. Following that, the U-20 match highlighted every character, while the Neo Egoist League also properly displayed Nagi’s struggles.

As a result, there is no special content left to adapt from Nagi’s life that has not already been covered through Blue Lockand Episode Nagi. The mangaka could potentially come up with filler content, but up until this point, even the spin-off has been strictly canonical to the main story.

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Timing the ending along with Nagi’s exit from the parent story makes Nagi’s loss much more emotional and memorable. At the same time, since it is highly probable that this is not the last we’ve seen of Nagi, his return will be more impactful as fans would not have seen him in any other story or spin-off until that point.

Hence, ending Episode Nagi at this point is a clever decision that ensures it doesn’t overstay its welcome, as well as a strategic one to heighten the effect of Nagi’s loss. It will make his fans miss him even more, and should he return, his comeback will feel all the more significant.

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