Rivals
Hertha P.
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Around Thanksgiving, after a month of TikTok promoting Blue Lock on my For You Page (thanks to the World Cup), I finally caved in to read the manga. As I was reading the manga, two particular players struck out: the main protagonist Isagi Yoichi, and Itoshi Rin, the brother of the best soccer player in Japan. Isagi and Rin's relationship was perplexing: they never viewed each other as friends, yet the two players were invincible on the field. Before they became a duo on the same team, they used to be opponents, with Rin being on Team Red and Isagi being on Team White. Before the Second Selection's first game, Isagi picked a fight with Rin after he heard that Rin was ranked #1 among all the Blue Lock project's contenders. With Rin's stubborn ego and Isagi's determination, this declaration sparked a rivalry for the time being. Due to the overwhelming skill difference, Team White had no chance against Team Red, which resulted in their loss for the round. However, Team White fought back up to survive the Second Selection. In the Third Selection, Ego Jinpachi, the project's leader, sorted players into teams, leading Isagi to Team A with Rin. As the two found themselves required to work together in more matches against different players, Rin's hostility towards Isagi broke down to the point where he started having conversations with him. Ironically enough, during the football/soccer matches against the U-20 group and Teams B and C, the two players still viewed each other as opponents despite being on the same team.
Looking back on the development and importance of Isagi and Rin's relationship, I had an idea to portray their rivalry through a piece of art. What better idea way to display rivalry between two players other than to show it while the two were still on different teams? Funnily (and painstakingly) enough, I couldn't begin on the said drawing until Winter Break started due to finals. My original concept for this drawing was to draw individual depictions of each character on a square-shaped canvas and use Instagram's closed square gallery feature to connect the two pictures. Since this contest didn't offer such a feature, I needed to combine the two illustrations. While sketching out the first part, I wanted to emphasize the intensity between the two players, so I had a void as the background and showed their "monsters" and "egos" all at once. Ego Jinpachi constantly prioritized the idea that the best soccer players always have a high ego to perform at their best and make game-changing plays. I'm not one to focus on effects and scenes, so trying to make the determination and shadow come to life was no easy job. Approximately 10 hours of coloring and touchups later, I finished the entire depiction, close enough to what I initially had in mind. On the right is Isagi Yoichi challenging Rin Itoshi (on the left) while Rin tries to prevent Isagi from outplaying him, knowing he can't lose to someone ranked 14 spots below him.
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Exploring and expressing my creativity is therapeutic (but sometimes not so much). If I'm not doing academic work or athletic activities, people usually find me doing something art-related, like making cards (3D, pop-up, etc.) or drawing for a commission or a post.
