Itoshi Brothers - Blog Posts

I can SO hear Atlantis by Seafret playing here

FUCKING SOBBING

PLEASE JUST COMMUNICATE 😭🙏🙏

Poor Rin😓 Fuck you, Sae😒

Okay, so y'all know Katniss and Primrose from The Hunger Games, right?? Do you think if Sae was Katniss, would he sacrifice himself for Rin? Like, imagine Rin was chosen for the Hunger Games, would Sae volunteer as a tribute?? I wanna know so bad, because their relationship is so interesting to me!! (Also I just watched the movie for the 100th time lmao)

Going to sleep wake me up when Rin is happy and he kills Sae with a hammer

my thoughts on itoshi rin and how his relationship with his brother has affected the way he has played football throughout the manga

to me it feels quite obvious that rin still cares about sae quite a bit. quite literally almost all of rin’s football career has been built around his brother, from the beginning of it to the u-20 match.

in the beginning, it started with rin thinking that sae looked cool and wanting to watch with his big brother play. then people realized he was actually pretty good at football himself, so he decided to start playing with sae because, “why wouldn’t playing football with your brother be fun?” this is when football was fun, it was mostly just hanging out with his big brother and eating ice cream together. we also don’t really know much about this time in rin’s life other than a few manga panels, so i don’t have much to say other than this is when got into football and he enjoyed it. i do feel like at first he mostly enjoyed it because he was playing with sae.

then, sae goes to spain, and this is when we first start to see changes in rin’s football. it’s in this stage that rin’s football both becomes about getting better and is when he first starts to enjoy it without sae. it becomes about getting good enough so that he can still walk with sae on the path to becoming the two best strikers in the world. it’s still enjoyable, but it’s mostly fun because he knows that sae is going to come back and they’re going to be great together. sae’s going to come back and they’ll both have gotten better and football will be even more enjoyable.

then sae actually comes back, and it’s apparent that all is not well. their confrontation happens and the football that rin had built up in the time that sae was away crumbled around him. football was no longer about playing with his brother, that had been made abundantly clear to him by sae himself. i imagine that it takes a bit of time for rin to decide what to do with himself after that. we just get a fade to black in the manga after rin and sae’s confrontation in the manga, but we do know that it was in winter. i don’t know how seasons in japan work or when football season is, but i imagine that having rin’s and isagi’s big life changing moments happen on the same day would be kind of unlikely (but who knows, this is a sports manga and the timeline is blurry).

the next change to his football is likely when he gets the letter to blue lock. this is when football becomes a tool to use in the goal of proving sae wrong. proving that he did deserve to be part of sae’s life, and that sae was in the wrong for saying what he did. football was now about making sae feel like rin did with the added weight of guilt. making sae feel guilty about how he treated rin when he returned from spain. blue lock is just a way for him to streamline that process. the facility gives him access to top trainers and training facilities, as well as the opportunities he needs to get back at sae. this football isn’t about enjoyment or happiness or anything that the football he played before was about. this football was about his anger and his need for revenge, at the same time it was also about his want for his older brother back. his want for his brother to love him like he used to, to wrap him up in his arms and take him out for ice cream and sit by the ocean with him. this football was football filled with grief over the fact that his relationship with his brother will never be the same because he is not good enough.

then the u-20 match happens, and this marks yet another change to rin’s football. this is when sae manages to fully cement himself as a world class jerk in both my mind and in rin’s. after this match rin is pissed off, like he is mad mad. he takes some of that anger out on isagi because he’s a) the one that sae praised, and b) the one who walked up to rin who was clearly spitting mad and tried to have a conversation. but after the u-20 match, this is when rin starts to play football for himself. this is when rin lets go of playing for sae altogether, and i am so excited to see what that looks like. this is rin accepting that if sae’s going to be a jerk to him for the rest of his life then he’s not going to let him run it anymore. this is rin not letting go of all the bullshit that he went through with sae, but accepting that it happened and kind of moving on.

of course, this is all from rin’s perspective. i’d like to see what sae thinks of what went down between the two of them, it’s likely much different than how rin views it.

at the time that i’m writing this post (ch 231 of the manga is latest chapter) we haven’t seen any of our paris x gen pals since they chose their team, so that means we haven’t seen rin in a while. i feel like rin’s new play style will be extremely interesting to see (especially from isagi’s pov, it’s like that boy can’t not wax poetry about rin), especially since pxg’s mentor is julian loki. since he’s in the same age range as all of blue lock it’ll be interesting to see how he handles the team.

and the u-20 match really good writing, in my opinion. it really expands on rin and sae’s relationship in way that hadn’t happened before and hasn’t happened since, at the time of this post, and that context is why i can even make this post.

hope that you enjoyed my ramblings about rin, i just think he’s neat

Itoshi Rin and Sae: a story in three parts

alternatively: how having a brother complex can ruin your life (but it's mostly that you both just have terrible personalities)

So in the midst of the world cup finals last week, I remembered—in a frenzy or some state like it—of the existence of the edgy soccer manga Blue Lock. And so I read it. And it sure was edgy.

One of the things that stood out to me were the Itoshi brothers, Rin and Sae, and how most of their relationship, its highs and its lows, were predicated on Rin simply having the world's biggest brother complex.

By the way: general spoiler warning for the manga up until about the VS Japan U-20 match (around ch 147).

Prologue

Before we get any sense of backstory for them, we're introduced to the Itoshi brothers on different occasions.

In ch 4, we first meet Itoshi Sae, a genius soccer player who considered to be the best in Japan. The first impression we get of him is that he has a terrible personality. and a foul mouth. He has no interest in entertaining the media or giving any serious to interviews, and he does not hold back on his arrogant demeanor, though in his case, it's actually justified by his ridiculous skill.

Rin is introduced much later than his brother, during the second selection arc, and is someone who is also incredibly skilled. While most of his motivations seem shrouded in mystery, we know that Rin is self sufficient and dislikes to rely on others.

Oh and I guess there's also his deal with his brother.

oh yeah rin-chan seems weirdly more on edge at the mention of his brother? haha i'm sure this means nothing

Rising Action

In ch 123, the curtain is pulled back.

Itoshi Rin loves his brother very much, loved his brother very much; he admired him above all else, and strove to become just like him in the future.

Even as a little kid, Sae has had his terrible personality: he already tells his interviewers to eat shit and doesn't hold back his arrogant attitude. Most importantly, however, is how, above everything else, he hates to lose.

A young Sae takes it personally when Rin is the one to get the lucky ice cream. i'm with him on this one i would also try to justify myself too much when my brother would get the lucky items. curse him.

But those things don't mean much at this stage, where Rin and Sae stick with each other, as close as two coats of paint. Sae obviously dotes on his younger brother and treats him nicely, which contrasts with his demeanor with others. So when they both notice that Rin also has the skills in soccer, instead of being mad at Rin for intervening during his game, Sae proposes that he plays with him.

how heartwarming. im sure these siblings will keep their close relationship in the future haha

And so they do.

For the few years to come, the Itoshi brothers are an unbeatable striker duo. They share a dream: to become the best strikers in the world, with Sae as the number 1 and Rin as the number 2.

They're quite close, and have trust in each other's skill. When Sae comments negatively on Rin's play, it feels more like constructive criticism (and even playful banter), rather than insult.

Sidenote, it's interesting to compare the brothers' different approaches to playing soccer.

For Rin, he mostly relies on his instincts. It's something I may have not mentionned earlier, but one of the defining aspects of Rin is that he's a character defined by his incredible luck. It's present in the lucky ice cream he kept getting, in the fact that he was born as the younger brother to the talented Itoshi Sae, and of course, in his way of playing soccer.

a frustrated Isagi asks Rin what he's missing (ch86)

Sae, on the other hand, doesn't have as much luck. He keeps getting the wrong ice cream and he plays in a much more methodical manner: Sae actively works hard to reach his goal, while Rin allows himself to be caught along his brother's current.

dependency

Regardless, Sae eventually gets scouted for his skill and goes away to Madrid.

In the meantime, Rin keeps holding onto the dream, the promise, he had with Sae. Though, even when he works hard for his dream, he does so by playing as Sae's replacement, in order to catch up to his brother. All the while, he keeps holding onto the idealized version of his brother that he has in his head.

Turning Point

After four long years, Sae suddenly comes back and,

He's exhausted. Rin points out how he lost some weight, but Sae also has prominent eye bags, and his face is sunken. Most importantly, he lacks the vigor he had when he left Japan.

It's also important to point out that Sae had come back earlier than expected, yet his first thought was to go see his little brother and inform him of the change in his dream. Because to him, it's important that Rin knows this; because that mutual dream of theirs is what matters the most to them.

And so he tells Rin of his newfound realization and decision. The world out there is huge, and there are plenty of more talented players out there, even better than the unbeatable Itoshi Sae, as strikers.

So, Sae decides that he's now striving to become the number 1 midfielder in the world, instead of the best striker.

And Rin...

He takes the news very badly.

Because, to Rin, all he's hearing is that his unbeatable brother, the one who hates to lose above everything else, has resigned himself from his dream of becoming no 1 striker, simply because there are others that are better than him.

To Rin, his brother had basically admitted that he's not actually the best.

Understandibly, it shatters Rin, as well as his idealized and out-of-date image of his beloved, talented, cool, older brother. He can't bring himself to accept what Sae is saying, so instead, he aggressively rejects this "new" Sae in front of him, and he refuses to ackowledge him anymore.

The thing is, though, not much has actually changed.

His older brother is the same victory-loving, defeat-hating Sae as he was before he played in Madrid; he's still the same Sae who dotes on his younger brother and wants to see him grow; he's still the same Sae who wants to become the best soccer player in the world.

All that has changed is that he saw that he plays better as midfield, so he changed positions.

To Rin, it doesn't make sense that his unbeatable older brother would change this part of his dream. To him, the very fact that Sae altered his plan is the same as giving up. He's still childish and has an all-or-nothing mindset.

But Sae, who is a bit older and who has now experienced the world, doesn't understand why Rin is so upset. After all, he still wants to be number one, and he still wants his brother by his side.

Rin retaliates.

as a way to deal with their argument, sae challenges rin

Admitedly, the stakes of their 1v1 are ridiculous, but a part of Sae wants to keep on believing in this childish dream of them becoming the best strikers. After all, it's his talented younger brother. Maybe there is a chance.

But there is none.

And it's when Rin becomes so desperate that Sae finally loses his patience and tries to knock some sense back to him. Because Sae is exhausted at this point, and his younger brother is spouting childish things. Sae wanted him to realize that, sometimes, what you're best at may not be what you initially believed it to be: something which Rin seemed incapable of accepting.

admitedly, he's being very mean about it. I guess he finally got over giving rin nice treatment just for being his little brother

He gets angry at Rin. He tells Rin to quit, because to Sae, this dream he has is something that he's been actively working for and advancing in. Meanwhile, Rin tells him that he was his sole reason for playing all this time. And it's not enough, because it's such a fickle reason.

The world is large and there are so many better players out there, that such a lukewarm reason meant that Rin was never serious to begin with.

So now, it's Sae's turn to reject his brother.

Outcome

All that their interaction in the snow had showed Sae was that his brother was not actually serious about football, after all. And because he's not serious, because he's so lukewarm, Rin will never reach Sae's level.

The thing is, Rin does outsmart his brother in one critical instant, though neither one of them meaningfully acknowledge it

The main problem with Rin is, well, his huge brother complex.

Okay, well, more seriously, Rin's biggest problem is that he bases his self-worth on his brother. Even when they officially separate, Rin's motivation for playing football is still centered on Sae. Actually, I don't think you can say that his initial reason changed that much.

As easily as Rin could pretend it, he can't think that his beloved brother being nice when they were younger was all just a lie. Because it wasn't. So now he's mad at Sae for turning his life upside down and leading down this path.

He claims he wants revenge against his brother.

ch 125

Rin says that he wants to break Sae "into pieces" and that he wants to destroy his dream, but what is the dream that he's talking about? is it the one about being the number one player, regardless of position? Or is it just that Rin wants to go back to those days they were playing together?

I don't think even Rin himself knows entirely.

His reason for playing has always been Sae. It hasn't changed: it's always been his brother. And truth be told, all Rin really wants is to gain back the affection of his brother.

To come back to the Japan U-20 match, Rin says that he wants to be his own person, that he doesn't want to be defined by his relationship to others. But he also holds onto any bit of affection he may get from Sae.

So much for a guy who claims that he hates his brother.

He allows his hostile exterior to break a bit after the match against the Japan U-20 team. For God's sake, he's so hopeful and wide eyed that Sae finally, finally sees how far he's come. That he'd compliment him for the first time in a lifetime,

but no.

rip rin-chan I hope one day he actually compliments you

Epilogue?

Besides the fact that Rin's resentment towards Isagi has grown tenfold now that the latter managed to snatch a compliment from his brother, there isn't more that has been added to their relationship after their match.

Honestly, despite all this meta that I wrote,

I'm still not over the fact that Rin's mysterious and tragic deal was that he simply has the world's biggest brocon and heavily depends on his brother's approval and love.

my take on the itoshi brothers

the itoshi brothers’ relationship is so complex and it makes me want to throw myself off a building so hard. spoilers to anime onlys, and spoilers for the u-20 arc onwards. if u dont wanna see then just scroll <//3 so anyways as i was saying, the itoshis

this is half analysis, half theory, part screaming, so like if u have anything u disagree w me on or anything u wanna add then please do

so obviously from the very start we can see how warped their relationship’s gotten ever since sae went to spain. rin focuses all his attention and efforts into getting better so he can crush sae, while sae doesnt even acknowledge his existence. 

at first, i only saw rin’s side in this. i admit, up until i reread the manga and their backstory, i was thinking ab the situation solely from rin’s perspective and ended up neglecting some details. most especially sae’s reaction to the fallout, as well as some other minor details.

we can see from the suitcase than sae had just landed, and that his first instinct was to go to rin. his first priority was to go see his baby brother, with the intention of telling him about his decision regarding his soccer career. he obviously still cares about rin here, and we can see that as he didn’t “completely” abandon their dream. 

for sae, his view on their dream shifted. after seeing how big the skill gap is between him and the world, he decided that he can’t be the best with rin as he is. especially as rin hasn’t had the opportunity to see how it actually is outside of japan. i think he shifted his view so that they can still be the best, just with him lifting up rin rather than being by his side. much like how reo shifted his view into becoming a midfielder so he can make nagi shine even brighter 

sae changed his resolve to become a midfielder, while he “entrusts” the original dream to rin. In his eyes, it’s still their dream, as he’ll still be the best with rin, just not as strikers. however, i don’t think he counted that rin would be completely attached to their original dream. well, either that or he was desperately hoping that rin would understand where he’s coming from

to be completely honest i think it's the latter. as rin expressed his discontentment with sae’s new resolve, we see in his eyes that he’s frustrated. and then it all comes boiling over when rin yells “you’re not the same brother i shared a dream with”

we can obviously see the hurt in his eyes before his face is masked by shadow. i think that deep down he already knew that rin wouldn’t accept his “new dream” but was still hoping he would. rin saying this was just the confirmation that he would, in fact, not accept it

again this post is half analysis half theory. personally i think that the brothers, in their own way, were trying to defend their relationship. rin wanted to keep the previous them, the them that were together in their dream always. sae wanted to preserve his relationship with rin somehow, seeing as how much he changed after his time in spain

sae, in his own way, is still trying to protect rin. at first, his original plan was to make rin the best striker by becoming the best midfielder. that way, rin isn’t alone when he finally faces the world. however, as rin didn’t want to give up on their dream, then sae decided that the best course of action was to destroy that dream so that rin wouldn’t get hurt any further

in my eyes this is the moment sae steels his resolve to shatter that dream. he then faces away from rin so his resolve doesn’t shatter, knowing that seeing his brother’s face in anguish will weaken that resolve

the fallout hurt both of them, but that hurt spiraled into two different responses. sae becomes completely aloof to rin, while rin begins to harbor a boiling “hate” towards sae. 

after the u-20 game, we immediately see that rin’s “hate” for sae is in fact not hate. his first instinct is to call sae “nii-chan” a deeply affectionate title that hasn’t been said since that night. however, sae crushes rin’s spirit by saying that isagi is the one that has the potential to change japan’s soccer

now here i think sae, in his own, messed up way, is trying to motivate rin into becoming the best in the world. the worst part i think is that it works, as this is one of the critical moments that causes rin’s way of thinking to change, with the other one being the fallout. here, crushing sae is no longer his “first and foremost” priority, and he’s instead setting his sights on becoming the best, without anyone or anything holding him back

i’m not very good at articulating my thoughts and there ARE some things i wanted to put here, but i couldn’t explain them in a way that’s coherent to anyone other than me. but the final thought im getting away with here is that ultimately, the brothers still haven’t given up on their dream, whether they’re aware of it or not. by inadvertently giving rin motivation to become the best, sae is still giving rin a chance to catch up to him. in the same vein, rin’s desire to catch up to and surpass sae is his desire to prove his worth to sae again

once again these are just my personal views on the relationship. i could be wrong, i could be right, i could be partially wrong or i couldve missed the point completely. either way i just needed to get that out of my brain. so if u have anything to contradict me with or anything to add, please feel free to do so! i love hearing ab other people’s thoughts anyways <33

BLK SPOILERS CHAPTER 270, 271⚠️⚠️⚠️⚠️

Los hermanos Itoshi>>>

Si ellos existieran sería tremenda migajera 😔🙏🏻