Why Was This Week's Round of Anime So Dark?

gamerant.com:

Certain episodes of anime are always included in the darkest moments of TV lists, while others are considered some of the most vapid moments of TV. This past weekend however the fall season of anime hit a dark spot as three different shows had emotional and dramatic episodes.

Blue Lock premiered just as dark and edgy as it promised to be, though perhaps darker than viewers had truly believed it would be. Witch From Mercury dove directly into trying to destroy multiple characters’ entire lives and dreams with subtle graphics that drove the emotions home. And Spy x Family deviated from its traditionally light-hearted humor into a riveting and gripping episode that leaned heavily into the true cost of war.

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Blue Lock is an anime that purports to be soccer mixed with Squid Games. 300 young strikers are summoned to a facility where they will be trained to become the best players in the world. The studio did warn potential fans that this show would not tout the traditional ideals of soccer, or sports in general, but that it would rather glorify ego, brutality, and the desire to win above all else.

Of course this left viewers expecting an edgy suspenseful drama in the same vein as Squid Games. Those viewers were certainly not disappointed by this first episode. It started edgy, but reasonable with a soccer game and summons to the Blue Lock facility. It spike a little bit with Ego’s speech about the need for egoism to be an elite athlete. But what really drove the point home about the dark tone of this series was the game of tag played at the end. Unlike Squid Games no one died, but also unlike Squid Games, the atmosphere of humanity and confusion was