Blue Box https://myanimelist.net/anime/57181/Ao_no_Hako Summary Taiki Inomata, a third-year student in junior high, attends Eimei Academy, an integrated school with a major sports program. Having joined the high school badminton team, Taiki tries to attend open practice as early as possible. But no matter how early he goes, he always arrives second in the gymnasium. The person one step ahead of him is Chinatsu Kano, a first-year student in senior high and Taiki's crush. Other Information Type: TV Episodes: 25 Status: Currently Airing Aired: Oct 3, 2024 to ? Premiered: Fall 2024 Broadcast: Thursdays at 23:56 (JST) Producers: Unlimited Produce by TMS Licensors: Netflix Studios: Telecom Animation Film Source: Manga Genres: Romance, Sports Themes: School, Team Sports Demographic: Shounen Duration: 23 min. per ep. Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older |
| Don't drive a car when you're dead - Tom Waits |
| Episode 1 Pretty nice start there as Taiki the badminton player and Chinatsu the basketball superstar couldn't be any more different in terms of public perception. But alas, they are living together as Chinatsu's parents are going abroad for their jobs, while Chinatsu needs a place to stay while they are gone, and it just so happens that Taiki's mother was a teammate with Chinatsu's mother on their high school basketball team. It will be interesting to see where things go with this. |
| Can't say I was super impressed. Above average animation so far. I feels like it's trying way to hard to have those cute/magical romantic moments. Especially for this just being the first episode. I also tend to prefer shows where the character(s) doesn't start out already having a thing for the other person. I already like the runner-up girl better too. |
| Don't drive a car when you're dead - Tom Waits |
zkeleton said: I already like the runner-up girl better too. pink haired short girl? Definitely like her better so far. His mom really buried the lede about her family moving over seas... |
HOOfan_1 said: Yeah, that's the one.pink haired short girl? Definitely like her better so far. |
| Don't drive a car when you're dead - Tom Waits |
| @marklebid Is there some reason "Ao/Aoi (Blue)" is used in so many titles? This season alone with have: Blue Box, Blue Lock, Blue Exorcist Searching MAL for Ao, Aoi or Blue brings up dozens of titles. Is Blue a lucky color or something? |
HOOfan_1 said: Is there some reason "Ao/Aoi (Blue)" is used in so many titles? This season alone with have: Blue Box, Blue Lock, Blue Exorcist Searching MAL for Ao, Aoi or Blue brings up dozens of titles. Is Blue a lucky color or something? It's funny you mention that; I've wondered the same, and Blue Thermal has been on my to-watch list for ages now... Haha. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
| Big fan of this series, been reading the manga since the beginning and think it's a great school sports/romance title. It has a really nice pace to it and lots of interesting characters that get introduced. |
| Controversial opinions |
| I think that's enough for me with this one. The same way that Freiren spoiled me when it comes to anime flashbacks The Dangers in My Heart spoiled me when it comes to romance anime, especially high school age or younger ones. If the guy in a show like this has to constantly tell the audience how great and pretty, and everything else, the girl he's into is and the show itself can't get me to actually see any of those things about her then that's a real problem. Plus, I'm starting to find the guy annoying and it's getting predictable already. |
| Don't drive a car when you're dead - Tom Waits |
| I figured the pink haired girl was his little sister or something to take her out of the running. Because otherwise she's better than the lead. |
| Oh, and regarding the color blue, I asked Gemini (the Google AI) and got this response: The Blue Hue in Anime Titles: A Cultural and Symbolic Exploration The prevalence of the color blue in anime and manga titles is a fascinating phenomenon with deep cultural and symbolic roots. While there's no single definitive answer, several factors contribute to this trend: 1. Cultural Connotations: Youth and Growth: In Japanese culture, blue often symbolizes youth, inexperience, and the freshness of new beginnings. This aligns with the themes of many anime and manga, which often explore coming-of-age stories and the challenges faced by young protagonists. Hope and Serenity: Blue is also associated with hope, serenity, and the vastness of the sky and ocean. These qualities resonate with many anime and manga themes, such as overcoming adversity, finding peace, or exploring the unknown. 2. Visual Appeal: Eye-Catching Color: Blue is a visually appealing color that stands out against other hues. It can create a sense of mystery, intrigue, and depth in a title, making it more memorable. 3. Linguistic and Literary Significance: Kanji and Hiragana: The Japanese language uses kanji characters, which often have multiple meanings. The kanji for "blue" can also be used to represent other concepts, such as "youth" or "spring." Poetic and Symbolic Language: In Japanese literature, blue is often used symbolically to convey emotions or ideas. This practice can influence the choice of titles for anime and manga. |
| HIs wishy-washy "I don't want anyone to know we are living together, but I don't want her hanging out with another guy" act is tiresome. |
| As a person with embarrassingly skinny legs, I am amused by the characters in this show all having legs even skinnier than mine. Especially with those balloon-like gym outfits. They all look like marshmallows on toothpicks. |
| his friend just basically told her he likes her |
marklebid said: Ao 青 means both 'blue' and also 'green' I thought midori was green |
| The name of this show could double as a hentai about a frustrated female ;p |
| Don't drive a car when you're dead - Tom Waits |
| Aw, now I like Haryu as a mentor character. Still wondering who the pink-haired girl is and why the MC doesn't realize she's cuter than Chinatsu. And already a friend, thus approachable. (Edit: Her name is Hina Chono, apparently.) |
SparkyBobOct 21, 2024 10:24 AM
SparkyBob said: Still wondering who the pink-haired girl is and why the MC doesn't realize she's cuter than Chinatsu She seems to be the "childhood friend" thus she is doomed to the friendzone. I kind of get that though, wouldn't the childhood friend almost be like a sister? |
| Just finished the first episode. The production values are top-notch but the emotions expressed about 3/4 of the way through were WAY too strong to have been justified by what came before. It seemed really melodramatic and over the top. Two things helped: 1. He settled down and seemed to be able to converse with her like a normal human. 2. The living arrangement situation and how they'll navigate that kind of intrigues me. Pretty vanilla so far, but I'm willing to give this a few more eps. to (hopefully) feel invested. HOOfan_1 said: She seems to be the "childhood friend" thus she is doomed to the friendzone. Yep, the losing heroine flags are all over her. Which I hate. |
| Away from the things of man, my love, away from the things of man. |
| Episode 3 Here comes Haryu, and he serves as Taiki's mentor and rival seeing that he's also in love with Chinatsu. Or at least that is what it looked like to Taiki as he's actually in love with another girl and is just friends with Chinatsu. Nevertheless, Haryu is way better than Taiki is right now as that match is indication of that, and then they become partners in the doubles match. Not only does Haryu have Taiki beat in badminton, but in social skills as well seeing that Taiki was fooled into thinking Haryu and Chinatsu are in an intimate relationship. |
| Episode 4 Well, that was pretty awkward with the way Taiki tried to fix the problem when Taiki ended up with Chinatsu's tracksuit by accident. In the meantime, the badminton prelims are coming up and Taiki is practicing away hellbent on winning. Taiki and Haryu crush the competition so far, but then Taiki's next opponent is Haryu's old doubles partner in Kishi, and this is one match that Taiki can't afford to lose seeing that a trip to the aquarium is at stake. This goes to show that even though he has next year, Chinatsu will have graduated by then and so he's in win-now mode and will do anything it takes to win. |
| Oh, my heart. Poor Hina. |
| Glasses dude is like The Watcher or something. He knows Hina's in denial, and even Hina hasn't quite realized it yet. |
| "But kind people aren't suited for badminton." They all act like it's a knife fight or a cage match or something. Freakin' badminton. |
Reply to SparkyBob
"But kind people aren't suited for badminton."
They all act like it's a knife fight or a cage match or something. Freakin' badminton.
They all act like it's a knife fight or a cage match or something. Freakin' badminton.
| @SparkyBob The sports anime tropes are threatening to ruin the romcom |
| I just caught up with this show, and I'm so glad I did because, I might've missed out on it entirely. This to me feels more Emotional Slice-of-Life with a sports theme than Sports/Romance. Or maybe the romantic angle between Taiki and Chiinatsu, and the latter's basketball goal struggles, just aren't being made interesting enough. Romance-wise, the chemistry between Taiki and Chono is just much better. Sports-wise, the show has mostly been focused on the Badminton stuff, and also, made Chono's family background- who are presumably well-respected in the sports industry- quite intriguing. It overshadows Chiinatsu's story and character stuff with it mostly being a 3rd person POV through Taiki's thoughts, describing her struggles with it and how she deals with it. It also doesn't help that it's almost like it's just Taiki who cares about Chiinatsu's basketball journey, while he and Chono are usually being observed by side characters as well, giving their respective dilemma some weight by having other people's perception of them added to it, especially for Chono. But since it's a 20+ episode series, I guess I'll just have to be patient for now before concluding this as a flaw. But I do hope they don't hold off on Chiinatsu's situations too long before they jump too close to the romance angle or else, her entire 'separated from family and lived with strangers to chase her dreams' story would be downplayed too much. For now, though, I'd say it's been good so far, and it was a very worth it binge-watch. |
  |
| Hina's so much the better choice. She's cuter, happier, a friend, and quite ready to love him. Plus she's his age. Chinatsu, OTOH, is a soon-to-graduate senior with career goals; Taiki is the equivalent of an American sophomore. It's not an easy relationship to have, especially if/when Chinatsu goes off to university. |
| A Haryu and Karen episode! And a refreshing change. |
| Why did she try to shoot a 3 pointer down 1? She had plenty of time to go for a layup...ball just has to leave your hands before buzzer, not go through. |
HOOfan_1 said: Why did she try to shoot a 3 pointer down 1? She had plenty of time to go for a layup...ball just has to leave your hands before buzzer, not go through. I got the impression it was supposed to be symbolic. |
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