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 |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
| 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. |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
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. |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
| @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. |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
| 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 |
| Cursive is the future. - Nate Bargatze |
| 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. |
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| 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. |
| Hina remains to be the interesting one between the love triangle. She keeps doing and handling things in a way you could say only her character would. On the other hand, Chiinatsu has been put in the worst kind of female lead role-- the kind who comes off as selfish, totally distancing themselves from the MMCs from the start, then swoops in when they start needing a shoulder to cry on... coincidentally.. when the MMC is already becoming happy. That kind of female love interest only tends to be justified if that character has already shown a lot more personality and motivation, and enough connection with the counterpart. But in Chiinatsu's case, we mostly just know her for being Taiki's crush. We see bits of her character motivation and some POVs, but most of the things we know about her only comes from Taiki's perspective. Regardless of the logic and reasons, she's just simply gonna come off as an attention seeker if she's the one to pursue Taiki at this point. It has to be Taiki himself that notices something off and pursue her himself to avoid making that character look so bad. Otherwise, he should just go for best girl. xD (I have a feeling his male best friend would have be involved in that though.) |
|
| Finally! An episode that gives more to Chiinatsu. Hina's still winning big time- character-wise- but it's a start. Also like that Taiki's male bestfriend is finally gonna be involved more, likely to be the support system for Hina... or a love interest for her. |
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| Looks like interest for Blue Box has waned; Didn't even noticed the thread has been dead since a month ago. xD When Chiinatsu made a jump shot and said that she was "like Curry", she should have specified which Curry: Steph, Seth, Dell... Tim..... Jim (lolz)? Hina's really winning by a mile when it comes to personality. And now a new challenger appears that also has a strong presence. The main girl's gonna have to show a lot more. Good on Taiki for having a Harem though. |
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| As someone who's not really into Romance drama stuff, I very rarely sympathize with the losing end of a love triangle. But man, I'm really feeling bad for Hina Chouno. She's been handling the entire one-sided-love situation so maturely, open-mindedly, and considerately that it's quite sad to see that while she had an idea as to what Taiki's answer would be to her confession of love, she's still far from prepared to actually hear it. I appreciate the existence of Chiinatsu's character now; She's not necessarily a leading lady that the third wheel is competing against, but the embodiment of a very strong special admiration of someone- in this case, Taiki's- towards something that would often overcome even the more senseful, logical, and flawless feelings towards another. Simply put, Hina wasn't a wrong choice for Taiki-- he just has his heart already solidly set towards Chiinatsu. I also appreciate Taiki being honest about his own position as well. Aside from his concern of hurting Hina by keeping her hopes up even with him already knowing he in love with Chiinatsu, he also admitted that he can't approach his feelings towards Chiinatsu as honest as he could while being considerate of Hina. Looking at the story this way instead of 'Chiinatsu vs Hina' makes me appreciate this show so much more. |
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| Couldn't resist and decided to watch the season finale ahead of Netflix's release schedule. YAR!!! The last episode mostly just showed the aftermath of episode 24 and setup the dynamic of the characters for the next season: Chouno and Ayame becoming closer, Ayame and Kyo being the POV characters-- probably a filler shipping too, and Taiki and Chiinatsu taking a step forward. My guess is that there's gonna be a lot of filler acts for the first half of the next season involving Ayame and Chouno, and maybe Kyo too, with the main story being divided between romance of Taiki and Chiinatsu, and the sports stuff. I still don't have a reason to care about the main love story. I sure do hope they give Chiinatsu some personality and reveal her character motivations already cause there's just really nothing to care about her so far. 8/10 for me. Lots of good romance stuff came from the secondary female character, Hina Chouno, and some entertaining Tennis stuff as well. |
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| What a weird "ending". Guess Taiki has never heard of "a bird in the hand". I liked Hina much more than wishy washy Chinatsu. This one was kind of all over the place and that tepid ending drops it a bit for me 7.5/10...rounding down to 7 on MAL |
HOOfan_1 said: What a weird "ending" well apparently there will be a second season. I hope they don't just shove Hina to the side for it. |
HOOfan_1 said: I'd assume Hina's part would mostly just be mending the friendship between her and Taiki, building one with Ayame (fillers, probably), or maybe she'll have one more fight left in her near the end for a possible Taiki/Hina ending.well apparently there will be a second season. I hope they don't just shove Hina to the side for it. But I'm getting the vibes that Ayame (the Tennis team manager) is plotting something; I feel like she's feeling a bit challenged by the special feelings Taiki is having for Chiinatsu. She doesn't believe in such affectionate feelings in relationships, and she just saw Hina bawl out after a heartbreak. I won't take it from her to suddenly feel like challenging the ideal of a special relationship. But they did tease her having to deal with past relationships at the end of S1 so, probably not. But either way, I'm just happy they announced it early, which could mean that there's a possibility of us getting the sequel this Fall, or in the first half of 2026.' I may not be a fan of Chiinatsu but, if she's really gonna be the main girl, then I'd at least hope they make her character interesting in the 2nd season. |
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| The anime brought the comedy forward a bit and I think that gives the anime a better balance against the serious romance and sports plots. The adaptation also did pretty much everything an anime should do: well-done animation, great music, and the perfect amount of emphasis on its' dramatic moments. Everything I loved about the manga, the anime makes it better. The most clear cut 10/10 I've had in a while. |
| Controversial opinions |
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