What do you think of when the word "youth" comes to mind? Do you think of spring and summer, the warm and bright seasons of the year? Or do you think about your own adolescence, whether that be a time in the past or as the time right now? Regardless of it may be, from childhood and teenage memories being positive or negative, to relationships made across years of school, and all the feelings experienced along the way, it's an undeniable part of adolescence as a time of discovery and adventure that in Japanese is known as "seishun" and is written as 青春 with the
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characters for blue and spring.
No story embodies this better than Blue Box, a narrative about the vibrancy of youth that begins in the gym of Eimei High School at the turn of spring. That's where it all starts and that's what Blue Box means, the gym where youth lived and thrived.
Blue Box is a coming-of-age romance sports story that depicts themes about the vibrancy of youth, ambition and determination along with angst in the things we deeply care for and the goals we set for ourselves, and a beautiful and somewhat bittersweet telling of life as the cast experience their own youth and all the joy, pain and change with each passing day. Even though the adaptation is mostly one to one with the manga, part of what makes an adaptation is how it brings a narrative to life and Blue Box on that front succeeds beyond expectation. From the beautifully drawn and almost shoujo-like art from the manga that's now brought to life through the anime, Blue Box is a grounded, mature and heartfelt narrative that acts as a reflection of adolescence but also a lesson towards the audience about the journey and complexities during the springtime of life.
Taiki Inomata is introduced as a young and spirited man with a goal of reaching nationals. Whilst a fairly simple premise, many want to have the same kind of consistency and dedication that Taiki does for his passion towards badminton and determination in romance. Working towards your goals and aspirations is easier said than done after all, and Taiki is an admirable person in this feat in spite of his young age when the story begins. Having the motivation to not only keep going but improve at every step is difficult to maintain, and it's almost inspiring seeing Taiki improve his badminton from being average to being the best among the first-year players and continuing to go beyond that with his ethos, consistently growing and improving despite the challenges and setbacks ahead of him and being exactly what people should aspire to be. Though like any other teenager, he can be a mess when it comes to his emotions towards Chinatsu and that's perfectly normal for his age.
Chinatsu is also like Taiki in the sense of sharing the same goal towards nationals and what makes Chinatsu captivating is her dynamic with Taiki, how the two are similar in their endeavors but also how they push each other forward in the process. It's because of Chinatsu that Taiki has a reason to strive to do his best and it's because of Taiki that Chinatsu continues to fight for the nationals. She's much more guarded compared to everyone else and that shows, yet she's carrying as much if not more ambition than Taiki but also far more weight on her shoulders since time is less on her side and she stayed in Japan for basketball given the nature and her own dedication towards it. She isn't any less compelling of a character and isn't boring or flat by any means, she's her own person with her own thoughts, feelings, and goals. She's less transparent and open about herself because that's the kind of person she is, people are complicated and you never truly know how people think or feel unless they tell you, and that's what Hina does.
Hina is the lively and energetic girl among the three main protagonists. She's incredibly likeable and has this endearing relationship with Taiki at the start that has this balance of fun bickering and genuine trust for each other because that's the relationship they've had ever since they met all those years ago back in Junior High. While the events of the narrative lead to her becoming a love rival against Chinatsu, her relationship with Taiki changes and her feelings become increasingly transparent and direct and in a way, that's brave. Love is scary, blind and unpredictable and there's so many ways it can be perceived. Rejection is always a possibility and it hurts. There's reasons for that, it differs from situation to situation but it always and will never not hurt regardless of the case, yet Hina continues to press on because love is what drives her forward to pursue Taiki. It might be a little unhealthy or incredibly sweet depending on the person, but to not only have the courage to confess and continuously expressing your honest feelings is nothing short of incredible. That's how her relationship with Taiki changed, no one can blame Hina for how her feelings grew and changed and Taiki can't be blamed for how conflicted he became along with how he viewed the two girls. It's not an easy situation to be in even as ridiculous as it sounds because when it comes to love, relationships will change. It can be troublesome and a headache, but it can also become something more than that.
Relationships are always tricky and difficult, that much is clear and obvious to everyone really. Relationships can change and grow for the better or turn sour and take a turn for the worse. Anything can happen in a relationship, and Blue Box has a clear emphasis on the delicacy and depth of this aspect of life. If relationships were to be described as an analogy, then it would be like a two-way street. It'd be ideal for both roads to be maintained and in good condition, but roads can deteriorate because of external factors or a lack of care and throughout the narrative of Blue Box, interpersonal relationships have been a focal point from the beginning yet none of these relationships have ever felt fake or unnatural. All of the interpersonal relationships and all of the characters carried this authentic, true feeling behind them as if they were real people. There's characters like Haryu that act as a mentor for Taiki, Karen who is Chinatsu's close friend, along with Kyo being the same for Taiki. This all culminates into a warm and colorful cast of characters that truly represent the color blue and that is one of the most important aspects in a narrative like Blue Box, one centered around maturity, realism and individual growth.
As the narrative continues, there's always been this distinct feeling of liveliness and spiritless that emits from how these characters interact and how the soundtrack emphasizes that warm and bright emotion. It's a slow burn series, and time rewards as it builds gradually and slowly. Every episode is reminiscent of a day passing, seeing young people enjoying the time and the moment as life continues with this wide-ranging, vibrant soundtrack to accompany it. While the soundtrack is not the most pronounced or noticeable at times, it's an underappreciated aspect of the show. It has this beautiful range of melodies, as if it captures the essence of youth itself. It can be calming and soft, upbeat and comedically lighthearted, beautiful and emotional. Soundtracks like 恋色 or "Shade of Love", アオのハコ, and ありがとう or "Grateful" are some of the leading pieces and the work of composer Takashi Ohmama cannot be understated. It's a beautiful soundtrack, yet profoundly subtle like the fleeting time of youth.
Granted, Blue Box is not perfect. Nothing is truly perfect, and imperfection has its own beauty and merits. Even so, there's very little that captures youth as well or as life-changing as Blue Box does. Let Blue Box be a reminder of time and youth, both past and present, time where one can learn and grow for the tomorrow that's ahead. That's how youth shapes lives as they move forward and head for the future, and that in itself shows just how invaluable and beautiful of of a time it is. Thank you for reading, and remember to live your best life.
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Mar 20, 2025
Ao no Hako
(Anime)
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What do you think of when the word "youth" comes to mind? Do you think of spring and summer, the warm and bright seasons of the year? Or do you think about your own adolescence, whether that be a time in the past or as the time right now? Regardless of it may be, from childhood and teenage memories being positive or negative, to relationships made across years of school, and all the feelings experienced along the way, it's an undeniable part of adolescence as a time of discovery and adventure that in Japanese is known as "seishun" and is written as 青春 with the
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Oct 6, 2024 Recommended Well-written 
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