Blue Box, or Ao no Hako, is a manga by Kouji Miura. Which he writes and illustrates. Since April 2021, the manga has been released on Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump. At the present time, the manga has 165 chapters. The Blue Box manga is one of my favorites right now. Romance mixed in with the sports genre is a great combo. I, and many other fans, have been eagerly waiting for a Blue Box anime, and it’s finally here.
Synopsis
The story focuses on Inomata Taiki, a member of the badminton varsity team. Every morning, he trains alongside his upperclasswoman and crush Kano Chinatsu, the ace of the women’s basketball team.
Suddenly, Chinatsu moves in with Taiki and his family when her parents leave Japan. Taiki aims to slowly develop his relationship with Chinatsu now that they live together. All while they both strive for their goal of going to nationals.
What I liked About the Manga
Art
For a weekly manga release, the art style is amazing. The author might have a backlog of chapters ready or he may have a clear plan for the story. In addition to that, it’s a sports manga, which I think is difficult to draw with all the movement it requires.
Characters
I think the characters pull most of the weight in the story. This is because there isn’t any real conflict in the story right now. As mentioned there are 165 chapters, and there has only been one major conflict arc.
The Main Duo (Chinatsu and Taiki)
They are a typical romance duo I would say. Chinatsu is the popular girl, ace of the basketball team, and everyone has a crush on her. While Taiki is a first year, just training hard to be the best he can.
Their dynamic isn’t unique either to be honest. Taiki easily gets flustered, while Chinatsu is the cool girl. Them not being unique is a reason fans love the manga, their personality is relatable for many.
Childhood Friends of Taiki (Hina and Kyou)
Hina and Kyou are childhood friends of Taiki. Hina is a top gymnast while Kyou is part of the badminton team with Taiki. The trio of them with Taiki have a sibling type of dynamic, it’s wholesome to see.
Hina and Kyou also get their respective love stories, kind of. Not trying to spoil it.
What I’d like to see
More Conflict
This is a sort of Slice of Life manga, so I can’t expect a major overarching conflict. However I would like to see any conflict, no matter how trivial it may be. I think it would add a lot to the romance aspect of the story.
I actually think a major conflict is coming up in the manga, as the story just revealed something. So there may be some hope for what I’d like to see.
Friend Group Hangouts
We rarely see the friend group interact with one another. The only time we see them together is in the gym, when they are all practicing.
Chinatsu actually doesn’t even have any type of relationship with Hina or Kyou. Which is understandable as she is one year above them. However, we could see them hangout after school, or Taiki could introduce them. Something to that degree.
As mentioned this is a sort of Slice of Life manga, I think fans would appreciate the main characters doing something together.
About the Blue Box Anime
In November of 2023, the anime adaptation was announced. The adaptation is produced by Telecom Animation Film, and is directed by Yuichiro Yano.
They have confirmed it will be a two cour anime. This means that there will be a total of 25 or 26 episodes. You can watch the Blue Box anime streaming on Netflix.
As of writing this article, the pilot episode is out right now. I have to say the art style and animation look amazing. However, there is some awkward 3D animation here and there. But if the whole two cours can look this good, us manga fans will be grateful.
Blue Box Anime Cast
Reina Ueda (Chinatsu Kano)
Shouya Chiba (Taiki Inomata)
Akari Kitou (Hina Chono)
Chiaki Kobayashi (Kyou Kasahara)
Blue Box Anime Trailer
Would I Recommend to Read or Watch Blue Box?
Unquestionably, I highly recommend it. If you’re more of a manga reader you have 165 chapters to catch up on. But if you are more of an anime person, you have two cours to look forward to. As I mentioned in my Best of the Upcoming Anime for Fall 2024 article, this is my top pick for this Fall 2024 season. A close second would be Re:Zero Season 3 or Yakuza Fiancé.
