700https://i.ibb.co/ZT2KWH6/Screenshot20210413at1646082.png Spoilers up to Chapter 60. On my right Taiki Inomata. A badminton player lacking skill but with a heart dedicated to improvement. On my left Chinatsu Kano. A basketball player talented enough to make the magazines but intends to give up. While they are aware of each other due to being the earliest people at their schools gym and even sharing brief interactions the distance between the two couldnt be further in Taikis mind anyway. That isuntil everything changes for them and he suddenly finds himself seeing his crush on the daily in his very own home. From the opening tip Blue Box tells the story of this duos journey to the promised land nationals while also spending time together learning about each other and growing closer every time. All the while the two give their all in their respective sport knowing that the other is following and doing their best too. 700https://pbs.tw.com/media/E2qoa1wXMAooZZT?format=pngname=small Taiki and Chinatsu are the heart of this manga and I absolutely adore them. The two always being in each others corner is something Ive always enjoyed. The plucky badminton player always lacked a person who took his goal of nationals seriously and struggles with selfconfidence but here comes Chinatsu who doesnt hesitate to give him the push he needs either through kind gestures or even unintentionally through wise words. By seeing Chinatsus frustration he learned to work harder resulting in the grit that caught the eyes of his rivals. A kind and spirited boy with eyes on the top who cant help but be anxious on the front lines. With those characters I cant help but wanna root for them and its no different here. While hes still far from reaching nationals his growth has been nice to witness. After a tough loss and little success afterward the manga focuses on her middle school exit but theres nothing about her first year for some reason Chinatsus about ready to throw in the towel and go overseas with family but Taiki reminds her of the frustration she felt and she realises she wants to try once more. Chinatsu passed on the dedication bug and it came right back to bite her Though Taiki hasnt been able to come through for her nearly as much only Chapter 46 comes to mind life at home was a lot more comfortable for her because he was there. Her lifes always been about sports so her being able to open up to and rely on someone is real sweet. Right now Chinatsu remains stuck between pursuing her romantic feelings and strictly fulfilling her goals. God knows when that issue will be resolved Speaking of issues the two do face their fair share of misunderstandings that disrupt their calm. Thats no cause for concern though as it usually ends up resolved in that chapter or maybe the next. Emphasis on usually but thats a topic for later. Anyway to me Blue Boxs greatest strength lies in the moments between the two in and out of school and the fact that they play different sports yet dont want to lose or be left behind by each other makes them special to me. A chapter about them is always a fun read and Ive enjoyed seeing them grow more comfortable. Taikinatsu for the win 700https://i.ibb.co/n8RHMrQ/bluebox482.jpg While those two are Eimei Highs earliest visitors itd be a lie to say we dont see faces along the way. Said faces definitely help to fill that empty gym with life and go along with our main two along their different paths. On that front my favourites are easily Haryu Karen and Nagisa. Ever since his formal introduction Haryus antics have never failed to entertain. Hes like the total opposite of Chinatsu. While theyre both supportive role models for Taiki Haryu takes a toughlove route with Spartan practice never letting up in their practice games Taikis only held him to full sets once and offering anything but compliments most of the time. But its helped Taiki to toughen up and he wouldnt have been able to get this far without him. Not to mention hes really funny too. Karen was a surprising addition to the cast but it was nice for what it was. While Blue Box is a story about Taiki and Chinatsu when it comes to seeing things from her perspective Chinatsu always gets the short end a very unfortunate constant. So during the summer period it was nice to get some kind of insight into how shes feeling and also advise Taiki during the Nationals Arc. While all that has amounted to nothing as of now getting to see how her relationship with Haryu came to be and what they mean to each other was great. There was a point where I didnt care much for what was going on with Haryu despite liking him but the match he got brought me right back. Those two are very good for each other. Im usually not a big fan of established side ships since I feel like that energy coulda gone to the main pair but I can put that aside for the sake of enjoying them more. A very cute pair indeed. Last of all is Nagisa. Again because of the issue of Chinatsus perspective lacking I was excited to see the first actual character in her circle and overall she did serve her purpose by being a nice person in Chinatsus corner like with how she was so close to chewing out Kagohara for their opinions. The conversations they had after her introduction like in Chapter 28 were kinda shallow but Miura ended up improving my impressions when she showed a lot of understanding towards Chinatsus situation as the top player and came through for her after being given a new role. As a partnerincrime Nagisas a good character. Its also good to have a sillier character to interrupt Chinatsus usual calmness. As for everyone elseoverall its alright. The parents are very kind folks. Nishida like Nagisa is another goofball. Kyo and Kishiro arent good though the former just spoonfeeding you info you already knew or giving queues to take note of something that just happened so much for being a best friend character more like a robot and the latter lost a game and then dipped. Finally Hyodo and Yusa are enjoyable rivals whenever they show up. They arent super interesting characters but theyre a force to be reckoned with always helping to bring the best of badminton which is awesome Minus Kyo and Kishiro all the other characters are great additions to the cast and add a lot of value to this story. A lot of people make the argument that the story should be more like the oneshot but that would mean losing out on these characters which aint worth it to me. 700https://i.ibb.co/M5jsxnC/bluebox236.jpg Ah yes Blue Box has sports. Lets get this out of the way first. Badminton folks have it the best. I dont just mean that because of the amount of time it gets and how it helps the characters I also mean the people who are fans of badminton enjoy the action here. Heck Ive seen people who got into badminton because of this manga. And its clear to see why. Miura is really really really good at portraying badminton and its been this way from the beginning. The action is dynamic easy to follow and uses all sorts of different angles to make the action as cool as possible. You can feel the impact of every hit as each player rushes around to keep the birdie flying. Miura has it down to the point where she can convey the power and dominance of a character with just one panel. Badminton being a sport with a low amount of players helps but this is something only a person who loves the sport and is super skilled at art can do consistently. Incidentally she is that person Yes the time badminton gets is brief with few exceptions and that can be super egregious see Chapter 23 but badminton has never been done badly in Blue Box and that deserves praise. You dont even need to understand the sport a whole lot to enjoy it. Best of all Taiki Haryu Hyodo and Yusa get to look like badasses while doing their thing and its so much fun every time In conclusion badminton folk have it the best. With that in mind you can probably guess how things are for basketball people. 700https://i.ibb.co/F3xHtrL/Ugh.png Not pretty. The sports being brief or skipped has irked me for a long while but Ive kinda accepted thats the structure Miura chose to take its more about the thoughts and feelings of the characters as they do their thing. And of course romance and sliceoflife. That being said while she shines every time with badminton and in turn makes the characters no matter how simple they are who play it shine by showing their power determination intensity and gritthe same cant be said about basketball which in turn hurts those that play it. In particular Chinatsu. Personally that fact is even more fatal considering its girls sports fun fact this was the manga that first made me think about the idea which I dont think has any representation in Weekly Shonen Jump besides Kaitos Cross Manage which happened ten years ago. I mean are there any wellliked girls sports series right now that were going on before Blue Box? Only Uma Musume comes to mind and thats a oneofakind dynasty that cant be duplicated. What Im saying is that showing the Chinatsu and the team in action would be a chance for something fresh and fun and wed get to see her journey towards getting the victory shes always wanted and exploring her more its just an obviously good thing to do. Lets not forget the fact that basketball is cool as hell too. Remember Taiki and Chinatsu reaching for nationals together is something thats been set up since Chapter 2. Chinatsus even said that she feels her coolest in that No. 10 uniform Chapter 35 the court is her special place. 700https://i.ibb.co/G0BKrZs/image.png But due to how Miura does basketball we end up at the except not really part of the review caption. 700https://i.ibb.co/hmvwLrR/16.jpg The panel above is from Chapter 20 where Chinatsu comes off a blowout win and ends up getting trashtalked behind her back by Eimeis next opponent Kagohara Academy. Taiki says she shouldnt let that talk bother her but Chinatsu thinks the opposite. It was a cool moment for her and an example of her being a role model for Taiki. Instead of answering the team that sent her packing in the past with words she decides to simply put her head down use those words as fuel take it personal if you will and let her skills do the talking. If theres one thing that draws me to characters who are athletes its their defiance and will to win and that was on full display here. And if we see them play and win itll be proof that the team isnt the same and are way better. Proving their statements wrong getting revenge and finally fulfilling their dream of going to nationals. On paper its incredibly satisfying. Take a wild guess at what happened next. 700https://i.ibb.co/FwTNWmb/161.jpg We never saw it. Chinatsu and the team won but we never saw them do it. This pretty much sums up Miuras style. Blue Box is always about what Chinatsu says rather than what she does and thats honestly really lame even more so when shes built up as this talent that never took the next step. Whats the point of rooting for a character if you never get to see them back up their talk and show how strong they are? By rarely focusing on the biggest part of Chinatsus character Miuras just limiting what can be done with her. We dont see that fire in her in action no expressions of determination struggle joy orliterally anything that we see with the badminton boys. Even now thats still the case. As a result people constantly knock Chinatsu calling her boring or saying she shows no emotion and such. I dont agree with any of those takes and the last one is especially dumb however Miura doesnt do her many favours theres not much going on with her outside of her relationship with Taiki. The romance. As for the action that does happen theres not much good to say either. Uh it sure is basketball Okay. Any of that flow excitement and sense of motion that I love seeing in badmintonisnt there with basketball. Take Chapter 43 the only match thats ever happened for example. Its just a really questionable montage with a bunch of stuff thrown together. It failed to show the fun things about the sport and portray Chinatsu as that ace character. In factshe looked bad in that chapter with her most major moment being a missed gamewinner that looks like a shot by Joakim Noah 700https://i.ibb.co/2qVKKhS/Pain.png This comparison was so true that it hurt my feelings. Thanks KushiKuritikaru. 700https://i.ibb.co/jvSWXvR/image.png along with some goofy defence at one point Chinatsus team being nonexistent doesnt help matters either. We never see them function as a unit so its hard to even see them as a good team. It looked more like Chinatsu was carrying them and happened to come up short this time. It wasnt cool or fun at all and just like that Eimei High was bounced out of nationals in the second round. Sure she was never gonna win it all I didnt think so either but while Haryu got a match spanning a few chapters Chinatsus was over before it even really started. Very very lame. But wait wait. It gets worse. 700https://i.ibb.co/z8b0RYh/bluebox427.jpg While reading some chapters again I ended up finding out that the chapter before had Chinatsu describing what happened in the first round. Sothey can play together well and Miura does know her stuff she just refuses to show it through visuals. Or more likely she cant. This kind of writing does not mesh well with a sport that has ten players on the court at all times and constant movement. Especially since all the things you might see in a basketball game like drives fakes floaters layups free throws crossovers steals double teams etc etc all that stuff that anyone associates with basketball just isnt there. 700https://i.ibb.co/fpM0cmg/014.png 700https://i.ibb.co/xSKbRFV/015.png Like take Tsubame TipOff a girls sports manga also with basketball for example. It portrays the sport perfectly by showing each action and having said actions flow well so youll always be able to tell what each character is doing. The difference in quality is insane. Anyone disappointed with basketball here should read this manga by the way. 700https://i.ibb.co/GTbRDFW/image.png You just cant rush this sport or it looks lacklustre Thats not just the case for this one chapter its like that every time practice is shown. Its probably okay for the average viewer but the more I got into basketball the more I get bothered whenever I read these bits. Its to the point that I dont even like how Chinatsu only ever shoots. Cmon is that all she ever does? Arent there other skills that players can work on alone like ball handles maybe her fitness or watching a game? You could even put Nagisa in whos literally Chinatsus righthand woman and do stuff like 1on1s. Theres so much potential with basketball and Miura doesnt seem able to tap into any of it so every character involved is lacking. All of that is really really really lame and disappointing it makes any moment where Chinatsus shown as inspiring seem weaker because we never see that fire when the chips are down. In moments like these actions speak louder than words no matter how wise the words are. Its not been good getting excited about her playing since Chapter 20 dropped only to be disappointed over and over. Some might find it weird that Ive been criticising basketballs portrayal so much considering the sports are secondary. But to go back to the original point badminton players like this manga partly because of whats been shown and that should also be the case with basketball. Its not. Instead what actually happens is basketball fans making fun of Chinatsu like that comparison earlier. That includes me as well. https://media0.giphy.com/media/DAQPViKDezujAL1FLF/giphy.gif By this point I wouldve just wrapped things up and concluded this review but theres one more sport in Blue Box I havent mentioned: rhythmic gymnastics. Its another cool pick by Miura a sport thats impressive and captivating to watch. I was excited about the potential art and performances that could happen since the first chapter. Well do you wanna know the last time we saw resembling that? Chapter 17 nearing a year ago with no performances to show either. So as far as now is concerned nothings happened. Thenwhats the character who does this sport even doing if gymnastics is irrelevant to the story despite this character being established as a prodigy? You realised it already but there was one side character I neglected to mention the whole time. If Chinatsu doesnt have much going on outside of romance then this character has without a doubt absolutely nothing going on outside of romance. And it hurts this mangaa lot a hell of a lot. Introducing: Hina Chono. 700https://i.ibb.co/h7vHkDY/ezgif48e323474d9.jpg God I hate Hina. But it wasnt always like that. In the beginning I was instantly fond of her I liked Kyo as wellthats scary. Though Blue Box is considered a romcom the humour is a lot lighter compared to others and Hina was the biggest contributor with her infectious quirkiness. You can tell Miura has a lot of fun drawing her with every new expression she showed being a highlight even now I cant help but admit that part is nice. Since hes a dork with no romantic experience and she wants to be entertained theyre perfect companions. And so thats how it was for a few chapters. The people who came in later might not know this but the possibility of a love triangle happening was a topic since Chapter 3. I didnt agree with it at all. It didnt make sense I felt there were better things to do with them and its a grating cliche thats rarely done with success. In the early days I only liked one love triangle and now I only like two those being Bloom Into You and Love In Focus. Chapter 4 further proved to me that she was just a friend helping out along with showing some nice gymnastics panels so I just enjoyed things as normal. And that was that for a little while until 700https://i.ibb.co/Z6CmHkb/bluebox1618.jpg Turns out I was just a tiny bit off and a love triangle was happening after all But while other people were bothered I wasnt unhappy. One thing about her character thats been emphasised is that shes always facing pressure as a result of being a prodigy the schools ticket to victory and the daughter of an Olympian. In public she takes all of that in stride but it eats at her inside and nobody seems able to stand by her because her unbothered attitude gives everyone the impression shes fine. Not even her best friend Taiki could understand because she showed the teasing side of her personality more than anything else. And all of this left her feeling isolated and lonely. Another thing that was emphasised during Hinas arc was the difference between Taikis interactions with her and Taikis interactions with Chinatsu. All Hina did with him was tease him which made it hard for them to have a genuine interaction when it mattered. Taiki couldnt even take her real compliments seriously see Chapter 13. On the other hand as I said at the start Taiki and Chinatsu understand each other and have a positive and supportive relationship and have played a big part in each others lives each giving something the other person didnt have prior. That would make Taiki and Chinatsu the better pair whereas Taiki and Hina are dead from the getgo. 700https://i.ibb.co/HzgPHWH/0057017.jpg Thats still true too as shown by Taikis match with Yusa. Hinas surprised by Taikis dedication and grit whereas Chinatsu knew it from the start and even competes with him. Aint nobody who gets Taiki like Chinatsu does 700https://i.ibb.co/W6BJypH/bluebox1812.jpg At the end of this arc she gets back up thanks to Taiki and intends to aim ever higher next time. This was all good at the time. Miura took the details we got early on fleshed them out perfectly made a mostly comical character into a genuinely great one and made me think a bit about Taikis relationships with each of the girls. Really this was the best Miura had to offer with writing so far and Hina became the best character in the cast if she wasnt already. Well that was where she peaked. Because ever since the next time she got major focus Ive just gotten more and more irritated with her. Remember how I had a problem with Chinatsu getting sidelined whenever there was a good chance to focus on her? Despite all the compliments I gave at the start this also happens outside of sports. 700https://i.ibb.co/5TgmgVX/image.png For example the drama after Chapter 29. To prevent any more awkward incidents Chinatsu draws a line between her and Taiki and this is a big turning point for their relationship and theyre essentially cut off until Chapter 47. Since the main two arent interacting everythings changed for the story. The decision does make sense Chinatsu wants to remain focused on fulfilling her goals and doesnt want to take more than whats given deciding to act more maturely and hold back on romance. Of course this is wrong as shes just a kid she deserves to enjoy herself and be with who she wants to be. Chinatsu shouldnt have to cut off a very important connection in her life for that. Since this was the wrong move plain and simple youd think that Miura would show how things are with Chinatsu after. Miura did show Taiki feeling down trying to act natural but obviously being bothered and Chinatsu is the other half of this pair and the reason this happened so thered have to be a point where she shows a little regret right? 700https://i.ibb.co/wLBtFbW/0033018.jpg Well there wasnt because all that time was given to Hina instead. Like before I didnt have a problem with her being in the spotlight again. She still had zero chance of getting with Taiki but it wouldnt hurt to try for a bit. The backstory she got was nice too. However as the story went onI started to wonder what the point was. Since Taiki and Hinas interactions are always so romantically onesided and weak especially compared to him and Chinatsu I just didnt care for what they were doing and wanted the whole thing to end so Chinatsu could return and fix things. To put it bluntly this was a waste of time. Back when Chapter 30 dropped Chinatsus chokejob had yet to occur and the only other named character on her team was Nagisa so there couldve been screen time for the team as they got ready for nationals Miura already didnt focus on them at all after Chapter 20 so this was a perfect chance. Well again that didnt happen. So we have a ship that aint going anywhere unless the story takes the contrived route of outright downplaying Taiki and Chinatsus relationshipand the source of this whole situation Chinatsu is being completely ignored. Instead all she does is smile and smile...and smile again like this doesnt even matter when it clearly did if Chapter 47 is anything to go by. I dont like Miuras attempts to make Chinatsu seem all mysterious its only fooling people who never cared about her in the first place Okay then. They do end up meeting each other and watching the fireworks at the end which was the best part of this whole time sink so maybe then Chinatsull come clean on why she created distance between them and they can make up or even get together? Hell no It was during that time that I realised the only reason all of this happened was for Hina to have more screentime. The main two and the other characters didnt matter at all. I dont like the ship and Hina was irking me so there was nothing for me to like about this arc as far as those things were concerned. Side note: it also didnt help that any time Taiki did anything that deviated from Hina fans would make a big stink about it and act like Hinas this victim it was very dumb. Selfinsert much? Even now its still my second least favourite arc only beating the godawful preliminary qualifiers which had Miuras sportsskipping issue on full display. And since then the manga has followed this kind of mindset pointlessly drawing out the romance more and more as a result. Whenever theres a big chance to focus on Chinatsus end dont and just have more Hina instead. If theres nothing bad happening between Taiki and Chinatsu put Hina in to spice things up. Chapter 43 already sucked with that disappointing mess of a game but even worse it happened in the background while Hina and Taiki were hanging out and she confesses right as Chinatsu misses. If the match hadnt happened in that chapter I wouldve just brushed the whole thing off and waited for Chinatsus game but the fact that Miura shoved a whole match in instead of just making it the primary focus in another chapter just kills it People can tell me that chapter was about both of them shooting their shot but thatll never not sound like a really bad joke. It was a terrible decision to do that period. Eventually Taiki and Chinatsu make up in Chapter 47 and things go back to normal...for about one chapter only for them to separate again can you leave them alone please? It was a fun idea at first because they no longer have convenience on their side and have to try a little harder to see each other. It was adorable to see them miss each other. Well it didnt take long for the fun to end because more unnecessary scenes with Hina followed. 700https://i.ibb.co/0GQcFjC/0051019.jpg Chapter 52 had her revealing she confessed to Taiki which had no reason to happen outside manufacturing more drama and bringing Chinatsu down which happens all the time in this manga. She even left out the very very key detail that Taiki rejected her which is very telling of how pointless this was. After that Chapter 53 ended up having the most egregious Hina moment yet because she claimed to respect Taiki continuing to work on his chances with Chinatsu this means he rejected Hina in case that wasnt painfully obvious one time only to put him in an uncomfortable position and then play it off as a joke. With no absolutely consequences. 700https://pbs.tw.com/media/FTYrwc8WUAAWhB0?format=jpgname=small 700https://pbs.tw.com/media/FTYrwtXWUAAbKrs?format=jpgname=360x360 700https://pbs.tw.com/media/FTYrxUwX0AICvzN?format=jpgname=small On paper theres nothing wrong with that happening not like its the first time a character in this manga has made a bad move I like manga where characters mess up How Do We Relationship? comes to mind but heres the thing: Hina felt no regret towards pushing her feeling onto him and disrespecting her own friend. 700https://pbs.tw.com/media/FT73V4jXEAIkDTg?format=pngname=240x240 700https://pbs.tw.com/media/FT73eFrXwAApsuW?format=pngname=small Its all presented to us like this is Taikis problem like he has to go with this or hes the bad guy and Hina did absolutely nothing wrong. Yes Taikis not really done anything since their conversation in Chapter 45 to up his chances but thats just another facet of Miura slowing down this will they wont they situation it doesnt justify this garbage Those scenes made me hate her more. Hina went from this entertaining and endearing gogetter that does gymnastics...to an annoying unlikeable brat thats only around to hold Taiki Chinatsus relationship back at every chance. A complete shell of the character I enjoyed seeing every chapter. It makes me regret the times I defended the love triangle happening and even I question Hinas first arc that arc I praised a lot being necessary. All that stuff about sports and pressure none of it mattered. It was all for the sake of starting a crappy love triangle. My rule for love triangles before anything else is that I need to like every character involved. As you can tell Blue Box flops hard on the first hurdle because I dont like Hina she doesnt even have any decent interaction with Chinatsu either. Bloom Into You had three excellent characters and Nanami was even able to grow because of Sayaka. Love In Focus made me like a character I originally started off disliking Kei and it didnt waste time by being short. They told compelling stories. But with Blue Box any time Hina appears and interacts with either character it feels like any progress made is dashed in the bin and I have to waste more time waiting for things to get back on track. Take the love triangle aspect away and theres no reason for Hina to be here. She gets in the way and no character benefits from that. Its so frustrating to see such a good pair be treated like this in favour of a ship thats dead on arrival and a character I despise especially since Miura is capable of much better. Even currently with Chapter 60 out theres no doubt in my mind that nothing will go right for Taiki and Chinatsu because thats what Ive come to expect from this manga. That Miura will take the drama route and drag out the story more instead of having them get together. Regardless of if the manga gets a good stretch of chapters or not I can always count on Hina to become prominent and kill the good vibes. 700https://i.ibb.co/QK441DW/0048017.jpg Clearly I have a very lovehate relationship with this series as someone whos been reading from the start. Despite its stellar art and fun characters one time it can go and release multiple great chapters and then drop a really bad chapter that makes me question even having faith in a good one was coming. When I think it cant get worse it does. Its really all over the place and it aint fun at times. Going back to Chapter 14 or even the start Blue Box feels like a completely different story and I cant help wanting to back to then. The fall from a really charming story of two competitors reaching for the dreams to two competitors but only one actually gets proper focus and theres this other girl that gets more substantial screentime than the main one somehow and does everything to stop the two so the drama gets milked more has been disappointing to say the least and I dont think things will improve either. Despite everything Ive said its still pointing in the best direction successwise. Itll sell two million copies by the end of this year itll have a strong run for a few years itll get an anime itll be a seasonal hit considered an anime of the year and itll even be seen as the gold standard of modern romance by some. None of that will change. For better or worse Im too deep in this manga to stop reading it because when Blue Box is good its really good if the recent Taiki VS Yusa match is anything to go by. 700https://i.ibb.co/BjN0bTY/bluebox5815.jpg In the end all I can do is just take the good moments as they come.