There are countless romance anime out there, and just as many sports anime. Some of the best ones know not to deviate from the true and tested formulas of their genres but rather embrace them to say something new about the genre. Then we have the much rarer romance-sports anime, which captures a larger part of the teenage experience by focusing on the love of sports, and the awkwardness of having a crush while in high school. Such is the case with Blue Box, a delightful anime with a delicate balance of sports drama and a slow-burn romance, based on a manga of the same name written and illustrated by Kouji Miura.
Season 1 introduced the story of Taiki Inomata, a high school student and average badminton player with a crush on upperclasswoman Chinatsu Kano, who happens to be the star of the girl’s basketball team. Things get complicated when Chinatsu’s family moves abroad, but she stays behind to finish school… and moves in with Taiki’s family. The first season had a good balance of following Taiki and Chinatsu’s sports ambitions, while also exploring their “will they, won’t they” romantic dynamic, love triangles, and other teenage issues. That being said, the season also ended on a wild cliffhanger, with Chinatsu and Taiki planning a date together.
Season 2 Delivers on That Massive Cliffhanger
Well, season 2 is finally here and Blue Box gives the people what they want, by paying off that cliffhanger immediately and spending the entire episode on the much-anticipated date. There is no waiting here, no endless teasing. Instead, as has been one of the show’s biggest strengths from the start, the pacing moves along at a brisk pace — though that doesn’t mean things work out the first time. After all, this is still the same awkward Taiki from the first season, so he struggles and fumbles a lot throughout the date, refusing to outright say what he means or wants, and letting moments pass right by him. Particularly, the problem is Taiki is too afraid of what others might think of him and Chinatsu being on a date that he keeps downplaying it, like allowing Kazuma Matsuoka from the boy’s basketball team to insert himself into the date when they run into him at a cafe, despite Kazuma very clearly wanting to be alone with Chinatsu when she doesn’t.
Subtle Details Bring Chinatsu’s Perspective to Life
Though the show is still seen from the perspective of Taiki, the premiere of season 2 does a great job of adding even more to Chinatsu’s perspective. Electric Circus, which takes over production of Blue Box this season, gives a lot of attention to Chinatsu’s facial expressions. There are small and subtle movements throughout the episode that give us a look at what she’s thinking and how she’s approaching the date, as Chinatsu slowly opens up to a life beyond just the basketball team and to her feelings toward Taiki.
Balancing the Court and the Heart
Sure, that means the sports aspect of Blue Box is downplayed this episode, for the most part. But the ending of the episode shows why this show excels at balancing both genres. While most of the episode advances the romance between Taiki and Chinatsu, it doesn’t just forget about sports, but rather continues to explore Taiki’s insecurities about his skills when Kazuma tries to intimidate him by reminding him of his recent failures. Then there’s the introduction of Yumeka Kido, a character said to be a former teammate of Chinatsu who was hugely influential in Chinatsu wanting to be better at basketball. Even before she appears, it is clearly that Yumeka’s shadow looms large over Chinatsu, and Blue Box is gearing up to amp up the sports drama by exploring Chinatsu’s childhood insecurities in a way that impacts and informs her present.
Setting the Stage for a Great Season
One of Blue Box’s greatest strengths is knowing when to move things along, rather than dwelling on every single obstacle. It might be early in the season, but we’re finally getting some real progress in the romance department, while teasing a fascinating backstory for Chinatsu.