This review contains SPOILERS for Blue Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . https://v.animethemes.moe/AoNoHakoOP1. Blue Box was always a highly anticipated romcom way before the Fall 2024 season. Youtubers and analysts were seen publishing videos commonly titled The most underrated romance manga at every turn. Naturally this piqued my interest so when the release date for the adaptation was announced as a romance fan I couldnt be happier. Until I was dissapointed. Dont leave. I promise it aint what you think 600https://animenew.com.br/wpcontent/uploads/2023/11/AonoHakoMangaganhaadaptacaoparaanimejpgwebp.webp Failure to hook So the first episode actually felt good. The animation both CGI and handdrawn for the songs how tf you get both Eve and Hige Dandism and the sports sequence actually surprised many of us due to the amount of love put into it. Multiple people performing moves in the background gorgeous closeup shots of the main characters and comedy chibi bits were more than enough to convince everyone that this show was gonna go on a roll. However this assumption was only based on a single episode. 600https://64.media.tumblr.com/a9ec97b09f71b1579ba4b35ef53fef92/d31a4e3fe56c4a667b/s540x810/9b67636a0e7c46b7f019d9e3e46797a87fe1a468.gifv 600https://64.media.tumblr.com/5dd96f04276fb39efee5f99c1385955d/ec9d90c2018d89e3a0/s540x810/55435cc151913897a1b8e91af5a6cba266a99e4f.gif After a couple more episodes aired I began to feel let down. Although the production was there the rest just felt subpar. The jokes were too dry to be able to make anybody with decent humour chuckle. The characters included a simp protagonist the nice girl the lively childhood friend who is also the losing heroine and the incredibly observant male friend. Chinatsu came across as a hollow character simply existing to appeal to the viewers and Taiki. Speaking of Taiki holy fk he was annoying. Like we get it little bro. Shes pretty. Enter: Chouno Hina 600https://imageswixmped30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/7df6de16e03047e5baae04350d5468d5/dinh2t30726d92f3f894cfc850e6f0d23e23233.gif?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcLzdkZjZkZTE2LWUwMzAtNDdlNS1iYWFlLTA0MzUwZDU0NjhkNVwvZGluaDJ0My0wNzI2ZDkyZi0zZjg5LTRjZmMtODUwZS02ZjBkMjNlMjMyMzMuZ2lmIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.niRO3Ak243xd62alTlbgTalqOqci2Q2InnnvvYCQ5ww There we go. Episode 6 giving us the best episode yet for the best character. Whoever you pick as your favourite from the main girls is your choice as it is your personal preference but when discussing who was and probably still is objectively the best character at this point of the story its exceedingly obvious Hina clears. Not only did she have personality barely managing to pull the viewers back from dropping the show with it she also came with another package. A tragic package. 600https://media.tenor.com/WUy8eVTenpoAAAAe/blueboxaonohako.png Hina was Taikis longterm best female friend. Their interactions had chemistry because of Hinas personality and because they knew each other for a while. What made it all suddenly so gutwrenching to watch was how Hina understood her own feelings for Taiki too late. She was in the worst position possible. Taiki was actively in the midst of pursuing a romantic relationship with another girl who coincidentally lived in the same house as him making any chances for a comeback steal nearly impossible. Ill get back to this later. Im not gonna lie to you the episodes after 6 were exponentially decreasing in value so Im very glad they took a break to present to us: Cour 2 aka the redemption arc Yeah. Cour 2 was a banger. We immediately started the fresh serialization off with a standalone episode dedicated to Haryuu and Karen which was unexpectedly emotional. Ill tell you what Karen and Haryuus relationship felt so healthy and more on the mature side to the point where some people mightve started favouring them more than Taiki x Whoever but this is when I understood something. This animes strength did not merely lie in the enthralling blue box of romance horrible title drop ik but in the sports aspects as well. 600https://i.yt.com/vi/6Gj1e83Yy0Y/maxresdefault.jpg As something of an athlete myself whenever they shoved a serious/emotional match in my face I simply couldnt help but relate to the characters and the emotions they were feeling. The thought of losing the thought of improving the thought of not getting over your limitations the thought of dissapointing others etc. It was real. To me these moments of Chinatsu Taiki or Haryuu giving it their all felt more meaningful than the love triangle at least before the love triangle got better. Yes it finally got better With the addition of episodes 14 and 15 Blue Box was able to peak. Dont get me wrong. There was buildup before them so Im not saying only these two episodes were praiseworthy. Its just that 14 and 15 provided so much. 600https://i.ur.com/IyfaK2Z.jpeg Episode 14 is Blue Boxs single best attempt at stellar storytelling. Displaying Chinatsus intense Inter High Finals match simultaneously alongside Hinas confession blossoming a rollercoaster of emotions within us. Not many damn anime girls have the balls to confess the way Hina did on that swing. Watching the confession in awe is one thing but seeing Chinatsu fail to make the clutch shot attempt just when Hina succeeded in verbally confessing her feelings generated a surge of goosebumps that I wouldnt be able to explain now. The pacing of the episode and the conversation taking place during the match felt too right and too refreshing its difficult to elaborate. The pinnacle of Blue Boxs romance element and its sports element sidebyside. What a day to be alive huh? 600https://entriesfromanintrovert.wordpress.com/wpcontent/uploads/2021/09/chinatsumarchmadnesstimee1631506038589.jpg?w=640 Episode 15 wasnt nothing to scoff at either cuz guess what? Chinatsu is an actual character now We celebrated Chinatsus birthday and perceived some quality time between her and Taiki. As a Hina lover I thought Id be distraught but that wasnt the case at all. Why? Simply due to Chinatsu gaining the ability to be vulnerable around Taiki. She felt human. She felt real. Her and Taikis interactions got a huge boost in chemistry and enjoyability. I couldnt dislike her now. I couldnt hate them being together now so it started to complicate my feelings on the matter. 600https://i.redd.it/umvtikz4k3r81.jpg Ah yes very clever because after all that insert Karl AnthonyTowns edit Blue Box finally had the perfect formula for a love triangle that actually works. Two likable heroines with their own stories own personalities a nonincel protagonist not anymore at least that actively tries to sort out their romantic feelings by thinking and observing their own actions: 1. Chinatsu who wants Taiki all to herself but is unable to express her feelings very well 2. Hina who is waiting for a positive response to her confession waiting for the correct opportunities to interact with and make Taiki fall for her even though she knows it may be futile truly sad 3. Taiki who is racking his brain sorting out his feelings towards the two girls while also trying to distinguish badminton and his love life. Boooom. Two more banger eps Episode 18 aka the representation of Blue Boxs beautiful sports aspect. Taikis match with Yusa did not dissapoint. Taikis inner conflicts Taikis improvement as a badminton player Hina and Chinatsus support. Wouldnt this be considered yet another godtier episode in Blue Box standards? Yes. 600https://i.redd.it/theartforyusavstaikiinthemangawasabsolutecinemav0ps0s11k5jbge1.png?width=1568format=pngauto=webps=aa15ca697e3d711edf8d9f565d8418b5154999a3 Here we go..... 2200https://i.ur.com/zSk7OWU.png Episode 24. My downfall. Hina squad knew it was coming. Hina squad knew there couldnt be any other way. Hina squad sad. Hina squad cry. The atmosphere felt just right for a serious conversation. Just right for a rejection. Taiki handled it in the best way possible and I respect him for it. There was no point in leading her on or trying to drag things out. He loved Chinatsu and Hina was precious to him.... https://v.animethemes.moe/AoNoHakoED2. PS: Im not gonna go into detail about her but Ayame was a very refreshing character. Loved her. As an anime only guy maybe I failed in covering certain parts of the show. Feel free to msg me and discuss. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Click here for more goated reviews https://anilist.co/user/HomuraDesu/reviews 2200https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/AonoHakoLogo.png