Ao no Hako

[neflight86]

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"Inomata Taiki loves badminton, but he has a long way to go before he can reach nationals. When Taiki sees upperclassman Kano Chinatsu practicing her heart out on the girls' basketball team, he falls for her hard. After an unexpected turn of events brings the two closer together, sports might not be the first thing on their minds anymore!

Source: Viz"

Genre(s): Romance, Sports, Drama

Research

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1-5

Relatively unassuming at first glance, the best thing I can say about Blue Box is that it starts out good enough and gets just a smidge better each episode. One thing that stands out and I like is the fleshed out supporting cast (by anime standards) and the feeling that more exists in this world than the main pair's romance. Dreams and circumstances happily populate the story, complicating things just enough to give our characters obstacles to navigate without falling into the anime trope of rosy tunnel vision and lovey-dovey monologue fatigue filling the episodes. It's a solid show with a solid core. Recommended.

[shinta|hikari]

This is one of the strangest anime I have ever seen. A gymnast and a basketball player and yet almost no waki frames. How the fuck?

Kidding aside, beautiful anime. Reminds me a lot of Makoto Shinkai's works.

[David75]

Feels almost too balanced, healthy and normal for a 2024 anime
Very nice a soothing. Not flashy, not a masterpiece, no quirks or tricks. A plausible sports high school slice of life romance.

[neflight86]

Reminds me a lot of Makoto Shinkai's works.

That's a very good comparison. Drawing out the beauty of the mundane is pretty much his style.

6

Gymnyst girl has a truly bewitching character design and is a joy to have on screen. I like that she even refuses to realize she likes MC to stay out of their way and maintain focus on her own performance. Pure saccharine.