Blue Box

Unrivaled Purity

Warning: Major Spoilers For The Following Story Inevitable! Leave Now If You Want To Stay Unspoiled!! If You Have Already Read Blue Box Or Do Not Care At All For Spoilers, Then Proceed!

Introduction

Now, I know what you might be thinking:
“…um, this is a sports manga. Seriously? The first thing you are gonna review is a freaking sports manga? I was expecting a Marvel or a DC comic first, not some juvenile sports manga.”
And here I am to say…yeah, it’s a sports manga…at a very first glance. There is so much more to this manga than sports. The sports part is just a window inviting you into a story that, without a shadow of a doubt, has the single most pure and wholesome romantic relationship story in all of manga (that I’m aware of). . I’m serious. Blue Box is the greatest Shonen romance story ever. I could just end it there and say “Go read it,” but this story deserves so much more than a simple recommendation.
See, there’s clearly a ton of romance manga out there. And many romance manga have great stories and characters brimming with life…but usually, at some point, suggestive and sexual content will slither its way into the story. As a Christian, I of course get pretty uncomfortable whenever that kind of content slips into a story. Gropey humor, guys lustfully ogling at girls, talks about sexual stuff, and either implying the characters “doing the deed” (these stories, I try to stay away from.) are all examples of such bad content. I usually do my best to skip through all that garbage because I do not want any of that kind of crap lingering in my mind; it disappoints me as well because there is usually no good reason for it other than having fanservice. It’s especially disappointing when that kind of content shows up in something I enjoy, and it makes my opinion lessen on the media I am enjoying. It’s hard to find a romance in a manga without at least some fanservice. But, as you can guess by now, there is one that is not only devoid of suggestive content, but is brimming with sheer wholesome purity, and that manga is “Blue Box.”

“Nice Save.” (Volume 1. Chapters 1-7)

“Blue Box” is a Weekly Shonen Jump sports manga written by the mangaka KOUJI MIURA. The protagonist of the story is our favorite boy, Taiki Inomata, a hard-working badminton player. Taiki is intensely dedicated to badminton, making sure to practice early in the morning every day at every chance that he can get. There's another vital character to the story that Taiki has also seen practicing early. The first chapter of “Blue Box” gives us the name of this other person: “Chinatsu Senpai.” (Senpai is not her last name btw. :)) Chinatsu is a part of the school’s girl basketball team, and as Taiki starts to take more notice of a girl, Taiki develops a huge crush on her. Just hearing her say his name makes his heart go all “bump-a-thump.” But things take an interesting turn in his life when Chinatsu moves in to live with his family because her parents have to move overseas due to work, she doesn't want to go with them because they want her to keep attending at Eimei High, ta (Taiki’s mother used to play with Chinatsu’s mother on a girls’ basketball team. That’s why it isn’t insanely awkward for Chii to move in with Taiki all convenient like). Now, what’s unique isn’t the overall premise. I’m sure there’s been other manga to do the “love interest moves in to live with main character” concept. But “Blue Box” executes the idea in such a way that does make it unique: it never makes the situation suggestive. Other romance manga would surely make the main boy protagonist be all like “Heheh, now I can peek on her when she showers OWO!!” (um, ignore that i just owo’d). But Taiki, he’s not suggestive. Taiki has great morals.
In fact, almost all of the characters have really solid morals and are incredibly likeable. MIURA writes her characters to be grounded in reality. How her characters act makes them believable, as if we can get behind the characters’ actions and think “Ok, this makes sense that this character just acted in this way.” She also fills the characters with personality that pours out of their movement and facial expressions. But the best element of her character writing is the chemistry between the characters, especially Taiki and Chinatsu’s chemistry. This chemistry is shown blatantly well within the first volume, in the chapter “What I Call Her.” Taiki and Chinatsu are discussing about how long they’ll be training until they get home, and Chinatsu mentions that she doesn’t have the key to get into the house. Then, Haryu (a guy who will go own to be somewhat like a trainer for Taiki’s badminton skills) asks Chinatsu a question and calls her “Chii.” This is a big deal to Taiki, who becomes overwhelmed with jealousy because Haryu said a nickname for Chinatsu, and Taiki starts mentally freaking out over the implications of this nickname:


We then cut to Taiki who just collapsed on the ground after booking it home, thinking more about the situation. Then, Chinatsu arrives home, and she mentions how all the badminton players were still there going into their clubroom when Taiki left. And then this exchanging of words happen:



Instead of Chinatsu getting irritated by this and becoming crass with Taiki, she just…smiles and says “Nice save.” This, THIS is what amazing character chemistry looks like. Too many romance stories like to make a toxic relationship look romantic, and I’m not even talking about romance manga here. I’m just thinking about so many of the trash American romance media like After We Fell, where the toxicity in the main characters’ relationship is so freaking vivid and damaging, you’re left wondering “How is this even romantic anymore??” Blue Box builds up friendships and relationships without praising toxicity and pushes for, well, true relationships! And the story is so much better because of them.

The Art of Blue Box and Its Characters

I’ve been making it very clear that I really love these characters in Blue Box, and I’ve given some great general examples of why I find them to be great. But let’s take some time to look at specific characters, starting with the main man himself, Taiki. Taiki is a character that could’ve been written to be so annoying in his awkwardness and in his crush, but he isn’t. His thought process is so believable. In the first chapter alone we see Taiki’s mind spinning about different ways he can approach Chinatsu when he notices that she looks cold sitting outside waiting for the gym’s doors to be unlocked:

And in the next couple of pages, we see how he reacts to himself after offering Chinatsu many ways that he can help her:


We see here that Taiki is a thinker: firstly, he goes over different scenarios of approaching Chinatsu; secondly, he thinks of various ways of warming her; and thirdly, he immediately thinks about how he should have acted differently.
Taiki also has what I would consider a very healthy crush on Chinatsu. He doesn’t ogle over how attractive she is or has lustful desires. Instead, throughout the story, we see the main reason that Taiki loves Chinatsu so much is that he genuinely cares for her. He always is thinking of ways he can go out of his way for Chinatsu, and notices little things that Chinatsu does that makes him happy. Taiki is also a hard worker, always raising the bar for himself to get better, basically your typical Shonen protagonist. This hard work towards improving his badminton skills helps leverage his focus. He makes sure to not make Chinatsu his obsession, and sets his focus solely on training to keep him from obsessing.
Before I get to the real star of the story, the other characters deserve some shoutouts as well. Kyo is Taiki’s wingman, and plays the role of the friended grounded in reality very well. Ayame has great character interactions with the rest of the cast, and is responsible for giving us great comedic moments, such as the “Lord Santa” moment later in the story. Chinatsu’s teammates are great friends, and give advice for her about relationships.
And speaking of Chinatsu, in my opinion, she couldn’t be written to be a more perfect love interest for Taiki. She is the best character in the story without a shadow of a doubt, and that’s because she would be one of those people that, after just a few moments of interaction, you think to yourself, “Wow…I think I really care for this character.” The first reason for this is that her personality is pure. This doesn’t mean that she’s perfect. Not at all. At times she makes mistakes, and she struggles with her feelings with Taiki. In fact, one of the best arcs in the story focuses on fixing a broken friendship with one of her former teammates. All of this gives her humanity. She has enough flaws to keep her realistically pure. Not only all of this, but she also is such a freaking sweet character. She goes out of her way for Taiki like he does for her. And I would say that she is a bit of a flirt, but it’s an incredibly wholesome kind of flirting. And that’s really the central aspect of Chinatsu that makes her a great character: she’s so wholesome.
The other reason why I love these characters is, well, another reason why I love this story: the art. KOUJI MIURA is not only a talented writer, but she really brings the story to life through the art, especially through how she draws her characters. On the one hand, when MIURA writes a humorous scene, she goes for a simpler style of art:






And on the other hand, her characters have outstanding expressions. Taiki is very expressive:


Hina is usually drawn with a very joyful spark in her eyes:




Heck, many of the minor characters have great facial expressions as well:


And Chinatsu is…hold up, gimme a second here.
stands up
walks away from computer
indescribable gushing over miura’s art style
walks back to computer
sits down
coughs Yeah, Chinatsu is drawn so well. MIURA’s greatest quality of her drawing expertise is to give characters fantastic eyes. That, combined with how MUIRA gives Chinatsu calm, comforting smiles:






Chinatsu’s expressions can lead to the story’s moments where it feels like a comet filled with raw, wholesome emotion crashes into you.

“August 26” (Volume 6. Chapters 45-47)

Blue Box’s best qualities really shine in two parts of the story, and the first part is found in the “August 26” mini-arc. These three chapters summarize what Blue Box is as a whole. Chapter 45 starts with Chinatsu’s birthday celebration and Hina and Taiki discussing his feelings for Chinatsu, and Hina tells Taiki to give it his best shot. Then we cut to Chinatsu and her basketball team, as she as she becomes the vice-captain of the volleyball team, which she discusses with her mother over a “happy birthday” phone call. Then Chinatsu’s mother says this:

Then Chinatsu decides to notify Taiki through Line (who is right behind her out of sheer coincidence) and tells him this:

Taiki decides to take her to the beach, and gives her a present for her birthday:

And then we get treated to some of the best chemistry between Taiki and Chinatsu, also showing us that Taiki is an incredibly sweet boy:



However, as they leave the beach, they discover that the train has been shut down due to a landslide caused by a storm, so the situation that they find themselves in is that they have to share a hotel room with each other (there’s only one room available). Now, in most other romance manga, this would be a most opportune time to spice things up and take it to the next level ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). But Blue Box, might I remind you, is not like most other manga. Taiki’s morals are greatly seen here:

And then Chinatsu and Taiki, to pass the time, they play card and board games. And then, in the morning, Chinatsu wakes up to see Taiki sleeping on the chair he sat in when they played games. Now, it’s a small detail, but take notice here:

Taiki could have chosen to sleep on the mattress next to Chinatsu, but because he is a very moral character, he sleeps a distance away from her, most likely thinking that she does not want to be uncomfortable with having a boy sleep right next to her. It’s a minor detail, but a detail I love very much.

(also i have this here just because it’s really cute. thats all.)
Like I said, the “August 26” portion covers all of what makes “Blue Box,” well, “Blue Box:” it shows us the sports and teamwork aspect of a sports manga, it has gorgeous artwork, and the characters’ relationship are at display for all to see. But this part of the story isn’t “Blue Box” at its best. The best of “Blue Box” takes place during a holiday, when everything great about the manga goes from 10 to 100…

“I hope this turns out to be a nice Christmas Eve.” (Chapters 93-96: The Christmas Eve Chapters)

Chapter 93. It’s December 23rd. Taiki’s friends prepare for Christmas celebrations while he practices more. Typical of Taiki. Chinatsu gets ready for the last basketball game before winter break. Yumeka, the previously mentioned ex-friend of Chinatsu, is coaxed to go to the game by her boyfriend. So, she goes…
Chapter 94. Yumeka takes notice of the details of the game, and realizes that it has been two years since she quit. She, of course, already knew that, but it finally hits her because she starts remembering what it was like being on the team. She had stated that she hated basketball, but she remembers that…she still loves it. Taiki comes across a reindeer lacking in strength (Hina). Amidst all their awkward tension before in the story, their conversation is friendly, and they leave with smiles on their faces. Then Taiki has this conversation with the badminton boys:



“I hope…this turns out to be a nice Christmas Eve.”
Chapter 95. Yumeka and Chinatsu encounter each other after the game. This is the moment where their shattered relationship…is fixed:



Then one of the teammates heckles at their crying, and Chinatsu and Yumeka laugh. Yumeka tells Chinatsu, “Let’s play basketball together again!” And Chinatsu agrees to it. Then a montage of Chistmas Eve celebrations happen, and then Chinatsu heads home…
Chapter 96. Chinatsu goes back to the school. She has a goal in mind to see Taiki. She learns at the school that Taiki was the one that gave Yumeka the ticket to go to the game. Taiki was responsible for Chinatsu’s friendship being restored. When she finds Taiki, this is what happens:










Absolute. Sheer. Wholesomeness.

In Conclusion…

“Blue Box” is a special manga. I would say that it’s even the most pure manga I’ve ever read. It has taught me a lot of things about relationships, and it gave me such a joyous feeling when I read it for the first time. Not only do I highly recommend it, but I highly suggest that you tell people about this manga. It’s one of Shonen’s best manga they are publishing, and as a side note, I really do feel that an anime adaptation will most certainly help it boost in its already large popularity. “Blue Box” is unrivaled in purity…

Next Time…

So, a couple remaining things here: you may have noticed that there is a significant character I have been skipping over, and that’s Hina. You would think I either am apathetic or just don’t like her, but no. Hina is really a great character…but she’s very complex. So complex that, once Blue Box ends, I will give her a full-length character analysis, because she helps bring in many of Blue Box’s lessons.
And that’s it for now. Next review, I will start focusing on what will be the main topic of review on this blog: Superhero comics. Next time, I will be taking a look at an Amazing Spider-Man run that simultaneously is beloved and outright hated, including Spider-Man at his best…and what could be his worst.
See ya…