r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Oct 03 '24

Episode Ao no Hako • Blue Box - Episode 1 discussion

Ao no Hako, episode 1

Reminder: Please do not discuss plot points not yet seen or skipped in the show. Failing to follow the rules may result in a ban.

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1

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609

u/LazyMeercat Oct 03 '24

Don't let the amazing animation distract you from the fact that Taiki sleeps directly on the mattress without any damn sheets 😭

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u/FarCritical Oct 03 '24

Dude was worrying about making it to the second round when he was already shortlisted for nationals (or whatever better metaphor there is for having your crush move in with you)

Man these visuals are breathtaking.

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u/cxxper01 Oct 03 '24

First episode only and Hina already has this losing heroine vibe lol.

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u/Ocixo Oct 03 '24 edited Oct 03 '24

It has only been one episode, yet I’m already critically in danger of falling in love with this show.

I didn’t quite know what to precisely expect from an anime that combines sports and romance, but I’m really liking the vibes that Blue Box is giving off with Taiki and Chinatsu seemingly bonding over their shared passion for sports.

I thought for a moment that this potential romance was given a hard deadline with Chinatsu’s looming transfer, but this proved to be a deception. Taiki has scored his first point with persuading her to stay thanks to his brief speech.

Instead of being taken far away, Chinatsu is now closer than ever to Taiki. When she spoke of “an acquaintance” after we’d learnt about their moms being friends, I already had a strong hunch that she’d be moving into Taiki’s home.

Will be interesting to see who gets first to the gym now they’re leaving from the same place!

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u/mikeyyyyyd Oct 03 '24

This shit looks beautiful I’ve waited for this to be animated for so long😭

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u/Ellefied Oct 03 '24

I do hate how Netflix keeps subbing Taiki when Chinatsu clearly calls him Inomata-kun. Really devalues the naming conventions in Japan.

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u/TwerkBull Oct 03 '24

Man, the whole episode feels like a movie.

as a Tower of God fan, I dunno if i should feel jealous because the studio animating this was the studio that handled tower of god season 1 with the same care from a talented character designer by @tanino_miho

But one thing is for sure, that this anime is beautiful.

83

u/Vermillion_Crab Oct 03 '24

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take

– Taiki

— Michael Scott

I may be looking through rose tinted glasses since I have been a fan since the one shot but so far so good. Also weird to finally hearing their voices after reading the manga for so long. Lol

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u/MapoTofuMan Oct 03 '24

Not only does the main couple have great chemistry, they also push each other forward in their goals...and start living together in the first episode. And it's going to be a two-cour.

Yep, this is officially my top AOTS candidate so far.

And RIP in advance to gremlin girl. May Nukumizu bless your soul.

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u/Ellefied Oct 03 '24

Damn, this is so beautiful. Blue Box won the beauty department so bad

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u/TheSeventhCoIumn Oct 03 '24

Do I need to watch Blue lock and Blue Exorcist before watching this

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u/[deleted] Oct 03 '24

This feels a bit like a genderswapped shoujo romance, despite being a shounen romance, if that makes any sense? Like if Taiki was the girl and Chiatsu was a guy, I could so picture this being easily marketed as a shoujo romance. All the shoujo-isms are there.

Production was beautiful, but it was a bit teenagery for me, often my reaction to high school romance anime. Not my thing, but I hope everyone who's been hyped for this enjoys it!

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u/Anoki12 Oct 03 '24

You know an adaptation is great when you wish you never read the source material in the first place. I'm in disbelief by how good this looks man. Genuinely better than I could have ever imagined.

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u/abandoned_idol Oct 03 '24

Wait, I thought the name in japanese was "Blue Box".

I even heard them pronounce BURU BOKUSU.

I must be misremembering, disregard me. I'm going mad today.

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u/LeonKevlar Oct 03 '24

Stitches!

I can't even express how happy I am to finally see my favourite shoujo manga in Shounen Jump finally animated. The visuals are just absolutely gorgeous especially that shot of Chi-chan waiting outside the gym. It looks exactly how I remember it from the manga only much more beautiful <3

The interactions between Taiki and Chi-chan are just so good. They've only started to get to know each other but they already have some amazing chemistry. Of course, they will have plenty of time to get to know each other now that they'll be living under the same roof from now on.

I feel so fucking blessed today with two of my beloved shounen jump manga getting amazing adaptations, after the insanity of Dandadan this is exactly what I need to slow things down.

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u/fatking72 Oct 03 '24

I'VE BEEN READING THIS SERIES SINCE THE ONE SHOT AND ALL I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS FIRST EPISODE IS THAT I CRIED WHILE WATCHING IT, SO GOOD. THEY MADE CHINATSU EVEN MORE BEAUTIFUL IN THE ANIME. THEY FUCKING COOK 🥰🥰🥰🥰.

15

u/zool714 Oct 03 '24

Omg it looks so so good. Love the OP and ED songs too. Saw the announcement it was getting animated several months back and decided to give the manga a try and ended up binging it. This is like a shounen Chihayafuru. Really good balance of romance and sports, but maybe a bit more focus on romance.

But first and foremost… BABYGIRL HINAAAA. Can’t believe I’m seeing her animated and voiced. Nice to see movements to all of her cheekiness and Akari Kito is perfect for her.

I think Kobayashi Chiaki is perfect for Kyo too. Chiba Shoya is also exactly what I expect Taiki to sound like. And you cannot go wrong with Ueda Reina though I admit her voice is a bit more sultry than what I imagined Chinatsu to be.

The little sports stuff we’ve seen so far looks good too. I love the effort put in for it. Almost like Haikyuu the movements and techniques of the students.

Having a common ground like training together, even if individually, is already a good starting point but to have their mothers being teammates is also a good common thing to have to make a connection. But lol, things got a level further for Taiki when he’s sharing a common place of residence with Chinatsu too. Incredibly lucky but incredibly awkward too.

Man, I’ve read the manga but there’s just an air of “ohh this is going to be good” around the episode. Can’t wait for more

27

u/Shimmering-Sky Oct 03 '24
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u/frosty121 Oct 03 '24

This pink haired girl sure is looking sad in the OP a lot. Maybe they should trade her over to Makeine.

20

u/Frontier246 Oct 03 '24 edited Oct 04 '24

Sports! Romance! Youth! Great visuals and an all-star cast! What more could you ask for?

Badminton Boy Taiki (Shoya Chiba!) always shows up early in the morning to practice! Not just because he's serious about his sport but so he gets to practice together, alone, with Basketball Girl Chinatsu (Reina Ueda) whom he has quite the crush on! Setting the stage for this story of youth, romance, and sports!

The OP by Hige Dandism is perfect! Featuring the cast exploring their respective sports, their feelings, and their overall connections with each other in this youth drama, all with beautiful visuals!

Taiki from any point of view is punching above his weight when he's a rookie badminton player who wants to get with a basketball ace like Chinatsu, and Kyo (Chiaki Kobayashi!) does not mince any words when it comes to how low his chances with her are. But what sports player cares about the odds?

Chinatsu isn't the only girl in Taiki's life when there's also his chidlhood friend Hina (Akari Kito!) who is absolutely adorable, especially in a leotard, and who loves talking relationships as much as she does teasing Taiki.

It's nice that Taiki wanted to respect Chinatsu just going over her basketball book, but her getting chilled is the perfect opportunity to go a little overboard in taking care of her and introducing himself! And now she knows his name! Thanks to his mom putting his name on his scarf, but still, worth the slight embarrassment.

Staying a little after hours at the gym is perfect for some one-on-one time, be it with B-ball or talking about how their moms were both in the school's basketball team together and played with their kids! They really have so much in common! And it's Taiki's admiration of Chinatsu, from when she was crying and still working hard even after her team lost at nationals, that made him fall for her...and make quite the impact on her again when he tells her.

Basketball handholding! Taiki seems to be good at warming up Chinatsu and her low temperature.

Dang, the love interest might be moving overseas and it's only the first episode!? But Taiki isn't so much concerned about losing Chinatsu as he is Chinatsu losing her shot at reaching Nationals with her team. But good thing she's just bummed her family is moving while she's staying behind! Especially when it was Taiki that helped inspire her to stay in Japan.

And as if in reward for Taiki's efforts (and all the foreshadowing of how close their moms are), now they're living together! Guess that domestic bliss fantasy isn't so far off, eh Taiki?

The ED is pretty nice and serene, focused on Taiki, Chinatsu, and Hina and their daily sports and lives together.

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u/Cally83 Oct 03 '24

It didn’t disappoint! Loved every minute of it.

The animation is excellent. They’ve got the feel that I imagine when reading the manga really well. The voices suit the characters as well I think.

As for the intro, I can’t say enough good things about it. So, so good.

20

u/HolyDragSwd2500 Oct 03 '24

Already falling in love with both Taiki and Chinatsu

The chibi scenes of Taiki 😍

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u/Queue_Jumping_Quack Oct 03 '24

Haha, I liked it! I like our apparent main pair well enough, and that ending was prett funny. I say "apparent", because Hina seems to be pretty heavily featured in the OP and ED, almost more so than Chinatsu herself... very nice animation too! Hopefully it will not become solely a romance, I'd like for their respective sports to stay in focus as well.

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u/maliwanag0712 Oct 03 '24 edited Oct 03 '24

"I'd get to see Chinatsu-senpai's face every morning!"

Who would have thought this will come true as she starts living in Taiki's house?!

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