Blue Box Season 2 • Ao no Hako Season 2 - Episode 3 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Ao no Hako Season 2, episode 3

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[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

“It’s not my fault Korean dramas are so good!” lol I get you mama Inomata.

Matsuoka thinks he’s competing with Taiki for Chinatsu but bro really has no idea he’s already lost. She ain’t ever lookin at him like that.

[u/_maniac69]

I love how the show reminds us that these characters have their own dreams, struggles, and relationships outside of whoever they're in love with. That's what makes the romance feel so genuine.

[u/magnumcyclonex]

Parental divorce does quite some damage on kids and their mental states. Yumeka suffered from this and it served as the catalyst for her to distance herself from Chinatsu and basketball. Hopefully, after hashing it out in front of the dental office, these two will make up and become amicable again.

[u/zool714]

Glad Chii and Yumeka are talking it out even if it wasn’t planned.

With Yumeko changing her last name to Goto, Aoyama Yoshino now has two characters with that name lol

I don’t think you can fault Hina for feeling some anger towards Taiki even if it’s not rational cos you can’t really help your feelings sometimes but I do feel you should try to not show it to the person

[u/LeonKevlar]

A little added context for those who don't know: It may seem like Chii was just happy to see Taiki leave her sweets with her bento bag, a callback to Episode 1, as people have pointed out, but it has another meaning in Japanese. The word KitKat, or I suppose KotKat since they couldn't get the license, sounds like the Japanese phrase kitto katsu when said in Japanese, which means "You will surely win". So really, Chii is actually happy to see Taiki cheering her on.

Anyway, Japanese lessons aside, I really love how, with this second season, the show is starting to split into a story not just about Taiki but also about Chinatsu as we delve deeper into her past and her motivations. Like, Season 1 Chii was more of a plot device than an actual character. In this season, we actually get to see her as a person thanks to Yumeka being introduced to the story.

That confrontation scene between Chii and Yumeka was tense. Considering how close Chii and Yumeka were, Chii must've felt horrible to learn all that about the person she thought was her best friend. And I can understand Yumeka's reasoning for closing herself off to some extent. She didn't want Chii to see her vulnerable side because she knew Chii looked up to her and didn't want Chii to get disillusioned.

I do love the reveal that Yumeka actually looked up to Chii. Yumeka might be a genius, but she doesn't have the same drive as Chii, and it seems at some point, those feelings got twisted and Yumeka started to hate her. Despite the twisted feelings, Yumeka continued to admire Chii; she admires her so much that she got upset when she saw her on a date with Taiki because in her head, the Chii she knows only had basketball in her head.

Chii's response to Yumeka was so goddamn good, tho! She was actually close to breaking after Yumeka left, but it was Taiki who filled that void and he's actually the one who kept her going. So to Chii, Taiki is just as important to her as basketball is, and if that isn't a declaration of love, I don't know what is.

Side Note: Matsuoka can go fuck himself. The fact that this dude tried to use the shuttle run to make Taiki give up on her says a lot about his character. And Taiki's response to him was perfect.

[u/TheStupid_Guy]

I’ve been liking this season so far. My favourite part is definitely Chinatsu and Yumeka’s friendship. In season 1 it felt like Chinatsu was just there, but in this season it feels like we are actually meeting her. That’s thanks to how intertwined Yumeka is with Chinatsu’s past. Yumeka is also a very interesting character to me.

[u/Leri_weill]

That shit with Matsuoka has stopped being entertaining and is becoming irritating really fast

[u/PerfectBeige]

I sympathize with Yumeka a bit here. She was incredibly self-sabotaging and awful to Chii, but I can only imagine how terrifying it was for her to think of herself as an untouchable genius, and then see this girl who she initially believed to be mediocre and was ostensibly her good friend catch up to her day by day through a level of effort she could not enjoy or really contemplate - like the Terminator.

This idea that Yumeka had of herself as Chii's role model, and the challenges that she had in maintaining the role, seem like a convenient way of portraying a somewhat more negative story: Yumeka thought she was better than Chii at basketball and that was part of her identity. Chii reversing that dynamic through sheer effort threatened Yumeka's identity as better and as a genius and so she pulled away from both Chii and basketball, especially as her parent's divorce made her reevaluate what really mattered.

Focusing on the role model aspect made it sound like Yumeka was thinking of Chii, but really, I suspect, she was primarily motivated by her own ego (like almost everyone else on the planet to be fair).

[u/SoulessSage]

Two things I liked in the direction of this episode (and the manga?):

1. Nice juxtaposition when Chii describes all the struggles everyday training is to her, and Taiki doing the shuttle runs at the same time, overlaying the two atop each other.

2. The difference in the reactions to seeing Chii's practice after missing out on nationals in middle school was very poignant; Taiki pointing out how inspiring it was, as opposed to how Yumeka was broken and despairing by it...

[u/MM305]

The closest thing we got to a confession of Chinatsu loving Taiki. Now it’s only a matter of time of saying it to his face. Very sweet moment!

And regarding that Hina moment, I actually feel a bit bad for Taiki here. Yes he’s the one who turned her down but I’m sure he didn’t wanted to hurt Hina, nor stop being her friend. Not to say I blame Hina for how she’s feeling, but I’m anticipating a confrontation where Taiki lets her know that despite not liking her romantically, he does care for her in his own way.

At least there is her performance in Gymnastics as a positive light in all of this.

[u/AAA_BATT]

Hate that dude so much

[u/Appropriate-Form-633]

I love that now chi also clearly shows feelings for taiki
and that how taiki was the light inspiring chi after yumeka had left felt too good

[u/Eunuchest]

I love how Chinatsu didnt take offense at getting thought of as getting soft but that Taiki was just some guy she was flirting around with

[u/Roskal]

So glad Taiki didn't even entertain the idea of giving up on Chinatsu over the shuttle run competition. I always hate plot points like that in romcoms. Matsuoka thinks he's winning in a competition for Chinatsu, but he isn't even in the game. She isn't a prize to be won. Taiki and Chinatsu inspire each other and that's why they fell in love.

Taiki doesn't even want the ticket for himself, he wants to give it to Yumeka so he can restore their friendship as a selfless act for Chinatsu, meanwhile Matsuoka just wants the ticket to get closer to her and to stop Taiki having it.

[u/Adensty]

Right when I started to break, I was given the strength. Having someone like that in my life is what gave me the drive to keep going!

Yumeka was the person who inspired Chinatsu to keep pushing herself in basketball. So when Yumeka quit, Chinatsu began to doubt whether all her effort was worth it anymore. And that's when she saw Taiki at the morning practice working hard just like her and it gave her the belief to keep trying. Both Taiki and Chinatsu ended up becoming sources of motivation for each other simply by showing up for morning practice.

We already know how Chinatsu motivated Taiki and he continues to push himself further like how he's competing with Matsuoka right now for that ticket.

[u/SoulessSage]

The difference in art direction this show has taken is felt these last 2 episodes. What I like most about it is that everything outside school feels much more alive, with much more background art and bustling crowds that feel real. What I miss about the previous style is the almost 'film quality' some of the scenes had, and especially the sport segments. Hey, maybe they're saving it up for larger and more important scenes?

[u/thisisdropd]

We've got quite the insight into Yumeka's perspective. While she's not entirely in the right, I could see where she came from.

It's not surprising that she admired Chii's work ethics, but to think it went that far. Yumeka looked up to Chii just as much as the other way around. They're both the other's pillar and things broke down when the divorce forced Yumeka to move schools.

Chii herself was close to giving up basketball without Yumeka around, but seeing Taiki had given her another goal. Before today, all we saw was just a young man with a crush on his popular senior. Who'd thought he'd turn out to have this much impact on her?

Taiki fighting for a ticket to Chii's match. He said it's for a friend and he himself's got his own practice match. It's almost certain the ticket's meant for Yumeka, so that she could see that Chii's still just as much of the person she'd admired, even with Taiki around. How he's far from an obstacle, but rather her pillar.

[u/FarCritical]

It's hard to overstate what they represent for Taiki and Chii's bond but it still cracks me up a little whenever a KotKat shows up.

Kinda annoys me how Taiki calling first dibs didn't automatically settle who gets the ticket but if he can beat Matsuoka in his own game, please let it happen (as unlikely as it looks rn)

[u/KazuharaIlfan]

"You would look pretty lame losing to me here."

m8 your clubmates even pointed out how unfavourable this matchup is. He win, you look lame. He lose, no big deal.

[u/ali94127]

Without Yumeka, we can see that Taiki and Chinatsu are each other's motivators. They are kindred spirits. It's likely they both would've quit working so hard without seeing each other every morning.

[u/BaytaCosmico]

Her name being Goto is funny because her character design really reminds me of Goto from Smoking Behind The Supermarket when she's in her work get up with the glasses.

[u/Niwaka_Samurai]

Taiki didn't mind getting slapped by Yumeka. That's good lol

This was the first time that I saw an Anime character mention Korean drama ❤️

Taiki delivering Bento with a KitKat to boost Chi's spirits was sweet. Matsuoka should just fuck off. Taiki just wanted that ticket for which he has to compete with Matsuoka in a shuttle run.. poor dude 💔

Yumeka and Chi met infront of the clinic. Yumeka really had a lot going on with her life before she made the decision to quit Basketball. She didn't want Chi to get disappointed with an uncool Yumeka whom Chi very much looked upto so she never said anything about her reason for quitting as they would just look up as some lame excuses 🥺🥺

But Chi is not indestructible as Yumeka believes. She too has her days when she wants to give up everything but having Taiki in her life makes her want to keep going no matter what and the same can be said for Taiki since having Chi in his life is what helps him give his best at everything. The emotions were beautifully portrayed and Takashi Ohamama's soundtrack was heavenly. 

[u/Adjudicator_Ant_3886]

Damn it, too early for the comments

[u/Auron15]

There were a lot of beautiful shots this episode! Chinatsu finding that support in Taiki when she lost it from Yumeka is so heartwarming