Premiering on Netflix today, this is the first time I'm watching a series as it airs since I lived in Japan. Ao no Hako, or Blue Box in English, is a sports romance anime that stars Inomata Taiki, a 3rd year junior high school student who plays badminton, and Kano Chinatsu, a 1st year high school student who is a star basketball player. They are in a completely different class from each other, as she's a star, and he's just practicing with the senior high team. But of course, this wouldn't be a romance without these two being a possible future couple, right? Well, it's very early, and Taiki has a major crush on Chinatsu. Now, before I continue, there are spoilers ahead.
To put this as briefly as possible, Taiki is very enthusiastic about trying to have a relationship with Chinatsu, but he's very awkward about it. She probably has no idea yet. They are the first two at school in the morning to practice their respective sport, and after some awkward moments, they do start to talk. Taiki's friends Hina (rhythmic gymnastics) and Kyo (badminton) are also introduced, and they know about his crush on Chinatsu. Did I mention that this school, Eimei Private School is known for its sports program? Well, Taiki's mother was a basketball player at this very school, and was a teammate of Chinatsu's mother. They have a connection! Unfortunately, Chinatsu's family is being transferred overseas in two months. And this is where things get interesting. Chinatsu says she's not going, but is staying with an acquaintance. It's Sunday morning now, and Taiki wakes up, only to find Chinatsu in the kitchen! That acquaintance? It's Taiki's family. They're going to live together.
I can see the direction this may be going, and this is going to probably result in some awkward moments, but also quite humourous. So far, this show has been funny, heartwarming, and just put a smile on my face. The quality of the animation and art is outstanding. It's beautiful to watch. The opening theme, "Same Blue" by Official HIGE DANdism and the ending theme, "Teenage Blue" by Eve have a very similar feeling to each other. Other than having the word "blue" in the title, along with the series title, they are fairly calm and catchy songs. I'll be reviewing them separately soon.
So, is this episode 1 a win? Absolutely! I can't wait to see what happens next.
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