Blue Box (Ao no Hako) Episode 2 - I smiled the entire time

 Episode 2 of Ao no Hako has come, and I couldn't stop smiling! This episode review contains spoilers.

So, we've jumped ahead to March, and Chinatsu has moved in with Taiki's family. Taiki acts like a complete idiot, of course, as he doesn't seem to be able to control his awkwardness around Chinatsu. And for once, he realised he was acting that way. For much of this episode, Taiki is worried about others learning that they live in the same house, and gave Chinatsu the wrong impression. She gave him a bracelet for good luck, which they both have on their ankles. She discovers that he also wants to go to Nationals. At school, Chinatsu's misunderstanding begins, and acts like they don't know each other much after Taiki suddenly has an outburst to prevent her from letting Hina know they live together. As the episode goes on, Chinatsu believes that Taiki likes Hina, even though Hina is really one of his best friends. His other best friend is Kyou, who is on the badminton team with him. They later talk, and Chinatsu understands that she misunderstood, and all is well, or should be. Hina even presses Chinatsu to find out if she has a boyfriend, but she said no, she's only concentrating on basketball. At school, Taiki discovers his biggest rival will be Hanyu. He also notices the large number of admirers that Chinatsu has. And then he sees that Hina has a growing number of admirers. Hina is a nationally ranked rhythmic gymnast? Wow! Towards the end of the episode, Hina is walking with Taiki to see a famous chiropractor, and who should they see behind them? Hina and Hanyu. Uh-oh.

This episode had a lot of misunderstandings, which is common in romantic comedies, but nothing was really serious. It had a feeling of innocence. I was constantly smiling as I watched, as it felt so comfortable to watch. I didn't have second-hand embarassment, which is something I often have with Maison Ikkoku (but that's another story). It's fun watching the developing relationship between Taiki and Chinatsu, as she's the outsider to this group, and knows little about Taiki and Hina, and pretty much nothing about Kyou. The emergence of Hanyu as a rival for Taiki in more than one way is interesting.

I am thoroughly enjoying this now. If episode 1 hadn't hooked me, this episode absolutely did. The characters are so likeable. I can't help but smile. I can't wait to see episode 3!