Ao no Hako

Every morning, incoming first-year Taiki Inomata hurries to his high school gym in order to further refine his badminton skills. However, his true motivation stems from sharing the otherwise empty gym with second-year Chinatsu Kano, Taiki's crush and the star player of the girls' basketball team. Although Chinatsu seems unapproachable, Taiki gradually finds opportunities to get to know her little by little.

Unbeknownst to Taiki, his tireless work ethic and admiration motivate Chinatsu to work harder and strive to achieve her greatest ambitions. When her family must suddenly move overseas for work, Chinatsu decides to remain in Japan and shoot for victory at the national level. With nowhere to stay, she is taken in by Taiki's mother, who is longtime friends with Chinatsu's own. Overwhelmed with the new reality of living alongside the girl he loves, Taiki resolves to join Chinatsu at the national level in his own sport—and grow closer to her in the process.

Still, despite being good enough to catch his coach's eye, Taiki must fight an uphill battle to qualify for a spot on the starting team. Cheered on by both Chinatsu and gymnast Hina Chouno, his childhood friend, Taiki aims to make a name for himself among his powerful upperclassmen.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Chouno, Hina Main

Kitou, Akari Japanese

Kano, Chinatsu Main

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Inomata, Taiki Main

Chiba, Shouya Japanese

Kasahara, Kyou Supporting

Kobayashi, Chiaki Japanese

Haryuu, Kengo Supporting

Uchida, Yuuma Japanese

Moriya, Ayame Supporting

Ichinose, Kana Japanese

Moriya, Karen Supporting

Shiraishi, Haruka Japanese

Hyoudou, Shouta Supporting

Ono, Yuuki Japanese

Inomata, Yukiko Supporting

Yuzuki, Ryouka Japanese

Taiki's Father Supporting

Maeda, Hiroki Japanese

Tanaka, Junichirou Producer

Ishiyama, Takahiro Producer

Kikuchi, Hitoshi Producer

Kishida, Takuma Producer

Reviews

Oct 17, 2024

cynfest456

Recommended

Preliminary (3/25 eps)

HOLY SH*T from Makeine going hard on animation to now BLUE BOX getting a royal treatment in animation that only a battle shonen would only see if they are a huge hit.

We're witnessing a shift in the industry and Im for it. Fr. If you're not a fan of a romcom, then Im sorry for you. You're missing out. Blue Box is a unique entry in the same old love story and I love it.

Without saying much this story is a 9/10 for the first 3 episodes and its a shame Crunchyroll is so badly managed that they missed out on easy ... views since its not available to see there.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Dec 20, 2024

Rian_Rahmat

Mixed Feelings

Funny

Preliminary (4/25 eps)

I like romantic and comedy anime, but not so much sports, unless it's racing.

The first time I saw this, I honestly didn't like it right away.
First, the character design is too much in my opinion, especially the eyes which have so many colored patterns.
This kind of eye style is usually found in anime with Ikemen characters, or old school anime that I've seen.

Second, from the reactions of each character which I think are also excessive, the point is it's exaggerated, too over-reacting.
Take for example the main character here, when he is teased he always makes an exaggerated expression, even in some scenes he himself said ... that he is Kimoi? Disgusting!

Due to these two shortcomings, I decided not to continue watching it.
I do like romantic anime, but seeing overreactions from the MC or other characters is too cliche for me to see.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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Nov 1, 2024

muttaa

Not Recommended

Funny

Preliminary (3/25 eps)

Blue Box is like if someone threw a love story into a sports anime blender and forgot to hit “mix.” Our hero, Taiki, crushes on Chinatsu, the basketball queen with all the personality of a wet sock. Their romance is the slowest slow-burn ever, fueled by half-smiles and awkward silences that drag on longer than a high school lecture.

Sports? Sort of. Romance? Barely. The real MVP here is the gym bag, which gets more screen time than actual basketball. This anime is perfect for anyone who thinks love confessions and emotional breakthroughs are best delivered through endless shots of… badminton rackets.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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Soft ONA

by PokerFacecat

28 Entries · 3 Restacks

Romance/Romcom

by Krypt3x

18 Entries · 3 Restacks

The Transition Between Innocence and Experience

by GonXalo

49 Entries · 117 Restacks

Romance Meets Sports: Shouya Chiba, Akari Kitou Bring Us Inside 'Ao no Hako'

With its down-to-earth yet charming cast, Ao no Hako (Blue Box) has continuously been a fan favorite in Weekly Shounen Jump since the serialization began. Combining...read more

Oct 25, 2024 9:34 PM by tingy | Discuss (9 comments)

Fall 2024 Simulcast List [Update 10/7]

In this thread, you'll find a comprehensive list of television anime acquired for simulcast release during the Fall 2024 season. Anime series licensed for home ...read more

Oct 1, 2024 11:20 AM by Snow | Discuss (10 comments)

	Poll: Ao no Hako Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Softhenic03 - Nov 21, 2024	97 replies	by NewbieAmu »» 51 minutes ago
	Poll: Ao no Hako Episode 19 Discussion Softhenic03 - Feb 6	35 replies	by Ranxomare »» 4 hours ago
	Poll: Ao no Hako Episode 14 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Softhenic03 - Jan 2	136 replies	by Fenyy »» 5 hours ago
	Poll: Ao no Hako Episode 18 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Softhenic03 - Jan 30	63 replies	by holdingnothing »» Yesterday, 8:11 PM
	Poll: Ao no Hako Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Softhenic03 - Oct 17, 2024	96 replies	by Rasco »» Yesterday, 9:26 AM