Blue Box

Blue Box is somewhat of an atypical watch for me as I'm not really into sportsy anime. That said, it's really more of a slow burn romance/coming of age story.

This one is on Netflix and is ongoing. I'm not sure how many episodes there will be, but I'm caught up at episode 19. Gah, I kinda hate watching stuff as it comes out! So much nicer to just watch after it's all been released!

Taiki is a badminton player and a year younger than Chinatsu (brown haired girl) who plays basketball. Every morning, they are the first ones at the gym to practice. He has a crush on her and respects her, content mostly to admire her from afar, though he dreams of more. Then it turns out that her parents have to move country and she is going to stay behind to hopefully make it to nationals (she's the star player). As Taiki's mom and her mom were close friends, she goes to live in his house. Oh ho, forced proximity!

It's pretty clear early on that Chinatsu does have some interest in him as well, though she seems determined to not act on it -- she's very focused on basketball, the whole reason she stayed behind. The pink haired girl is Hina, a good friend of Taiki's. They have a teasing relationship together and he treats her basically about the same as his best guy friend Kyo.

But Hina realises she wants more and confesses to him. He rejects her, though he's confused. Meanwhile, Chinatsu senses/sees Hina's moves on him and is growing more and more conflicted. Does she dare disturb the universe?

I'm sure the end game is that Chinatsu and Taiki wind up together, though I have to admit that I don't mind Hina. She's honest and straightforward and, if Taiki weren't totally smitten already, would actually be a good match for him. If, perhaps, she'd started her campaign earlier, who knows what might have happened. But there's definitely some second lead syndrome with her. Not to mention -- Chinatsu is a year ahead. Someday, she'll be at uni while he's still in secondary. That's a hard thing. But, in general, you want to root for the two of them.

It is very much a slow burn--at episode 19 neither one has confessed to the other as they both dance around their feelings. It is very sweet, though I don't think this will be a rewatch for me because it's so painfully awkward. Will update when it finishes though! I do feel bad for Hina; hopefully she'll find her prince charming someday.