So first of all, I have no idea why there are two episodes of Blue Box already. I’d thought this was releasing on Thursday late night, but this ep seems to have dropped on Sunday (and I didn’t notice). Where Netflix is involved with an anime, who knows. Whenever it releases I’ll obviously cover it, but with this season looking as stacked (and bunched) as it does, a reliable release schedule would certainly help me. There are a lot worse problems to have with a series than that, don’t get me wrong. But it’s still mildly annoying.

Apart from that, all systems are pretty much “go”. I must say, in visual terms Ao no Hako is about as faithful an adaptation as you could ask for. I mean, these characters look exactly the same to me, and if you think about it that’s very rare. We’re early days yet in terms of the sports, but so far the badminton scenes look very solid. Though TAF is not what you would call a top tier studio in default mode, Blue Box is a very popular and profitable series for the biggest manga magazine in the world. So it’s probably going to have a pretty good budget (sure looks like it so far).

I think it’s already clear that Taiki and Chinatsu both share great chemistry and stand out individually. Ultimately the acid test for any romance has to be that the principals involved work as a couple, and preferably as individuals too. The dynamic  between these two always had authenticity for me. She’s a year older than he is and that’s reflected in both obvious and subtle ways as we watch the two of them. Obviously this is a huge freak-out moment for Taiki, having the girl he’s crushing on move into his house. It imparts a level of intimacy to their relationship he’s in no way ready for.

Taiki, being younger (not even officially in high school at the start of the series) also has to deal with feelings of inadequacy. Of course he’d like Chinatsu to see him as a man, so to hear her say she’s “relieved” to have him in the house is not music to his ears (as kindly as it was meant). Still, when Chinatsu admits she’s been watching him in the gym, that sends a different sort of message. He hadn’t intended to tell her of his Quixotic dream of going to nationals as a first-year (as a means to convince himself he’s worthy as asking her out), but when she finds out she gives him a matching good-luck anklet to support his quest.

And then we have Hina, who’s also very much a major player here. Having her be on the rhythmic gymnastics team really seems to be inviting the whole Adachi comparison thing. Taiki – at Kyou’s suggestion – has decided to keep his new roommate a secret. But he hasn’t told Chinatsu that, and his reaction when he almost spills the beans in front of Hina convinces Chinatsu that Taiki is sweet on her. He manages to clear that up before things get silly (that’s a Blue Box trait) but Hina’s role in this is complicated. She plays the role of wingman with conviction, but there seems to be something else there.

I won’t wade into the manga too deeply for obvious reasons, but it would be wrong to pretend this series doesn’t trade in romcom tropes. And while I think the adaptation is overall excellent so far, my only real complaint is that it’s playing up the broad elements more than the manga does. Where Ao no Hako works for me is in the way it never lets those tropes take the wheel – there’s always an interesting twist on them. And again, in romcoms the main couple really is everything – and this is one of the best in my opinion. There are a lot of twists and turns in the road ahead but I think these first two episodes have done a very good job of highlighting the qualities that make this series exceptional in the genre.