Ao no Hako is not doing any reinvention here. No doubt about it, this is a series very much grounded in formula. I wouldn’t say that’s a strength, but with genre series it’s not necessarily a weakness either. If anything, maybe it’s a restrictor plate (NASCAR reference, sorry). It’s possible that a formula series can only achieve so much, but I would still say the limits are pretty high. With good formulas a good interpretation of them can provide a very engaging final product. I certainly think that’s been true in this case (speaking as a current manga reader).
”Now go to sleep” – yeah, good luck with that. This episode is littered with incidents of unintentional cruelty by Chinatsu. I don’t think she has it in her to hurt Taiki on purpose, but unknowingly (I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt) she really has him twisting in the wind here. In his own words, he’s getting his hopes up – and why shouldn’t he? Even for a green kid like him with no romantic experience, to quote myself from last week: ”It’s impossible to interpret that event (the end of last week’s episode and the start of this one) as anything but proof that Chinatsu has feelings for Taiki – romantic, physical affection”. He has every right to get his hopes up.
But events conspire to plant the seeds of doubt in Chinatsu’s head. Her teammate muses on the notion of her living with a bishounen (having no idea of her true living situation). Indeed a flag has been planted here, but Chinatsu starts to see that as a betrayal of trust towards the Inomatas. The fact that Taiki is younger than Chinatsu is always the elephant in the room here, and sometimes an acknowledged one. Taiki’ a parents are constantly commenting on how much more mature she is, and this notion is constantly reinforced in her brain. And of course Chinatsu thinks Taiki is interested in Hina.
We’ve heard very little from Taiki’s dad (and some of that seems to be a self-defense mechanism). But he has rather an extended conversation with Chinatsu here. Both she and the parents are walking on eggshells a bit – is she a guest, or a member of the family? This does nothing but further plant the notion in her head that getting too close to their son is out of bounds. Taiki could disabuse her of this at any time, and he might have been hurtling towards doing that. But that trip to the supermarket put a huge spanner in the works.
What the hell is a 15 year-old boy supposed to make of that? Talk about whiplash. He begins to doubt what his instincts have already confirmed and again, for someone in his situation it’s quite understandable. He even confesses this to Hina and Kyou (which further confirms that he has no idea of Hina’s feelings towards him). It’s an acid test for Hina too – she knows how Taiki feels about Chinatsu. So what does she do with this new information? In her position it would be easy to believe Taiki never had a chance with Chinatsu to begin with.
Again, this is largely very familiar ground we’re covering here. Even the little details like Taiki pulling Chinatsu out of the way of a car – there’s a sense of deja vu to a lot of this stuff. An awful lot rides on the likability of the main couple, both as a couple and as individuals. Again, that’s OK – they pass that test. Beyond that there’s just enough of a twist or two of lime in here to keep things from being too predictable, and Blue Box is possessed of two qualities – patience and restraint – which are an essential part of its ability to succeed on these terms.
ahnold11
December 7, 2024 at 6:05 amOMG, these kids are almost too mature for their relationship. Being so considerate of each other’s situation, and boundries, they might be so mature that they WON’T even have a relationship in the first place.
It’s interesting when Taiki hear’s Chinatsu voicing out loud what he’s been practicing this whole time, it comes off as shocking and her drawing a line. Even though it’s what he’s been attempting to do himself. I guess it shows how as people we have a hard time getting the proper perspective on ourselves.
Personally I’m coming off lighter in my reading of China Sempai in this. There is still the romantic trope here of the two mains simply not speaking their feelings, which would eliminate any miscommunication and drama. But unlike with the usual cliche, which just leaves the characters looking like idiots, this one seems to be taking a different angle. Patience and restraint indeed. It’s believable, or at least, plausible, both of them have noble reasons. She’s interested, but not sure if he is. He’s interested, but doesn’t think it’s possible that she would be in him. It’s only now when Chinatsu starts to practiceTaiki’s own restraint that it becomes a potential problem. You can hardly blame her for doing the same thing he is. I do appreciate the flipping of the script, as her teammate mentions, two people living under the same roof are going to see some sparks if they have ANY chemistry. But since both characters are cognizant of that fact, it’s actually having the opposite reaction, their physical proximity is actually keeping them apart, they are quite literally too close to maneuver properly.
Honestly, I think we need Hina to jump in and act like some sort of ice breaker. Stir things up so that *something* happens, and break these two characters out of their holding pattern. Much how like if you freeze bottle of water just right, it won’t actually crystalize and instead stay in liquid form. But them if you then take it out of the freezer and give it a shake, it will solidify up immediately. So maybe we need Hina to insert herself to act as that catalyst and allow our cute couple to actually have to act.
How long is this season supposed to be? I’m getting the vibes that it’s almost over, but we’ve seeing fighteningly little relationship development so far, it’s leaving me worried for some sort of unsatisfying cliff hanger.
Guardian Enzo
December 7, 2024 at 9:33 amI don’t see Taiki as especially “mature”, per se, but he is very kind and very astute as an observer by nature. Chinatsu is certainly more mature but she’s also a year older and only a year away from going to college. They fit well IMHO – mismatched in some ways but compatible.
ahnold11
December 7, 2024 at 1:35 pmPerhaps mature is the wrong word. Maybe “considerate”, they both seem fairly considerate and reserved. Ie. they’d rather not misstep if it could negatively impact the other person. But they are both so considerate, that neither is willing to make that leap.
They are definitely a cute match. But outside of sports, I’m not sure we know enough about the personalities, their likes and dislikes, the types of things common to romance. That being said they both respond quite favorably to learning more about the other. And a mutual admiration and inspiration is a not a terrible thing to base a relationship on.
If anything they both read as kind of sheltered. Which for athletes devoting so much of their time and energy to their sport and training, makes sense.
Either way, excellent as always blog, I love reading along while watching a show. Your takes are always great food for thought.
Guardian Enzo
December 7, 2024 at 2:48 pmThat’s very kind of you, thanks.
I think you can take some cues on Taiki from his room (extremely tidy, not a hair out of place). He’s very meticulous and fond of order. Doing things the right way.