If only Hitler and Stalin had met we could have had a great “same energy” tweet.

There’s no getting around it – Ao no Hako is a tough slog for me right now. I don’t remember exactly how close I was to dropping the manga at this point (roughly Chapter 70). I don’t feel as if it was a coinflip, but I was having those thoughts for sure. Ayame and Hina both grate on me individually – put them together (and in their own kind of Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact) and it’s close to a deal-breaker. I was on the fast-forward button a lot this week, and with an anime I’m not experienced with that’s usually terminal. With a manga adaptation where I’ve read the source, not so much. I got through it once, I can get through it again. But for now – woof.

No question, Ayame is way worse than Hina. The problem is she brings out the worst in Hina as a character (and as a person, at least at this point in the proceedings). Things kick off with Ayame nagging her sister for insight on who Chinatsu is in love with. Karen makes up a lie to throw her off, basically telling her it’s Steph Curry. Unfortunately in a case of anime manga coincidence a basketbro named Kazuma returns from overseas, and in Ayame’s warped brain that equals Chinatsu’s crush.

Ayame also latches leech-like onto Hina, who she’s deduced is into Taiki. Hina at least tries to dismiss it and then to accept some responsibility for the status quo, but Ayame runs with it and decides she’s going to be a saboteur for any other Taiki relationship and push he and Hina together. My God, it’s a tiresome development and hard to watch (as it was hard to read). Ayame is that most unbearable of combos – she never shuts up and she almost never listens.

Eventually we at least get an influx of other characters, as the cross-club athletic training camp takes place. That’s a trope for this sort of series too of course, but often the source of some good relationship drama. Nishida has brought a card-game version of “King’s Cup”. This is basically an all-ages take on one of the most devilish drinking games around. And naturally the questions are absolutely tailor-made for the class trip-training camp-sleepover setting.

It all ends up with Taiki (after some manipulation from Ayame) drawing the “Follower” card and thus having to follow the king card’s order – “Shout out your feelings to the one you love”. It’s a classic Blue Box “leave no romcom cliche unturned” twist, and as usual more effective than it has any right to be. The funny thing is I don’t think you could just axe all the crap and leave this series with, say, 40 “good” chapters at this point. You do need all the sow’s ears to make the silk purse happen somehow. It’s a weird alchemy, in the end it works, but it sure isn’t always a pleasant ride.