Blue Box

Episode 16

Man, ever since Blue Box hit the ground running with this second cour, it's like the show has become addicted to giving me exactly what I've always wanted from it. Taiki and Chinatsu's relationship has been progressing at what amounts to warp speed for a romance anime, which is especially funny when you consider that “warp speed” for a show like this still basically amounts to “the protagonists have a few days in a row where they successfully flirt with each other in a series of quiet, heartwarming scenes.” Around these parts, though, it can sometimes take years to get to a scene like one where our main girl gently tugs on her man's shirt to pull him down and indicate that she likes him just tall enough to be kissable. The fact that we're already zooming past that milestone before the end of Episode 16 means that we all might as well start getting ready to mark our calendars for the inevitable wedding. I'm sorry, Hina, but them's just the rules. Maybe Kyo will be available for the rebound?

Seriously, though, it's almost like Blue Box has looked directly into my soul and seen that I can be strung along indefinitely on scraps of sweet interactions between Taiki and Chinatsu alone, and that I'll do so gladly with a big, dumb smile on my face. Hell, I was ready to crank out this writeup and slap at least four stars onto the score by the time the kids were playfully imagining what it would be like if they had ever been able to be seat buddies in the same class. That unfairly cute scene with the shirt tugging and whatnot was just overkill, and you'd better believe I ate every last bit of it up like I was one of my cats cornering the puzzle bowl when the kibble gets served. The dialogue is just so charming in its naturalistic simplicity.

Really, this whole episode is an embarrassment of riches so far as satisfying romance writing is concerned. Best of all might just be that the show is finally giving Chinatsu the time to herself in the spotlight that I've been begging for since Episode 1. Like before, I was plenty satisfied already with the scene where Chinatsu's mother pointed out the “unfair” wishy-washy behavior of the heroine in the drama on TV. For Blue Box, seeing Chinatsu blush in embarrassed recognition of her own behavior towards Taiki was, like, Kaufman-esque levels of psychological interiority. The fact that we got a followup scene where Chinatsu got to reflect on her epiphany and become more aware of how strongly she feels about Taiki? Y'all, I practically had to get up and run some laps on my treadmill to work off all the excitement.

The fact that the episode ends with Hina just flat-out telling Chinatsu about her love confession to Taiki is almost too much dramatic progress for this critic to handle in a single episode. On the one hand, I feel bad for Hina, because she is just so obviously playing the role of the “other girl” whose presence gives both of the main characters the kick in the pants they need to finally start holding hands and stuff. On the other hand, she also remains the story's MVP, since I'm certain she's fully aware of her destiny as Taiki's wingwoman, and yet she's doing what needs to be done all the same. Like I said, Kyo is starting to get enough screen time that I think Hina may have a surprisingly good catch waiting for her in the wings. If all else fails, at least Chinatsu and Taiki will almost certainly let her be a godmother to one of their future kids, or something.

Rating:

Blue Box is currently streaming on Netflix.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.