Blue Box (manga)


Blue Box (manga)


Blue Box (Japanese: アオのハコ, Hepburn: Ao no Hako) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kouji Miura. It has been serialized in Shueisha's Weekly Shōnen Jump since April 2021, with its chapters collected in 14 tankōbon volumes as of March 2024. An anime television series adaptation produced by Telecom Animation Film and TMS Entertainment is set to premiere in October 2024.

Synopsis

The series focuses on Taiki Inomata, a student at Eimei Junior and Senior High who is a member of the boys' badminton team. Every morning, he trains alongside his upperclasswoman and fellow crush Chinatsu Kano, who is on the girls' basketball team. However, Chinatsu moves in with Taiki's family when her parents leave Japan to work abroad. With Chinatsu now living with him, Taiki aims to slowly develop his relationship with her as they both strive to make it to the national championship with their respective teams.

Characters

Taiki Inomata (猪股 大喜, Inomata Taiki)
Voiced by: Shōya Chiba

The Main Protagonist an avid Badminton player who strives to succeed despite setbacks. He greatly admires Chinatsu Kano for her dedication to Basketball and harbors a huge crush on her. While often awkward and emotional his unwavering determination and sincerity slowly earns him respect from others. His goal is to reach the National Championships a dream he shares with Chinatsu in their respective sports.

Chinatsu Kano (鹿野 千夏, Kano Chinatsu)
Voiced by: Reina Ueda

The main Female Protagonist she is the star player of the Girl's Basketball Team. She is one grade above Taiki and is often the first person at practice. She was once a terrible Basketball player but her dedication has helped grow into a strong player who hopes to make Nationals. She moves in with Taiki's family when her parents leave to work abroad, and her and Taiki slowly become friends supporting each other.

Hina Chono (蝶野 雛, Chōno Hina)
Voiced by: Akari Kitō

Taiki's friend who is on the Rythmic Gymnastics team. She is quite theatrical and loves to tease Taiki. She slowly develops feelings for Taiki despite encouraging him to go after Chinatsu.

Kyo Kasahara (笠原匡, Kasahara Kyō)
Voiced by: Chiaki Kobayashi

Taiki's best friend and fellow Badminton player. Quiet and observant he often understands more than anyone else. Though sarcastic (especially with Taiki) he is a genuinely caring and wise person.

Kengo Haryū (針生健吾, Haryū Kengo)
Voiced by: Yuma Uchida

A skilled Badminton player in Chinatsu's grade who ends up becoming a mentor and rival to Taiki. Though he is often hard on Taiki he slowly grows to admire his tenacity and growing skill.

Media

Manga

Written and illustrated by Kouji Miura, Blue Box began its serialization in Shueisha's shōnen manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump on April 12, 2021. Shueisha has collected its chapters into individual tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on August 4, 2021. As of March 4, 2024, 14 volumes have been released.

On August 3, 2020, the one-shot version of Blue Box had been published on Weekly Shōnen Jump.

Blue Box has been licensed for simultaneous publication in North America as it is released in Japan, with its chapters being digitally launched by Viz Media on its Shonen Jump website. Shueisha also simulpublishes the series in English for free on the Manga Plus app and website. In February 2022, Viz Media announced that they had licensed the series in print format; the first volume was released on November 1 of the same year. The manga is also licensed in Indonesia by Elex Media Komputindo.

Volumes

Chapters not yet in tankōbon format

These chapters have yet to be published in a tankōbon volume.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced in the 51st issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump of 2023 on November 20, 2023. It is planned and produced by TMS Entertainment, animated by Telecom Animation Film and directed by Yūichirō Yano, with Yūko Kakihara handling series composition, and Miho Tanino designing the characters. It is scheduled to premiere in October 2024 on TBS and its affiliates.

Reception

Popularity

In August 2021, the first volume of the manga had over 170,000 copies in circulation in less than a week after its release.

In June 2021, Blue Box was nominated for the seventh Next Manga Award in the Best Print Manga category; it placed eighth out of 50 nominees, but won the Global Prize. The series ranked fourth on the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2022.

Critical response

Anthony Gramuglia of Comic Book Resources (CBR) stated, "Blue Box is a sentimental story about human connection. It's beautifully drawn, at times resembling a shōjo manga more than a typical shōnen. If Blue Box continues, it will likely become an earnest, sincere entry in Shōnen Jump's romantic catalog". Timothy Donohoo of CBR compared Blue Box to Kenta Shinohara's Witch Watch and Shigure Tokita's Don't Blush, Sekime-san! due to both series having concepts and romantic aspects similar to Blue Box's.

Notes

References

External links

  • Blue Box official manga website at Weekly Shōnen Jump (in Japanese)
  • Blue Box official manga website at Viz Media
  • Blue Box on Manga Plus
  • Blue Box official anime website (in Japanese)
  • Blue Box (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia

Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: Blue Box (manga) by Wikipedia (Historical)



 

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