The heartmelting moment has come.. Taiki has made his BIGGEST DECISION!

Video Review

What Stands Out About This Episode?

The BIGGEST REJECTION

Welp.. We are here. If Blue Box had a “point of no return,” this is it. Once you get to this point in the story, everything you have looked forward to will now be removed from your very soul. Taiki told Hina, he “can’t go out with her.”

Hina, who has admired Taiki from his hard work, to his good guy traits that has looked out for all of his friends, including her, melted her heart and soon hoped to have melted his.

It is the most obvious moment to talk about, as it is the most significant moment in Blue Box up until this point. After the first episode, it’s natural to have the suspicion that Hina may like Taiki after the story made it the center of the story that the MC likes Chinatsu. In episode 6, it was very clear that there is a love triangle dynamic brewing that eventually led to episode 14, with Hina giving a FULL BLOWN CONFESSION to Taiki.

This is a rejection or a confession that has been brewing pretty much since the story’s inception and this is one the biggest payoffs we will get—and it is one of despair for a very beloved character in Hina.

This episode did an amazing job, along with the previous to encompass everything Blue Box. Taiki, who has always liked Chinatsu, chases after her, while Hina is searching for him—only for him to be MIA. It’s an amalgamation of everything we thought the story will eventually lead us to, but just like Hina hopefuls, it was just hope—which will now turn into cope…

Hina began the episode displaying her entire stance and feelings on the line for how she feels about Taiki, even waiting for however long it takes for Taiki to make his decision. So naturally, it takes us to a moment of truth, reckoning, or the inevitable. Even when you know denial is possible, it still hurts all the same.

I can’t help but compare how the manga looked during this scene versus how much dramatic it felt in the anime. Every passing frame of the manga was transformed into a dramatic visual representation of a devastating heartbreak in the making. From Hina’s shaking of the lips, to the mood of silence, only for the death’s scythe known as the sad love music dropping as Taiki says the inevitable words of “I can’t go out with you.” The moment was as perfect as it can get for what needed to be delivered for the most important moment of the story.

Ayame Will Carry BLUE BOX

Ayame is all the sauce that includes all the love and hate that stems from forcing plot altering dynamics, to relationships failing, to challenging your way of thinking about romantic ideals. She is all that and a bag of chips, if you are looking for anything that stems from mischievousness to something actually thought-provoking. The range of characteristics that stem from just an attractive “popular girl archetype,” that the story can use in such a diverse and unpredictable way, something that characters like Hina and Chinatsu are not.

Ayame brings drama to the story, but not in an artificial way. It’s very natural to think, do and be in her very position; all flaws included. Her character is also a representation of us, the viewer that wants a particular romance to fall into place in the way we selfishly want, but just like how Hina found out the hard way, you can’t make people feel what they feel.

While Ayame brings a selfish dynamic to the story, she brings someone that can self-reflect and engage in ideas that challenges her own. Kyo telling Ayame this episode that she isn’t someone that someone that seeks a long-term relationship should be taking advice from. Not only does this challenge Ayame’s ideals of finding a romantic partner, this is likely the first time someone blatantly challenges how she thinks that isn’t her own sister. Most importantly, it is another guy, which makes Kyo stand out from the rest of the guys she’s been around.

With Ayame, she plays the popular “hot girl” archetype, where many guys chase her and not the other way around. She has yet to find a person that makes her feel the same way Hina feels for Taiki. Until that really happens, Kyo is correct in his assessment of Ayame’s flaws.

It’s important to note that Ayame is starting to experience many of her “firsts,” when it comes to being challenged how she thinks and feels. Until facing the reality that she is dead wrong, the episode continues with her acting of her misguided assumptions. She might hate Kyo with a stink eye now, but as reality hits Hina, reality hits Ayame with a stink eye as well.

Continuing this Ayame glaze of a character that half the fandom hates, is the fact that she shows legitimate universally good human being qualities. In a previous episode, her ex teased her about “commitment,” but shows that she can be committed to being the badminton manager. She actually tries to look out for Hina and Chinatsu, but the problem is.. she is misguided. Her heart is usually in the right place, but her actions lead her astray. That is what makes Ayame a great character because of her realistic flaws that the average person can end up making, but at the end of the day, we all mean well as people.

Ultimately, this episode sets up Ayame and Kyo to bring a new and fresh dynamic to the story, whether it’s thought-provoking or even romantic related. For the manga people that know, it is 100% worth it to continue watching, as the drama continues and builds upon Ayame and Kyo’s character. Even though it’s over for Hina, Taiki can continue his quest to get Chinatsu to be his girlfriend, which as been the plot since the very first episode. For Hina.. it’s going to be over for her character for a while, as she now enters the arc of “getting over a guy” and facing her next challenge of understanding love.

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