Blue Box volume 2 was better then volume 1 in my opinion. The relationship between our main characters developed just a little bit (like all shojo) and of course the author had to add a little drama to occur for them. I can't wait to see what happens between Taiki and Chinatsu. Also, I'm learning how intense badminton as a sport can be.

Blue Box is a cute series! The writing and drawing style is classic manga and gives everyone something to love: sports, relationships, and drama! This is a great shojo/shonen crossover for teens.

I really like the characters in this book and how they are both so passionate about their sports. Both the main characters are similar and yet each have something that is important to them that makes them feel like individuals. I haven't read a ton of manga like this where both main characters are into sports, and different ones at that. It's been a refreshing change in reading. It's easy to root for them to become couple, but also wonder how their dynamic would change in that situation. I really enjoy the pacing of the romance in this shojou.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #vizmedia for an eARC of this book to read and review.

I received an eARC of this title through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I'm not sure this is my cup of tea shojo as I did not enjoy this volume as much as I enjoyed the first. I can tell this is written by a man for other boys/men as the female characters are fairly similar. I would really like to see the female characters start to have their own personalities as right now, I thought they were pretty similar, the only difference is one acts more shy while the other is more outgoing. That's something I think would improve this series.

I'm also not sure how I feel about the love triangle that starts developing. I wish the friend of the main character would just remain a friend. I think that would make this story more compelling. But maybe that is just my preference.

I think my favorite part was when Taiki gets paired up with the best player Haryu. Especially when Haryu starts training him as hardcore as possible. That was a cool way to show Taiki's resolve and determination to be the best.

This was such a cute volume! I really loved all the cute moments between Taiki and Chinatsu, especially the aquarium trip. Can't wait to read the next volume!

This gets 4 stars, just for the humor and realistic take on high school life. Again, with the SLOOOOOW burn for the romance and POOR HINA, that's all I have to say about that. The artwork is realistic and the story is solid and I am looking forward to the next one.

My thanks to NetGalley and VIZ Media LLC for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Thanks so much NetGalley and VIZ Media for this arc!

I really enjoy this series so far! The characters are sweet, nice, and do a good job building each other up in their respective sports. This volume didn't really feel like much progressed in the way of Taiki and Chinatsu's friendship/relationship, and they're just so sweet I want them to get together now! Be happy!! I can't wait to read more of this series, find out if/when they get together, and how they do at nationals!!

Things are starting to heat up with Taiki and Chinatsu. Determined to be worthy of his crush, Taiki starts practicing with Kengo, the star player on the team. Kengo notices Taiki's feelings and starts putting pressure on him to improve. Taiki finds himself battling it out to save Chinatsu's precious contact information. In return, he might just score his first date.

The storyline is picking up the pace in this volume, as feeling seem like they might be mutual. The relationship between Taiki and Chinatsu is both wholesome and encouraging, as we root for both of them. I think this may be the popular sports romance manga for the year. I found myself speeding through this volume, relishing in those brief moments of innocent romance between our star couple.

Following where volume one left off, we see the main male lead character really continue to grow and thrive. The author really hits their stride with confidence in this second volume, solidifying the plots and creating strong, more complex lead characters. I love that we the readers are able to see the main male lead fall in love not only with the female main lead but also with badminton. I definitely hope to add this to my library’s collection in the future because it’s good, and it has massive demographic crossover potential.

2.5/5

Volume 2 of Kouji Moira’s Blue Box is much like its first. And so? Not much happens imo. I felt that there wasn’t too much in the way of romance or sports action, the 2 reasons I’m reading this series so it left me unsatisfied. Though with the few plot points that are being set-up, I can tell I will be happier hopefully next volume.

The art is wonderful and I still like the 2 main characters. Overall the story is cute but these first 2 volumes definitely feel like set-ups for hopefully more complicated and entertaining story.

I’m still looking forward to continue this series, but I hope this slow-burn catches a little more heat.

Blue Box v.2 builds on the great start from the first volume. We're getting progress (mostly on the sports front, a little bit on the relationship front). We're also getting a (so far) likable possible second female lead. If you're looking for a manga that has healthy relationships and minimal sexualization of its female characters (nothing worse than what you'd see on primetime TV at least), Blue Box is worth your time. (I got a free ARC of Blue Box v.2 from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

I loved this one even more than the first volume! This is such a cute sports manga but it is about more than just badminton and basketball! I love the characters and the plot and I just can’t wait to see where the story goes next!

Blue Box Volume Two continues showing the developing relationship between Taiki Inomata and Chinatsu Kano.

Blue Box Volume Two
Written by: Kouji Miura
Publisher: Shueisha Inc.
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: January 3, 2023

At the beginning of the volume, Taiki discovers that he’s been paired up with Kengo Haryu, the guy that Taiki views as competition for Chinatsu. Kengo overhears Taiki talking with Kyo and finds out Taiki has a crush on Chinatsu. Kengo pushes Taiki hard during their training, and later, Taiki finds out that Kengo thinks that Taiki shows some potential after putting up with his grueling training. This is said in front of Chinatsu, and it’s at this time that Taiki learns that Kengo already has a girlfriend. Not surprisingly, Taiki is relieved by this revelation.

Unfortunately, this relief is rather short-lived. First, Taiki discovers that a badminton player from another school named Ichiro Kishisho, who was a teammate of Kengo’s back in middle school, has a crush on Chinatsu and wants Kengo to give him her contact information. Kengo makes a wager: if Taiki is unable to defeat Ichiro in the singles competition the next week, Kengo will ask Chinatsu if he can give Ichiro her contact information.

There’s also a misunderstanding that happens between Taiki and Chinatsu, which is due in large part to the fact that Chiantsu doesn’t realize that Taiki has a crush on her. But this misunderstanding gives Taiki even more of an incentive to beat Ichiro at the match.

Ryo, Taiki’s friend and teammate, ends up playing a larger role here than he did in Volume One. While he’s still primarily around to be someone for Taiki to talk to and confide in, Ryo takes an action on his own on the day of the singles match. Chinatsu shows up, and Ryo tells her about the wager that was made regarding her contact information. He then gives Chinatsu the idea of taking Taiki to the aquarium if he wins as a way to reward him. I know this is a spoiler, but Taiki wins the match, and Chinatsu asks Taiki to go to the aquarium. Taiki is obviously nervous and wondering if this can be considered a date. We get an entire chapter devoted to the trip to the aquarium, and I liked how this ended up playing out.

We also see some more of Taiki’s friend, Hina. For a lot of the volume, we see her cheering on Taiki and Chinatsu. However, as she sees them getting closer, we see Hina becoming more emotional. I thought Miura was hinting at Hina having feelings for Taiki back in Volume One, and a couple of scenes near the end of this volume seem to confirm the suspicions I had about her back in Volume One. Right at the end of the volume, Hina also discovers that Chinatsu is staying at Taiki’s house… and this only seems to add to Hina’s confusion about her feelings for Taiki.

Volume Two resolved the “Is Kengo in love with Chinatsu?” question a lot faster than I had anticipated. To be honest, I thought this thread would run a little longer before being resolved. But rather quickly, the new obstacle of Ichiro having a crush on Chinatsu and wanting her contact information was introduced. Even with this being introduced, this new threat still didn’t last long. The awkwardness and misunderstanding between Taiki and Chinatsu ran through most of the volume, but the misunderstanding, at least, was resolved by the end of Volume Two. It seems like the stage is being set for Hina and her confusion over her feelings for Taiki to take center stage for Volume Three. And if that’s the case, I think the question here will be whether this thread will continue on for a while in the series, or if Miura will somehow find a way to resolve this by the end of Volume Three. I think there’s a lot of potential with Hina, though, so I’m hoping her thread will run for a little while longer.

Even with the fast resolutions of obstacles for Taiki in Volume Two, I still felt that overall, the story of Taiki and Chinatsu continued in a realistic manner. The depiction of Taiki as a teenage boy trying to hide his feelings from his crush, especially now that they’re living under the same roof, comes across as genuine. Admittedly, Chinatsu’s feelings toward Taiki are a little harder to read at this point. While there are occasional panels that seem to indicate that perhaps she might have a romantic interest in him, they don’t feel quite as blatant as Hina’s feelings are.

If you read and enjoyed the first volume of Blue Box, then I think you’ll also appreciate how the story progresses in Volume Two.

It's nice to see this series start to settle into its own identity. The first volume felt a little like it was drawing from a number of sources, but this one settles down a bit and finds more of a direction.

Blue Box continues to be a well-balanced mix of young love and sports action. What really stands out to me in this title are the characters. They feel more like people over tropes. You can't always predict what they might do next, but you want to watch them anyway. Hina gets more focus this volume, and while I had a hunch about her that was more or less confirmed, it was nice to see her realization play out more naturally. While she still has the potential to be a rival, her role could be something else entirely, and that's exciting.

Volume 2 of this series is as cute as ever!

We've got substantial development of a couple side characters, a not-quite-a-date (eeee!!), and of course your typical Shojo manga trope of "Let's just not communicate with each other and hope it works out!"

I'm actually quite pleased to get to know Chono and Haryu a bit better in this volume. They were given a lot of depth! Chono also seems to be developing her own little side plot that I am very interested in seeing play out.

These teens are all very driven and serious about their respective sports and that is really admirable.

Looking forward to volume 3!

Chinatsu is rooting for Taiki when he heads to the badminton tournament. Taiki’s doubles partner has promised Chinatsu’s phone number to a player from an opposing school. Taiki has to win his singles match to prevent that from happening. It is just the thing to help him get over his nerves.

Hina is also cheering on her friend Taiki. When she discovers that he and Chii are living together, she realizes she likes Taiki too. She is literally shook. It throws her concentration off in her rhythmic gymnastic practice. Will she be able to perform well at her next competition?

Things are heating up and this crush is about to turn into a triangle or is it?

A wonderful new manga series for fans of It Started With a Kiss and Kimi Ni Todoke.

3.5 stars
This is a slow-burn high school romance but a story full of a charming love of badminton.

The fact that they motivate and push each other with their support is the building block for how I know they are meant to be!
Also, I knew that the female friend liked him, which was genuine and gentle. She is rooting for the two main characters to get together at her own expense, and it's so good of her but sad to see. I hope she will find love in the future.