Blue Box Ep. 2 “You Have to Go to Nationals” is the episode that clearly reminds us that this anime is in fact a sports anime at heart. It’s not hard to see why then our main characters Taiki and Chinatsu are so passionate about their respective sport. However, the anime doesn’t stop reminding us that this is a love story as well. It’s this mix of love and sports intertwined that somehow gives this anime the best of both worlds.

Blue Box Ep. 2 “You Have to Go to Nationals”: Details

It’s also the start of the love triangle hinted at in this key art.

Blue Box Ep. 2 “You Have to Go to Nationals” is the second episode (you can read my review of Ep. 1 here) of the very first season of this romantic comedy and sports anime. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Kouji Miura (I Love You, My Teacher). Telecom Animation Film (Tower of God, Shenmue: The Animation, Astro Note) and TMS Entertainment (Detective Conan, Lupin the Third, Anpanman) are both responsible for the anime, with them doing the animation, production, and planning, respectively.

Production Cast

Hitomi Ezoe is the director behind Blue Box Ep. 2 “You Have to Go to Nationals”, with Yūko Kakihara as the writer, and Yūichirō Yano as the storyboarder. As for Blue Box as a whole: Yūichirō Yano is the director behind the anime. Yūko Kakihara is the writer, Miho Tanino as the character designer, and with Takashi Ohmama responsible for composing the music.

Speaking of music: the opening theme song for Blue Box is “Same Blue” by Official Hige Dandism. Meanwhile, “Teenage Blue” (ティーンエイジブルー) by Eve is the ending theme song for the same.

Voice Cast

Blue Box Ep. 2 “You Have to Go to Nationals” features the voices of Shōya Chiba as Taiki Inomata, Reina Ueda as Chinatsu Kano, Chiaki Kobayashi as Kyo Kasahara, and Akari Kitō as Hina Chōno.

When and Where to Watch

Blue Box Ep. 2 “You Have to Go to Nationals” made its airing and streaming debut (aka. simulcast) on October 10, 2024. You can watch episode of the anime only on Netflix. In fact, you can only watch this entire anime on Netflix due to it being an exclusive there.

Blue Box Ep. 2 “You Have to Go to Nationals”: Synopsis

The animation is still eye-wateringly gorgeous.

Alas, Blue Box only just recently made its official debut. In fact, Blue Box Ep. 2 “You Have to Go to Nationals” only just made its debut yesterday as of this writing. Thus, I will present to you Netflix’s official synopsis for this episode instead of a spoiler-filled plot summary. You can read that synopsis below:

Taiki’s new housemate quickly makes herself at home. As they grow closer, his attempts to keep the situation a secret cause a misunderstanding.

Blue Box Ep. 2 “You Have to Go to Nationals”: The Good

Blue Box Ep. 2 "You Have to Go to Nationals" screenshot 1.
I feel like this perfectly encapsulates Taiki’s initial view of Chinatsu.

As a fan of the manga by Kouji Miura ever since Ch. 1, I can still firmly say that the best part of Blue Box Ep. 2 “You Have to Go to Nationals” is the story. Mostly because, in my honest opinion, the love story is rather adorable. Miura has a knack for writing puppy love between two teenagers that’s adorable on both sides of the aisle, mixed with just a hint of drama. This episode is definitely that case, what with Taiki’s behavior the whole time combined with his worries over accidentally offending his love interest.

However, surprisingly enough for me, it’s not just the love that’s the good thing about the story. The sports part of the story is actually strongly intertwined with the love story. I suppose this is the natural course for the story to take considering how both Taiki and Chinatsu are both high school athletes. However, the way both Taiki’s and Chinatsu’s feelings for each slowly grows at the same time as their love of their respective sport really seems to tie the two together in a way that feels both natural and endearing. All with that touch of drama borne from misunderstandings to darken the milk chocolate just a bit, so to speak.

Oh, and of course, that story wouldn’t be complete without the gorgeous animation from Telecom Animation Film and TMS Entertainment. It still continues to be most excellent. Feature-length anime film levels of quality, really. I haven’t seen animation this beautiful since Black Butler -Public School Arc-. That’s how good it is. In fact, something I really want to give kudos for in this episode is the taiyaki. My god, it looked delicious. It was the best-looking anime taiyaki I’ve seen in a long while. Watch this episode the food. You won’t regret it.

Blue Box Ep. 2 “You Have to Go to Nationals”: The Bad

Blue Box Ep. 2 "You Have to Go to Nationals" screenshot 2.
This is my expression for the vast majority of the episode.

Alas, it’s because of how great the animation looks that results in you noticing the one time where it isn’t outstandingly amazing. That moment is when a gorgeously detailed crowd appears to be walking in place. I get why the animators did that. It’s a clever way to make the crowd seem as though they were moving while saving on animation costs. For me though, it looked so silly that it threw me out of the anime for a few moments. That’s just my opinion though. Your mileage may vary here.

As for another thing though: this anime is most definitely not for action junkies. Unless you’re specifically into sports action, that is. In that case, you’ll be quite satisfied with this episode, what with an entire conversation happening over a very well animated badminton match. If you want shonen action fighting though, then may I suggest Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Solo Leveling, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, and/or DAN DA DAN? Those anime should have more than enough action to satisfy any action junkie.

Tune back into THS to find out more about Blue Box and other anime when we do.

Keep Reading:

Blue Box Ep. 1 “Chinatsu Senpai”: A Gorgeously Sporty Romcom [Review]