Blue Box Episode 9 Review: The Tempting First Touch

The 9th episode of Blue Box had some drastic developments. Let us see how this episode turned out.

Blue Box Episode 8 Recap

In this episode, the much-awaited match day arrives, and the tension in the house is palpable as both Chinatsu and Taiki prepare to face their opponents in hopes of reaching the nationals. Upon waking up, Chinatsu finds Taiki already up and exercising in preparation for his first doubles match, where he will partner with Haryu. Their interaction is heartwarming and filled with excitement, as both are brimming with confidence for their upcoming matches. They promise to ask each other questions after their games, and Chinatsu offers her encouragement with a cheerful “Taiki score!”

The atmosphere at the arena shifts to a competitive tone as the players take their positions. We finally meet the badminton player who even has Haryu on edge—Hyodo from Sachijawa High School. Known for defeating Haryu in every previous match, Hyodo is the ultimate sportsman with impeccable stats in every area. His confidence is evident in both his demeanour and his performance, which is further proven when he easily wins his first match.

In the following doubles match, Taiki and Haryu face off against Sachijawa High School, and the outcome unfolds as expected. Taiki suffers a crushing defeat in the doubles, dashing his hopes of going to the nationals with Haryu as a team. However, all is not lost, as Taiki still has the singles match as his chance to qualify.

Blue Box Episode 9 Review And Recap

The tournament season is over, and now it is time for exam season to arrive. However, for someone like Taiki, who is very much focused on his sport, studying is not a desirable thing. We see our hero visibly struggle with his upcoming exam, thinking whether he will pass his finals or not. On top of that, he also has practice between the exams, making it impossible for him to focus on both.

Still, he is not the only one who is struggling, as we see Hina blundering her studies just as much. The relationship between them has become a lot smoother after Hina realised her feelings for Taiki. She is now way more confident in herself and is willing to face her friend even when she knows her love might remain one-sided. Here, we also witness how she doesn’t really want Taiki and Chinatsu’s relationship to go bad, as it will ultimately affect Taiki negatively. It seems she wants Taiki to fall in love with her naturally, which is definitely something that might never happen.

Taiki’s journey to becoming the best in badminton is also rough, and he understands that. When asked to write their goals down and paste them on the wall, Taiki decides to opt for an achievable goal. He wanted to write he would go to the nationals like everyone else but felt he was not ready for that wish yet.

Perhaps the stress of not winning the tournament, plus studying relentlessly, made our hero fall sick. Thankfully, Chinatsu was there to look after him. However, this is where things become pretty romantic, and we clearly see how both of them are very interested in each other.

Verdict

Today’s episode was, again, pretty nice as we saw our hero maturing through his hardships. Even though he has not qualified for nationals, life does not stop for him, and he must move on. Even after all this, he will not stay depressed, specifically when Chinatsu is there to cheer him up. I also liked that we are progressing a lot more romantically.

Also Read: Blue Box Episode 8 Review: Time For The Showdown!