Welcome to This Week in Shonen Jump, our weekly check in on Viz’s various Shonen Jump series. Viz has recently changed their release format, but our format will mostly remain the same. We will still review the newest chapters of one title a week, now with even more options at our disposal. The big change for our readers is that, even without a Shonen Jump subscription, you can read these most recent chapters for free at Viz.com or using their app.
This week, Brian checks in with “Blue Box.” If you have thoughts on this or any other current Shonen Jump titles, please let us know in the comments!
Blue Box, Chapter 16
Written and Illustrated by Kouji Miura
Translated by Christine Dashiell
Lettered by Mark McCurry
Reviewed by Brian Salvatore
It’s been a minute since I checked in with “Blue Box,” but it doesn’t seem like too much has progressed in the thirteen chapters between my last review and now. This still seems to be knee-deep into the prelude to this story, as both Chinatsu and Taiki are preparing for nationals, and there’s still a healthy amount of love-triangle business with Hina, Taiki, and Chinatsu. The only major piece of the story that’s progressed is that now Hina knows that the other two are living together, which gives her pause on her romantic pursuit of Taiki.
It’s disappointing how static this story is, because the elements are there for this to become something less clichéd and more nuanced, but if it is treading the same ground over and over, that’s not going to happen. Kouji Miura seems to have a good handle on the emotional realities of these characters, and has avoided some of the pitfalls that this story seemed destined to fall into earlier in its run. However, this rut that the plot has locked into is a pitfall all of its own.
Artistically, Miura has done a great job at visually representing the differences between all three’s athletic pursuits. Each of their activities are rendered intensely, but with Hina’s dance, like her feelings, on the outside of what Taiki and Chinatsu are doing. Their sports are competitive with others, whereas Hina is at odds with herself on and off the dance floor. It’s a nice bit of the visuals and the plot dovetailing in a way that doesn’t seem over the top or played out.
The reality of this being a sports manga in name only is that the athletic competitions don’t get as much attention as they might if it were more focused on sports, and mostly that’s ok. But this chapter could’ve used a little more of Chinatsu or Taiki in their elements, rather than the one panel we got of each.
Overall, this series is still engaging and well made, but has hit a snag in terms of propelling the story forward. Hopefully, a trip to the nationals for all three leads will bring about a stronger momentum for the story, and allow the plot to move forward unencumbered by the churn of the love triangle repeating itself.
Final Verdict: 6.5 – There’s a lot to like here, but not a lot happening.
