REVIEW: ‘Blue Box’ Episode 13 — “I Want a Back-and-Forth Rally”

With the Fireworks Festival in the past, Blue Box Episode 13, “I Want a Back-and-Forth Rally,” focuses its narrative on Nationals. But there is always more going on in life than just sports. As Taiki (Shoya Chiba) and Karen (Haruka Shiraishi, FANTASIAN Neo Dimension) cheer on Haryu (Yuma Uchida), Taiki learns how Karen and Haryu became a couple while balancing dating with their other pursuits.

This episode opens with Chinatsu (Reina Ueda) as she heads off to Nationals where she’ll be gone for several days. Shortly after she departs, she is chased down by Taiki who has something she forgot. Before she leaves, Taiki gives Chinatsu some encouragement by placing another wish for her on her ankle bracelet in the hopes that it will send her strength. However, Chinatsu informs him that she doesn’t feel any strength from it, and asks him to give it to her directly in the form of a high five.

This moment gets the second half of the season going with a warm, playful touch. After the sad energy the previous episode left Chinatsu on, seeing her smiling with Taiki here is nice. The goofiness of the moment is reinforced with lots of fun visuals that keep the silliness of the scene at the forefront.

Once Chinatsu departs, Blue Box Episode 13 follows Taiki to badminton practice. Here he learns from Kyo that people from school, including one of Chinatsu’s friends, mentioned they saw Taiki and Hina together at the festival. Taiki instantly realizes that Chinatsu must know and think that he lied to her about going with a group. Taiki decides to speak to Chinatsu once she returns from Nationals.

Blue Box Episode 13 highlights a new couple.

How swiftly this episode resolves Taiki and Chinatsu’s miscommunication showcases the series’ continuing approach to strong pacing. While these little social hiccups create obstacles and drama for the cast, the series understands that dragging such moments out serves little good. Instead, it uses them to create strong moments and then sets them up to be addressed.

Chinatsu isn’t the only one dealing with Nationals though. Hina and Haryu also are in full preparation mode, with Haryu driving himself harder than ever at practice. Luckily for him though, the badminton nationals are close by, meaning he will have a dedicated crowd coming along to cheer for him. Blue Box Episode 13 cuts to the badminton nationals where Taiki runs into Karen outside the venue. Since both are there to cheer Haryu on, they go into the stadium together and chat as they wait for his game to start.

Karen easily gets Taiki to spill the beans about his feelings for Chinatsu during their casual chatter. Once the truth is in the open, Karen tries to lend Taiki some confidence as well as insight into how relationships can work, even when both parties have other goals that are important to them.

Karen’s story about how she and Haryu fell in love and how they manage their time is equally heartfelt and practical. When the pair are together, it often feels like there’s a considerable distance between them as they always keep space for their separate pursuits. However, Blue Box Episode 13 allows for a deeper look into the couple, showing that their love is as deep, meaningful, and supportive as any couple who are singularly focused on each other. The way the two first met and confessed their feelings, and even how Haryu leans on Karen after the event concludes, leaves no doubt that what they have is something most couples would be lucky to experience.

Haryu continues to get the spotlight.

Interspersed with the back story is Haryu’s match. Haryu finds himself squaring off against his perpetual opponent, Hyodo. While struggling to keep up in their first game, Haryu finds new strength when he sees how worried Karen looks in the stands. Knowing how much she wants him to win pushes him onward, helping him perform better than ever.

All the drive and effort that both players pour into their match comes through excellently, thanks to the animation. From powerful dives and quick shots to the deep panting of the athletes between rallies, all the strain and effort are always on full display.

Blue Box Episode 13 starts the second cour of the season off perfectly. Its balance between relationship exploration and athletics serves as an amazing microcosm of what the show is in its entirety. It also manages to dive deep into two of its side characters in such a way as to make their backstory integral to the core plot, as it’s used to help Taiki understand what can work and encourage him to take the step he so desperately wants to.

Blue Box Episode 13 is streaming now on Netflix.