REVIEW: ‘Blue Box’ Episode 17 — “Of Course I Want To See It”

Blue Box Episode 17, “Of Course I Want To See It,” focuses on Taiki (Shoya Chiba) as he struggles to feel like he is improving his badminton game. Despite everyone telling him he is growing, he is unable to see it as he still feels like his goal is incredibly far away. However, he isn’t the only one with goals that remain out of reach.

Installment-based storytelling can be a tricky thing. Each entry in a series has a primary function of serving the larger concepts the show is building over its run. But at the same time, they are being experienced individually, so they also have a secondary need to stand on their own. This doesn’t mean that every episode needs to fit a beginning, middle, and end within its run time, delivering a complete narrative within its singular confines, but it needs to feel worth it.

Every episode of a TV series should leave a viewer feeling like something was gained and that the time watching was well spent. What Blue Box Episode 17 does with its story feels understandable in the larger narrative but falls short of delivering that well-spent feeling.

Hina is honest with Chinatsu About her feelings for Taiki. 

Opening the episode is Chinatsu (Reina Ueda) and Hina (Akari Kitô, Birdie Wing: Golf Girl’s Story) right where the last episode left them, as the girls catch up on recent developments. Chinatsu’s reaction to Hina’s revelation is a level-headed reaction that feels right for her character. She presents a fairly neutral reaction to Hina’s bold step, smiling and politely. The more interesting element of Blue Box Episode 17’s opening scene comes from Hina’s reaction to Chinatsu.

Seeing her rival’s pleasant response, Hina blushes and stammers out an excuse for why she felt compelled to tell her. How flustered Hina is at this moment instantly hurts the credibility of her weak explanation. Claiming she told her as a courtesy, it feels abundantly clear that Hina was trying to impress upon her rival where she was with Taiki, hoping to intimidate her. However, with the polite support Chinatsu shows her, she now feels bad for trying to put Chinatsu in an awkward position. This indicates that Hina can quickly self-reflect, which can be tricky to do in the moment.

After Hina’s hasty exit, Chinatsu continues her work, though she is weighted down by what she has learned. It’s easy to feel for Chinatsu while also feeling frustrated by her. If she worries about Taiki getting swept away by Hina, she needs to make a move. When you get the shot, you gotta take it. Her indecision is a little much here, though there are signs she may be willing to change her strategy soon.

Taiki’s struggle takes up too much time in Blue Box Episode 17. 

Blue Box Episode 17 moves on to its star as Taiki continues his unending practice sessions. Much of this episode’s time is devoted to exploring the young athlete’s malaise. Despite everyone telling him he is improving, he sees himself as a failure. He still has so far to go to reach his goals, and rather than think about where he’s come from, he can only see the eternity stretching out before him. Making matters worse for him is the news that the team will soon have a practice match with a rival high school. None other than the one that Yusa, the boy who knocked him out of regionals, goes to.

That Taiki is struggling with his self-evaluations makes sense. He wants to be the best, but he’s not. It’s easy to get trapped in such comparisons, and the fact that he gets tied up in that trap makes him feel like a real person. When Taiki finally breaks out of his depressed mood, that triumph will feel better thanks to the show adequately showing how bad it was.

However, with nothing else of note happening, the amount of focus it puts on Taiki makes the episode run thin. Hints at future moments come up, but they are blips that come and go, leaving the narrative again to follow Taiki in his musings. A plot can only follow an inexperienced high schooler as he beats himself up for so long.

The news about the badminton team’s coming practice match spreads quickly. In separate scenes, Hina and Chinatsu tell Taiki they will be around that day and stop by to cheer for their friend. This seems to have the opposite effect one would want, further burdening Taiki’s mind with the knowledge that both girls will see him potentially go down in flames again if he plays against Yusa. Making Hina’s moment even more awkward is the fact that she connects her reasoning to the fact that Taiki is “the boy I like.” It comes across as highly tone-deaf, given that, despite not saying the word no to her intentions, he’s nonetheless made it extremely clear he’s not interested.

The awkwardness between Hina and Taiki drags Blue Box Episode 17 down. 

This awkwardness between the two childhood friends escalates later in the episode when Taiki checks in on Hina as she prepares for their class’ play. Taking her role seriously, Hina stresses how to act when she awakens from the prince’s kiss while playing Snow White. While Taiki tries to help her by reading lines, Hina takes things a step too far when she asks Taiki if he’d like to enact the kiss moment for real. When Taiki rejects the offer, Hina plays it off as a joke and retreats from the room.

This moment is where Blue Box Episode 17 feels like it is going to save itself, only to fumble. With Taiki’s no, it feels like the opportune time to bury the “will they/won’t they” with Hina once and for all is here. It makes sense to do it now and it would give the episode a key moment to hold itself up. By having Hina simply slip away, the scene is just another blip on the radar, one that makes her less likable.

Every moment that Hina appears in this episode sees her do something that creates an awkward moment with no result but to be awkward. Understandably, she’s frustrated, but constantly bringing it up isn’t going to make Taiki warm up to the idea. Each clear indicator that Taiki isn’t interested weakens the show’s plot, making it feel worn out. For a series that hasn’t lingered on previous plots for too long, this one seems to be an unfortunate exception.

Blue Box Episode 17 feels stuck in a cycle. It’s stuck with Taiki’s inability to acknowledge his progress and Hina’s unwillingness to respect her friend’s feelings. Even as it overfocuses on these ongoing elements, it fails to deliver anything substantial to create a lasting impression of the entry, leaving it feeling like little more than a path to the next episode.

Blue Box Episode 17 is streaming now on Netflix.

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