REVIEW: ‘Blue Box’ Episode 21 — “A Chance to Blossom”

Blue Box Episode 21, “A Chance to Blossom,” sees Taiki (Shoya Chiba, Cells at Work) plagued by rumors and speculation about him and Hina after the unexpected finale to the school play. Of course, his primary concern is that Chinatsu will think the talk is real. But what does Chinatsu (Reina Ueda, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii) think? While her feelings have been mainly kept under lock and key, this episode finally opens the door to her heart.

Picking up right where its predecessor left off, this episode opens with Taiki and Chinatsu. Getting over his surprise at seeing Chinatsu back at his place, he attempts to explain to her what happened at the play, only to have Chinatsu redirect the moment by offering snacks before leaving to help their moms.

This small moment is vital to Blue Box Episode 21‘s impact. Here, Chinatsu is presented as the closed-off character she has always been. Showing little of her inner feelings, she actively avoids situations where those feelings must be addressed. This creates the expectation that little will change with her.

However, in a subversion of the expectation created by the episode’s opening, we find Chinatsu talking about her feelings with possibly the one person who could get her to open up. Spending the night at Karen’s (Karuka Shiraishi, Zenless Zone Zero), Chinatsu’s lifelong friend, can finally get Chinatsu to admit that she likes Taiki.

This key moment explores love and how different people identify it. Chinatsu admits she likes Taiki, but to her, those feelings haven’t yet bloomed into love, though they could. This methodical approach speaks to how seriously Chinatsu takes the subject, as she wants to be sure about her feelings before taking action.

Karen and Chinatsu’s friendship is on display in Blue Box Episode 21.

Karen once more plays the part of the big sister wonderfully. She hears her friend’s feelings and acknowledges them. She thinks it’s good that Chinatsu takes her emotions seriously, but she also gives her the expected warning about waiting too long. Taiki’s a good guy. And if too much time is spent worrying, he could get swept away from her.

Karen’s warning comes without any sense of pressure. Her tone and body language reinforce that she speaks only out of concern for her friend. Shiraishi brings a softness through her strong voice work, allowing Karen’s words only to be ones of support. Karen’s incredibly disarming aura makes it easy to understand why Chinatsu can open up to her.

As this key scene in Blue Box Episode 21 draws to a close, it takes a final moment to fully introduce the young woman who was so dismissive of romantic love in the previous episode. She is Ayame (Kana Ichinose, Do it Yourself!!), Karen’s younger sister. She does not share Chinatsu’s caution when it comes to love.

The rest of the episode revolves around Ayame, who is introduced to the badminton team as their new equipment manager. She is quickly set up as a comedic character, as everything from her motivations to join the team to her fear of spiders brings plenty of sight gags to break the emotional weight built up by Karen and Chinatsu’s talk.

She also has a carefree attitude that the episode uses to challenge Taiki’s omnipresent concern over what others think. Between this and her contrasting attitude toward love, Blue Box Episode 21 uses Ayame to shake the series’ status quo, forcing its cast to consider how they approach things.

Blue Box Episode 21 uses the groundwork laid out to explore its core characters while introducing a new one. While it doesn’t advance the plot much, its exploration of Chinatsu’s feelings and Karen’s observations about them feel like a nudge that will lead to further action in the coming episodes.

Blue Box Episode 21 is streaming now on Netflix.

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