REVIEW: ‘Blue Box’ Season 2 Episode 4 — “Love Is The Most Powerful Feeling”

Blue Box Season 2 Episode 4, “Love Is The Most Powerful Feeling” focuses on Yumeka (Yoshino Aoyama, Kakeguri Twin) as she remembers the events that drove her from basketball and considers whether or not to re-enter Chinatsu’s (Reina Ueda, Chained Soldier) life. 

As Yumeka processes her interaction with Chinatsu, we get a clear view of the many forces that helped shape the direction she chose to move. We see the earliest seeds of her love for basketball planted while playing 1v1 with her dad, and the closing moments that finally slammed the door on her pursuit of sports. 

The most interesting element of Blue Box Season 2 Episode 4’s exploration of Yumeka’s mind and the decisions she made is how they connect to her parents’ divorce. In the scene where she plays ball with her dad, he tells her that “love is the most powerful emotion.” Just as she loves basketball, he loves her and her mom, too. As she is already wavering in her dedication to her sport when she gets the news of their impending divorce, seeing the “strongest emotion” fail her parents clearly forms the final straw for her own devotion. 

Blue Box Season 2 Episode 4 showcases Yumeka’s ongoing struggles.

Although it may seem like a heavy-handed way to link these two aspects of Yumeka’s story, these kinds of connotations are very real in life. Things can connect in ways like the link between family and basketball here, making them unknowingly linked. If both were unassailable for the same reason, love, then the shattering of one can easily call into question the strength of the other. 

But even though Yumeka eventually opted to walk away from the court, Blue Box Season 2 Episode 4 makes it clear that the decision was not made lightly. We see Yumeka struggling in her first year at Eimei High School, no longer able to lean on her talent to give her an edge. As she pushes and stumbles, the narrative becomes suffocated by the character’s flagging spirit. 

Yumeka’s downward spiral is familiar, yet excellently delivered here. The camera work keeps the frustration and loss the character suffers up close by showcasing the pain in her face and the strain in her body. The visual presentation also pushes the solemnity of the flashbacks through its largely monochromatic palette. Deep blues amplify Yumeka’s loss as she struggles to define what she feels. The sequence is brought to life through Aoyama’s voice work. The defeat, pain, and exhaustion of her character come through potently.

Taiki’s emotional maturity shines through in an important moment.

But as Yumeka walks home from her run-in with Chinatsu, Blue Box Season 2 Episode 4 surprises her with the appearance of Taiki (Shoya Chiba, Undead Murder Farce) and a ticket to see Chinatsu’s upcoming game. The poor boy is nearing collapse by the time he reaches her, having run a long way to win the ticket, and doesn’t accept Yumeka’s knee-jerk refusal. 

After the delivery is made, we learn more about Taiki’s feelings towards Yumeka and why he needs her to go to the game, showcasing how wonderful he is as a character. Jumping back to his run with Matsouka, we see him tell his rival that he can’t be the one there for Chinatsu when basketball is concerned. That it was Yumeka who inspired her, and that it was Yumeka she needs. 

Just as the series has always brought a refreshingly healthy approach to the balance of love and other pursuits to the high school romance genre, so too does it show a healthy appreciation for the importance of those outside of the blossoming love. Rather than seek to be Chinatsu’s everything all the time, Taiki shows his maturity by understanding that even though he is always happy to help her, he may not always be the one she needs. 

Blue Box Season 2 Episode 4 gives time to both the newest character and established favorites.

After departing from Yumeka, Chinatsu finds Taiki as he struggles back to the gym on his tired legs. Seeing his strain and his sweat-soaked features in the chill of December, Chinatsu acts quickly to dry him off with her towel and cover him with her jacket. The moment is yet another sweet one that sees the two continue to grow together in a lovingly beautiful way.

As the episode draws to a close, Yumeka arrives at Chinatsu’s match. Anyone who has returned to a passion after a long absence will appreciate the dance of emotions that the animators at Electric Circus subtly depict on her face. Apprehension, fear, and a bit of warmth all weave their way across her features as the familiar space is clearly just a bit alien to her after her long absence.

Blue Box Season 2 Episode 4 continues the steady and engaging development of its newest character. But despite its solid focus, the series still manages to slip in moments with its stars, as it keeps progressing both its character explorations and its central plot.

Blue Box Season 2 Episode 4 is streaming now on Netflix.

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