© 2021 by Kouji Miura / Shueisha Inc.
“Effort”
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Kouji Miura
Translation: Christine Dashiell
Lettering: Mark McMurray
What They Say
Taiki Inomata loves badminton, but he has a long way to go before he can reach nationals. When Taiki sees upperclassman Chinatsu Kano practicing her heart out on the girls’ basketball team, he falls for her hard. After an unexpected turn of events brings the two closer together, sports might not be the first thing on their minds anymore!
Taiki admires Chinatsu from afar, but he doubts that she sees him in the same way. Yet somehow, he musters up the courage to tell her to never give up on her dreams! After such a bold declaration, will Taiki’s fleeting high school romance finally begin?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With this series launching back in the spring of 2021 in Japan as Ao no Hako, it’s moving really well into its fifth year, and it’s only getting better and better. Mangaka Kouji Miura definitely has some talent here in the storytelling and the visual design side, presumably with her team of assistants, to give us something that feels really rich and detailed. I had randomly picked the title in the late teens from the Shonen Jump site as something to try out a few chapters ago and got hooked on it – which is why I’m still here talking about it. Though the relationship aspect is simple and the sports elements aren’t deep, the combination of what we do get with the artwork ended up delivering something that made me want to keep coming back for more.
As the tournament continues on, we get some pretty solid moments here that definitely provide some long-term payoff. The first match is one that unfolds about as you’d expect with Taiki and Yusa going at it pretty well, but it’s going to come up Yusa in the end. It’s close but there’s still also that sense that Yusa isn’t playing to his full potential, though he is enjoying the game and having to work at it more than usual. Watching all of this from the stands, we also get one of the Eimei younger players talking about how seeing this unfold makes it clear that while they may enjoy the sport, they’ll never excel at the sport. It can be a demoralizing moment in a lot of ways to work through because you see where someone like Taiki is struggling, and they’re overperforming so much in comparison to you that it just kind of leaves you empty. You can appreciate it, but you also know that you’ll never get near that level no matter how much you go at it.
The space between the two matches is definitely the most interesting part, however, as Taiki gets advice from his coach. We got the coaches story fairly recently in regards to the team, so we know why everyone is as they are with him and each other, so having him give Taiki actual advice at this point is completely unexpected. And it’s solid advice as well, not in form or technique, but rather in how to play. You can see how this really is a kind of surreal moment for Taiki since he pretty much breaks down laughing, but it’s the kind of nudge he needed to alter how he’s playing in a lot of ways, and to be able to move forward from there to go against Yusa in the second round. Especially after such a hard out at the end of the first match. It’s one of those small payoff moments to watch him and the coach here.
In Summary:
Tournament material is still a struggle for me since the sports manga side generally isn’t my jam. I can handle it more with anime sometimes, but Blue Box got me hooked on character more than anything else. We get some good character material here from a couple of them, and it helps to put things in place as their lives move forward. I like the bit with the coach the most, and the nods we get to Yusa and his past work well enough, even if I’m struggling to feel invested in him as a character at all. It’s a solid installment all around with a fantastic first color page as I love see Chinatsu in regular clothes.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Shonen Jump
Release Date: May 24th, 2026
Chris Beveridge
http://www.fandompost.com
Chris has been writing about anime, manga, movies and comics for well on twenty years now. He began AnimeOnDVD.com back in 1998 and has covered nearly every anime release that’s come out in the US ever since.
He likes to write a lot, as you can see.
