Blue Box will be the best of Fall-2024, they say

On September 5, TBS held a conference in Tokyo to announce the news for the upcoming fall 2024 period. Among the most outstanding titles is "Blue Box (Ao no Hako)", an adaptation of Kouji Miura's popular manga, published in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine since April 2021. The story follows Taiki Inomata, a young man from the badminton team of the prestigious Eimei Academy, who falls in love with Chinatsu Kano, a talented basketball player. The anime is scheduled to air on Thursdays starting next October.

Shinya Watanabe, head of TBS's animation department, was confident in the success of the series, stating that it will be one of the most talked-about titles of the season. "We are in a time when more than 50 anime are broadcast in a single quarter, but 'Blue Box' will be one of the key works of this Fall-2024," said Watanabe. The production will be handled by Telecom Animation Film, known for its involvement in prominent projects, although some fans expressed doubts about whether the studio will be able to capture the spirit of the manga.

"Blue Box" is a youth story of love and sports, where the characters show their most sincere emotions while fighting for their sports and personal dreams. This combination has resonated with both young people and adults who remember their school life, which could expand the anime's target audience. Watanabe stressed that although the manga has a young fan base, the anime will also appeal to those who were once high school students and will be able to relate to the protagonists.

The online community has expressed divided opinions on adaptation. Some fans welcome the decision to bring "Blue Box" to anime, while others believe its story would fit better into a live-action drama. One popular comment mentioned, "This could have been a good drama, but I don't know if it will work as an anime." A comparison has also emerged with other recent Shonen Jump adaptations, where even the less popular series have received their animated versions, such as "Mashle: Magic and Muscles" and "Undead Unluck."

TBS's confidence in "Blue Box" is a reflection of its renewed interest in the anime market. Watanabe commented that the network has decided to bet more strongly on this type of content, adapting to a rapidly growing market in Japan, where each season exceeds 50 productions. Although TBS has not always been known for its support of anime, recent changes in the industry and the success of streaming platforms have made traditional networks see anime as an attractive opportunity.

Nonetheless, some fans still remember times when networks prioritized sporting events over anime, delaying the broadcast of episodes or even canceling endings. Although TBS seems to be taking a more proactive stance, it remains to be seen if "Blue Box" will live up to expectations and stand out in a season full of strong competitors, such as "Dandadan," "Trillion Game," among others that will air on the same network.

Source: Yahoo! News Japan