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アオのハコ [Ao no Hako] #19
アオのハコ 19 [Ao no Hako 19]
匡は初恋の人である咲季から思いもよらない言葉を告げられる。匡への気持ちに気づき始めた菖蒲だったが、二人の親密そうな姿を目撃してしまい──。一方、大喜は千夏と一緒に文化祭を回ろうと意気込むも色々なところから邪魔が入り──!? さまざまな思いが動き出す！ 文化祭シーズン突入!!
192 pages, Paperback
First published March 4, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 9, 2026
When the couple becomes a couple, add in some sub-couplings and make that tense while the leads have a good time. It really is that simple, but in execution that doesn’t always happen.
This volume rocks if you are entirely too caught up in the new-ish pairings sprouting up around Chinatsu and Taiki and, hey, I absolutely am. If we slowed down a bit last volume, well, this brings the juice back in a delightful way. And a brutal one.
Brutal because, with this being the rare long series that actually hasn’t felt that long, it knows exactly how to turn the screws with its characters. When Ayame ends up dating somebody just because she’s asked and decides to fall back into her old patterns, it is a classic painful manga romance moment.
It’s nice because we rotate through three very different couples (or not-couples, in some cases) and it adds a little spice to things, including what is otherwise a pretty normal school festival.
Well, it would be, except the guys are now totally gunning for Taiki now that he’s openly dating Chinatsu. This is the most silly part of the story, leading into a big moment for Chinatsu when a classic manga cliche has her seeing red.
If this was just Taiki and Chinatsu, I wouldn’t be half as glowing, as enjoyable as they are to spend time with. They are a strong couple, but they are definitely going at their own pace. Luckily the plethora of things going on around them really helps boost this up.
The entire situation with Kyo and Ayame was so well done. Kyo’s former crush hanging around constantly causes all the problems and some classic misunderstandings, but also forces Kyo to realize that he’s too passive in his own life.
Naturally, this comes right after Ayame makes her own decision from an overheard snippet of conversation. I do like that the guy she’s dating is actually really nice, or at least genuinely seems to be. There’s hopefully going to be a message about following your heart because these two have been so close to dating for so long that I want it to happen.
Either way, it gives Taiki a little more to do since he gets to be there for Kyo when he realizes that he’s not doing okay in the aftermath. Plus it drags Hina along for the ride and that’s never a bad thing.
Hina’s current arc of being pursued by Haruto is not the best Hina, but it is the best Haruto we’ve seen. It’s diving into both how Hina is really good for his outlook and how much of his life has been spent following in his brother’s footsteps.
It doesn’t hurt that I think all these couples have a ton of chemistry and part of the reason Hina hasn’t twigged to Haruto’s interest is probably related to the fact that she’s older and just sees him as a kouhai.
The two of them going at it is fun, but the undercurrent of tension as Haruto begins to fall even harder for her and she remains pretty oblivious is a good complement to everything else.
Overall, it may not do anything super amazing, it also doesn’t do anything wrong. It’s a really strong volume in a series that I dearly love and you can’t complain too hard about that.
5 stars - if you’re here for the sports you’ll have to wait, but if your primary draw is similar to mine then this one’s a belter. It has love, heartbreak, and made for a great time.
This volume rocks if you are entirely too caught up in the new-ish pairings sprouting up around Chinatsu and Taiki and, hey, I absolutely am. If we slowed down a bit last volume, well, this brings the juice back in a delightful way. And a brutal one.
Brutal because, with this being the rare long series that actually hasn’t felt that long, it knows exactly how to turn the screws with its characters. When Ayame ends up dating somebody just because she’s asked and decides to fall back into her old patterns, it is a classic painful manga romance moment.
It’s nice because we rotate through three very different couples (or not-couples, in some cases) and it adds a little spice to things, including what is otherwise a pretty normal school festival.
Well, it would be, except the guys are now totally gunning for Taiki now that he’s openly dating Chinatsu. This is the most silly part of the story, leading into a big moment for Chinatsu when a classic manga cliche has her seeing red.
If this was just Taiki and Chinatsu, I wouldn’t be half as glowing, as enjoyable as they are to spend time with. They are a strong couple, but they are definitely going at their own pace. Luckily the plethora of things going on around them really helps boost this up.
The entire situation with Kyo and Ayame was so well done. Kyo’s former crush hanging around constantly causes all the problems and some classic misunderstandings, but also forces Kyo to realize that he’s too passive in his own life.
Naturally, this comes right after Ayame makes her own decision from an overheard snippet of conversation. I do like that the guy she’s dating is actually really nice, or at least genuinely seems to be. There’s hopefully going to be a message about following your heart because these two have been so close to dating for so long that I want it to happen.
Either way, it gives Taiki a little more to do since he gets to be there for Kyo when he realizes that he’s not doing okay in the aftermath. Plus it drags Hina along for the ride and that’s never a bad thing.
Hina’s current arc of being pursued by Haruto is not the best Hina, but it is the best Haruto we’ve seen. It’s diving into both how Hina is really good for his outlook and how much of his life has been spent following in his brother’s footsteps.
It doesn’t hurt that I think all these couples have a ton of chemistry and part of the reason Hina hasn’t twigged to Haruto’s interest is probably related to the fact that she’s older and just sees him as a kouhai.
The two of them going at it is fun, but the undercurrent of tension as Haruto begins to fall even harder for her and she remains pretty oblivious is a good complement to everything else.
Overall, it may not do anything super amazing, it also doesn’t do anything wrong. It’s a really strong volume in a series that I dearly love and you can’t complain too hard about that.
5 stars - if you’re here for the sports you’ll have to wait, but if your primary draw is similar to mine then this one’s a belter. It has love, heartbreak, and made for a great time.
March 4, 2025
Kyo/Ayame is a ship I did not see coming but now...the vision is so clear
March 22, 2025
162-171. Poquito de historia de origen de Haruto y me encanta. Hermano, la amiga de Kyo sigue empeorándolo todooo, me carga y Moriya le aceptó salir al otro cabro :( Kyo se enferma y tiene un sueño febril en el que se confiesa pero nunca fue, por favor que esto eventualmente termine bien porque me gustan mucho juntos (esto es tan hetero, ew conmigo) porque más encima cuando ya vuelven a las prácticas y Moriya va a saludar al pololo, Kyo le dice a Taiki que tiene el corazón roto 😭
Casi al final del festival tenemos el mini plot de Taiki siendo encerrado en una hueá por un enfermo al que le gustaba Chinatsu, mi niña se enojó y gran momento, después se dedicaron a disfrutar el festival y los quiero mucho.
Casi al final del festival tenemos el mini plot de Taiki siendo encerrado en una hueá por un enfermo al que le gustaba Chinatsu, mi niña se enojó y gran momento, después se dedicaron a disfrutar el festival y los quiero mucho.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2026
4/4.5 stars. People still are awful and jealous when a nice guy gets with a popular girl--sigh. Locking him up in a shed after other antics. It's things like this is an otherwise wholesome manga that reminds me it's still Japan (as it seems so tonally different to me, and having it met with a few boys telling him it was wrong as a way to resolve something so heinous is giving Belle's ending. Like, boys/men will be boys/men, we just need to give them a firm talking to and let them know we're watching to shame them (as if shame isn't partially motivating the original bad behavior)).
Anyway, outside that tonal misstep, I enjoyed the development of the side characters. Kyo is a favorite, and he is so slow. I was rooting for the girl, though, after he took his time and allowd for misunderstandings. I'm glad he was able to recognize his feelings, but dang, was he slow. I do like the new first year guy, and he has taste for liking our queen Hina. Queen Hina deserves to be happy, so I'm glad she is over her first crush/love, and if she wants to be an idol (all the boyfriend/girlfriends without being one herself) or a girlfriend, I hope she gets what she wants. I still think she'd be good with Kyo, as she also doesn't hold back, but whatever.
It was nice to take a break with the cultural festival, but I'm ready to be back to sports.
Anyway, outside that tonal misstep, I enjoyed the development of the side characters. Kyo is a favorite, and he is so slow. I was rooting for the girl, though, after he took his time and allowd for misunderstandings. I'm glad he was able to recognize his feelings, but dang, was he slow. I do like the new first year guy, and he has taste for liking our queen Hina. Queen Hina deserves to be happy, so I'm glad she is over her first crush/love, and if she wants to be an idol (all the boyfriend/girlfriends without being one herself) or a girlfriend, I hope she gets what she wants. I still think she'd be good with Kyo, as she also doesn't hold back, but whatever.
It was nice to take a break with the cultural festival, but I'm ready to be back to sports.
June 9, 2025
I still enjoy Blue Box, but the fleshing out of other characters feels a little bit unnecessary and little bit too late. For a long time, we have focused on the main couple and now we are trying to branch out into other friends and people...and I think that to me it starts to drag a little bit. The romance is cute, lovely childish and it works. But I think that it is best when it is more focused on the main plot and does not go for long tangents.
March 10, 2025
Me daba mucho miedo el padre de Chinatsu pero nada nada, sustos que dan gusto. Menos mal que ha podido seguir viviendo en su casa.
Le pongo 3 estrellas porque la portada es terrible y ha tenido tiempo suficiente para currarse una mejor.
Le pongo 3 estrellas porque la portada es terrible y ha tenido tiempo suficiente para currarse una mejor.
February 20, 2025
Kyo merece todo el amor del mundo
October 2, 2025
so excited to see what's going next...
March 15, 2026
Reading this book, I had mixed feelings about Ayame and Kyo's relationship. Besides that, I was waiting for Hina's relationship with Haruto.
May 2, 2026
Die erste Staffel des Anime ist auf Netflix. Ich war zu ungeduldig und musste daher die Story im Manga weiterverfolgen. Die letzten Bände gibt es aber noch nicht in englischer Sprache.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews