Where 'Blue Box' Excels

To market themselves, comics typically need meme-able “reaction image” panels.

Last weekend, during a livestream (starting at 1:06:24), I did a live-reaction to the newest chapter (Chapter 65) of Koji Miura’s manga Blue Box. In the lengthy preamble before just getting to the chapter, while I had praise for a lot that Blue Box did well as “comfort food” reading, I may have been overly harsh in referring to the manga as “bland.” 

But from where I was coming from, most of my complaints were story-focused. Yeah, I don’t think it’s fair to judge a work by comparing it to other works in the same genre, or that have similarities in plotlines or characters’ personalities and roles. Then again, I also think that those other works show the potential that the work you’re judging can have, and when it fails to meet that expectation, or do something even better that the other works didn’t, it is hard for me not to look at Blue Box and say, when it comes to tackling romance stories and sports stories, it’s kind of underwhelming. 

Then I did the live reaction. And I paused for a moment when the story’s protagonist, badminton player Taiki, freezes at being asked a long delayed question: if he is getting all flustered that Hina confessed her love to him, then shouldn’t he ask himself whether he indeed has any feelings for her, or whether he is definitely attracted to only Chinatsu? 

It’s not just that Taiki’s teammate Kyo finally gets through the nonsense and asks the direct question–and, not to skip ahead for any potential anime adaptation, this chapter would be nearly perfect to cap off a season before a break–but also how the artwork rises to meet this moment. And it’s hilarious. 

Look at Taiki’s face! You could isolate just his face in that panel on the right and have it be a “disgust” reaction image! That’s great! That’s meme-able!

One of my nitpicks with any comics series is whether it has that moment, that one panel or short sequence of just a few panels, that, when isolated and shared online, can be meme-able. It’s what I wanted to see happen with Magu-chan: God of Destruction, and it’s what I see as helping the popularity of not just other Jump manga but United States comics as well. Yes, there are cases where isolating a moment for just a visual gag means that people may only ever see that image and use it solely as a reaction image, without ever seeking out the original to read and enjoy. But it is a worthwhile endeavor, and one that not only shows how great an illustrator and a writer can be at condensing a complicated feeling into something that resonates with an audience, but also is so iconic that it can be shared over and over again–and does the marketing for that series. 

Weeks ago, Netflix disabled the option to screencap. I had read responses by creators behind Netflix series complaining how that decision compromises marketing, because now the fans–the people who sat through the series, know the content, and can condense it down to its essence to share with fans and anyone else online–can’t do the marketing work for Netflix, especially when, in some cases, these series have almost no budget for marketing. (And, if Warner Bros Discovery is any indication, more cutbacks on promotions will be the future for a lot of industry work.) 

But this is not a problem isolated to just streaming content: it can be a comics problem, too. The Manga Up app doesn’t let you screencap content, either. And that’s ridiculous, when being able to share an image with your friend can help that series connect to more readers. 

That’s why a moment like this, with Taiki just losing all composure works. Even in black and white, I can imagine the color has just drained out of him. So, while I may have been too harsh in criticizing the tone, plot, and characters of Blue Box, a moment like this with Taiki shows how good Miura’s artwork is, and creates an image that I hope can be a meme that gets more people reading the series. 

Thanks for reading through to the end! If you like this post, please leave a comment to let me know that you read it. Or, let me know how to improve this kind of a post, as well as any comments you have on the topic. For example, have you thought Blue Box was too bland? Or am I missing something, beyond just the artwork, that shows just how good this series is? I’d be interested in knowing–feel free to leave a comment. 

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