“Take It Slow”
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.
While it’s something that may feel frustrating for some younger readers, the nostalgic moments that are generated by the start of this issue are strong. Taiki and Chinatsu getting close and kissing in the previous chapter was really good, but just the two of them laying there after the fact and being close in this empty space speaks volumes and will be a core memory for both. The two are aware of the awkwardness of it, but it’s also something that neither wants to have end. But end it must, as the next day is all about Chinatsu moving out fully. There’s some fun in how it all comes together with the family sending her off, and there are some nice moments of near-tears and the like because it’s been an emotional period with her living there. It thankfully avoids any kind of speeches because we had some of that previously, but we do get the moment of a family picture with the family name plaque in the background. Someday, it’ll be Chinatsu’s family name as well, and the picture will have greater meaning.
Life does go on, and we see at school the next day how Taiki is handling some of the loneliness of her not being on the basketball court while he practices early. We also get others starting to show and you can see how he’ll become the inspiration for others. There’s also the setup for the upcoming class trip to Kyoto as the various groups are putting things together, which gives us a nice nod to Hina for a moment. When he sees Chinatsu later, she laments that they aren’t in the same class to experience these things, but they have a good conversation about it regardless. The most telling moment is when he walks her home and she invites him up, but he gets incredibly nervous about spending more time with her where he has to be more personal and less polite. It’s also a good moment for her to start learning to live on her own a bit, but after being so close to the Inomata family for the last two years, this is a new kind of loneliness for her.
In Summary:
With a week off until the next chapter, it’ll be interesting to see how quickly it shifts to Kyoto or if we get some decent lead-up to it with other characters. I’m looking forward to seeing more of the cast but I’m also glad that the series has spent as much time as it has on such a hugely transitional period for both of our leads. Chinatsu’s growing desires are a delight to watch and seeing her now having to struggle with being on her own and the coming end season of her high school career as well will be significant. Taiki has different things to cope with and seeing him trying to figure out the balance, such as yelling at home to make it noisier, is adorably Taiki. There’s growing time for him yet and certainly dangers as well, but I’m hopeful these two crazy kids will make it.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Shonen Jump
Release Date: May 25th, 2025
