Published 2026-05-19
tag(s): #useless-facts #film-tv
So, about three weeks ago I gave in and watched Blue Box, on Netflix.
I mean, their advanced recommendation AI put together such an accurate profile of me...it
probably even read this very site. Spied on my email, and my snail mail. Used tracking cookies
to follow my every step on the web!!! It is now spot on!!! I can't escape it!!!
(Or, errr, maybe I enthusiastically thumbed up too many romance shows. >_> WHO KNOWS).
I found myself drawn to the sports aspect of the story, maybe even more than the teen romance.
I don't usually watch sports stuff[1], so this was a nice surprise.
Instead of waiting until October, when the second season premieres, I pulled a Dandadan and
started reading the manga on the Shueisha app.
By the third chapter I went ahead and *ahem* obtained it to read on the laptop. Because screw
the phone screen. I am too old for that small thing.
I am up to date and reading now the latest chapters on the app again. 🤓
This intro is barely related to the rest of the post, but I won't delete it. You already read it, so what's the point now. =P
In the same Linux app I figured I could download The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity. I was curious if the story would be any different in comic format instead of animated, since I had my reservations about it:
And the show was....ehhh. It wasn't bad. Or was it?
You know how they say in movies and TV you have to show, not tell? Well, in this thing every single character told their backstory and explained their thoughts with annoying detail. Two or three scenes in a row of just inner monologue.
Is the manga the same?
I can confirm now that the manga is, indeed, exactly the same. And guess what? I can't
stop reading it. For the reasons outlined in the same post linked above.
Anyway, I also joked in there about the title and the Japanese tendency to have some sort of
hidden meaning:
The name is weird, really. I am sure that there's something about the kanjis for flower and dignity that make this a poetic metaphor (or a pun) to "he is tall and she is short" or something like that.
Guess what, I finished reading the first tankoubon, and they have a section with translation notes. When I saw it, it cracked me up, because I remembered the post:
I wasn't close, but also not that far. And after all, this was just a throwaway line
that I wrote on the spot in an attempt at humor, so...pretty good, eh?
(PS: read or watch Blue Box, it is awesome)