Season 2 of Blue Box (Ao no Hako) moved its animation production from Telecom Animation Film to Electric Circus, with Daisuke Sakou replacing Yuichiro Yano as director. Comparing the official credits also reveals a new art director, Anri Ishida in place of Ounoou Fujii, and a new editor, Yumika Okazaki in place of Yoshihiro Kasahara. Meanwhile, Yuko Kakihara remains in charge of series composition and scripts, and Miho Tanino continues as character designer and chief animation director.
The season began airing in Japan on October 4, 2026. These staff changes are documented in the production credits. They are not, on their own, evidence of disputes between studios, production-quality problems or a break with the original creative project.
Four documented changes between seasons
The anime website and Telecom Animation Film’s production page identify the staff for Season 1, which aired from October 2024 through March 2025. The official anime website also provides the updated Season 2 credits. The direct comparison is as follows:
| Role | Season 1 (2024-2025) | Season 2 (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Animation studio | Telecom Animation Film | Electric Circus |
| Director | Yuichiro Yano | Daisuke Sakou |
| Art director | Ounoou Fujii | Anri Ishida |
| Editing | Yoshihiro Kasahara | Yumika Okazaki |
This table identifies changes to four credited roles. It does not establish that every animator, background artist or individual editor was replaced, nor does it show how work was divided internally among the companies.
Which Blue Box staff members stayed?
Two especially important creative continuities are Yuko Kakihara, who retains responsibility for series composition and scripts, and Miho Tanino, who remains credited for character design and chief animation direction. The credits also retain Narumi Konno for color design, Yuki Kawashita for photography direction, Jin Aketagawa for sound direction, Takashi Ohmama for the score and Shingo Mogi as creative advisor.
The UNLIMITED PRODUCE by TMS planning and production credit also appears in both seasons. TMS Entertainment’s own lineup lists Telecom Animation Film for the original season and Electric Circus for Season 2. In other words, the animation production studio changed, but it would be inaccurate to suggest that TMS disappeared from the project.
What a new director means, and what the credits cannot tell us
Replacing Yuichiro Yano with Daisuke Sakou is a documented change in artistic leadership. Likewise, the new art director and editor hold positions that can influence a series’ visual presentation and scene pacing. This describes the remit of those roles; it is not an episode review or proof that any particular aesthetic difference came from a single person.
The consulted documents tell us who holds each position, but do not give a specific reason for the replacements. Without a direct statement about those decisions, claims about a dispute, dismissal, dissatisfaction with Season 1 or an attempt to correct supposed flaws would be speculation. Comparing credits is not the same thing as reconstructing internal negotiations.
Japanese premiere and availability in Brazil
The anime returned to Japanese television on October 4, 2026, on the TBS network, with a broadcast slot announced for Sundays at 4:30 p.m. Japan time. Netflix also announced weekly Season 2 episodes beginning October 4 in its international programming communication.
When checked, Netflix’s Brazilian title page listed Blue Box with two seasons and Season 2 promotional material. That confirms the sequel’s presence in the Brazilian catalog, but the public page reviewed does not establish a fixed Brazil-specific release time for each episode. The TBS broadcast date and time should not be treated as the streaming release time in Brazil.
The distinction is clear: the director, animation studio, art director and editor changed, while the staff responsible for the narrative framework, character design, sound and music remained. The credits establish those changes and continuities, not their internal causes or any judgment of quality.
Sources and references
- Blue Box official site: credits for both seasons
- Telecom Animation Film: Season 1 production page
- TMS Entertainment: UNLIMITED PRODUCE lineup
- Netflix: Season 1 announcement and staff
- Netflix: October 2026 romance anime lineup
- Netflix Brazil: Blue Box title page
- ANMTV, Rafael Santos: Season 2 production announcement
