KaitoBesprekingen

The characters take you on such a difficult emotional journey. Somehow, volume 7 turned me inside out in ways the previous ones did not (and I loved all of them!).

Conversations, conversations, conversations – they hit you, they don’t let go. I find that I am in the story up to my ears and have trouble coming back to my world.

The aftermath of Toma’s confession becomes a whirlpool that sucks everyone in.

It’s fascinating to watch these young people discussing and clashing over gender roles, HBTQ, friendship, and differences of opinion in general – even though I’ve heard it all before, both the stupid crap and the wise things.

Futaba, Masumi and Mami have yet another conversation that leads to an emotional explosion.

“There’s no way you could understand what it’s like… for people who don’t dare whisper what they want to shout.”

Phew. I want to give everyone a hug and make it better. I wonder what will happen in volume 8? It’s the final one...

So lovely, so beautifully drawn, so emotional. Most of each volume in this series is about characters talking, looking at each other, reacting to what is being said, thinking and reflecting. You cannot look away. Also, I love the way side characters suddenly shine - in this volume, I am thinking about the conversation between Masumi and Akiko in particular. And then, there was that ending...

I like Blue Flag more and more with each volume. I like the careful, slow pace, the emotional impact that is so deftly handled, the characters you want to hug. The story is so much more than a school romance - it's about friendships, understanding who you are, learning to love yourself. I'm glad I discovered this series.

I happened to see a review of this manga series by one of my Goodreads friends and was curious. "School manga" has never been my favourite subgenre, but this first volume was very promising: touching, funny, and quirky. The style is lovely, and I really liked how all the facial expressions were drawn. I came to care about the characters very quickly and wanted to grab the next volume as soon as I finished this one...

These are some good ass character interactions so far; I'm really on board for this series. Also I want to make a set of battle pencils, omggg

Hated what they did with Masumi basically the whole series she was constantly secondary and not allowed to be gay, especially the ending where they made her marry a guy sucked. The whole last chapter/ending was very weak. But then I was confused bc I think they let Toma and Taichi get together but like they didn’t show anything just implied like Toma wasn’t shown at all.

Besides the last chapter, this book had some great moments that presented radical friendship/love in a really heartwarming way

A manga series with a promising start fades away with an ending that feels neither authentic or satisfying.

There was a lot of discussion about homophobia in this volume, and in an unfortunate misstep for the series, it came off a little, well, homophobic to me, with one character seemingly getting a pass for his position due to . . . special circumstances? Mixed message to say the least.

The teen drama of the early volumes has given way to preachy teens who are very earnest but whose arguments don't seem well thought out.

With everyone mostly hanging out at the school's cultural festivals, some intense conversations spring up that finally start to reveal some secrets. I'm glad I have the next volume on hand because that cliffhanger . . . as'ldgihqow'irgheghlalk

There's a new status quo, and this volume takes the time to just let the characters sit in it for a bit. But Mami Yagihara steps up to bring some drama and very pointed opinions in a long, candid discussion about gender stereotyping.

I have the remaining three volumes on hand and am looking forward to seeing how things wrap up this week.

I had never heard of a love "quadrangle" and this first volume of the manga series is just the setup of this intriguing quadrangle. You get to meet Japanese high schooler Ichinose Taichi, his childhood friend Mita Toma, their classmate Kuze Futaba and her best friend Itachi Masumi. A secret crush by Futaba on Toma gets reluctant help by Taichi and Masumi gets involved as well. And so the quadrangle is formed. Can't wait to see who ends up with who as the series progresses!

Inching toward revelation and devastation as the swirling feelings of love begin to blow up a storm. If all the pent-up emotions in the characters don't explode soon, I just might.

Gorgeous but sometimes the artwork is hard to see properly because of the Viz watermark on the ARC.

Toma's love still shines through in every panel and maybe it's beginning to be reciprocated.

Very very slow burn.

Ended on a cliffhanger.

Adorable high school drama.
Tomas' attraction to Tai-Chan is obvious with every panel they're in together.
Things are about get complicated.

Read as a review copy from Netgalley. Viz have an annoying habit of putting a watermark on every page. Affects readers ability to clearly see the page.

Back on track as we dive into relationship turmoil following the cliffhanger accident from last volume. And now Toma's big brother shows up and sets up another cliffhanger ending. Wish I had the next book already.

Not as good as the first volume as the story stumbles around a bit, mostly poking around the edges of the big reveal from last time instead of addressing it directly. Also, the storytelling does not flow as smoothly, making me think I was missing panels or pages as it jumped around in the first few chapters. Eventually, it settled into the sports festival trope and plopped in a high-stakes cliffhanger out of nowhere.

I worry that the creator is either flailing to find a direction or is intent on treading water instead of progressing the storyline, but I'm still invested in where these characters and their tangle of crushes are going. And I already have the third volume on hand, so here we go!

A slow-burn romance about high school crushes and unrequited love with a nice romantic rectangle at the core. Taichi promises to help shy girl Futaba woo his childhood friend, Toma, which results in a super awkward non-date/pre-arranged accidental meet-up that pulls in Futaba's friend Masumi. It's obvious where the story is going, but I really enjoyed the journey.

Bonus: Super intimidating kabedon!

Blue Flag is the greatest manga I have ever read. It's near perfection. It has everything I yearn for in my romances.

-No forced drama.
-Everyone is likable.
-Fuwa-fuwa.
-Subtle.
-Body language.
-Healthy character relationships.
-(spoiler for volume one) QUEER LOVE RECTANGLE OH MY GOD!!! For those of you who are unaware, Blue Flag ran on a shonen manga app. This would've been aimed at teenage boys, and it's the first shonen manga I know of that deals with the topic with such sensitiveness (manga like this tend to be aimed towards women.) IT'S SO GOOD!

Blue Flag for me has the consistency of spiced whipped cream. The fluff and drama ratio is just perfect. It connected with me on a level no manga ever has. While I already read the whole thing online, you bet I order every volume coming out on Amazon and I have them, covers facing out on my bookshelf looking at me. Protecting me.

READ THIS MANGA!

Blue Flag is the greatest manga I have ever read. It's near perfection. It has everything I yearn for in my romances.

-No forced drama.
-Everyone is likable.
-Fuwa-fuwa.
-Subtle.
-Body language.
-Healthy character relationships.
-(spoiler for volume one) QUEER LOVE RECTANGLE OH MY GOD!!! For those of you who are unaware, Blue Flag ran on a shonen manga app. This would've been aimed at teenage boys, and it's the first shonen manga I know of that deals with the topic with such sensitiveness (manga like this tend to be aimed towards women.) IT'S SO GOOD!

Blue Flag for me has the consistency of spiced whipped cream. The fluff and drama ratio is just perfect. It connected with me on a level no manga ever has. While I already read the whole thing online, you bet I order every volume coming out on Amazon and I have them, covers facing out on my bookshelf looking at me. Protecting me.

READ THIS MANGA!

A lot of people bitch about the ending of this manga. I've even seen people say it's one of those endings that ruins the whole thing. Now, Blue Flag is my favorite manga of all time so I may be a bit biased, but I think it's fine. The last chapter probably is the weakest one in the manga, but I don't think anything that happens in it is unreasonable if you were paying close attention. It's just a bit rushed.

More in-depth discussion of the last chapter: KAITO more or less had to make one of the queer options on the love rectangle official. It gives the manga a more hopeful vibe. Can you imagine how depressing the manga would've been, implying people who like the same gender can pine all they want and never find happiness?

Taiichi and Touma made more sense than Futaba and Masumi. High school couples break up all the time, so there's no reason to question Futaba and Touma breaking up during the timeskip. Taiichi was a bit blushy-blushy around Touma in the manga and very hesitant and confused when he learned Touma liked him. Yes, it would've been nice to actually see them enter a relationship, but you have to keep in mind that shonen manga don't usually deal with topics like this, and Blue Flag is a pioneer. We're lucky KAITO was allowed to have the main queer ship in the manga become official.

The worst part is probably Masumi marrying a man, but there was never nothing in the manga that suggested she was purely a lesbian and not bi. If Taiichi suddenly turning bi is accepted, then we also have to accept Masumi going the same route. ALSO OH MY GOD THEY ESSENTIALLY GOT MARRIED GKHJHDGKJDHKgdkjljg