Blue Flag (manga)

is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaito. It was serialized digitally on ''Shōnen Jump+'' from February 2017 to April 2020, and publisher Shueisha later collected the chapters in eight volumes. A slice-of-life manga set in a high school, ''Blue Flag'' tells the story of a group of friends who must navigate personal difficulties, societal expectations, and their feelings for and about each other.

''Blue Flag'' has been well-received by readers and critics, who have praised its art style, characters, and handling of LGBTQ themes. In North America, an English translation was licensed and published by Viz Media. It has also been translated into French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Synopsis

At a Japenese high school, on the first day of the school year, Taichi Ichinose, an unremarkable student, finds that he has been assigned to the same class as his childhood friend Mita. He is confused to learn that hopes to rekindle their friendship, which has fallen by the wayside in recent years. Taichi is soon approached by another student in their class, Futaba Kuse, who tells Taichi that she has a crush on and asks for his help in getting closer to . Taichi reluctantly agrees. As Futaba is getting to know , Taichi and meet Futaba's protective female friend, Masumi Itachi. Masumi corners and tells him that she knows he has secret romantic feelings for Taichi, and that she is perceptive about such things because she herself has feelings for Futaba.

Over time, the four characters all become friends. Eventually, a fifth friend is added to their group: Mami Yagihara, a girl who chafes against the sexist double standards and expectations imposed on her as an attractive, popular teenage girl. Taichi and Futaba become a couple and choose to remain together even after confesses his feelings to Taichi. The final chapter contains a time skip to several years in the future, where the reader learns, among other things, that Taichi and Futaba have broken up, and Taichi and are living together as a married couple.

Production

''Blue Flag'' is written and illustrated by Kaito. In a mini-comic accompanying the final volume, Kaito described four main goals they hoped to accomplish when they began the story: to create characters who felt like real humans, to focus on the characters' feelings rather than on surprising plot developments, to write characters having proper conversations with one another, and to emphasize subjective point of view in the art. Another of Kaito's aims was to create a story where characters' diverse romantic feelings—whether heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual—were all treated the same.

Publication

''Blue Flag'' started digital serialization on the ''Shōnen Jump+'' website on February 1, 2017, and ended on April 8, 2020. Its 53 chapters have been published in eight volumes by Shueisha.

At Anime Expo 2019, Viz Media announced they licensed the series in English. ''Manga Plus'' also published the series in English. It is also licensed in French by Kurokawa, in German by Carlsen Verlag, in Italian and Portuguese by Panini Comics, in Spanish by Editorial Ivrea, and in Polish by Studio JG.

Volumes

Reception

In 2017, the series was ranked third at the 3rd Next Manga Awards in the web category. The series was a finalist for the 2020 ''Los Angeles Times'' book prize in the graphic novels category. The Young Adult Library Services Association listed the series in the top ten in their 2021 list of the 126 best graphic novels for teenagers.

Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network gave the first four volumes an A−, praising it for the art, characters, and story, while criticizing it because sometimes some characters can feel overly abusive or shy. Melina Dargis from ''The Fandom Post'' gave the series heavy praise for its story and characters, saying it was the best high-school slice-of-life manga of the year by far. Like Silverman and Dargis, Demezela from Anime UK News praised the story, artwork, and characters, ultimately rating the first volume a nine out of ten.

''Blue Flag'' has been praised by readers for its handling of LGBTQ characters and themes. There was a sharp increase in reader interest in the series following the release of its final chapter, with its revelation that protagonist Taichi is bisexual, and many LGBTQ readers left comments on the chapter discussing how the series resonated with their personal lives. In Japan, ''Huffington Post'' and several other online platforms have recommended ''Blue Flag'' for readers interested in confronting their own prejudices against LGBTQ people. Readers and reviewers have suggested that ''Blue Flag'' is an effective teaching tool in this way because sexuality is not an overt focus of the story, especially early in the series, and because the story's focus on its characters' decision-making makes readers think.

See also

* '' Cross Manage'', another manga series by the same author

References

''Blue Flag'' manga

;Entire series

* Kaito. 'Blue Flag''(in Japanese). 8 vols. Tokyo: Shueisha. 2017–2020.
* Kaito. ''Blue Flag''. 8 vols. San Francisco: Viz Media. 2020–2021.

;Individual volumes

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Other sources

External links

Official website
at Viz Media
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2017 webcomic debuts
Drama anime and manga
Japanese webcomics
LGBTQ-related anime and manga
Romance anime and manga
Coming-of-age anime and manga
Anime and manga set in schools
Shōnen manga
Shueisha manga
Slice of life anime and manga
Viz Media manga
Webcomics in print