We'll start things off with a sort of blue Christmas mood, by which I mean a couple of titles with "blue" in their title.
BLUE FLAG (Ao no Flag), by Kaito. First published in 2017 and first published in North America in 2020.
PLOT:
Taicihi Ichinose was content to be just another anonymous dork in his class. Then he discovers that his mousy, terminally shy classmate Futaba Kuze has an enormous crush on Toma Mita, a popular athlete and Taichi's former childhood friend. Taichi is initially annoyed by her efforts, but eventually decides to help her win Toma over. Things only get more complicated after this, as everyone involved is either mistaken about who is attempting to get together with whom, but the truth about who Toma is actually crushing on.
STORY:
It's weird to think that this runs in a shonen manga magazine. Most shonen romances tend to lean a lot more heavily on fanservice and harems, yet Blue Flag has no fanservice to speak of and the guy-to-girl ratio is fairly even. If anything, its emphasis on emotion, interior monologue, and an increasingly complicated web of relationships makes it more akin to a traditional shojo romance. Yet Kaito chose to make his protagonist not the tiny, shy girl who would normally star in such a story, but instead on the awkward dork who ends up caught in between her and her crush.
It's easy to relate to Taichi. As much as he likes to exaggerate how awkward and unpopular he is, he clearly still cares for Toma as a friend and has enough emotional awareness to offer some decent advice to Futaba. I can definitely relate to his discomfort and even annoyance with Futaba at first. She's practically a shojo manga cliche and her awkwardness is so vividly captured that it's hard to read through scenes with her without cringing.
There's two things that truly elevate this premise. The first is that Kaito's writing is strong and empathetic. The emotions on display here are intense, but grounded in reality instead of melodrama. Then there's the end of the volume "twist," which becomes a little less effective when you realize that the back cover copy spoils it. Anyway, the reader learns that this growing love polygon has some noticeably (if not openly) gay angles. Honestly I'm surprised this hasn't come up in more modern series. It's not just a welcome acknowledgement of queer teens, but adds a lot of potential for future interpersonal drama. If Kaito manages to treat these characters as well as he treats the straight ones, then this series could potentially turn into a great one.
ART:
Kaito's art style isn't particularly flashy or unique, but like his writing it is confident, down to earth, and elegant in its simplicity. This actually works to the story's advantage, as that style helps to ground the relationship drama and to keep the focus on the moments that matter. The characters strike a good balance between realism and exaggeration. Kaito puts a lot of work into their faces and expressions and he shows this off frequently with lots of big close-ups, all the better to highlight the moments where someone's face lights up in delight, breaks down in tears, or seizes in fear.
RATING:
Blue Flag had already amassed a quiet but passionate following on Manga Plus, and having read this I can understand why. The premise is simple but relatable, and it's crafted with the assurance and skill of a master mangaka. I don't know if it'll ever become a big hit but it absolutely deserves all the attention and acclaim it can get.
This series is published by Viz. This series is complete in Japan with 8 volumes available. 4 volume have been released and are currently in print. The full series is available digitally through Manga Plus.
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