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betweentheshelves's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Overall, I think this is a pretty solid ending to this manga series. While the romance is such a huge part of the storyline, it's also a story about choices and how those choices affect us and those around us. The narration in the last two chapters really puts this into perspective, and actually kind of makes me want to re-read it with that sort of context? Because it's definitely a theme that you can find throughout the whole series, and it really culminates with that idea.
But anyway! My main complaint with this ending is that the last two chapters felt a bit rushed, especially compared the first few chapters in this particular volume. I get that the ending kind of lined up with them all going their separate ways after school, but I kind of wanted more after that. I would 100% read a spin off series that follows Taichi and Toma after they're done with school and between that five year time jump in the epilogue. Actually, I really want that, so let's make it happen.
I thought the art was really strong in this volume, too. There are some great close ups of people's faces that really helps to show their emotions and brings into focus everything that's happening to them. All in all, I really enjoyed this manga, and might just be one that I want to own someday.
But anyway! My main complaint with this ending is that the last two chapters felt a bit rushed, especially compared the first few chapters in this particular volume. I get that the ending kind of lined up with them all going their separate ways after school, but I kind of wanted more after that. I would 100% read a spin off series that follows Taichi and Toma after they're done with school and between that five year time jump in the epilogue. Actually, I really want that, so let's make it happen.
I thought the art was really strong in this volume, too. There are some great close ups of people's faces that really helps to show their emotions and brings into focus everything that's happening to them. All in all, I really enjoyed this manga, and might just be one that I want to own someday.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, and Violence
Minor: Biphobia, Child abuse, and Grief
pastelkerstin's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
First things first: Overall, I liked the last volume. Volume 7 was a bit problematic for me as I mentioned in my review of it (TLDR of it: The both side-ism was annoying and I didn't like how the characters who bring up good arguments are also the ones not taking someone's trauma seriously. Two wrongs don't make a right). Volume 8 is miles better.
My main complaint with it is that there should have been more. I loved the scene at the beach. And then it hits you with one time skip. And then another. I assumed Futaba and Taichi would split up eventually. At one point I thought maybe they'd both realise they were queer because I think there are bits in previous chapters that support this theory, like Futaba's question to Masumi how liking someone romantically is different from the way Futaba likes Masumi (this part and other discussions in the manga about what love and relationships are are also very interesting to me as a quoiromantic person but that's a story for another day). And for Taichi there are scenes like the subway scene with Touma that seem to hint at the fact that Taichi is very deep in comphet hell and in denial about being bi. I'm surprised to hear there are people who didn't expect him to be bi. If anything, I'm more surprised Futaba isn't also (or isn't confirmed to be, at least). And part of me just wanted Taichi to be in a polya V form relationship with Futaba AND Touma but realistically I knew that wasn't ever gonna happen. I stand by the opinion that it would have been cute though.
Which leads me to another point of grief I have with the ending: I'm sad that Futaba and Taichi aren't friends anymore. And I know it's very common not to be friends with someone after you break up. Personally, I have trouble wrapping my mind around that, but as I've said I'm quoiromantic and have trouble wrapping my mind around many things to do with love and romance in general, so maybe I'm not made to get it. But it really hits you like a freight train. To have the beach scene and think that these three will stay in contact despite everything and then not all of them actually do. I'm glad Touma kept in touch with both Masumi and Futaba. I'm just sad Taichi apparently didn't. Although who knows what'll happen after the last page.
Okay, other thoughts on the time skip: Masumi marrying a guy was... unexpected. While reading the previous volumes I was sure that Masumi is a lesbian and that she only dated guys out of comphet. Her dialogue heavily hints towards this conclusion. How she tried dating guys and it just never worked out. I got a bit worried then that the story would say Masumi liking girls was just a phase, which is such a big pet peeve of mine. Thankfully that didn't happen! The text made it very clear that her husband knows that she's attracted to both men and women (and that Touma relates to him because he's also married to a bisexual person). I'm not mad that Masumi turned out to be bi instead of a lesbian but I also feel like it's worth pointing out that she seemed heavily lesbian-coded in previous chapters and I wish there was more setup for this revelation. I mean, she asks metaphysical questions about what love means at several points, so she does give off the vibe that she could be unsure about the details of her own feelings. I just didn't think that this is what she was uncertain about.
Now, about the revelation at the very end (which is obvious from the point when Taichi says he broke up with Futaba but Touma stayed in contact with her, even though the manga changes its "camera perspective" deliberately to have only that last page confirm who Taichi's partner is): Of course I wanted Taichi and Touma to end up together. And I'm thrilled that they actually did. But dear God, I would have loved to see Taichi coming to terms with being bi.
I think it would have been a really important plotline to explore in manga because sadly most manga with LGBTQIA+ themes don't explore bisexuality (or any queer identity, really) deeper (or worse: Don't even present bisexuality as an option, instead using the tired "I'm straight but it's fine if it's you" trope). The word bisexual isn't even used at all in this volume, but, as I've said, the text makes it clear that both Masumi and Taichi are bi. I think not exploring Taichi coming to terms with his bisexuality is a missed opportunity. Maybe someone else will write a manga about a bi protagonist's self-discovery jorney at some point (or if this is already a thing, please tell me!). I would like to read that kind of story in a manga.
Actually, I would like to read more manga with LGBTQIA+ themes that actually have something to say in general. I think I will read Our Dreams At Dusk next, the poster child for this kind of thing from what I've heard. I feel like I might actually like Our Dreams At Dusk more than Blue Flag because I think you can often feel as a queer reader when something is written by someone inside of the community vs outside and KAITO's afterword makes it clear that they're not part of the community and had to do research. I think an LGBTQIA+ author would have handled the conversation that bothered me in volume 7 differently, for example. Or if KAITO had a sensitivity reader it might have turned out differently too (are those a thing in Japan at all? I don't know). Meanwhile the author of Our Dreams At Dusk is asexual (like me, heyyy) and X-gender/nonbinary (not like me, but solidarity to nonbinary folk) and I think that'll probably give their work a different feel. More on this when I read Our Dreams At Dusk.
If there are any other manga with LGBTQIA+ themes that you'd recommend to me, please tell me! It really isn't that easy to figure out what's good or bad just by reading the blurbs here or on Anilist and there aren't always Goodreads reviews (that I can read easily, i.e. in German or English) and I'm trying hard to avoid manga with content that bothers me (consent issues, incest, unhealthy relationships presented without proper criticism, cheating, "gay until graduation"/"just a phase", "I'm straight but it's fine if it's you"/bisexual erasure, predatory lesbian trope, etc.), but there's a lot of that messy stuff and seemingly not enough good stuff. I think Blue Flag is a step in the right direction towards better LGBTQIA+ rep in manga though.
Overall I would recommend the series, I just strongly wish there was more. When I finished volume 7, I was wondering how the hell this could be concluded in just one more volume. The answer is sudden time skips, evidently, but I think it had the potential to be longer and to have a bigger impact. That's my biggest point of critique: Not what is but what isn't there.
If this sounded rambly, sorry. I just have many thoughts about this manga series because I like it and I like these characters so much and that's why Futaba and Taichi not staying friends upsets me and why I wish we could have spent time with Taichi as he figured out he's bi. Or how he got together with Touma, which obviously a lot of people wanted to see. I would have liked to see that too. I just find Taichi's internal conflict of figuring out his identity and his feelings the most interesting because this is hinted at in both this and the last volume and it's rep that's lacking in this genre, I think.
TLDR; Good, but could have been so much more. I'm still glad Taichi and Touma are endgame. I couldn't help but get emotional at the last few pages. A mostly decent but too fastpaced conclusion to a flawed but engaging story. I'll still keep it in my favs section on Anilist because as far as manga with LGBTQIA+ themes goes, it's one of the better ones for sure. Especially because it's not just about romance, it's about love in general, about friendship, about gender roles, about coming of age and figuring out what you want to do in lifea and what makes you happy. I enjoyed the width of themes explored.
My main complaint with it is that there should have been more. I loved the scene at the beach. And then it hits you with one time skip. And then another. I assumed Futaba and Taichi would split up eventually. At one point I thought maybe they'd both realise they were queer because I think there are bits in previous chapters that support this theory, like Futaba's question to Masumi how liking someone romantically is different from the way Futaba likes Masumi (this part and other discussions in the manga about what love and relationships are are also very interesting to me as a quoiromantic person but that's a story for another day). And for Taichi there are scenes like the subway scene with Touma that seem to hint at the fact that Taichi is very deep in comphet hell and in denial about being bi. I'm surprised to hear there are people who didn't expect him to be bi. If anything, I'm more surprised Futaba isn't also (or isn't confirmed to be, at least). And part of me just wanted Taichi to be in a polya V form relationship with Futaba AND Touma but realistically I knew that wasn't ever gonna happen. I stand by the opinion that it would have been cute though.
Which leads me to another point of grief I have with the ending: I'm sad that Futaba and Taichi aren't friends anymore. And I know it's very common not to be friends with someone after you break up. Personally, I have trouble wrapping my mind around that, but as I've said I'm quoiromantic and have trouble wrapping my mind around many things to do with love and romance in general, so maybe I'm not made to get it. But it really hits you like a freight train. To have the beach scene and think that these three will stay in contact despite everything and then not all of them actually do. I'm glad Touma kept in touch with both Masumi and Futaba. I'm just sad Taichi apparently didn't. Although who knows what'll happen after the last page.
Okay, other thoughts on the time skip: Masumi marrying a guy was... unexpected. While reading the previous volumes I was sure that Masumi is a lesbian and that she only dated guys out of comphet. Her dialogue heavily hints towards this conclusion. How she tried dating guys and it just never worked out. I got a bit worried then that the story would say Masumi liking girls was just a phase, which is such a big pet peeve of mine. Thankfully that didn't happen! The text made it very clear that her husband knows that she's attracted to both men and women (and that Touma relates to him because he's also married to a bisexual person). I'm not mad that Masumi turned out to be bi instead of a lesbian but I also feel like it's worth pointing out that she seemed heavily lesbian-coded in previous chapters and I wish there was more setup for this revelation. I mean, she asks metaphysical questions about what love means at several points, so she does give off the vibe that she could be unsure about the details of her own feelings. I just didn't think that this is what she was uncertain about.
Now, about the revelation at the very end (which is obvious from the point when Taichi says he broke up with Futaba but Touma stayed in contact with her, even though the manga changes its "camera perspective" deliberately to have only that last page confirm who Taichi's partner is): Of course I wanted Taichi and Touma to end up together. And I'm thrilled that they actually did. But dear God, I would have loved to see Taichi coming to terms with being bi.
I think it would have been a really important plotline to explore in manga because sadly most manga with LGBTQIA+ themes don't explore bisexuality (or any queer identity, really) deeper (or worse: Don't even present bisexuality as an option, instead using the tired "I'm straight but it's fine if it's you" trope). The word bisexual isn't even used at all in this volume, but, as I've said, the text makes it clear that both Masumi and Taichi are bi. I think not exploring Taichi coming to terms with his bisexuality is a missed opportunity. Maybe someone else will write a manga about a bi protagonist's self-discovery jorney at some point (or if this is already a thing, please tell me!). I would like to read that kind of story in a manga.
Actually, I would like to read more manga with LGBTQIA+ themes that actually have something to say in general. I think I will read Our Dreams At Dusk next, the poster child for this kind of thing from what I've heard. I feel like I might actually like Our Dreams At Dusk more than Blue Flag because I think you can often feel as a queer reader when something is written by someone inside of the community vs outside and KAITO's afterword makes it clear that they're not part of the community and had to do research. I think an LGBTQIA+ author would have handled the conversation that bothered me in volume 7 differently, for example. Or if KAITO had a sensitivity reader it might have turned out differently too (are those a thing in Japan at all? I don't know). Meanwhile the author of Our Dreams At Dusk is asexual (like me, heyyy) and X-gender/nonbinary (not like me, but solidarity to nonbinary folk) and I think that'll probably give their work a different feel. More on this when I read Our Dreams At Dusk.
If there are any other manga with LGBTQIA+ themes that you'd recommend to me, please tell me! It really isn't that easy to figure out what's good or bad just by reading the blurbs here or on Anilist and there aren't always Goodreads reviews (that I can read easily, i.e. in German or English) and I'm trying hard to avoid manga with content that bothers me (consent issues, incest, unhealthy relationships presented without proper criticism, cheating, "gay until graduation"/"just a phase", "I'm straight but it's fine if it's you"/bisexual erasure, predatory lesbian trope, etc.), but there's a lot of that messy stuff and seemingly not enough good stuff. I think Blue Flag is a step in the right direction towards better LGBTQIA+ rep in manga though.
Overall I would recommend the series, I just strongly wish there was more. When I finished volume 7, I was wondering how the hell this could be concluded in just one more volume. The answer is sudden time skips, evidently, but I think it had the potential to be longer and to have a bigger impact. That's my biggest point of critique: Not what is but what isn't there.
If this sounded rambly, sorry. I just have many thoughts about this manga series because I like it and I like these characters so much and that's why Futaba and Taichi not staying friends upsets me and why I wish we could have spent time with Taichi as he figured out he's bi. Or how he got together with Touma, which obviously a lot of people wanted to see. I would have liked to see that too. I just find Taichi's internal conflict of figuring out his identity and his feelings the most interesting because this is hinted at in both this and the last volume and it's rep that's lacking in this genre, I think.
TLDR; Good, but could have been so much more. I'm still glad Taichi and Touma are endgame. I couldn't help but get emotional at the last few pages. A mostly decent but too fastpaced conclusion to a flawed but engaging story. I'll still keep it in my favs section on Anilist because as far as manga with LGBTQIA+ themes goes, it's one of the better ones for sure. Especially because it's not just about romance, it's about love in general, about friendship, about gender roles, about coming of age and figuring out what you want to do in lifea and what makes you happy. I enjoyed the width of themes explored.
Content Warnings
Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia
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