Ao no Flag

I have never before heard about this manga by anyone online or in real life and im so thankful that i did find it. By accident i came across a manga that fully embraces what "Slice of life" means by giving a story that fills us with all emotions we experience in our lives. I would recommend it for most people who like romance stories. I hope more people will find and read this great manga.

Story: 9/10
Although the story is by no means a brand new plot that has never been done before, its still great at what it does. It doesnt need or try to become something different, instead it focuses on being amazing at what it tries to do.

Art: 9/10
One of the great Things about manga is that it can show us the characters emotions in other ways than Words. I personally love the way the art style changes to fit the mood or emotions of the characters. It makes it possible to create funny and cute moments and turn it into a deeper and realistic style in a fitting way.

Character: 9/10
The reason the whole story works so well is only due to the characters and their great dynamics. The story manages to explain to us the complex nature of our characters with their romantic feelings and self doubts. We see our characters wanting to grow and find their ideal self through the other character which gives us a clear understanding of who they are. They are flawed and awkward, but still we find them great due to their inner self and strengths that we as the reader get to observe.

Enjoyment: 10/10
I found myself extremely invested in the story and characters. I am usually very Critical to rating Things, but i found myself loving for the manga before i knew it. The romantic feelings between the characters dont feel forced which gives a great vibe.

Overall i found myself enjoying this manga very much and im sure that most people who read it will enjoy it as well.

Dang that was beautiful. I never really cry while reading manga because I have a feeling I have become desensitized to many things but this made me cry so hard. If you are a fan of complicated romance this is the one for you. The art can go from really funny chibi sprites to extremely realistic and beautiful drawings that perfectly convey what the character is feeling in that scene. The issues this covers are so real for so many people and every volume made my stomach turn with how realistic it was becoming. You feel horrible for the characters when something happens to them. The ending was so amazing and the last panel is one to make you remember forever. These characters will live in my heart forever. I urge you to read this manga if you get the chance.

This manga was the best thing I had ever read, right up until it was not. Incredible story, but the last chapter felt like the worst kind of betrayal--a knife to the chest of every queer reader who really empathized with the narrative.

I highly suggest reading it, but never touching the ending; if done this way, you'll be left with an incredible experience.

(Spoilers)
It starts out looking like a typical love triangle, and reads that way for a while. And it's a cute love triangle, a very enjoyable shoujo-esque romance. But then it slowly starts getting more complicated, and as characters develop it feels like the cast cumulatively goes through every letter of the LGBT acronym (some characters seem to hit every letter on their own). All of this is paired incredibly insightful, mature, and thoughtful explorations of gender, attraction, and the dynamics between those things, along with lots of great queer solidarity.

And then the ending goes "PSYCHE, screw you actually, we're subverting everything we built up to make it a bunch of straight couples + one BL, hahaha isn't that the only queerness people like?" It felt like maybe the publishers put a gun to the mangaka's head and demanded everything be reigned in. It left me feeling hollow and empty after an all-day high where I couldn't stop reading (I literally finished all 54 chapters in 1 day because I couldn't put it down).

Ao no Flag delivered on every front from dialogue, to characters, to story... for about 40 chapters. The last quarter of the series truly feels like it was written by a completely different person. Characters get a lot more preachy and while characters would usually have something interesting to say, suddenly every sentence out of every characters’ mouth was rambling nonsense that regularly teetered on homophobia. Ao no Flag attempted to tell the story of 2 gay teenagers dealing with their objects of affection starting to date, and for a long time it succeeded. It was a clearly straight author writing not from their experiences, but it meant well and never was anything harmful. Then, about 40 chapters in, something happens and suddenly every chapter became a painful exercise in misery wondering how much worse it could get. This persisted up until the final chapter, which had some bad parts but would ultimately have been a satisfying ending if it weren’t for the fact that nothing in the ending was built up to. If the series had focused on the main characters instead of trying to get the audience to sympathize with the homophobic ramblings of random teenage boys, then maybe any of the ending could have been earned. As is though, Ao no Flag goes from cogent LGBT drama to an exercise in misery that takes focus away from the feelings of anyone in the main cast, leaving a conclusion that doesn’t feel earned and at parts feels incredibly tone deaf. I can’t in good conscience recommend anyone read Ao no Flag, especially any LGBT person looking for a story that will represent them well.

At first glance this seems like your typical shojo manga, though on the more well drawn side of shojo, the lame dude gets close to a girl to help her with a guy and they end up falling for each other, love triangles etc. However, as the story progresses I was really pleasantly surprised by the depth of these characters and their interactions, ESPECIALLY in the more recent chapters! (say 30 onward). It touches on some difficult topics and the mangaka was able to really accurately depict a number of opposing biases, in a way that makes you question your own standing in the conflicts as well. I think when the characters argue with each other, we get the most interesting bits, where there are complex and sometimes contradictory high school students that are figuring themselves out.

Good LGBT+ representation! Done tastefully
I'm really looking forward as to how things will go on from here. If you are considering reading or continuing to read, I recommend you to power through the initial clump of chapters because its worth it.
p.s: My favorite character is Mami, as I felt I could relate to her the best.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

The story is fantastic. The love triangle (or square?) is incredible, and the way it gets you involved is breathtaking. The characters are almost all very interesting, and from chapter 1 to 52 you basically keep yearning for more. I read the whole thing in a day, over the course of 7 or so hours, and I wasn't bored not even one second.

That being said...

What the FUCK was this ending? I seriously can't stress a worse ending for a manga. All the building up of their relationship as well as the friendship between Taichi and Tuoma just to trash it in four fucking sentences? And the university plot was basically just flavor since it didn't mean shit in the end?
I can't even put into words the disgust I felt seeing Futaba with her new husband. I felt like I was being stabbed in the heart. Of course, while you're reading the previous chapters you have an idea that this might happen, but it made no fucking sense. The story is SPECIFIC on how they are BEST FRIENDS FOREVER. And how Taichi really loves Futaba. Who would consider an ending like this for the manga? Who in their sane mind would do this? Why? This is the equivalent of emotional terrorism. And I swear I am not even exaggerating.

I love the Touma character. If this were an alternative ending, I would think it is fine. BUT IT IS NOT. This is the real deal. This is the official ending.

I don't know how there aren't more people angry over this.

So. I NEVER write reviews, but this time I felt like i had to. I randomly saw this manga in my recommended list and decided to give it a chance. I read it in a day and instantly fell in love with it. The characters were all written really well and the story was interesting. When I was a bit over halfway through, I thought to myself: "This is my favorite manga. 10/10." That was my feeling up until the last chapter. The last chapter ruined everything.

*SPOILER*
I've always loved healthy friendships between two guys in media because it's really rare. I honestly cried in the second to last chapter when Taichi told Touma he still thinks of him as his best friend, and it's not going to change. Seeing Taichi say he wants BOTH his best friend and his girlfriend in his life was beautiful. And then comes the last chapter and BAM. Taichi and Touma get together? The mangaka straight up changed characters' sexualities? Taichi is suddenly into dudes and Masumi, who I though was clearly a lesbian is now married to a dude?
The only reason I didn't rate this manga lower than I did is because Mami's arc was was amazing. I had never related so much to a character. The whole "why can't girls and boys just be friends?" is something I've wondered and struggled with many times. She saved this manga.

When I saw the cover, I thought it was just another typical pure romance manga that I could get over with quickly.

Boy, was I wrong.

The story is well-written with great character development. No one in this manga was written with one-dimensional personalities. In the beginning, my first impression of Touma was a cool jock archetype who was strong-headed and bright, but then it is revealed that he's much more complex and mature than he seems. Every character has their own flaws but they thoroughly develop over time and learn to come to terms with being honest to their true self.

The beautiful art and the humor enhances their journey even more. Even if their designs aren't over the top, it's enough to show their individuality and represents their character really well. The way their expressions are skillfully drawn helps you really feel their emotions through the panel and the way they morph into their cute chibi style adds the right amount of humor that makes you crash back to reality. These two are important components that make this story so real and prompt you to laugh rather than dwell on how serious the events are.

Blue Flag really portrays how high schoolers are like. In this day and age (note I'm 15) we contemplate our sexuality, try to figure out who we are and what we want to do in the future. The main characters go through things like self-acceptance, dealing with one-sided love, comparing themselves to others, expectations from parents, and many more that I have come to relate to- even with the conflicts between the secondary characters.

vvv >>>> SPOILERS TO ENDING <<<< vvv

The ending wasn't what I was expecting. I think most of us would have wanted to see more about how their relationship progressed and what went through during college, and how Taichi discovered how he felt for Touma. A look at how they became a couple would've made the ending even wayyyy better, but looking at it from a different point of view had removed the sour taste I felt.

The ending of Blue Flag was a realistic approach to how high school relationships don't last sometimes but friendships do. The sudden skip in time shows how his rejection was barely but a little part of their lives, and that they all moved on with their own.

Honestly, I thought it should have more buildup and I wished they didn't rush the relationship. Everyone found their happiness in their own way but I still felt like their development was thrown away. I don't blame the author though since Shounen usually censors these kinds of stories.

Even though the ending was rushed, I'd give it a solid 8. I still had a good experience that left me laughing, smiling, and crying, so I recommend it to anyone.

This is such a beautiful manga. Not just the art: the plot, the romance, drama, the characters and the joy and pain you feel with them while accompanying them through their last year of high school. It is not perfect (nothing is perfect), but everything fits really well together and while the story may not be the most unique, it is executed beautifully and in such a grounded and realistic way. It is painful to see the protagonists Touma, Taichi and Futaba (and Masumi) struggle and there is always this underlying feeling that the way things are now, at least one of them is going to end up unhappy. But you see them trying so hard and living so earnestly and you just want the best for them. The characters are so inspiring and touching in a way that they make you think about your own life and the decisions you made. This manga really is worth a try in my opinion, but it shouldn't be rushed (honestly it would be hard to rush because the art is so good (the author has a really nice style) and some of the chibi drawings are just too cute).

I came across this series randomly and thought it would be a good slice of life/romance to give my attention for a short while but it turned out to be much more. It is a relatively short read so it is worth taking a look at and reading through.
The story revolves around three third year high school students, Taichi Ichinose, Touma Mita and Futaba Kuze in a romance/ slice of life manga. Futaba Kuze approaches Taichi in an attempt to start dating Touma, Taichi's childhood friend and who is one of the most popular people in school.
I gave the story an overall of 9, it isn't perfect with small bumps along the way. The flow of the story pulls you in as you want to keep reading to find out what happens next and feels refreshing, new and mostly unique. I haven't read a story like this before with so much depth for each and every aspect of this manga.
Art, an 8 overall, it isn't the best art in the world but the beauty of it really shines through with the character's design which perfectly encapsulates each of their inner selves. To me art wouldn't be an important factor when deciding on what to read but despite that the cover art and character art for this manga drew me in.
To me the best part of this manga is the characters-thus my giving of a 10. The depth in which the mangaka goes in to for each character is astounding and helps us get a deep understanding of each individual character. Each character receives a great deal of development throughout the story as we learn about each of their inner thoughts and the relationships they end up building with the other characters in the story. I find the best part is how each and every character is their own person and to an extent realistic, each and every character, at least to me, is likable and even with their faults the author is able to show their importance in telling the story and makes us often sympathize with them. It is also great that many of the non-main characters aren't neglected and each have their own stories.
In all this is one of the most enjoyable series for me, thus also a 10. I find it to be one of the most engaging stories that I have read with some of the best written characters that I have come across. I read it over the course of two days and would end up thinking about it in-between reading sessions and thinking about possible situations.
To end it I would give it an overall of 10 also. I feel as though it is a great read for anyone even remotely in to slice of life or romance, and I know it wouldn't be for everyone but even so it is worth a shot for anyone.