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.