Blue Flag, by Kaito

            I was just having a conversation with someone about how I don’t tend to like YA novels and also tend to get bored by books in contemporary settings, especially if they are romance-focused. So how in the heck did I get so sucked into this manga that is about the complicated love lives of a set of high schoolers?

Well, for one thing, despite what you might guess from the cover, showing two boys and a girl, it isn’t a love triangle. Nor – despite unconscionably leaving out my girl Masumi - is it a love quadrangle. No, the (possible) relationships explored in this story are best depicted like this:

What can I say? My little bisexual heart was alternating between warm fuzzies and anxious palpitations the entire time. BUT – and here’s another key point - not really anxious because of any of the main characters (although Tai is a little oblivious in ways that could potentially cause problems). Despite the potential for heartbreak, it quickly became clear that all of them cared about each other a lot. Being “friend-zoned” is NOT a tragedy here, as friendship is treated as being as valuable as romantic love. The third thing that I really liked was the relatability of the kids’ struggles to develop a sense of self-worth, figure out their futures, and understand what different kinds of love or admiration feel like. Clearly – given how well the author depicts it – I’m not the only one who has trouble with the “do I want someone like that, or do I want to be someone like that?” question, regardless of the gender of the person in question! Basically, this had the heartwarming “group therapy” aspect of ‘Fruits Basket’, without the infuriating “Oh, you thought this had queer characters? Psych!” trick that anime (I can’t speak for the manga) pulled at the end.

            When we meet the characters, they are in their third year of high school. Taichi and Touma were really close friends as kids, but Touma has since then become super athletic and popular. He still clearly wants to hang out with Tai, but the latter can’t help feeling inadequate. Then Futaba, a shy and awkward but adorable girl who tends to remind people of a hamster, tells Tai she’s in love with Touma and asks for his help in getting to know him. Tai is somewhat annoyed but agrees. Then he’s confronted by Masumi, who basically threatens to beat him up if his meddling lets Futaba get her heart broken. Masumi, you see, is in love with Futaba and has already spotted the problem (Note: remember to read these panels right to left, not left to right):

            Several times the manga brings up the common idea that either you should always put spending time with your partner ahead of your friends OR that its always “bros before hoes”, as well as the idea that men and women can’t be friends, and basically says “To hell with that!” to both. Or, as Futaba puts it: "Isn't it OK, to have several people that are precious to you?"

I also really liked what was done with the character of Mami (a name that is even funnier in this context than in 'Madoka' if you are a Spanish speaker!). She initially just seems like the type who would be the “bitchy hot cheerleader” character if this were set in the US. But, in fact, she hates that people see her as just the pretty girl who’s “flirting” any time she talks to a guy. Usually she just wants to be friendly, but no one will believe her! And, because of this, she’s also quite insightful about gender roles. For instance:

            However, despite their desire to see their besties be happy, keeping their love a secret and assuming that the objects of their affection could never possibly return that love is clearly eating Touma and Masumi up inside. They can talk about it with each other, but that only reinforces the angst. Both start, in oblique references and awkward “hypotheticals,” to try to talk to other people about it.

This leads to one of them getting accidentally outed to the whole school and…aauuugh! Yeah, I couldn’t put this down until the resulting mess got sorted out, which basically took until the last chapter!

            That last chapter was kind of rushed and, especially with the time-skip and the way you see the last scenes as if you are one of the characters, you have to read carefully to pick up on everything. I would have appreciated a little more time spent on how they got there. For instance, it basically confirms that two of the four main characters are indeed bisexual in something like 4 comic panels. Or, at least, I think that’s what we are meant to conclude; it makes total sense for one of them, but sort of comes out of the blue for the other. And the plot threads about what they are going to do after graduation – like which ones end up at the same university – get dropped entirely. That being said, I liked the main substance of it, and it was nice to see these characters I’d grown attached to looking like fairly happy, well-adjusted adults.

Also, can I just say that the fact that this was published not as yaoi (m/m romances often marketed to female readers), nor as shojo (manga targeted to teenage girls, often with romance storylines), but in Shonen Jump, an anthology magazine marketed mainly to boys, is amazing!? I mean, true, there is no kissing, regardless of the gender of the characters involved  – just a little bit of significant hand-holding – but just the fact that publishers felt comfortable putting this story in a genre grouping that tends to feature a lot more “punching monsters in the face” stories filled with very traditional expressions of masculinity feels like progress.

            You can sample a translation here. There are a few bonus drawings that I want to share. First, apparently Kaito’s editor asked “If Futaba is a hamster, what animals would the others be?”, and they settled on Touma = big fluffy Samoyed dog, Taichi = fennec fox, and Masumi = dignified black cat. That in turn resulted in this adorableness:

Also…dang Masumi looks good as a vampire! I kind of want to see a fantasy AU of this story now.

Finally: No, I have no idea why the title is what it is! I tried to google it and came up with nothing. I’m not even sure whether it is referring to a flag that is blue, or “blue flag” as in the type of iris flower.