When I first picked up <Blue Flag> there was a lot that was making it difficult to get into the story but by the end of the first volume I would have to say I was at least mildly enjoying this stock shonen romance story. The narrative centers on a basic love triangle, or maybe it’s a love quadrangle, or perhaps even a love pentagon? While it is obvious the focus will be on a core of three high school students that need to sort out their feelings for each other, every side character that is brought into the early story seemingly adds yet another layer to the network of relationships in which everyone appears to be in love with the wrong person. I wouldn’t say the characters were boring, but the angst of the main character, the earnestness of the girl, and the bubbly optimism of the best friend felt a little too convenient. Now for some these things will be exactly what makes the reading juicy, but in general people should brace themselves for an extensive use of misunderstandings to drive the plot alongside fairly predictable character growth moments. And in short that summarizes my take on this story – it looks like it’s going to play it close to the pre-constructed script of a romance manga, albeit with a shonen flair, and so anyone that is looking for a fresh take is unlikely to find anything too original to keep them going. Nonetheless, those already converted and looking for more in their favored genre of high school shonen romance will undoubtedly find plenty that keeps them turning pages.

As for the art, I felt it was really lacking throughout the exposition chapters. The pacing between the opening panels felt really stilted with gaps often forming as it tries to leave a little too much implied rather than shown. Similarly, each panel is incredibly sparse with next to no background art to help one feel like the world is full, and character expressions are drawn in such a small manner that they are overwhelmed by their white backgrounds. Further on that, character designs struck me as a confusing mixture of different series all hobbled together rather than having its own unique look – the main character strongly reminded me of Deku from <My Hero Academia>, his cadre of loser friends appeared to be borrowed from Inio Asano’s <Dead Dead Demon's Dededededestruction>, the best friend looks like every hunky high school boy drawn in a manga ever, and the main girl looks to be so faintly and uncertainly drawn as to be an afterthought. Still, I could see how some will see this as helping to powerfully convey the personality types of each character, and even being a bit original in not having a singular “look.” For me it just made it hard to see how everyone fit together as part of the same story.

In summary, the art just barely keeps the story afloat, and the story barely recommends itself beyond tried and true tropes. Judging this series on its opening volume, it leaves little to recommend itself if you didn’t already find the cover art or the back page description enough to make you want to throw yourself full on into it. For those that did find that enough, I think they’ll find about what they were expecting.

I was not able to access this title and therefore I do not have a review. I was not able to access this title and therefore I do not have a review. I was not able to access this title and therefore I do not have a review.

This series has great potential. I really like the characters and the LGBTQ diversity so far (I won’t go into detail because spoilers). The art is also pleasant to look at. I just hope this series doesn’t break my heart. Thanks NetGalley for the eARC.

This story is stuffed to the brim with teenage angst, and I ate it up.

This is the exact kind of story I needed to pull me out of the stress of the real world.

We've got a love quadrangle, and it's beautiful, in the most dramatic sense possible.

Our grumpy MC decides to help a classmate get the attention of a guy, who supposedly likes someone else. Now, I know we've all seen stories like this before, but the ending was magical. I cannot wait to read more of this series.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with an arc!

Taichi is a high school boy who mostly flies under the radar. When he finds out hes in a class with his elementary school friend Toma and the shy girl Futaba. Toma has turned into the popular jock who could have any pick of the girls in school. Futaba sees Toma talking to Taichi and asks if he will help her win his affections.

This Manga is very different then the ones I have read in the past. A good different. The love triangle isn't all about the guy who gets the girl. It is a very exciting change of events at the end of this volume. Tons of character development even in the first volume. I cant wait to see what the future of this manga holds.

I had mixed feelings about this manga. I loved the artwork but I didn’t really like the characters. I thought the main character and Kuze’s friend were too over dramatic. Kuze was very adorable but I didn’t really empathize with her over her crush. There was a plot twist at the end which I totally called around the halfway point of the book. I want to read the next volume only to see what happens regarding the plot twist

Shojo told from a male's POV like Hatsu Haru. This is a mash up of High School Debut with a sprinkle of Orange with the look back on fun times of high school and gay vibes like Our Dreams at Dusk. It's much more sober than High School Debut. The story is about a guy with Deku hair that is trying to fix up his friend that's a girl with short hair with the popular jock who happens to be secretly gay.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel because of its art style and entrenching plot. I would highly recommend this to fans of graphic novels.

This was such a pleasant spin on the romance shoujo love triangle! The love triangle in this series comes with a twist. Taichi is starting is third year of highschool and for the first time is in class with his best friend Toma, something that hasn't happened since middle school where they first cemented their friendship. After this however they've drifted apart. Toma is tall, athletic, attractive and popular. The antithesis of Taichi, which is why he has pulled away so much from Toma in the first place. Toma however, despite these traits, is not stuck up or elitist and is keen to trying and rekindle this friendship. Also added into the mix is Futaba who harbours a crush on Toma, and seeks Taichi's help in love. Over the course of the manga we see that Taichi beginning to harbour his own feelings for Futaba. But neither of them are aware of the crush that Toma is harbouring, and how it could change everything.

This was such a refreshing manga, sweet, funny and angsty at times. It was also so nice to see some LGBT representation in manga which is often times neglected.

Thank you to Netgalley and VIZ Media for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big fan of shojo mangas. It's probably the most common type of manga I end up reading. In Blue Flag Vol. I, the first volume in this series lays out the groundwork in introducing the people involved in our love quadrangle: Taichi, Futaba, Toma, and Masumi as they all are navigating their way through their third year of high school and the relationships they have with each other.

The beginning was a little bit over the top and cliché at times but as the story progressed, we really get to see more depth to our characters as they deal with issues such as self-worth, identity, and fear of the future. If there was one main issue I had with the book, it was pertaining to a certain situation between certain characters. It sends a wrong message-- how you have to change who you are in order for someone to like you. Wasn't really fond of that but I can see why it was included. That mentality is very relatable especially during your high school years when it’s all about appearances and impressions. However, don’t take that message to heart. Love yourself for who you are and embrace the good and bad parts of yourself. The right people will love you for it in the end.

I loved the dynamic and relationship between Taichi and Futaba. They're probably the couple that I'm rooting for but with the twists that came up and that very teasing, evil cliffhanger, I don't know if my heart will get broken or not as this series continues on! I liked how the author went with a more unconventional cliffhanger instead of going the predictable route. It leaves a lot to explore for the next volume and the volumes to come after as it will possibly open up important conversations about sexuality. I'm hoping with the next volume we get to learn more about Masumi and her back history as well as I feel like in this volume we didn't get to learn too much about her.

Sweet and simplistic filled with sincere and genuine characters, I'm looking forward to seeing where Blue Flag takes me next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ARC was given by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review is being published before the release date (April 21st, 2020)

Content/Trigger Warnings: Minor bullying, death of a parent/loss of a loved one

Fellow readers, I really enjoyed this manga! I know it's been a while since I talked about a manga, but after reading Blue Flag Vol. 1, I'm so hung up on it and waiting for the next volume. Can the next volume be out already? Please! I truly enjoyed myself and my time reading this manga. And if you're in need of some cute, fluffy, and slow burn romance then you will like this book as much as I did.

Blue Flag follows four teenagers and their journey through high school, navigating their feelings. We follow the perspective of Sorta Ichinose who's an average boy, but also a bit nerdy. His childhood friend, Toma is the polar opposite of Sorta. He's charming and popular with all of his classmates, but despite all of that, he goes out of his way to remain friends with Sorta and make conversation with him. Somewhere along the way, Sorta ends up in the mist of helping a fellow classmate, Futaba Kuze. She has a huge crush on Toma and seeks out courage and help from Sorta as Toma is his friend. As the story-line develops, feelings bloom, signals get mixed, and tensions run high. When it comes to love, things can get a bit messy!

I loved so many things about this manga! I couldn't help getting swept away as the story-line whisks you away between moments of tension to endearing moments. There are so many moments where you feel like you're holding your breath or waiting for someone to confess their feelings. Not to mention, there are some really sweet moments shared with the characters. And as these moments bloom, you can't help wondering what will happen next. Also, I'm not one to really like or enjoy love triangles that often. However, the way the love triangles are crafted in this book were well balanced and leaves you wonder who will end up with who.

I also have to mention the ending of this manga! That ending left me wanting the next volume immediately. The cliffhanger is so good and there are so many questions that I need answers to. I was so swept up into the story-line and the character development that when I got to the end, the ending hit like a ton of bricks. This will probably be one of my favorite cliffhanger endings ever! I can't for everyone else to experience this ending!

Overall, I was really taken by storm with this manga. From the pleasant art style all the way to the ending of this book, this series has hooked it's claws in me. I'm ready for the next volume and I can't wait to see what happens to all of these characters. If you'er a lover of slow burns, love triangles, and cliffhangers that leave you wanting more then this is a series I highly recommend picking up! This manga was charming, had so many sweet moments, and I'll say it again, that end was top tier level.

Blue Flag is a rare manga, one of a very few that I have read more than once. The love quadrangle is really interesting and it is easy to become invested in each character. I am so in for this series. I can't wait to get my hands on the next volume.

Received an ARC from NetGalley.

I have not read anything by KAITO before, but I was immediately interested in this manga because the art's aesthetic was my jam and totally won me over.

I really enjoyed this volume and cannot wait to read the next volume in this series! Despite the cliche sounding blurb, I felt refreshed with the pacing and characters of this manga, it did not feel like a typical shoujo or shounen manga I've read before. Taichi and Futuba are adorable introverted characters that, at least in this volume, are the heart of the story and got a few good laughs from me; meanwhile, I am eager to find out more about Toma and Futaba's friend Itachi. I kind of figured out the "twist" at the end pretty quickly, but it was still an emotional moment for me to read the reveal and left me deliciously frustrated that it ended at this emotional peak as a sort of cliff hanger. I really hope that this quadrangle resolves in a way that is satisfactory for all that are involved, which only proves how emotionally involved I already am with these characters.

I will definitely continue reading this series and will recommend it to those who like manga like Our Dreams at Dusk by Yuhki Kanatami and stories like Simon Vs The Homo Sapien Agenda or Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe.

This I can already tell is going to be a series I can sink my teeth into. Who doesn't love the love triangle trope. Boy loves a boy who loves a girl who loves a boy, and with a twist! There's a girl in love with the girl. Teens... *squishy* love. Anyways. This was a real pleasure to read, not only are the characters sincere, and over the top in the expressions, of course, who wouldn't read manga for this, but the storyline - guys c'mon - it's everything.

There's this boy, who has a secret crush on this girl, who decides to help his crush get her crush. I'm probably confusing you but stick with it, it really is great.

My only hangup was the girl crush was supremely over apologetic, and sometimes to the point of annoyance but really when it came down to it, this wasn't even enough to drop a star.

I struggled to connect with the story and characters. It's seemed a little too by-the-book on characters and their turmoil and surprise twists. I'd hoped for more.

I find that a pretty common trend for me with the first volumes of manga is that I like them, but it takes something super special for me to love them. This one is no different. The story was good overall and easy to follow. I really enjoyed the art as well. This series has potential and I'll probably give at least the first 3 volumes a shot before deciding if I'm going to keep going with it.

I really felt that this one was a great first volume to a series. It sets up the characters well as well as establishing their existing relationships, or lack thereof. It immediately starts discussing typical status' that happen in high school, how people end up in different cliques and how those cliques may be treated by others. While this isn't a focus of the story, it's important that it's set up in the beginning to differentiate the roles.

Taichi is portrayed in a very raw way, perfectly displaying his conflicting emotions as we progress through the story. You really get to see his internal struggle as well as his growing emotions for those he's spending time with and helping.

When you reach the end of this first volume, there's definitely quite a lot hanging in the air that you have to wonder how all these things will resolve. It will be interesting to see where this series goes.

I loved this first volume of Blue Flag! The manga has realistic characters and a dramatic storyline. I like the romance because you don't know who's going to end up with who as of Volume 1 (though I can guess and I'm rooting for them). The art is nice, and I especially love the female lead. Overall, this volume is a very strong beginning to a good series!

“Tai-chan” or Ichinose-kun or Tachi… is a somewhat shorter than the average high school student (I think). He’s more of a geek than a jock, but is really what you would consider an average teenage boy. The volume starts at the beginning of the school year when Ichinose discovers none of his friends are in his class. He is, however, in with a grade school friend turned smart jock aka:king of their grade, Toma and a girl he never really indicated any like or dislike for, Kuze Futaba.

Kuze-san confesses she has feelings for Toma Mita to Ichinose who tells her he can’t help her…but she still comes to him asking him questions on how to get Toma's attention. He answers her, nonchalant about it until she takes an offhanded comment he made and runs with it. He then informs her that Toma has a crush on someone else, which is completely one sided, and she should give up. To which she just ignores this advice and decides to give it her all because she wants to change herself from being shy and reserved to more outgoing and confident. Ichinose tells her he will help her after this confession, and they form something of a friendship.

Their time together, trying to ‘improve’ Kaze-san is quite entertaining, particularly when they are working on her articulation and have the chest talk. Lol Then Itachi gets thrown into the mix along with some developing feelings and things get more intricate. Not to mention Itachi can be pretty scary and Toma pretty clueless.

The art is quite beautiful. I do enjoy how the background is always there the first few panels of a new location and/or scene in great detail and then fades out as the conversation takes over in importance. But sometimes facial expressions and feelings are the most important and you’ll get a panel with very little text but full of bold, dark or light colours depending on what emotion is being conveyed. It’s very well done, with great thought.

I very much look forward to continuing to read this manga!

This is a great start to the series! I'm very curious to see how the trio's relationships strengthen. The art style is also simplistic but not in a childish way.