Blue Flag (manga)
| Blue Flag | |
_vol._1.png?lang=en) First volume cover | |
| 青のフラッグ (Ao no Furaggu) | |
|---|---|
| Genre | |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Kaito |
| Published by | Shueisha |
| English publisher | |
| Imprint | Jump Comics+ |
| Magazine | Shōnen Jump+ |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Original run | February 1, 2017 – April 8, 2020 |
| Volumes | 8 |
Blue Flag (Japanese: 青のフラッグ, Hepburn: Ao no Furaggu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaito. It was serialized digitally on Shōnen Jump+ from February 2017 to April 2020, and publisher Shueisha later collected the chapters in eight tankōbon volumes. A slice-of-life manga set in a high school, Blue Flag tells the story of a group of friends who must navigate personal difficulties, societal expectations, and their feelings for and about each other.
Blue Flag has been well-received by readers and critics, who have praised its art style, characters, and handling of LGBTQ themes. In North America, an English translation was licensed and published by Viz Media. It has also been translated into French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, and Spanish.
Synopsis
[edit]At a Japenese high school, on the first day of the school year, Taichi Ichinose, an unremarkable student, finds that he has been assigned to the same class as his childhood friend Tōma Mita. He is confused to learn that Tōma hopes to rekindle their friendship, which has fallen by the wayside in recent years. Taichi is soon approached by another student in their class, Futaba Kuse, who tells Taichi that she has a crush on Tōma and asks for his help in getting closer to Tōma. Taichi reluctantly agrees. As Futaba is getting to know Tōma, Taichi and Tōma meet Futaba's protective female friend, Masumi Itachi. Masumi corners Tōma and tells him that she knows he has secret romantic feelings for Taichi, and that she is perceptive about such things because she herself has feelings for Futaba.
Over time, the four characters all become friends. Eventually, a fifth friend is added to their group: Mami Yagihara, a girl who chafes against the sexist double standards and expectations imposed on her as an attractive, popular teenage girl. Taichi and Futaba become a couple and choose to remain together even after Tōma confesses his feelings to Taichi. The final chapter contains a time skip to several years in the future, where the reader learns, among other things, that Taichi and Futaba have broken up, and Taichi and Tōma are living together as a married couple.[ch. 53]
Production
[edit]Blue Flag is written and illustrated by Kaito. In a mini-comic accompanying the final tankōbon volume, Kaito described four main goals they hoped to accomplish when they began the story: to create characters who felt like real humans, to focus on the characters' feelings rather than on surprising plot developments, to write characters having proper conversations with one another, and to emphasize subjective point of view in the art.[4][vol. 8] Another of Kaito's aims was to create a story where characters' diverse romantic feelings—whether heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual—were all treated the same.[4]
Publication
[edit]Blue Flag started digital serialization on the Shōnen Jump+ website on February 1, 2017,[2] and ended on April 8, 2020.[5] Its 53 chapters have been published in eight tankōbon volumes by Shueisha.[vol. 8]
At Anime Expo 2019, Viz Media announced they licensed the series in English.[6] Manga Plus also published the series in English.[7] It is also licensed in French by Kurokawa,[8] in German by Carlsen Verlag,[9] in Italian and Portuguese by Panini Comics,[10] in Spanish by Editorial Ivrea,[11] and in Polish by Studio JG.[12]
Volumes
[edit]| No. | Original release date | Original ISBN | English release date | English ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 4, 2017[13] | 978-4-08-881045-4 | April 21, 2020[14] | 978-1-97-471301-1 |
| 2 | August 4, 2017[15] | 978-4-08-881145-1 | June 16, 2020[16] | 978-1-97-471302-8 |
| 3 | December 4, 2017[17] | 978-4-08-881308-0 | August 18, 2020[18] | 978-1-97-471303-5 |
| 4 | May 5, 2018[19] | 978-4-08-881485-8 | October 20, 2020[20] | 978-1-97-471304-2 |
| 5 | September 4, 2018[21] | 978-4-08-881580-0 | December 15, 2020[22] | 978-1-97-471305-9 |
| 6 | April 4, 2019[23] | 978-4-08-881769-9 | February 16, 2021[24] | 978-1-97-471306-6 |
| 7 | December 4, 2019[25] | 978-4-08-882163-4 | April 20, 2021[26] | 978-1-97-471875-7 |
| 8 | June 4, 2020[27] | 978-4-08-882365-2 | June 15, 2021[28] | 978-1-97-472094-1 |
Reception
[edit]In 2017, the series was ranked third at the 3rd Next Manga Awards in the web category.[29] The series was a finalist for the 2020 Los Angeles Times book prize in the graphic novels category.[30] The Young Adult Library Services Association listed the series in the top ten in their 2021 list of the 126 best graphic novels for teenagers.[31]
Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network gave the first four volumes an A−, praising it for the art, characters, and story, while criticizing it because sometimes some characters can feel overly abusive or shy.[32] Melina Dargis from The Fandom Post gave the series heavy praise for its story and characters, saying it was the best high-school slice-of-life manga of the year by far.[3] Like Silverman and Dargis, Demezela from Anime UK News praised the story, artwork, and characters, ultimately rating the first volume a nine out of ten.[33]
Blue Flag has been praised by readers for its handling of LGBTQ characters and themes. There was a sharp increase in reader interest in the series following the release of its final chapter, with its revelation that protagonist Taichi is bisexual, and many LGBTQ readers left comments on the chapter discussing how the series resonated with their personal lives.[4] In Japan, Huffington Post and several other online platforms have recommended Blue Flag for readers interested in confronting their own prejudices against LGBTQ people.[34][4] Readers and reviewers have suggested that Blue Flag is an effective teaching tool in this way because sexuality is not an overt focus of the story, especially early in the series,[4][35] and because the story's focus on its characters' decision-making makes readers think.[35]
See also
[edit]- Cross Manage, another manga series by the same author
References
[edit]Blue Flag manga
[edit]- Entire series
- Individual volumes
- Vol. 1 (ch. 1–5): Blue Flag, Vol. 1. April 2020. ISBN 978-1-9747-1965-5. and 青のフラッグ 1 (in Japanese). April 2017. ISBN 978-4-08-881045-4.
- Vol. 2 (ch. 6–12): Blue Flag, Vol. 2. June 2020. ISBN 978-1-9747-1302-8. and 青のフラッグ 2 (in Japanese). August 2017. ISBN 978-4-08-881145-1.
- Vol. 3 (ch. 13–19): Blue Flag, Vol. 3. August 2020. ISBN 978-1-9747-1303-5. and 青のフラッグ 3 (in Japanese). December 2017. ISBN 978-4-08-881308-0.
- Vol. 4 (ch. 20–26): Blue Flag, Vol. 4. October 2020. ISBN 978-1-9747-1304-2. and 青のフラッグ 4 (in Japanese). May 2018. ISBN 978-4-08-881485-8.
- Vol. 5 (ch. 27–33): Blue Flag, Vol. 5. December 2020. ISBN 978-1-9747-1305-9. and 青のフラッグ 5 (in Japanese). September 2018. ISBN 978-4-08-881580-0.
- Vol. 6 (ch. 34–41): Blue Flag, Vol. 6. February 2021. ISBN 978-1-9747-1306-6. and 青のフラッグ 6 (in Japanese). April 2019. ISBN 978-4-08-881769-9.
- Vol. 7 (ch. 42–48): Blue Flag, Vol. 7. April 2021. ISBN 978-1-9747-1875-7. and 青のフラッグ 7 (in Japanese). December 2019. ISBN 978-4-08-882163-4.
- Vol. 8 (ch. 49–54): Blue Flag, Vol. 8. June 2021. ISBN 978-1-9747-2094-1. and 青のフラッグ 8 (in Japanese). June 2020. ISBN 978-4-08-882365-2.
Other sources
[edit]- ^ "The Official Website for Blue Flag". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ a b "Asato Mizu, Kaito Launch Manga on Shonen Jump+ App". Anime News Network. January 23, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ a b Dargis, Melissa (August 31, 2020). "Blue Flag Vol. #02 Manga Review". The Fandom Post. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Lewis, Mia Elise (June 2022). "'I'm Proud I Was Born Me': Reimagining Gender, Sexuality, and Community through Blue Flag". Visions of Possible Girls: Intersectional Feminist Narratives in Contemporary Japanese Boys' Comics (PDF) (PhD dissertation). Stanford University. pp. 159–224. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 27, 2024.
- ^ "Kaito's Blue Flag Manga Ends in April". Anime News Network. March 4, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Viz Media Licences Downfall, Prince Freya, Blue Flag, 'Love Me, Love Me Not' Manga". Anime News Network. July 4, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag". Manga Plus. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "BLUE FLAG" (in French). Kurokawa. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag" (in German). Carlsen Verlag. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag 1" (in Italian). Panini Comics. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Editorial Ivrea licencia el manga Ao No Flag". Ramen Para Dos (in Spanish). July 28, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Niebieska flaga #01". Studio JG (in Polish). Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2025.
- ^ 青のフラッグ 1. 集英社コミック公式 S-MANGA (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 1". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ 青のフラッグ 2. 集英社コミック公式 S-MANGA (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 2". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ 青のフラッグ 3. 集英社コミック公式 S-MANGA (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 3". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ 青のフラッグ 4. 集英社コミック公式 S-MANGA (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on February 25, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 4". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ 青のフラッグ 5. 集英社コミック公式 S-MANGA (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on November 27, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 5". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ 青のフラッグ 6. 集英社コミック公式 S-MANGA (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on February 23, 2025. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 6". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ 青のフラッグ 7. 集英社コミック公式 S-MANGA (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on December 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 7". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ 青のフラッグ 8. 集英社コミック公式 S-MANGA (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 8". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ 「次にくるマンガ大賞」発表会、上位入賞者による記念イラストも公開. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. August 23, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
- ^ Pineda, Dorany (March 2, 2021). "Isabel Wilkerson, Jacob Soboroff, Akwaeke Emezi among L.A. Times Book Prize finalists". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag Manga Ranks in YALSA's Top 10 Graphic Novels for Teens". Anime News Network. January 11, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ Silverman, Rebecca (October 22, 2020). "Blue Flag GN 1-4 Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ "Blue Flag Volume 1 Review". Anime UK News. April 16, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
- ^ 「LGBTQ+」漫画や映画のおすすめ作品15選。性の多様性や色々な愛の形を知るきっかけに [15 recommended LGBTQ+ manga and movies. A chance to learn about sexual diversity and different forms of love]. Huffington Post Japan (in Japanese). April 27, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
- ^ a b Rosales, Natalie (December 2023). Exploring the Transnational Frames of Queer Youth in Japanese Manga and US Graphic Narratives (Master's thesis). Stony Brook University. ProQuest 2942201908.
External links
[edit]- Official website at Viz Media
- Blue Flag (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia