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ăă«ăŒăăŹăłă
13
3
Finished
Apr 3, 2010 to Oct 3, 2011
6.3/10
Average Review Score
50%
Recommend It
4
Reviews Worldwide
"I was drowning, in feelings I didn't know the name of." Here we go again? NOPE. This is a warning for lovers of the yuri genre. This is not a story of how two girl friends (best friends?) become lovers and we get a sexy yuri scene at the end. This is a story... about FRIENDSHIP. As most western fans know, both the yuri and shoujo ai genres deal with love between women, the former focusing on the sexual aspect while the later focuses on the emotional aspect of it. And so we come into the genre with full expectations that they become lovers at some point.Yet one must realize that there are many different kinds of love and it is not limited to the passionate kind of love between lovers. Alright that was a bit heavy for my liking and so we shall start this review with the art. Beautiful. I was never a fan of the shoujo genre but one thing that no one can deny is that most shoujo mangas are (or at least attempt to be) beautiful due to an art style which can only be described as poetic. Disclaimer: If you were allergic to Clannad's "big eyes" you will disagree with me. Although the art was great, the essence of this manga is inevitably the two main characters: Kurihara Ayumu, a very social, well liked person and overall very popular with the girls in her school and Tsukishima Misuzu, an anti-social short tempered person who despite all that is very popular among the boys due to her beauty. At first glance, it seems that the mangaka has fallen into the same trap that many writers of the yuri/shoujo ai fell into; that of creating a manly character and a more feminine character. At some points, short haired Ayumu is made to look like a guy along with some not so subtle hints from her friends while Misuzu reveals her fragile feminine side. Yet as the story progresses we notice that this isn't a story about two lovers. Rather, it is a story about how two friends support each other with their varying strengths and weaknesses to break free from the chains of their past. Yes, looking at it again, there is nothing especially ground-breaking in this manga and it is full of cliche themes, yet it remains enjoyable nonetheless due in no small part to the beautiful art.
2nd-year middle school student Ayumu Kurihara changes classes and is seated next to the beautiful but strange Misuzu Tsukishima who dislikes boys. Mizusu can't get close to other people, but after being moved by Ayumu's sweet, honest personality she begins to open up to her little by little. Ayumu too is captivated by the awkwardly delicate Mizusu and the two of them become close. (Source: Taciturnity Scans)
*** This review is for the first season of "Blue Friend" *** A story that involves with friendship, love and trust. Without trust, it is impossible to become friends with others. And without friendship, it is very difficult to build a relationship that goes beyond it. ăStoryăRating: 8 I actually re-read "Blue Friend" twice. The first time I read it which was a year ago, I just thought it was an average shoujo ai story about two girls because chapter 8: After Days wasn't out yet. When I finally came back to reading this story again, it brought back memories and I was really touched by chapter8 that I actually cried. I didn't give a 10 because there were some parts that felt a bit repetitive but overall it's a meaningful story. ăArtăRating: 8 I really liked the artwork. I enjoyed looking at Misuzu's character appearance because I do agree that she is beautifully drawn. I also liked when Ayumu's hair grew longer in the latest chapter, it makes her more feminine. There's really nothing more to say other than this is my type of artwork that I find pleasure looking at. ăCharacterăRating: 8 It is not the easiest story to understand the characters at first, but it gradually becomes clearer as the story progresses. There is one character which gave me the question marks at times, she is Azuma. I knew she wasn't a bad person from the start since she is trying to help Ayumu & Misuzu. But I think the way she expresses herself makes the audience either question her or dislike her. Therefore I was uncertain what her intention was. Otherwise, I liked both Ayumu & Misuzu. ăEnjoymentăRating: 8 Well reading my opinions from above, I'm sure it's obvious that I enjoyed the manga. I don't usually re-read any manga more than once. So "Blue Friend" is really something that made me go for it. ăOverallăRating: 8 I would definitely recommend this to anyone whether they are into shoujo ai or not. This manga is not only focused on the romance love, but also the true love of friendship. Supporting someone you care for without being influenced by others is not an easy thing to do. The moral behind this story is that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover. On the side note, I recommend Eban Fumi (author)'s other stories. I read "Blue Friend - 2nd Season" and it's really good. It is a completely different story from this one with different characters. And I find the moral behind that one very meaningful as well. So please remember to check it out!!
I'll just keep it real this manga is not at all yuri it's all about friendship, bol 1&2 is a story that's so far depressing it makes you wanna pull your hair, it's frustrating i mean like the ending is also terrible I'd say it was disheartening, i expected it to be a fluffy story but it was seriously depressing and in the last chapter it makes you say "what? It just ended like that???" Now talk about vol 3 it's good but it's not yuri it's all about friendship till the end not a depiction of romance and it focuses on troubles at allgirls school, The yuri tag should be removed from this manga cuz it's clearly not The main reason i won't recommend this manga is cuz of vol 1&2 which is really terrible, in the end nothing came out of their relationship, or thats the feel you get out of it, i was expecting a romantic development cuz that's what yuri is, but in the end they just were not together or just friends (it's hard to say the way it ended) if you want yuri manga this one is a no go vol 3 was better but it still is not at all romantic.
Generally when I compare a Yuri work to its Class S predecessors I mean that fondly. âSweet Blue Flowersâ, âGirlfriendsâ, âRevolutionary Girl Utenaâ: all of these works are among my favorites, not only of Yuri, but of all media, and it is through their homages to the works that come before that they achieve the effects they do. âBlue Friendâ brazenly wears the same influences as these great works, but when I say that âBlue Friendâ is essentially a more modern Class S work, I mean that in the most unfortunate way possible accompanied with all the baggage of the Shoujo genre. Though in many waysit seems like a defunct relic of the past that I am aghast to believe was released in 2011, âBlue Friend'' does succeed as a messy fast-paced Drama that keeps your attention. At no point in the story did I lose interest, even if it was at times frustration that powered me through the manga. That being said the story does fail as a Yuri. Erica Friedman, Yuriâs foremost English-speaking scholar, describes much of the Yuri genre as âlesbian content without lesbian identityâ, a cutting but accurate critique, and I was disappointed to learn that âBlue Friend" is hardly even lesbian content- sporting a not only a straight, but a homophobic lead. âBlue Friendâ if nothing else is entertaining and irresponsible, and as this is a re-read of my first Yuri, (and therefore also a re-reading of one of my first LGBT+ narratives), I really wanted to celebrate this imperfect piece as progressive for its time in its own right- this was not the case. Though âBlue Friendâ touched upon a lot of things I was struggling with at the time I first read it as a 15 year old, such as P.T.S.D., awkward social behavior, suicidal ideation, gender nonconformity, and repressed same gender feelings, I am not comforted that this was my first exposure to many of those topics, rather I am enlightened to a failure of the media that raised me. While I would have liked to see âBlue Friend"s heavy subject matter handled, if not tactfully and maturely, at least authentically, the manga is saved from a lower rating by being easily accessible and gripping for the reader. All of this having been said, if you want a messy Yuri story that deals with heavy topics in a way still intended for a teenage audience, I recommend you instead check out the manga published up to 50 years prior to this work I will be writing about down the line.
