INTRODUCTION
"Blue Flag" is a highschool romance drama manga composed of 8 volumes and 54 chapters written and illustrated by KAITO
SYNOPSIS
Taichi Ichinose finds himself in the same class as Futaba Kuze, who he feels strangely averse to, and his popular childhood friend, Touma Mita. One day, Futaba confides in him her love for Touma, and asks him for help.
A SEEMINGLY TYPICAL STORY WITH A TWIST
At first, this story appears to be your everyday typical highschool romcom with a bit of drama about an eccentric unpopular guy getting to have his first conversation with that one girl in the class (which every reader can tell is the main girl cause of course it's a "romcom") then slowly beginning to have feelings for her and all that typical stuff that happens in every other romcom BUT at the end of the first volume, the plot thickens and so does the reader's interest in the story. And because of that twist the story just becomes more than your average romcom. (Hint: it's a true love triangle with an extra dotted line)
AN IMPORTANT AND ANXIOUSLY BUSY SETTING
It's worth mentioning that the period of highschool in a person's life is crucial for one's physical and mental development and the placement of the characters in this plotline is in the third-year of highschool which is reminded to the reader's in the end of the very first chapter that it is the most crucial time in a student's life. Because it is in this stage of education that a student is faced with entrance exams, career choices and future planning. Keeping that placement in mind the author drew such a sensitive plot in a manner which is commendable in every way possible, tackling the overarching theme of adolescence with excellence.
A FICTIONAL STORY FILLED WITH REALISTIC CHARACTERS
The biggest thing that stands this story out of all the others in the same genre is the realism of the characters. And by that I mean not even the main characters but also a handful of side characters. They are all portrayed like actual individuals having different personalities which are of course fleshed out through and through each chapter. With clean and neat art, the execution of all the monologues and dialogues between the characters looks surprisingly great for a romcom. The relationship between the characters is handled with great care, I believe, by approaching the themes of value of friendship and love, enduring one-sided love and struggling with wanting to become a better person.
DECISIONS, CHOICES AND CHOOSING
As the story progresses, the characters are constantly faced with choices they must choose from which drives the story but also their relationships with each other. And this is, I believe, the core of the plot that is not realized or probably not looked upon while reading through it. Although, it is reminded to the readers a few places in the beginning chapters and that is the line:
"Life is a never-ending series of choices."
This line is stressed upon in the first and last chapter as if desperately trying to make the reader know that: THIS STORY IS ABOUT GROWING AND LEARNING TO CHOOSE THE BEST CHOICE YOU THINK IS.
Which, no doubt, is by showcasing the choices through talks between characters and the final decision the protagonist makes about the dilemma he faces in the second half of the story.
THE HARD-HITTING CONCLUSION
Towards the progression of the final chapter, and by looking at the cover of the final volume, an ordinary ending seems to be set up and that is "highschool graduation". Yes, graduation truly encapsulates the happy ending to every highschool romcom, at least that's what is believed by most of the readers and delivered by the authors. But since this is a coming-of-age story, graduation is the first step into the busy, mundane and completely different than school life, and that is being an adult.
The final two chapters are very emotional and unexpected. And because of that 'unexpected aspect', the ending is quite disliked by most of the readers. One of the reasons is that it completely shatters the expectation and build up of the major characters unapologetically (I think that's the general problem most readers have after reading the final chapter). I mean you feel nothing but disheartened by how it wrapped up so abruptly without any process of development shown. It felt too mature like showing the result of choices people make after growing up (it felt like a slap of reality more than the ending of a romcom).
My thoughts on the ending:
I think it's too bittersweet and greatly executed at the same time. Believe me, I also was disheartened at the end of the second-last chapter. But after reading the final one and contemplating about the idea of it all and considering the dilemmas of the characters, I think it's a good ending but not perfect as I wanted to see more of my favorite characters and their interactions with each other. Probably, the most prominent thing about the ending is that one panel in which the main character asks the readers looking eye-to-eye: "If it was you…what'd you have done?"
I praise the ending only for the conclusion of the characters and not because of the author's choice to end it in such a bold way (this guy has the balls to go against the general audience).
Overall in my opinion it's 9/10 making unique place for itself in highschool drama
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