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Blue Flag, Vol. 8

Blue Flag, Vol. 8

  • Downloads：6614
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-13 08:51:44
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Kaito
  • ISBN：1974720942
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

An unexpected love quadrangle with a dash of unrequited love as two classmates， a boy and a girl， begin to fall for each other when each of their best friends have already fallen for them。

Love is already hard enough， but it becomes an unnavigable maze for unassuming high school student Taichi Ichinose and his shy classmate Futaba Kuze when they begin to fall for each other after their same-sex best friends have already fallen for them。

Toma and Futaba have their first sit-down talk after the big fight at school。 Meanwhile， Taichi struggles with the problems that have been dumped in his lap by his friends' choices， and he ends up distancing himself from Toma。 Then， one day， Toma stops coming to school。 Left in the lurch， what can Futaba and Taichi do？ Everyone chooses their futures， and time marches on。 Don’t miss the heartfelt conclusion of Blue Flag！

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Reviews

Kate ，

As I read Blue Flag， I felt an instant connection to it。 In high school I had a crush on a cute boy， but it wasn't until years after high school that a friend told me he had come out as gay。 To my knowledge， no one in the school （except perhaps his close friends， but then maybe not？） knew of his sexual orientation at the time。 So， my heart aches for Toma in Blue Flag who has all the high school girls crushing on him， but he's only interested in his childhood best friend， Taichi， an awkward boy w As I read Blue Flag， I felt an instant connection to it。 In high school I had a crush on a cute boy， but it wasn't until years after high school that a friend told me he had come out as gay。 To my knowledge， no one in the school （except perhaps his close friends， but then maybe not？） knew of his sexual orientation at the time。 So， my heart aches for Toma in Blue Flag who has all the high school girls crushing on him， but he's only interested in his childhood best friend， Taichi， an awkward boy who struggles with feeling inadequate due to Toma's popularity。 Toma's not out about his sexuality， and I kept worrying about what would happen should the student body find out。 The emotional tone of this series is really well done。The breakout character， besides Toma， though， is Mami。 She's depicted as a mean girl， but as we get to know her， we learn much more about her。 I love the complexity of her character。Taichi is a bit weak for me。 Besides wondering over and over what Toma ever saw in him， he's just so meh。 Overall， highly recommended。 The last couple of chapters are rushed and conclude the story much too abruptly for me。 I wonder if the series was unfortunately canceled in Japan and the mangaka had to wrap it up quicker than expected。 That an LBGTQ series was published in a shounen magazine is quite something all said， though。 。。。more

Chelsea 🏳️‍🌈 ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I have mixed feelings about this ending。。。？ I love that Taichi and Toma ended up together！ - But I wanted to see it happen。To preface， I said in my review for the last volume that I really didn't see a way for this to end with anything other than Kuze and Taichi together before graduation。 I was sort of right？ This ended in a way that reminded me of How I Met Your Mother - and not that I'm disappointed with the ending （to be honest， I am one of the few that didn't hate HIMYM's finale）， but what I have mixed feelings about this ending。。。？ I love that Taichi and Toma ended up together！ - But I wanted to see it happen。To preface， I said in my review for the last volume that I really didn't see a way for this to end with anything other than Kuze and Taichi together before graduation。 I was sort of right？ This ended in a way that reminded me of How I Met Your Mother - and not that I'm disappointed with the ending （to be honest， I am one of the few that didn't hate HIMYM's finale）， but what I mean by this is that， we get to see SO much of the build up and then the ending happens very， very quickly。 So， the relationship I'd really been looking forward to seeing （if it happened） was Toma and Taichi， but you only get a glimpse of it。 I really， really wanted to see it！Now， I get that that wasn't the focus of this series。 It became clear to me during Masumi's conversation with Taichi about gender roles， expectation and sexuality - this series is more about fighting against what society expects of us。 It's about challenging gender roles and double standards with male and female friendships （Mami）， challenging society's expectations for sexual orientation （Masumi and Toma） and challenging the presumption that attraction and rejection ruins friendships （Toma and Taichi， more so than Kensuke because that guy literally just couldn't accept rejection）。 In a way， it also challenged expectations of achievement and goals in life with Toma deciding freedom was more important than going to college。 So， at the heart of it， even though the inciting plot for this series was a love "quadrangle" （though Masumi really got the short end of the stick there）， the focus was never really on the romance。 Even knowing that， I feel a bit。。。 cheated？ That we got so much of the awkward first steps and affection between Taichi and Kuze， but we don't get to see how Toma eventually made things work with the love of his life。 My heart skipped a beat the ending and all， but afterwards， I just got sad。 And I wondered if it was my usual upset when I finish a series I got really invested in， but it doesn't feel like that。 I think it's more that I really， really， wished I'd gotten to see how Taichi went from being certain the only thing he wanted from Toma was friendship， to marrying him！ It was five （or maybe 7？） years in total since high school when he was so certain he was in love with Kuze and only felt friendship for Toma and then he married him？ Before Kuze's wedding so。。。 what happened there？To be honest， I wouldn't say Taichi's feelings for Toma came out of left field。 There were several moments where he was flustered and extremely happy around Toma， and as Kuze said， he appeared to be considering the possibility when Toma confessed to him。 That Taichi chose Kuze in high school felt more about the fact that he was dating Kuze at the time - and the story was all about timing。 It made perfect sense to me that he and Kuze broke up - rarely ever do high school sweethearts last all the way through college - people grow and change。 It made sense to me that Taichi ended up with Toma， too， there was a lot of history and love there - it just grew and changed。 I just really， really， really wished we'd gotten to see it happen。 Anyway， I don't know if we'll ever get some sequel or at least a short story to show how Taichi and Toma managed to get together。 I would've loved so much to see those years because their relationship really was my favorite part of this series。 Second to that was Masumi and Kuze's and I'm sad it appears Masumi just never went through with telling Kuze about her feelings for her。 Instead， she marries an awkward man with a haircut that was strangely reminiscent of Kuze's old one。。。 It felt a bit out of left field but， I don't think Masumi having yet to meet a man she liked meant that she was a lesbian。 At least， it wasn't explicitly said。 I liked seeing what happened to Mami， Akiko and Seiya。 That was sweet！ I just wish we got more of Toma and Taichi's ending。 Side note: I think knowing the ending will make a future reread even more fun！ 。。。more

Sam ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 4 Stars for the series as a whole。I really， REALLY did not enjoy the perspective shift of the final chapter （or the bonus chapter）， but I am happy with the ending。 Very cute。 Did not care for Futaba as a character。 So weak and wishy-washy。 Blegh。 Taichi and Toma are great though。 The perspective shift made it feel like the author/editors were afraid of showing a happy gay couple and that was just frustrating。 It was also strange to be from Toma's perspective， when the rest of the series was all 4 Stars for the series as a whole。I really， REALLY did not enjoy the perspective shift of the final chapter （or the bonus chapter）， but I am happy with the ending。 Very cute。 Did not care for Futaba as a character。 So weak and wishy-washy。 Blegh。 Taichi and Toma are great though。 The perspective shift made it feel like the author/editors were afraid of showing a happy gay couple and that was just frustrating。 It was also strange to be from Toma's perspective， when the rest of the series was all from Taichi's。 So。。。 Again， didn't care for it。 。。。more

Oshn ，

I think this maga ruined all the other romance manga for me

Riley ，

Series was amazing！！！ However the ending was ver abrupt and rushed。 There should have been more chapters between the second to last and the last chapter。

Chloe McGenn ，

This series is excellent， highly recommended。 LGBT themes， school life， and gorgeous art

Forthright 。 ，

final volume

Laura ，

Y TERMINÉ CTMQUÉ MIERDA HAGO AHORA CON MI VIDA SOSAy， es que estoy con el pecho apretado， estos fueron demasiados sentimientos para un solo día。 Primero tengo que dejar claro que toda la serie me pareció muy linda y extremadamente bien hecha， ultra reflexiva y con una historia que se sintió siempre super real。 Pero es que el final se pasó， de verdad。 Se me hizo PERFECTO。 Así， justo lo que necesitaba la serie。 Había escuchado que hay gente a la que no le gustó， pero de verdad no me entra en la ca Y TERMINÉ CTMQUÉ MIERDA HAGO AHORA CON MI VIDA SOSAy， es que estoy con el pecho apretado， estos fueron demasiados sentimientos para un solo día。 Primero tengo que dejar claro que toda la serie me pareció muy linda y extremadamente bien hecha， ultra reflexiva y con una historia que se sintió siempre super real。 Pero es que el final se pasó， de verdad。 Se me hizo PERFECTO。 Así， justo lo que necesitaba la serie。 Había escuchado que hay gente a la que no le gustó， pero de verdad no me entra en la cabeza， CÓMO SI ES LO MÁS LINDO QUE HAY SIN DEJAR DE SER REALISTA Y AMBIGUO Y AAAAAAHHHHHHHH！Ya， ok， voy a tratar de calmarme， perdón。 Pero es que los personajes de Ao No Flag me SUPERARON。 Lograron la forma de meterse en mi corazoncito y ahí construyeron entre todos una villa。 Andan full instalados y no tienen para cuando irse。 De verdad les amo a todos: Futaba， con su cuteness tan típica japonesa pero con una entereza de espíritu admirable; Taichi， con sus inseguridades y crisis existenciales tan relatable; Masumi， el gay panic personificado con una actitud de cinismo ante la vida que esconde todos los feels; Mami， la chica popular que parecía superficial pero terminó siendo el mayor feminist icon de la existencia; y， por último pero no menos importante， Touma， mi hermoso golden retriever， el mayor cinnamon roll que es un amor de persona pero esconde sus sentimientos detrás del caparazón más duro del planeta。 Cada uno de ellos está extremadamente bien realizado， con un arco que muchas veces no quedó completo， porque así es la vida， pero con un desarrollo que decir chef's kiss es poco。 Me saco mi imaginario sombrero ante el autor/a。Esta es una historia super introspectiva， llena de conversaciones y reflexiones sobre lo que es la vida y crecer。 Se toma su tiempo y cada página que pasa vale la pena， porque desarrolla a los personajes y les da vida para que al final ya no parezcan de papel。 Vas a llorar porque es imposible no hacerlo， pero también te sentirás acompañade en el huracán que es existir， aunque hace bastante que hayas salido del colegio。 Porque Ao No Flag es para adolescentes， sí， pero también para cualquier persona con un pulso que haya pasado por esa etapa y/o le esté costando lidiar con su identidad y futuro。Nueva misión de vida: que todo el mundo lea este manga。 No es como que haya leído tantos， pero dudo que vayan a encontrar un slice of life mejor—y si existe alguno recomiéndenmelo ahora， sí o sí debe ser obra divina。 Porque esta serie ya es una de las cosas más lindas que he tenido el placer de leer y les aseguro que se va a quedar conmigo por mucho tiempo。 。。。more

piratesPencil ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I’m not sure how I feel about how this series ended。 I did really love the resolution of Futaba， Ichinose and Toma’s relationship when they’re on the beach shouting about being in love。 And the time skip ending with the wedding was sweet and interesting， and I like the twist of Futaba and Ichinose deciding that their future isn’t together… I think the implication of the ending is that Ichinose and Toma ended up together， but I found the ambiguity of that ending strange， and I would have liked to I’m not sure how I feel about how this series ended。 I did really love the resolution of Futaba， Ichinose and Toma’s relationship when they’re on the beach shouting about being in love。 And the time skip ending with the wedding was sweet and interesting， and I like the twist of Futaba and Ichinose deciding that their future isn’t together… I think the implication of the ending is that Ichinose and Toma ended up together， but I found the ambiguity of that ending strange， and I would have liked to see just a little bit more of Ichinose and Toma as adults， realizing that they want to be together… Still， I enjoyed the series overall and the ending was as warm and thoughtful as the rest of the series。 。。。more

brontë ，

what kind of a sick twisted ending was that。 8 books for that。 really。 i am so upset。

Dylan ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 HUH？？？？？？？？？？？！！！！！！！！Okay fine here is my actual review。 I hate what was done for all the characters， especially with a character obviously not into men suddenly marrying one。 When I originally started this manga， I expected for either both couples to get together， or neither of them to get together。 However， this I didn't expect。 Maybe I missed something， but nothing clearly comes to mind that makes Toma not into women as much as Masumi was not into men。 But no， Masumi ends up being the one in HUH？？？？？？？？？？？！！！！！！！！Okay fine here is my actual review。 I hate what was done for all the characters， especially with a character obviously not into men suddenly marrying one。 When I originally started this manga， I expected for either both couples to get together， or neither of them to get together。 However， this I didn't expect。 Maybe I missed something， but nothing clearly comes to mind that makes Toma not into women as much as Masumi was not into men。 But no， Masumi ends up being the one in a hetero relationship just because？ I mean she seems happy I guess， but it just does not make sense with her character at all。I don't know， I really enjoyed this series and read it in basically three days but what was this last chapter ？？？ Seriously。 。。。more

Jessica Walsh ，

To call Blue Flag a romance almost feels like an oversimplification that doesn't do the story justice。 Instead what we have is a story that starts familiar only to radiate out in unexpected ways to touch everyone we meet。 It actually makes me think of origami and how the smallest little creature can be created with so many small creases and movements and always ends up more complicated than it looks - even if it already looks complicated。Read the rest of my review at Well， Are They？ A Queer Revi To call Blue Flag a romance almost feels like an oversimplification that doesn't do the story justice。 Instead what we have is a story that starts familiar only to radiate out in unexpected ways to touch everyone we meet。 It actually makes me think of origami and how the smallest little creature can be created with so many small creases and movements and always ends up more complicated than it looks - even if it already looks complicated。Read the rest of my review at Well， Are They？ A Queer Review Bloghttps://wellarethey。blogspot。com/2021。。。 。。。more

Frank ，

the finale i cannot deal i am a wreck 😭😭😭😭😭😭

Evelyn ，

Complex feelings and emotions mix and explode and now everyone is trying to deal with the backlash and aftermath。Toma and Futaba talk。 Taichi has a talk with Itachi。 Futaba and Taichi talk。 Then Taichi finally talks with Toma。 （view spoiler）[Then the feelings get resolved for the time being。 And then there's a seven year time skip where Futaba marries some random guy， Itachi is married to a dude， and it's only near the end that we realize the final chapter is from Toma's point of view and that h Complex feelings and emotions mix and explode and now everyone is trying to deal with the backlash and aftermath。Toma and Futaba talk。 Taichi has a talk with Itachi。 Futaba and Taichi talk。 Then Taichi finally talks with Toma。 （view spoiler）[Then the feelings get resolved for the time being。 And then there's a seven year time skip where Futaba marries some random guy， Itachi is married to a dude， and it's only near the end that we realize the final chapter is from Toma's point of view and that he wrote down 'Ichinose' as his last name （I had to reread it to fully get it）。 TOMA AND TAICHI GOT MARRIED！ （hide spoiler）] I'm not entirely sure how we ended up where we did， but if these characters are happy， I'm happy。 Because all life is is a series of choices and it's up to you to decide which ones you want to make。 Overall， it's a really good series。 It doesn't shy away from hard situations or the feelings of the characters， nor does it trivialize the experience。 Everything is done with purpose and the art is gorgeous。 I'm glad I have it in my collection。 Final score: 4。5/5。 。。。more

Jo' ，

Je n'attendais vraiment pas grand chose en commençant cette série et？？ C'était merveilleux ？？ Une fin un peu précipitée et frustrante sur certains points mais qui n'annule en rien la qualité de l'histoire， la complexité des personnages et de leurs émotions/idéaux ainsi que la fidélité et la tendresse avec laquelle est dessinée l'adolescence。 Maintenant je suis triste。 Je n'attendais vraiment pas grand chose en commençant cette série et？？ C'était merveilleux ？？ Une fin un peu précipitée et frustrante sur certains points mais qui n'annule en rien la qualité de l'histoire， la complexité des personnages et de leurs émotions/idéaux ainsi que la fidélité et la tendresse avec laquelle est dessinée l'adolescence。 Maintenant je suis triste。 。。。more

Tuna ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Lead up to the end was worth it （even if a bit over the top， manga loves having characters impulsively dash to wherever to solve whatever circumstance their in， cheesy but fun）。 Liked the series for having characters talk things out even if they meandered a bit in their conversations， lost their trains of thoughts or struggled to put their thoughts into words， and didn't mine taking positions and calling each other out。 Also I liked the part of characters really struggling with what to do in the Lead up to the end was worth it （even if a bit over the top， manga loves having characters impulsively dash to wherever to solve whatever circumstance their in， cheesy but fun）。 Liked the series for having characters talk things out even if they meandered a bit in their conversations， lost their trains of thoughts or struggled to put their thoughts into words， and didn't mine taking positions and calling each other out。 Also I liked the part of characters really struggling with what to do in their life and their future， felt a bit more authentic then a few other series。 Still love the same sex relationships and crushes being identified so early in the series and not putting it off to the middle or something。 Really made the journey feel solid from start to finish。Wish there were a few chapters in between the final chapter and the epilogue as I would have liked to see the circumstances that spanned that 7 year period as well as Tai-chans journey and well for that matter Toma's and how their decision to date and get together would have gone。 Also would have been nice to see them both dating and what not， not even in that extra chapter did we see them together smiling at one another or something lol。 。。。more

Diana Toloza paternina ，

La disfruté tanto que me leí toda la historia en un día， no pude parar de leer porque quería saber qué más iba a pasar。 Se convirtió en una de mis favoritas， amé como se fue desarrollando todo y ojalá tuviéramos luego algún extra de lo que sigue después， pero aún así estoy satisfecha con el final。 Lo único malo fue que no hay más para leer jajaja

LivThebooks ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 4。5 I love this manga series all the characters felt so human。 The ending felt a but rushed and I wished we had seen what happened between the timeskip of 2 years。 The ending felt bittersweet。 Some realationships end and other begins。 I loved that Toma and Taishi got married I just want more of them and the rest of the cast。

Sarah ，

“life is a never-ending series of choices。” what a beautiful ending to a beautiful series

zaynab ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 hm can’t say I love that masumi didn’t get with kuze， but other than that I like that this volume was from touma’s point of view because it was refreshing to see。 very cute ending I must say 🥸

Megan ，

MY HEART

fives （blake reads） ，

such an emotional end， i'm gonna be in a series hangover now such an emotional end， i'm gonna be in a series hangover now 。。。more

Matthew ，

Such an interesting experience， reading this。All in all， really great。 One character's ending is weird。 I've read all the justifications -- nope， still weird。Would love to see another series with the same characters， particularly one that details the missing five years of their lives， so that we can see how they get to the epilogue。 Such an interesting experience， reading this。All in all， really great。 One character's ending is weird。 I've read all the justifications -- nope， still weird。Would love to see another series with the same characters， particularly one that details the missing five years of their lives， so that we can see how they get to the epilogue。 。。。more

jut ，

i'm gonna miss my best friends and i'm so happy touma and taichi had their happy ending but [whispers]i really wanted masumi and futaba to be together too， i feel betrayed。 i'm gonna miss my best friends and i'm so happy touma and taichi had their happy ending but [whispers]i really wanted masumi and futaba to be together too， i feel betrayed。 。。。more

Speckeh ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 As someone who was madly in love with my childhood friend for years， this series hits me in all emotions and makes me question my own choices。 Taichi and everyone said it beautifully that you have to live your life outside of everyone’s expectations。 As for Masumi’s end partner， I have to say watching how Kaito draws men and women， I think her husband is trans。 But then again， that’s my own theory especially since her husband states that Masumi doesn’t belong to one category because of her husba As someone who was madly in love with my childhood friend for years， this series hits me in all emotions and makes me question my own choices。 Taichi and everyone said it beautifully that you have to live your life outside of everyone’s expectations。 As for Masumi’s end partner， I have to say watching how Kaito draws men and women， I think her husband is trans。 But then again， that’s my own theory especially since her husband states that Masumi doesn’t belong to one category because of her husband now。 That being said， the ending was bitter-sweet （we all wanted more） and I honestly gasped and had to take a few minutes to process it。 It’s been such a long time since a Manga series moved me like this and I know I’ll be recommending this series and thinking about it into the far future。 。。。more

Cláudia Fonseca ，

Well that's what I call a pretty perfect ending 😍 I wish I could delete this saga from my memory， just to have this feeling again and again！ Loved it。 Well that's what I call a pretty perfect ending 😍 I wish I could delete this saga from my memory， just to have this feeling again and again！ Loved it。 。。。more

Bridie ，

I loved this series so much I wish I could erase my memory and read it again。 It was written so well and covered so many diverse topics that were explained really well。Plus the art in this is incredible All in all I love this series and 100% recommend reading it。

reader_of_darkness ，

C’est quoi cette fin qui rush à 3000km/h？？？？

sara ，

:'） :'） 。。。more

Sarah Bennett ，

I absolutely adored this series。 It was also straight baiting at its finest so that's always fun。 I absolutely adored this series。 It was also straight baiting at its finest so that's always fun。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Blue Flag, Vol. 8

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Blue Flag, Vol. 8&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Blue Flag, Vol. 8&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0