I really love slice of life manga and anime,. and Blue Flag was no exception. As an adult, these types of stories fill me with a sense of nostalgia. I especially love stories with love triangles, because the contrast between each of the characters personalities is so distinct. This is such a classic high school love story, I would highly recommend to anyone who enjoys slice of life or romance.

When it comes to this book one thing is clear Love is confusing. There is so much going on in this volume that I couldn't help but have a hard time putting it down. These characters are super cute. I enjoyed getting to know more about them as they deal with life, friendship, love and also dealing with an uncertain future. These characters are graduating so decisions are going to need to be made soon and it was interesting how the friends were handling. I loved watching them push eachother out of thier comfort zone and do more then they expected. Overall this was such a fun read can't wait to read what happens next.

A cute and fun read. A great follow up from the first volume. I can't wait to continue on with this series and spend more time with these characters.

It’s time for Aohama High’s Sports Festival. Toma is pressured into being the cheer squad captain by all the girls in the class, and he makes Futaba and Taichi his vice captains! The two vice captains must perform a major cheer before the last sporting event, a relay that Toma is running. Futaba freezes and forgets all the steps, but Taichi saves her with his cheering and drumming. Then, baseball season gets underway and Toma, as team captain, leads his team to victory over difficult opponents. Taichi struggles with the unasked question of why Toma isn’t planning on going to college, and if that means he’s giving up on his dream of being a pro baseball player. Later, Taichi runs into Masumi at the subway station just after she’s broken up with her boyfriend, and she asks lots of philosophical questions about the difference between romantic love, friendship, and love for someone of your same gender. So, thus, our quadrangle is complete (for those playing at home: Masumi-> Futaba -> Toma -> Taichi -> Futaba). Another cliffhanger ending will have fans gasping for volume 3.

As this group gets closer in friendship and in romance, the story gets a little more interesting. Futaba is still hopeless and shy, but it's clear she's working through something difficult. Taichi is likewise working through a traumatic moment in which he failed to save a cat from being run over, and this has influenced him into being the kind of caring person who is always looking out for others. Masumi is cold and the complete opposite of Taichi, having instead a care for only herself and her close friends and family. I'm sure there is something from her life that has shaped her in this way, so hopefully we will get more of a reveal in future volumes. As much as this volume focused on Toma's events, we didn't get as much of an insight into his character as the other mains this volume, so I'm also looking forward to learning more about him than what is on the surface. The cliffhanger in this story is brutal, so have volume three ready to go for readers.

VIZ continues to rate this series as Teen Plus, but there's even less about volume two that would make it inappropriate for teens.

Sara's Rating: 8/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

This review was made possible with a digital reader copy from the publisher through Edelweiss.

Read more graphic novel reviews at www.graphiclibrary.org.

This volume once again blew me away! I truly enjoy this series so much! I can't get enough of these characters, and their journey to discover what romantic love is all about!
That cliffhanger ending though.... GAH I NEED VOLUME 3 ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!

COMICS & MANGA
ADVANCED REVIEW: ‘Blue Flag,’ Volume 2
05/25/2020 - by LaNeysha Campbell
Reading Time: 4 minutes
Blue Flag Volume 2

Blue Flag, is a romantic drama manga written and illustrated by mangaka KAITO and published by VIZ Media. Blue Flag Volume 2 tells the story of an unexpected love quadrangle with a bit of unrequited love as two classmates, a boy and a girl, begin to fall for each other when each of their best friends has already fallen for them.

It is Ichinose Taichi’s final year of high school and he is very aware of the distance between himself and some of his classmates. He’s childhood friends with Mita Touma, the popular star baseball player. Taichi keeps Touma at a distance because of his popularity. One day he finds out that Futaba Kuze, a shy and clumsy girl in his class who Taichi does his best to avoid has a crush on Touma. Futaba asks for Taichi’s help to get closer to Touma. While he is reluctant to help at first, Taichi eventually agrees to help. Through their efforts, they try to change themselves, navigate relationships, and make the most of their last year in high school together.

Blue Flag Volume 2 consists of chapters 6 through 12. In this volume, the school sports festival is right around the corner. Toma is asked to be class 3-A’s cheer squad captain. He accepts the position but on the condition that Futaba and Taichi can serve as his vice-captains. Wanting to live up to Toma’s faith in them, Taichi and Futaba practice their squad’s routine diligently. However, when the time comes to perform, Futaba hits a wall that threatens her participation.

In this volume, we get more time with one of the supporting characters, Masumi. Masumi is Futaba’s best and closest friend. Masumi tends to be very protective of Futaba and doesn’t like Taichi’s plan to help her get closer to Touma. Partly because she doesn’t want Futaba to get hurt when she inevitably gets rejected and Touma doesn’t return her feelings. However, another reason she is protective of Futaba is that she is in love with her herself.

Something I appreciated in this volume was the conversation that Masumi had with Taichi about romantic love and friendships with the opposite sex. The conversation takes place after Taichi happens to bump into Masumi after she just broke up with her most recent boyfriend.

Masumi confides in Taichi that even though her ex-boyfriend was great in every way and he loved her, she still did not have the same feelings for him. This leads to Masumi asking Taichi about his thoughts on having romantic feelings for the opposite sex versus having feelings for a friend.

I felt that Masumi’s dialogue was genuine. It is an interesting discussion and shows the reader Masumi is trying to process her feelings for Futaba. On one hand, she knows that she has deeper feelings for her friend than what she has ever had with any of her previous boyfriends. On the other hand, she wants to know for sure if those feelings are just normal feelings for a friend or if they are an indication of something more.

My one gripe, however, is that I wish this conversation was between Masumi and Touma instead of Taichi. I think it would have been more meaningful if the conversation was between someone that could relate to Masumi’s feelings and situation. Maybe the two of them could have been a safe and non-judgemental space for each other to confide in. Not that Taichi came off as judgmental, but he also didn’t add much to the conversation either.

Another thing I liked about this volume is that it explores the themes of internal conflict. The story takes place during the main characters’ senior year of high school. This is a time in their lives when they are thinking about their futures and making decisions that will change their lives, such as going to college, and what careers they want to pursue.

A significant part of this volume also centers on Taichi’s internal conflict with indecisiveness and making a decision on what he wants to do when he gets older. Specifically, involving his decision about going to college and what career he should pursue.

I am enjoying the direction the plot is heading overall. When it comes to drama, KAITO knows how to do it right. At this point in the story, the love quadrangle between the four friends is slowly taking its shape and you can’t help but wonder what will be the end result for everyone.

Will it end with everyone heartbroken or will anyone come out of it without any emotional scars? More importantly, will their friendships survive? At the end of the day, as I get to know more about each character, I can’t help but want to see each of them have a happy ending. So I look forward to seeing what comes next in Volume 3.

Overall, Blue Flag Volume 2 is a great read and I cannot recommend picking it up enough. The topics and themes covered in this manga are serious and everything from the characters to their dialogue feels very genuine. In this volume, the drama picks up towards the middle and end of and it leaves you on a cliffhanger that makes me eagerly await the next installment.

Blue Flag Volume 2 is available from booksellers June 16, 2020.

Following up with a great start, volume 2 shows adds variety by giving focus to Toma. We get more familiar with the four leads and their level of involvement within the conflict - Futaba willing to express her feelings towards Toma. Taichi and Masumi are of note, expressing vulnerability of the situation as well as their own personal fears and aspirations whether it be trauma or selfishness for the sake of self-preservation. As mentioned earlier Toma is the titular figure and the volume takes a very nuanced approach in exploring his character through glances, smiles, and school-wide rumors. And much like the previous volume, the cliff-hanger demands to be answered in the next volume. I can only hope to see where the story goes, and I look forward for the next installment.

Oh my gosh! This volume follows the sports festival and shows the characters growing even more. That dang cliffhanger though. I need more!! And I’m worried about how this series will end but I’m hoping it goes the way I want it to.

What took away a bit for me was that the first half was a bit boring to me personally. It showed growth that was necessary, but it didn’t keep my attention very much because it was very character driven rather than plot. Whereas the second half was character driven with more action to it. If that makes sense.

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review, "Blue Flag, Vol. 2" by KAITO, A great continuation from volume 1. The volume had a nice pacing to it. The progression of the story went like I had expected. The cliff hanger really has me wanting to see what happens next!

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Taichi, Toma, Futaba, and Masumi continue their senior year of high school. Everyone in the group has a secret crush on someone else in the group that they don't act on. The school's sport festival is coming up, and athletic Toma agrees to be captain of the cheer squad as long as Taichi and Futaba can be his co-captains.

Gah, I need the rest of this series to be translated into English so I can find out what happens next! What a cliffhanger! I want to know what happens next, and I look forward to getting to know more about each of them.

<I>Thank you to VIZ Media for providing me with an eARC of this manga via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. </I>

I am going to be honest. The first volume in this series surprised me. I enjoyed 89% of the art (everything except for the cover and those three rando friends...why are they so cartoonish compared to everyone else?) and the plot unexpectedly drew me in. Volume 2, however, was mediocre at best until the last quarter of the book. The beginning was predominantly sports oriented with little plot development, but the last 10 pages left me nearly in tears. I want volume 3 just to sort out the cliff hanger that I was left sobbing over.

Blue Flag captures all the angst and inner turmoil of growing-up. Our main characters traverse their last year of high school in this volume. Along the way they attempt to grow into who they want to be, find love, and figure out their futures.

This manga had me tearing up, which means it’s a 5 star story for me.

The received this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

https://shelvesandpines.wordpress.com/2020/05/24/blue-flag-by-kaito/

<i>arc provided by the publisher and netgalley in exchange for an honest review</i>

I wasn’t sure that I was going to continue on with this series but I got volume 2 so I decided to give it a chance and I am glad that I did.

It was nice to see these characters again especially knowing what’s going on between all of them again.

It had a nice level of angst but it was also cute and had some great friendships.

The cliffhanger at the ending definitely has me wanting to read volume 3!

3/5 ⭐️

This volume leaves you wanting more.

It is engaging and I can't wait for volume 3 to arrive. Plot twists and cliff hangers - what more could you want?

Thank you to NetGalley, KAITO, and VIZ Media for the opportunity to read Blue Flag Volume Two in exchange for an honest review.

At first I didn't really like this one as much as the first volume, but things sure start to heat up in an interesting way about two-thirds of the way through. The sports festival is important because it is Toma's, Taichi's, Itachi's, and Futaba's last chance to have fun at one. Well, until college where they can do other school festival-type activities. But Futaba learns that Toma may not be going to college, so this really is his last chance to participate in a school event. But why doesn't he want to go to college? And why did he tell Futaba and not Taichi?

The drama continues as Itachi confesses who she might just be in love with. But is she just testing the reactions of others, or is she truly in love?

As the lives of these characters intensifies, I am more than eager to continue this series!

I absolutely loved the first volume, was eagerly awaiting this volume, and it did not disappoint!
I feel like this is a unique manga in the fact that we have friendships developing and potentially romance with a love 'quadrangle.' I really appreciate the relationships between all the four main characters, and how much we're getting to see their personalities...
Now.
This volume had one of the BIGGEST cliffhanger's I've ever seen. It made me have all the feels, and NEED the next volume ASAP. I wish I read this book closer to the release date of Volume 3, but I still loved it!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The angst, the tragedy, my heart yearns for the happiness of all the gays. On the one hand, I'm terrified this will end terribly for Toma and Mesumi. On the other hand, I cant stop reading in the hope that I'm wrong.

If I had to name one problem it is that Taichi is a dumb bunny. For example, when Mesumi flat out says "what if I love Futaba?" and Taichi is confused, I was annoyed.