Aoi Hana

i'd like to document some stream of consciousness thoughts here: partly to paint the emotional landscape that it brought out of me, partly to use my limited filmy/animationy knowledge to try and expound upon why i feel like i feel, and to touch on aspects of shimura's style i'm starting to pick up on after wandering son and this.

sleepy rhythms of a sleepy town.
breathes and sleeps in mellow. words and a deafening lack of words that echo for episodes after they're said. fickle loves that bloom, shrivel, detonate. loves that echo for episodes. loves that compete with others within you and in the hearts ... of others. loves that emerge from dark corners you never knew existed within you. loves that refuse to float away. it's a show about friendship, about not letting go of old pals who are there for you through whatever may come, and about how important it is to just talk it out about whatever's weighing you down and take a deep breath. it's a gaze out the window on a rainy day kind of show. collapse on your bed after a hard day kind of show. a strum the blues kind of show. the kind of endlessly endearing, vulnerable coming of age story that you can't help but donate your heart to.

the most underrated thing about takako shimura is her bedrooms. places of refuge that tell you everything about her characters without saying a word. it's a mirror to the soul of its owner- with intentional, thought out detail. it goes without saying that this helps bring out the colour in the stars of this series- the flawed, jealous, repressed, recovering, earnest, performatively mature girls (and occasionally, boys) trying to find happiness. fumi is quickly becoming a favourite (with sugimoto as a close second), but wherever you look you find people just trying their best to get through hard situations, people making bad decisions for good ends.

i want to talk about chizu for a bit- fumi's cousin and first partner, with whom she, on and off, held a one-sided sexual relationship- as we are told in the first episode. as a big flcl fan something i hugely admired in that show is how tasuku, main character naota's older brother, leaves such an indelible stain on the show and the story with the tiniest of screentime and effectively no dialogue on their own. chizu's husband is never even shown. all we get is a scene with a half-hearted sorry, a birthday cake (there's a certain other scene that's also interesting to talk about on this subject too, but that's more of a spoil). it's like yui from eva all over again. the look on fumi's face as she walks in and see's the cake in the room in the first episode? the look of sheer and absolute horror? it's incredible. chizu echoes through most of fumi's actions and the asymmetrical feelings awkwardly skirted around in that relationship is paralleled repeatedly in virtually all of the other key relationships. i think it's masterful writing to realise such a character in such little space.

i finally want to touch on what i'm slowly discovering to be a favourite tool of shimura's to expand upon character dynamics- plays, and acting. characters' relationships parallel each other and teach us more about each individual, what they learn, and how they progress and what others need to do themselves, but [play name redacted to avoid spoils] helps illuminate certain main characters' perspectives on characters that mimic their own, helping to understand their mindset and where they are as a person better. whereas acting in wandering son was a pocket of safety in your gender identity in 'gender-bender plays', acting in aoi hana is about naturalised parallels and mirroring character arcs to illuminate character development without using anno-esque arthouse direction that really wouldn't fit the chill vibes of this sleepy little town by the ocean and the mundane stories it hides. i think it shows a lot of flexibility and development as a writer.

the only things i can think of to fault is that the OP turns otherwise intricate character work on akira and fumi's childhood-best-friendship/maybe romance into explicit, unsubtle homoeroticism from the very start by having them lovingly gaze at eachothers' naked bodies, even though akira's sexuality is at best a mystery even after the anime ends and 99% of the series' efforts at romantic development focuses on sugumoto, that the character designs don't have enough colour diversity so can occasionally look a little monotone and flat, that the animation isn't outstanding (but it doesn't need to be), and that the relaxed, languid pacing might not be to everyone's taste. it's not bombastic or fast, but it doesn't need to be.

aoi hana is delicate and tender moments of humanity incarnate, beating, throbbing, pumping, laughing, crying, living. in this world there's no happy endings, there's no evil, there's no villains, there's just... life. bittersweet, heart-wrenching beauty dripping from every pore. I don't think our world and aoi hana's is that different, all in all.

Easy 9/10. Required viewing.

This is actually my first review. (No spoilers that can affect anyone who wants to see this masterpiece)

I'm writing this as I just finished the anime 1 minute ago, tears are still flowing down my cheeks.

One sentence striked me at the last episode :
Fumi looking at the horizon with tears and saying :
"I remember something really important for me." (Who was her first love)

Realizing that she was confronting her the whole time without realizing...

... I have to say that there is something really special in this anime that I've never really find in the others : The inclusion of the opening and ending during the episode.
It is done soooo softly and perfectly, it may seem like a simple detail but it is huge for me.

It is an old anime graphically speaking, but I still appreciate the style, you can see that the person who drew it put all of their heart into it

I've never rated 10, but I can tell you that this anime will stay in my heart during my whole existence.

aoi hana surprised me with more mature themes than you'd normally find in a wlw (woman loving woman) romance, and strong characters with interesting, relatable dilemmas. despite loving the genre, it's not often that you watch a yuri anime where characters not only acknowledge their coming of age journey into their sexuality, but also acknowledge that coming out of the closet is not an easy thing to do, and approach this topic with maturity. aoi hana managed to defy my expectations and actually didn't end up being the best friends to lovers yuri cliche that i originally thought it would be, while also respecting the ... characters and not allowing anything to feel fetishy or overly sexual.

spoiler warning, ofc:

i think that one of the reasons i really loved this show is because the plot was so different than i thought it would be. rather than just simply being a romance, aoi hana is an anime about coming into your sexuality, and tackles this topic both from the perspective of Fumi, a young lesbian that has only experienced unrequited loves with various women in her life, and the girl that she has a crush on and eventually dates for much of the series, Sugimoto. Sugimoto and Fumi are both interesting, well-developed queer characters, and their relationship- despite it not working out at the end- teaches them both a great deal about themselves. Sugimoto is a masculine-presenting bisexual woman, which was honestly very refreshing to see, especially as the phrases "bisexuality", "lesbian", and "coming out" are actually used throughout the show, making it more rooted in reality. fumi's coming out scene with akira, as well as akira's response to this, was one of my favorite moments in the show, and it makes me happy that other lgbt people have a show like this with realistic gay characters to relate to.

wanted to rate this an 8, but bumped it down to a 7 because despite akira being one of the two main characters, she barely gets any character development, much less a character arc. i found her a bit more likable than fumi (although that scene at the end where fumi tells sugimoto straight up what a bitch she's being was so satisfying to watch), but because she never really got the screen time to feel like she had her own conflicts going on, it feels more like she just revolves around Fumi. even at the end when fumi realizes that akira was the first woman she ever loved, it felt more like a sidenote thrown in at the end, and honestly, i think i prefer them as being childhood friends that love and support one another. maybe if they had gotten more than 11 episodes to really flesh everything out, it wouldn't have been just thrown in. i wouldn't say that i hated the ending by any stretch though, if im being honest it just made me want to read the manga for more.

overall, definitely recommend if you're LGBT and want to watch a yuri romance that doesn't just feel like it takes place in Yuritown, JP. the character dilemmas feel rooted in reality, and this makes it especially relatable if you identify as queer yourself.

The opening credits nearly turned me off watching this anime. We had a lot of beautiful shots of friendship and love, then the two of them naked; it threw off the tone. I know it wasn't explicit nakedness, not erotic, nothing more than an expression of how the two of them can be completely vulnerable with each other, but still, it threw me off.

This was an absolutely beautiful anime, going through the ups and downs of trying to find your way around love and relationships with others. I truly wish there was more. Through all of the various likes and loves, ... watching the love between the two friends, watching them realize the love they had for each other, was truly breathtaking.

The thing with 1 season anime adaptations of manga that are yet to be finished is that they often deliver unsatisfying endings. Aoi Hana is no exception. At the time of adaptation, the manga was yet to be concluded. Because of this, Aoi Hana's ending is heartbreakingly limp, with barely any closure or satisfaction. With that off my chest, lets actually review the show in question.

Aoi Hana is a roller-coaster of a love story. As such, the show never ceases to be boring or lose my interest. The most important thing in a romance to me is to make it believable, and this show ... explores the romance between its characters in a realistic and interesting way.

The story revolves around two girls, Fumi and Akira. From the start, it is made clear that Fumi is a lesbian and that she had fallen for her cousin. After finding out that her cousin is engaged to someone, she becomes heartbroken. From here, Fumi and Akira reconnect after Fumi moves back to her hometown. At first, it seems as though the story will play the "childhood friends" angle as a set-up for romance between Fumi and Akira. The story takes it in a completely different direction, however, where Akira mainly serves to give advice to Fumi and resolve conflicts between the characters. Did I say conflict? I sure did, because this story is one giant love polygon. Everyone is in love with everyone, and everyone is unrequited in their love. As such, it isn't made clear who will be getting together by the end. The story is told in such a way where the audience is encouraged to draw conclusions around how the story will play out, only to have those expectations thrown back into your face in the next episode. The series ends on a bittersweet note, with nobody really getting want they wanted but it was a happy ending nonetheless.

The art style is a bit different from the norm, however I like it. The music is also great, providing those "feels" when you need them. The characters are also varied and have depth to them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this show, with the characters being interesting and the love story between the characters being realistic and believable. Its strong point is that the story doesn't mince or sugarcoat the story. Though the story ends on a boring, unsatisfying note, the journey getting there was a fun ride.

Aoi Hana is slightly different kind of yuri than what you're likely to see noways - it's slow-paced, practically devoid of fanservice, and even a bit inconclusive when it goes to romance. Visually it's somewhat dated and wasn't a particularly pretty series even in the time it came out. People that expect a lot of cute fluff and GxG kisses, or a dynamic storyline will quite likely find it dull.

Still, I think it's one of the most interesting and enjoyable yuri shows out there, if you approach it right. For the genre, it's surprisingly grounded in reality, with conflicts often rooted in the negative social ... perception of lesbian couples, and the uncertainty and self-doubt connected to it. This is represented the most by Yumi, who might seem like a meek and unappealing lead, but is above all broken and lost after being repeatedly rejected by those she loved. On the other hand A-chan, her counterpart, is a thoroughly loveable and positive character and the most heartwarming elements of the story consist mostly of her friendship with Fumi being strengthened by the trails they go through, with a clear suggestion that it might bloom into mutual, romantic love, even if that stage is not explicitly shown. The road leading to it is definitely thorny, but develops the characters in interesting and relatable ways.

There are of course some problems - often average dialogue, exaggerated story element (everyone and their mother gets wet at the sight of certain senpai...), cliched melodrama... Still, I think that for the yuri fans this is a rare and valuable treat, and should satisfy even other fans of SoL anime. Highly recommended.

Aoi Hana (aka Sweet Blue Flowers) is a yuri anime that focuses more on the emotional attachment of lesbian relationships. It is easy to tell that this particular anime targeted lesbians and/or bi girls as their audience rather than boys whom enjoy the yuri genre.

Story:

Before I say anything, I will state now that I have read the manga before watching the anime, and I was a little disappointed as to how much they had cut out - even if it was only the little bits. The little parts of the manga was what made it so... outstanding? It allowed me, as the audience, to grow ... much more of an attachment towards Fumi and understand her feelings - rather than just look at her like Akira as being a 'crybaby'.

Art:

I can say now that the art is much different from any other animes I have watched. It seems more drawn, to me. Like they had just gotten their sketches of these characters and put it on a screen without any real animation. To me, it was beautifully done, and it gave a sort of 'innocent and familiar' feeling. I loved every bit of it.

Sound:

I hadn't really paid attention to the soundtracks (as I do with most anime), but what really struck me was the opening to the show - Aoi Hana by Kukikodan. It's beautiful, absolutely beautiful. It's my new favourite love song. The part I mostly loved was that the piano at the start always played as the episode started, before cutting to the opening. It gave that sort of... tranquil feeling. Like I could just close my eyes and listen to it forever. Wonderfully done.

Character:

I'm not going to crack down on each and every character in the series, but I'd like to say that there was definitely a variety of personalities and beliefs from each one. Because of this, it was easy to distinguish the fact that 'opposites attract'... but can also repel. The author, however, didn't make their characters SO mainstream or SO perfect to seem like an unrealistic person. The characters seemed to inherit traits and beliefs that normal, everyday people like you and I would have - and that's what really gave life to them. There was not one character that I disliked, even though I got angry at Yasuko multiple times in both the anime and manga. The characters were wonderfully made.

Enjoyment:

As a teenage girl who is still so far in her closet with all her rainbows, I enjoyed being able to watch something I could relate with. Having feelings for other girls, secretly dating them, becoming a complete tomato, heartbreak... and Aoi Hana included all of these. I was able to relate to Fumi to an extent where she had become my favourite character, where Aoi Hana had become one of my favourite animes. If there was Aoi Hana merchandise, I would spend all my money on it and then realise that I'd have to hide my lesbian stuff so no one finds me out. But, seriously, I enjoyed this series so much that I'd rewatch and reread it any day.

Overall:

9 - I give the manga a 10, but seeing as the anime left out the small bits that seemed like such a huge deal to Fumi (and what happens her, Akira, Yasuko and Kyouko after graduation) I only give it a 9.

lesbian fetishism absent, finally a good yuri flick that doesn't pretend to be profound or have rampant fan service. simplistic with pleasant pacing and great music. characters can be really annoying in a couple of instances, but i guess i can't hold that against them as much as to their inexperience, which is in the end more of an asset to the show than a blight. gets dinged for an unrealistic utopian shoujou ai universe and unrealistic handling of lesbianism in modern japanese society.

This anime as many others could be a way better but even like this it is probably best shoujo ai i have seen. Drawing is awesome, it is well written, but kind of too safe, like i get we want a story but we want to see some huggin by two poster girls as well. i mean they are naked in every oppening but in anime they dont even kiss.

I loved this anime even thru all the weird plot lines but how is there no reward.
Usualy you show people go thru problems and then recive a reward and thats a good story. Here however ... poster girls barely show any feelings, in all episodes they just hugged und hold hands some times and till last 10 min of anime have not even released their love to eachother.

I do feel a bit fooled by the oppening and poster but it is still probably best shoujo ai anime.

Sometimes, just sometimes, by sheer luck we find real inexplicably good gems... Aoi Hana was that gem for me.

In this story we follow the life of Okudaira Akira and Manjoume Fumi, two friends who had to separate in childhood and are reunited after years without any contact. It's the epitome of what a Slice of Life should be: there are no super villains or unnecessary plots, just our main characters and their friends living and learning about themselves and the world around them.

While the story can be summed up so simply I can't say the same for ... the characters as most of them don't get caught up in their usual stereotypes. Although the two protagonists are equally fascinating, it's easy to get lost and always want a little more from the secondary characters because it's very difficult not to put yourself in the shoes of some of them even when they're not doing exactly good things.

Going back a little to talk about our protagonists we have Fumi, a relatively tall girl for her age, which contrasts a lot with her shy and crying personality, while Akira is small but full of attitude and energy, which makes her incredibly reliable and sociable.

Without getting into spoilers, the story of the two friends starts to move when Fumi starts dating her senpai Sugimoto Yasuko, a girl full of mysteries and desired and admired by almost everyone for her beauty and athletic and academic gifts.

Everything could point to a generic Yuri novel, but the story gains originality by dealing very skillfully with the dilemmas involved. Fumi, on the one hand, Fumi is completely resolved with her sexual orientation, her insecurity and the fear of judgment is huge, on the other hand, Akira, knowing this relationship, needs to learn to deal with it in order to support her friend and manage to keep the smile on her friend's face. so precious to her.

A sad thing is that we will probably never see a continuation of this story, even comparing to the source material I had the impression that the work was done knowing this. So almost nothing really ends here and the changes in the story force us to read the source material from the beginning to understand everything but if I'm asked if it's worth watching I answer with a loud and resounding: YES, don't even think about it once and just watch.

The journey is satisfying on its own, sometimes that's enough. This is where the unexplainable part that I mentioned at the beginning comes in: we don't have an ultra surprising plot, the art is beautiful but nothing extraordinary and we don't have shocking or genius resolutions for any arc... What we have are characters that are very relatable, situations where anyone can put themselves in an unfinished story that is perfect in its imperfections.

Sweet Blue Flowers, and most romance anime in general, tend to be very character driven, but there was something about the story that made me wanting more.

Story: Sweet Blue Flowers is a slice of life & romance / shoujo-ai anime. We're introduced to our main character, Fumi, who is entering her first year at a new girl's school, and needs to join a club. We've heard this before because so many anime use this as a basis for our characters to do something once they enter school. Since she enjoys reading, she naturally joins the literature club, but shortly after, develops a ... crush for one of the club members. Meanwhile, we are then introduced to Akira, who was one of Fumi's best friends from ten years ago when they went to the same school, but unfortunately lost touch with each other when the latter moved away. However, both Fumi and Akira's mothers get back in touch with each other and they unexpectedly meet up more formally.

Much of the story of these two are told separately and it only really intercepts here and there in the beginning of the series. This is a nice angle for them to take, since they live slightly different lives and it's nice to see how they differ and shape their characters. However, the best parts were definitely when they were both in the picture, as they are strong characters together. Much of these interactions create really lighthearted moments and these are easily the best parts of the series. Much of the story is told as Fumi goes about school life, chasing her crush, while also trying to figure out who she is as a person. This includes the short trips she takes and as a result, it somewhat plays out a bit like a coming-of-age series. There are many different settings throughout, however, many of them play out a little too similarly for my liking.

Parts of the end to the series were somewhat weak to me. Some of the elements of the story feel like they weren't fleshed out as much as I would have liked. In addition, it's very clear early on that Fumi's is still "in the closet". It's clear that it's a plot point, and while the series touches on it, it's simply not explored. There are plenty of missed opportunities throughout the series and these unfortunately highlight only a few of them. The finale was alright, but I was hoping that they would explore Fumi and Akira's friendship more than they did and since the time of writing this review is over a decade after it aired, I don't think we're getting it. (7/10)

Characters: Rare is it that I enjoy both main characters in a show as much as I did with Fumi and Akira. However, this show nails it. Fumi's very sensitive. She let's most anything that bugs her get the better of her and she seems to blame herself, which doesn't make it any easier. She has very obvious personal weaknesses and much of the show is us, watching how she overcomes those shortfalls. These occur through the development of Fumi's relationships with her peers, which is a bit of an uphill battle through much of the series. We definitely see the changes she goes through, but had the series continued, I feel like we would have seen an even better side of her. You really can tell how she grows by the backend of the series though. She changes the most, while still keeping that believable character intact. On the other side of things, I loved Akira so much, and much of it is because she's a fantastic person to go with, or even "counter" what Fumi brings to the table. She's full of energy, passionate, and above all else, a great friend. This is all very evident with her first encounter with Fumi on the train, which I audibly laughed at. She does come off as a character that may jump to conclusions, but she never does so in a way that would cross a line. With her, its not really about the character development, but how she reacts to different situations.

Akira's next-desk neighbour is Kyouko, who we learn early on, has a crush of her own. Her storyline never really evolves, but they go about it from multiple different angles, so it prevented her from being an overly boring character. You don't learn a ton about her on an emotional level, but she still has interesting character plot points. Her current relationship status is pushed into our faces a few more times than I otherwise would have liked, and this aspect was simply strange for me overall. However, had this show continued, I could see many different ways they could have taken her (for reference, I am not familiar with the source material at all). Yasuko is another interesting character we have. We meet her fairly early on and her interactions with her peers are pretty nice. She seems to be a model-student for everyone else so it's not completely surprising. However, what we see on the outside, isn't totally true on the inside. We learn a lot about her, especially in the middle portion of the series, and not all of it is pleasant. This does make you question the character at points, but does push the story forward. One interesting thing to mention is that after we learn how 'not so perfect' she is, they do kind of shove that in our face.

Akira's brother, Shinobu only gets a mention, because this was really the only character that I could have done without the screen time. He just doesn't do much. It's never really explained why he hangs around his sister much, especially when she doesn't even like him around. His interactions somewhat border on being unbelievable, and I really can't say he adds much to the story, outside of one of the final episodes. But, as a whole, the characters in this series were awesome. They're well written and we see real change in all of them that adds to the somewhat questionable story. Fumi's three classmates (that get lightly involved in the story, at times) feel a touch too similar at times, but they're still solid additions here too. (9/10)

Art: Let's get this out of the way - this anime is twelve years old, as of this review. All the backgrounds have a look of simple water colour set pieces and do not budge, for the most part. I'm not entirely sure how well it holds up today. This could just be a consequence of having a bit lower of a budget, and you're bound to run into those every now and then. It didn't take away from the series "too much", and it definitely helped it at other times. So this is just a word of warning, for those that don't love older-looking anime. That being said, the characters and foregrounds looked solid! (6/10)

Sound: My repeatable opinion on sound for much of the romance anime tends to be very similar - it's always solid and it doesn't take away from the anime much. That applies here. The OP and ED are light, which meshes well here. This didn't have a dub version, and my opinion on Japanese VOs tend to be the same: They're good, but since I don't know the language, it's harder for me to say I liked X or Y. It's all fine. (7/10)

Overall Enjoyment: Sweet Blue Flowers is worth the watch for the enjoyable and interesting characters. This anime does take some steps to make the audience feel a certain way about its characters, and that's a good thing! They never stay too vanilla, despite the somewhat vanilla setups. Some of the story elements are shaky at times so its certainly not perfect. However, as long as you don't mind the older still-backgrounds, I still fully believe that its worth the watch. (7/10)

Good Day,

See after the review what a 1-10 score means to me :)

Non Spoiler...

If you love light and cute Shoujo Ai Anime then this will be right up your alley.

Why I scored it an 8 (Likes)

... I would say the characters, especially our MC's Okudaira, Akira & Manjoume, Fumi. Akira is a very fun character with a big heart, you will always be rooting for her and then you have Fumi who you think you figured out but then some episodes her personality can take you by surprise in a good way.

Why not score it higher? (Dislikes)
Story is not concluded in the Anime.

Well, I believe the Anime is meant to drive manga sales and does a very good job at that as the Anime leaves you wanting a lot more. Definitely peeked my interest in the manga and I don't read manga at all.

P.S. I am not an Anime, light novel or manga expert. Just my thoughts written down. If I made a factual mistake about the show please let me know so I can correct it :)

Hope the above helps!
Best Regards,

Elenium_Type_95

10 (A masterpiece!)
It was so good I watched it more that 10 times. I even tried to convince my non-anime watching friends and family to try it out, even drawing them pictures and timelines of the plot. Sometime I even bribe them to try it out!

9 (There was something very special about it!)
The show had one or multiple qualities that I loved, example:
It made me laugh my butt off
Was able to play on my emotions
Outstanding soundtrack
Made me want to improve my own life.
Thought about the show weeks on end after watching it.

8 (Was a great ride, will ride it again)

Show was great, will re-watch in the future.

7 (Glad I watched it)

Was very enjoyable but will not re-watch.

6 (Was Meh)

I question myself if it was a waste of time or not.

5 and below (Most probably dropped it)

...

This is a pleasant, gentle yuri romance. As you would expect, it was an adaptation of an (at the time) unfinished manga. The opening titles of each episode include a provocative image that makes it pretty clear which pairing the overall story is meant to be about, but this 11-episode TV series never gets to that point. So it runs into the usual problem of not being a complete story, but it handles it in an interesting way.

By adopting a fairly loose slice-of-life structure instead of just the rigid tracks of the romance genre, it focuses on the overall knot of unrequited loves and lingering ... feelings for old flames that bind together the several major characters. Rather than spending much time on the lead-up to a pairing that we never see, it's instead about the messy, painful business of processing emotions that you can't just wish away, no matter how difficult they make people's lives, and the important role that a steadfast friendship can play in that. Consequently, it feels like a more self-contained story than other unfinished yuri adaptations like Bloom Into You or Adachi & Shimamura. I prefer both of those over Sweet Blue Flowers due to their more interesting characters and focused sense of progression, but both just stop abruptly in a frustrating manner, while Sweet Blue Flowers handles its final episode far better. If you want a yuri anime that doesn't give you a hard shove in the direction of the source material at the end, it's a good option.

I've mentioned before that romance isn't really a genre I find myself drawn to. Granted, that's not to say every piece of romance media is bad. I've never been in a relationship myself, so I never find myself relating to any characters that partake in romantic relations. While a lot of romance media tends to rehash the same cliches over and over again, I have found some genuinely good ones. Some of my favorites include the following: Ride Your Wave, a movie about a girl moving on from the death of her boyfriend that's brought to life with Masaaki Yuasa's sublime, lively animation; Snow White ... With The Red Hair, a low key fantasy romance with a couple that has great chemistry with one another; the Haikara-san ga Tooru movies, a fairly polished reboot of the old 70s manga, even if its second movie falls into heavy melodrama (I still need to get around to watching that); Insomniacs After School, a down-to-earth slice-of-life about two high schoolers who bond over their struggles with insomnia. I'd add Skip and Loafer to this list too, and don't get me wrong, I do like it, but I felt like it was missing something. I recently revisited one romance series that I had watched when it first aired, Aoi Hana, aka Sweet Blue Flowers, and I liked it back then, but then I put it on the back burner. Since I own the DVD, and I ran out of stuff to watch, I figured now would be a good time to revisit it, especially since I did read the entirety of the manga. Honestly, Aoi Hana the anime holds up a lot better than I expected it to...and would anyone kill me if I say I prefer it to the manga?

The series' story is as follows: Shy crybaby Fumi Manjoume and happy-go-lucky Akira Okudaira were best friends who spent all their time together back in elementary school. But one day, Fumi moved away, and they lost contact. Years later, Fumi and her family move back into town, and through happenstance, she and Akira reunite and rekindle their friendship, so they have a lot to catch up on. But a lot's happened since they've been apart, and they go to different schools, so they don't spend as much time together as they used to. Things get complicated when Fumi gets asked out by a popular student, Yasuko Sugimoto. After running to Akira for help so many times before, Fumi must figure out who she is as a person instead of standing in someone else’s shadow, finding herself balancing her feelings towards Akira and her new desire for Sugimoto. Will the girls be able to conquer the high school stage of growing up before it pulls them apart?

Aoi Hana was animated by JC Staff, and their output tends to be pretty inconsistent. Some of their shows can look amazing, while others look like they were strung together with pocket lint. Luckily, Aoi Hana is one of their better animated projects, and for a show that was made in 2009, it still looks stunning even today. The backgrounds are all lush, pastel watercolors that really make the series feel lively, though the actual animation is no slouch either. Aoi Hana as a series thrives on subtlety and body language, and there's lots of attention paid to the way the characters interact with one another through body language, whether it be playing with each other's hair or holding hands. Even when the character models are messy when in motion, that messiness gives them a sense of fluidity and liveliness, conveying more than static still images could ever do. The music also holds up pretty well, with elegant piano tunes and violins that really sell the subtle nature of the story. Both the opening and ending songs are subdued, low key ballads that add onto Aoi Hana's themes and are beautifully sung. I have to admit, I'm kinda sad Ceui hasn't done any new anime theme songs since 2013, because she has an amazing voice that's very easy on the ears, and I've always liked every single song she sang. It's a shame she doesn't do anime songs anymore.

The series' penchant for subtlety and nuance also extends to its cast of characters. Aoi Hana manages to do a lot with the cast in eleven episodes that most longer series struggle with. None of the characters' personalities can simply be summed up in just one sentence, and all of them have believable, down-to-earth motivations for what they do, even if you may not agree with them, and the anime doesn't rely on overblown melodrama or forced angst to make you feel for them. Granted, as good as the characters by themselves are, the anime chose to only adapt the first 18 chapters, so later developments that flesh them out further don't get to happen in the anime's short run time, which is reflected in the rather open-ended finale. To be honest, I'm kinda glad the anime didn't go further, because having read the manga, the manga makes some rather...questionable decisions in regards to how it resolves certain characters' arcs. Hell, there are two scenes in the manga that really grossed me out, with one of them having no explanation behind it whatsoever. The anime doesn't adapt those, thankfully, and even leaves out a lot of the sordid details behind Fumi's romance with her cousin.

Other than leaving out some more sordid details, Aoi Hana adapts the manga fairly faithfully, even elevating the source material with the subtlety of its animation and the masterful craftsmanship behind it. Some people may not like the deliberately slow pacing or the series' laid-back nature, but I didn't have an issue with those considering they fit the series' ethos. Anyone who hates slow paced series or realistic depictions of romance aren't gonna like this series, but Aoi Hana is a must watch for any yuri/shoujo-ai fan who wants realistic portrayals of both romance and LGBT people that doesn't rely on fetishization and sensationalism. Plus, with both the anime and manga readily available in the US, it's more accessible than ever, so give it a shot if you want a sweet, low key LGBT romance to chew on.

ok so it starts with gwc (Girl With Glasses) being just informed that a girl she loves is getting married to a man. This makes her sad and a lil bit depressed, but going into her highschool year 1 she looks forward to it. After moving back to close to her childhood best friend she and her start as freshmen to 2 different high schools close to each other.
And so it goes on.

So it has been maybe 5-15 days since i saw the anime and i am not going to lie i am so disappointed in the ending! Do not get me wrong ... this anime is very nice and good, but the ending just makes it all dissapear in a 1nd because the ending really really is horrible. There is a manga that does the ending better but, like this the anime which covers 1/3 of the manga. Ive also heard that the ending in the manga is also very bad, but whatever.

I do not remember their names all i know is gwc, the orange hair and YASUKO THE GREAT. DESPITE BEING A GOOD ANIME, IT WAS SAVED BY A BRINGER FROM THE HEAVEN'S YASUKO. Yeah the anime could have went well without yasuko but, the story is about her the most. She is the reason to why everything in the anime happens not including the manga.
Spoiler not spoiler Yasuko falls in love with gwc, not the best choice but fair ig, they go on dates and whatever, but in a twist evolving her family something happens.

Now i get that the orange hair is suppose to take the second main character but, she is generally in not a lot of the scenes. She is the side character wanting to be the main character. She does not grow (in height too) as a person while gwc and Yasuko do. She is just there to be a character in the manga.

Now the gwc or fumi is ok. She but the ending. smh. Everyone wanted a yasuko and fumi but, cus FUMI IS a STUPID mf and JUST MAKES EVERYTHING DONE UP TO THE LAST EPISODE WORTHLESS. SHE IS THE SOLY REASON TO WHY PEOPLE DROPPED THIS ANIME.

And adding to the orange hair girl, she does not even like fumi her and fumi never make out or nothing. BUT IF YOU READ THE MANGA THEY GET TOGETHER BLAH BLAH BLAH.

In the end I am thankful for Yasuko's final decision. (Just to clarify, i did not hate Fumi and Yasuko togheter but, nobody else is togheter in the anime but, the actions Fumi take are so dreadful and stupid they just could not have been real human emotions. She even tells to orange that she still has feelings for Yasuko, but lets just make the ending shit and basically a filler)