Blue Friend

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Blue Friend has a really simple story. Tomboy extrovert befriends anti-social introvert sums up this entire manga. It has the usual shoujo bullying set-up and family problems. One criticism I do have is I don't feel like the family issue was fully resolved and it seemed like it was just forgotten. But it isn't as important as the relationship between the two main characters. The ending was bittersweet, which I love so much because it retains realismr

Art is fine, acceptable level for shoujo. Characters were also fine, no one I truly disliked. Bullies were insignificant enough that I didn't need to invest hate in them. ...

Overall a very short manga to pass time.

*** 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.

【Story】Rating: 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 chapter ... 8 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.

【Art】Rating: 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.

【Character】Rating: 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.

【Enjoyment】Rating: 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.

【Overall】Rating: 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!!

Generally when I compare a Yuri work to its Class S predecessors I mean that fondly. “Sweet Blue Flowers”, “Girlfriends”, “Revolutionary Girl Utena”: 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. “Blue Friend” brazenly wears the same influences as these great works, but when I say that “Blue Friend” 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 ways ... it seems like a defunct relic of the past that I am aghast to believe was released in 2011, “Blue 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, Yuri’s foremost English-speaking scholar, describes much of the Yuri genre as “lesbian content without lesbian identity”, a cutting but accurate critique, and I was disappointed to learn that “Blue Friend" is hardly even lesbian content- sporting a not only a straight, but a homophobic lead. “Blue Friend” 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 “Blue Friend” 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 “Blue 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.