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elabyI'm not sure if I've squeed about Aoi Hana before, but it deserves it. Aoi Hana ("Blue Flower(s)", known among fan-translation circles as "Sweet Blue Flowers") is a manga series by Shimura Takako. I would call it a yuri manga except that it's unlike any other "girls dating each other" series I've ever come across, even The Last Uniform. It would be more aptly labeled as a GLBT issues series. This is the only manga I have EVER come across that's treated same-sex relationships with seriousness and sensitivity, and not as either comedy or something to squee over/get turned on by. AND COME ON, how can I not love that?
The story is about Manjoume Fumi, an extremely shy girl who has had a couple of relationships with other girls and knows that she's a lesbian, and her best friend Okudaira Akira, who has a lot of confused feelings. In terms of pacing, the story is very slow, but I like it that way - it took the couple I rooted for five volumes to kiss. AND IT WAS SO WORTH IT. It's also a really intelligent story, with lots of references to classic literature (both Japanese and Western). The main cast is focused around the drama clubs at the two schools the main girls go to, and they put on fantastic plays that act as the backdrop of a lot of the plot. The costumes are gorgeous, the drawings are simple but elegant, and I find the characters to be very realistic. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to read manga where same-sex relationships aren't treated as titillatingly forbidden. In Aoi Hana, people don't always understand or approve of same-sex attraction and love, but that's realistic too. And the GLBT element drives the story and the characters' growth; it's not just there to excite readers. There's none of the standard "Oh, my body feels so warm! What is this feeling? But we're both girls!" Heh, there's even a part where one character, after confessing her affection to another girl and hearing her response, says "I'm glad you didn't say 'But we're both girls!'"
The only problem is that I can't find anything about it ever coming out in English T_T I read all of the volumes that are out on www.mangafox.com and I plan to buy the raw Japanese if I can find it somewhere (my favorite Japanese bookshop, Sasuga, has closed -_-). This sums up my feelings on fan-translating and manga scans online: North American distributors, if you bring it out in English, I WILL BUY IT. Please give me the opportunity.
There's also an anime :3 But I don't think the manga is done yet, so I wonder how far the anime goes. I think it's only like 12 episodes (of course, the stuff that happens in five volumes could probably be put into 12 episodes. It just wouldn't be as gently paced).
Akio, you look much more lascivious in my mood icon than I intended by choosing it. Of course, I should expect no less from you.
The story is about Manjoume Fumi, an extremely shy girl who has had a couple of relationships with other girls and knows that she's a lesbian, and her best friend Okudaira Akira, who has a lot of confused feelings. In terms of pacing, the story is very slow, but I like it that way - it took the couple I rooted for five volumes to kiss. AND IT WAS SO WORTH IT. It's also a really intelligent story, with lots of references to classic literature (both Japanese and Western). The main cast is focused around the drama clubs at the two schools the main girls go to, and they put on fantastic plays that act as the backdrop of a lot of the plot. The costumes are gorgeous, the drawings are simple but elegant, and I find the characters to be very realistic. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to read manga where same-sex relationships aren't treated as titillatingly forbidden. In Aoi Hana, people don't always understand or approve of same-sex attraction and love, but that's realistic too. And the GLBT element drives the story and the characters' growth; it's not just there to excite readers. There's none of the standard "Oh, my body feels so warm! What is this feeling? But we're both girls!" Heh, there's even a part where one character, after confessing her affection to another girl and hearing her response, says "I'm glad you didn't say 'But we're both girls!'"
The only problem is that I can't find anything about it ever coming out in English T_T I read all of the volumes that are out on www.mangafox.com and I plan to buy the raw Japanese if I can find it somewhere (my favorite Japanese bookshop, Sasuga, has closed -_-). This sums up my feelings on fan-translating and manga scans online: North American distributors, if you bring it out in English, I WILL BUY IT. Please give me the opportunity.
There's also an anime :3 But I don't think the manga is done yet, so I wonder how far the anime goes. I think it's only like 12 episodes (of course, the stuff that happens in five volumes could probably be put into 12 episodes. It just wouldn't be as gently paced).
Akio, you look much more lascivious in my mood icon than I intended by choosing it. Of course, I should expect no less from you.
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Date: 2011-03-02 02:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-04 12:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-04 02:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-03-04 11:23 pm (UTC)http://www.mangafox.com/manga/aoi_hana/
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Date: 2011-03-03 10:13 pm (UTC)I feel very strongly about the online fan-translation issue. I feel this is a very valid way to introduce fans to a series, and that the majority of fans are going to buy the manga they read online, if given the opportunity.
I'm also so pissed off about the shutdown of several aggregated manga sites that it makes me not want to buy manga at all, but I'll get over it, eventually, I suppose.no subject
Date: 2011-03-12 01:45 pm (UTC)Yeah, I really think that most people WILL buy things once they're available. I would be totally fine with disallowing manga that is currently published and available in English to be placed online for free, because I can see that actually taking away from the creator's revenue, but stuff that's not published in English yet? English fans will buy it once it is, but they have to know they like it first, and how are they to find out otherwise except by randomly selecting stuff at Barnes & Noble (unless they're lucky enough to have friends who can recommend things to them)?