Blue

[MangaDex]

 

[Dudeguy1984]

The minimalistic art style makes it a bit of an ugly read.

 

[Oeconomist]

A truly bleak view of life.

 

[mirewitch]

This was very depressing. Is reflective of Japan's shit views on both lesbians and women in general in the 90s, which makes sense as this manga was written in 96. As such if you're interested in historical understanding maybe its worth reading, but I can't recommended this for anyone interested in romance.

 

[Pentium_MMX]

Looking at the reactions to this one -- the ratings are all over the place from 2 to 10 -- I can only conclude that this fine tale is suffering from being here on Mangadex, cheek-by-jowl with fluffy, wish-fulfilment yuri manga.

Nothing wrong with Mangadex, or fluffy yuri manga for that matter. This is a good, solid story. If you're still skeptical, try visualising it as a live action film. Fits, doesn't it? The realistic art style goes hand in hand with the bleakness. It's just unadorned reality. I'm guessing that millions of young, queer women felt they had to, and still feel they have to, go down these paths. The story's sticking with the bitter ending is actually admirable and shows integrity.

 

[pip3]

@Pentium_MMX
very well said

 

[butnotforme]

Some spoilers to follow so plz only read if you've finished : )

I don't get what's so bleak about it. They're teenagers... they have a lot of life left to go.

Spoiler

While it's a story about 2 queer girls, I dont think it's fair to treat Endo as a lesbian who only has relationships with men out of a sense of confusion or obligation. She seems clearly to be bi and could end up quite happy (assuming marriage means to a man, which I think is the implication). Not that it isnt sad that she thinks, perhaps, she can't be with any woman whether she wants to or not, for her parents sake. Of course, at this moment, I'm sure both characters wish they could stay together, but everyone feels that way as their high school relationships end.

Life is full of sad, difficult moments. That is a fact. But whether or not life is bleak has to do with your own outlook.

I appreciate the manga's realistic and staid narrative. The clean linework and lack of much variation in tonal value give the story the feel of a washed out memory, to me.

 

[Generika]

It breaks my heart to read stories like this...As much as I've struggled in my life being queer, this gives me some perspective on just how lucky I've been to be born in this time and place. Only a decade or two ago into the past and my life would probably look very different...