What do you think?
Rate this book
Sweet Blue Flowers Omnibus #4
Sweet Blue Flowers Omnibus, Vol. 4
Akira Okudaira is starting high school and is ready for exciting new experiences. And on the first day of school, she runs into her best friend from kindergarten at the train station! Now Akira and Fumi have the chance to rekindle their friendship, but life has gotten a lot more complicated since they were kids…
Fumi is elated now that she and Akira are dating, but she’s also terrified that her desires will lead her to do something Akira doesn’t like. But Fumi’s feelings for her friend aren’t chaste, so how can she reconcile her seemingly contradictory impulses? Akira, meanwhile, finds dating her best friend much more serious than she expected. Will taking their relationship to the next level bring them closer or ruin things forever?
Fumi is elated now that she and Akira are dating, but she’s also terrified that her desires will lead her to do something Akira doesn’t like. But Fumi’s feelings for her friend aren’t chaste, so how can she reconcile her seemingly contradictory impulses? Akira, meanwhile, finds dating her best friend much more serious than she expected. Will taking their relationship to the next level bring them closer or ruin things forever?
372 pages, Paperback
Published June 19, 2018
3 people are currently reading
127 people want to read
About the author
Takako Shimura
176 books211 followersTakako Shimura (native name: 志村貴子) is a manga artist primarily known for her manga works published in Japan which feature LGBT (especially about lesbian and transgender) topics. Originally from Kanagawa, she now resides in Tokyo.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 14, 2018
I had hopes for this series and that it would become less of a mess, but it didn't. The story seemed unfocused and there were too many characters constantly involved, especially that looked so familiar.
May 24, 2019
Going into the finale, this book breaks your heart a little as things start going awry for the slow blossoming relationship at its center.
The numerous side characters and subplots continue to be distracting sketches at best that get a little bit of closure, but nothing that made their existence worthwhile in the long run. Some of them might have been better off as short stories or their own series.
The numerous side characters and subplots continue to be distracting sketches at best that get a little bit of closure, but nothing that made their existence worthwhile in the long run. Some of them might have been better off as short stories or their own series.
October 12, 2021
Is it still piss play if the characters are too young(5y/o?) for it to be sexual but it's drawn like it's sexual.... That one part made me wish I had never started the series. All the child incest should have warned me off at the beginning.
Or maybe this whole thing was just a character study on what happens when I child is introduced to sex as a preteen by an older person and how that can mess with their head.
Or maybe some things just hit too close to my school experience and other things and I don't like being reminded.
There are too many characters to keep track of and no one has a satisfying ending. If the whole thing had only been about the main two characters, the ending would have been fine.
Or maybe this whole thing was just a character study on what happens when I child is introduced to sex as a preteen by an older person and how that can mess with their head.
Or maybe some things just hit too close to my school experience and other things and I don't like being reminded.
There are too many characters to keep track of and no one has a satisfying ending. If the whole thing had only been about the main two characters, the ending would have been fine.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 24, 2018
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
November 15, 2020
Hmm, idk, this whole series feels very okay to me. I wish the ending had been a more fulfilling romantic arc, even though it is technically a happy ending. I just don’t feel like I got emotional fulfillment I most enjoy. And sometimes it was hard to follow which arc was being explored. But it’s still a good story. Just, mostly okay for me. YMMV
June 5, 2022
Remains too broad and unfocused with too many characters, adding even more characters instead of focusing on the ones introduced was a bummer to see for the final volume of the series.
February 9, 2024
rigger warnings: Incest, possible pedophilia
Here we are, the final volume of Sweet Blue Flowers.
Volume 4 of Sweet Blue Flowers starts the new school year, and Fumi is excited about dating Akira but afraid her desires might drive her away. We see Akira beginning to feel different; from there, we read if they'll stay together or drift apart. At the same time, many side characters have their own stories going on.
It has adorable moments, and I found the art cute for most of the manga. Still, the series jumps way too much with too many characters that it becomes confusing. Because there are so many characters, they barely get a satisfying conclusion. It would be fine if there were short stories or even their own manga, like how Saeki Sayaka from Bloom Into You has her own light novel series. I wish Fumi and Akira were a more significant focus. In that case, the ending would be okay because we'd have read more about the main ship than the side characters. Part 7, I felt dragged out,n and part 8 had the pee licking for,m I'm assuming5-year-olds that wasn't supposed to be sexual but was drawn sexual for some reason; that grossed me out a lot.
I know that during this age, discovering themselves and thoughts on sex is common, but is no one going to question that an older cousin had sex with her younger cousin, who is likely 12-13 years old? That is not old enough to consent, especially to someone so much older, especially if it's supposed to be family. Was it supposed to be drawn as a type of character study on what happens when a child is introduced to sex as a preteen by an older person and how that can mess with their head? Personally, I didn't see a need for that.
Going into the conclusion of this manga, it breaks your heart a little as things start going awry for the slow, blossoming relationship, and there are good moments. However, there's a lot more wrong with it, and this final volume just went downhill. I rated this series between 4 and 5 stars, but now this final volume gets 2.5 out of 5 stars. Even with so many characters, I will still find the first two volumes great, but this one didn't hit right with me.
Here we are, the final volume of Sweet Blue Flowers.
Volume 4 of Sweet Blue Flowers starts the new school year, and Fumi is excited about dating Akira but afraid her desires might drive her away. We see Akira beginning to feel different; from there, we read if they'll stay together or drift apart. At the same time, many side characters have their own stories going on.
It has adorable moments, and I found the art cute for most of the manga. Still, the series jumps way too much with too many characters that it becomes confusing. Because there are so many characters, they barely get a satisfying conclusion. It would be fine if there were short stories or even their own manga, like how Saeki Sayaka from Bloom Into You has her own light novel series. I wish Fumi and Akira were a more significant focus. In that case, the ending would be okay because we'd have read more about the main ship than the side characters. Part 7, I felt dragged out,n and part 8 had the pee licking for,m I'm assuming5-year-olds that wasn't supposed to be sexual but was drawn sexual for some reason; that grossed me out a lot.
I know that during this age, discovering themselves and thoughts on sex is common, but is no one going to question that an older cousin had sex with her younger cousin, who is likely 12-13 years old? That is not old enough to consent, especially to someone so much older, especially if it's supposed to be family. Was it supposed to be drawn as a type of character study on what happens when a child is introduced to sex as a preteen by an older person and how that can mess with their head? Personally, I didn't see a need for that.
Going into the conclusion of this manga, it breaks your heart a little as things start going awry for the slow, blossoming relationship, and there are good moments. However, there's a lot more wrong with it, and this final volume just went downhill. I rated this series between 4 and 5 stars, but now this final volume gets 2.5 out of 5 stars. Even with so many characters, I will still find the first two volumes great, but this one didn't hit right with me.
February 20, 2019
So... I read it, reread it entirely, 3rd time through just reread Fumi & Akira’s arc, proceeded to reread their arc again, and reread their arc a final time. It’s obvious at this point I wasn’t invested in the other characters story arcs very much as I was Fumi & Akira’s. Things happen between them I wished never did and Takako closes this volume with an ending opened to my interpretation...AHHH!!! 😩
Overall I really enjoyed this series, but by this volume I just didn’t really care about any of the other characters story arcs. Also, I just really feel for Fumi. Geez...the author really brought on the emotional pain with the way she treated her. I’d say almost all my tears were for her. Akira...by this volume she really started to...well...l saw a lot of my own younger self’s actions in her behavior choices with Fumi and that’s probably another reason why reading this volume really HURT.
This probably won’t happen, but I ‘d love to see a follow up on Fumi x Akira after this conclusion.
Anyway, big thanks to Takako Shimura! Although this volume (and the last) hurt...you did create two characters that definitely will stay with me forever.
Overall I really enjoyed this series, but by this volume I just didn’t really care about any of the other characters story arcs. Also, I just really feel for Fumi. Geez...the author really brought on the emotional pain with the way she treated her. I’d say almost all my tears were for her. Akira...by this volume she really started to...well...l saw a lot of my own younger self’s actions in her behavior choices with Fumi and that’s probably another reason why reading this volume really HURT.
This probably won’t happen, but I ‘d love to see a follow up on Fumi x Akira after this conclusion.
Anyway, big thanks to Takako Shimura! Although this volume (and the last) hurt...you did create two characters that definitely will stay with me forever.
Read
June 29, 2020I LOVED this series SO MUCH!! It was gorgeous, I loved everyone in it, I loved all the different love and feelings all the different characters had, and that ENDING!! Ahhhhhh my heart!!! I love
EDIT Okay so the I misremembered the podcast review, they liked it but I still dislike the podcast, ahaha. A point included from my original bit here that I want to keep though:
Anyway, ahhhh, ADORED this. Quiet and lovely and full of so many different choices from different people, all centered on the theme of girls liking girls. <3
EDIT Okay so the I misremembered the podcast review, they liked it but I still dislike the podcast, ahaha. A point included from my original bit here that I want to keep though:
Anyway, ahhhh, ADORED this. Quiet and lovely and full of so many different choices from different people, all centered on the theme of girls liking girls. <3
July 24, 2025
Another home run from Shimura, who also wrote Even Though We're Adults which I also enjoyed enormously (and maybe even a tad more than this). She has a way of writing drama in a way that communicates tension and awkwardness in a very natural way, people being put in situations neither of them really want, making suboptimal decisions because of their humanness, it all makes for a layered story. I really enjoyed the cast and the multiple romances going on, the attention put to the drama club activities kind of framing the whole thing was very clever and the main pair was enjoyable to follow, especially given their contrasting personalities and outlooks.
September 19, 2025
I’m not sure if it says something about me or the manga, but I was more interested in the heterosexual relationships and was glad to see Ko and Kyoko’s relationship/background fleshed out and explained.
I tried to keep track of the other characters and how they felt about each other but I continued to find it confusing. To the end, I couldn’t tell if Akira actually liked Fumi or if she just didn’t want other people to “have” her.
I found some of it too ambiguous….. I think it can be interesting when things aren’t spelled out, but it can also just leave the audience confused if nothing is ever explained.
The art is nice and I enjoyed what I could piece together of the story.
I tried to keep track of the other characters and how they felt about each other but I continued to find it confusing. To the end, I couldn’t tell if Akira actually liked Fumi or if she just didn’t want other people to “have” her.
I found some of it too ambiguous….. I think it can be interesting when things aren’t spelled out, but it can also just leave the audience confused if nothing is ever explained.
The art is nice and I enjoyed what I could piece together of the story.
February 2, 2022
Very sweet and cute but the series jumps around way too much. It's far too confusing.
No one is going to question that an older cousin had sex with her younger cousin who is likely 12-13 years old!?! That is not old enough to consent especially to someone so much older!!
Still not understanding why Akira slept wit Fumi if she didn't like her.
The ending has no resolution and is garbage.
2.5 star series.
No one is going to question that an older cousin had sex with her younger cousin who is likely 12-13 years old!?! That is not old enough to consent especially to someone so much older!!
Still not understanding why Akira slept wit Fumi if she didn't like her.
The ending has no resolution and is garbage.
2.5 star series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2022
I really wish I hadn't bought the whole series in one go. Not only does the author normalize pedophilia and incest but she also decides to put some fetish shit between children in there? The people who rated any of the books in the series highly should be ashamed of themselves. Not to mention the actual writing was consistently a shit storm, with no satisfying ending. An overall disappointment especially having bought the series after seeing it advertised as an "unproblematic" yuri manga.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2023
I saw a bit of myself in akira with her choices with fumi… but all’s well that ends well :’) I felt really uncomfortable reading that specific piss scene tho… was that necessary? But then again maybe that’s what happens (repeating what another reviewer said) when Fumi as a preteen was introduced to sex… it messes with your head.
There was some closure for the other characters but I didn’t really care too much outside of the fumi x akira bubble. Was still a cute read tho
There was some closure for the other characters but I didn’t really care too much outside of the fumi x akira bubble. Was still a cute read tho
September 9, 2018
Another series finished in one day! I'll make my review soon!
This volume: 3.5☆
This series: 3.5/4☆
Trigger warnings: Incest, pedophilia(?), homophobia
This volume: 3.5☆
This series: 3.5/4☆
Trigger warnings: Incest, pedophilia(?), homophobia
January 24, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this series, and I think I will always have an affinity for it, since it was my introduction to manga. Very good, loved the art, and the story is completely sweet.
October 30, 2019
See review for book 1.
July 3, 2020
Too many characters, too easy to get lost!
July 7, 2020
2.5 stars.
April 25, 2023
Shimura’s character writing is unmatched.
July 23, 2023
It was a sweet, low stakes yuri manga, I'm glad I've read it but I probably won't think much about it in the future.
October 24, 2023
The ending made me so emotional 😭
I LOVE LESBIANS 😤
I LOVE LESBIANS 😤
August 8, 2022
This got very disappointing at the last volume.
January 5, 2025
Series review on vol 1
September 25, 2024
Please just save yourself and read Bloom Into You instead.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews