BLUE～愛在蔚藍情天時～ 1

Blue [ブル] #1

by Kozue Chiba, 千葉梢, YUI . (Translator)

睽違三年回到家鄉小島的美海。
在那裡迎接她的，是小光、菫跟陽介。
他們四人是在這座島從小一起長大的青梅竹馬。
因為在東京失戀，所以美海回到了這座島。
將美海給溫柔包圍住的，是那又深邃又透明的青色大海。
然而在那之中，四人的友情開始漸漸轉變成戀愛…!?
在眼前展開的湛藍世界──－－
無法忘懷的物語，即將展開…

Genres: Manga, Romance, Shojo, High School

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 26, 2010

About the author

千葉コズエ

Reviews

[❀ Tina ❀ · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5*

[Bibliothecat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review for complete series



After facing problems at school, Mimi decides to leave Tokyo behind to return to the small island she grew up on. Soon she is greeted by her three childhood friends who welcome Mimi back to the island. It seems not much has changed in the time they have been apart, except, perhaps, when it comes to matters of the heart.

This review may contain spoilers!

I feel very torn when it comes to Chiba's first longer series Blue. It brings along several typical shoujo tropes but delivers them in an unusually realistic light. Chiba draws on quite a range of different subjects and handles most of them very well - it is just unfortunate that the weakest aspect of this story is the romance, especially given that its main genre is just that.

Mimi is a likeable but somewhat tiring main character. She is introduced as confident and upbeat, though we see many insecurities underneath as the plot progresses. Having a character put on a happy attitude to hide their pain is anything but uncommon in manga, yet I found Mimi's story particularly well done in this regard. I think a lot of it comes down to her not actually fully realising the pain she is in. Although we only get to see her mentally unstable mother, it's already more than enough to show that Mimi's family situation is very unhealthy. This results in isolation at school which ultimately gets her involved with a manipulative teacher which then, in turn, leads to bullying once they've been discovered. While none of this happens during the main plot, it is detrimental to the events that follow.

Returning to the island was ultimately triggered by the teacher dumping her - Mimi is left with suicidal thoughts which at the time she thinks is purely based on her disappointment in love. The more we learn about Mimi, though, the more it becomes evident that her family is the main source of her pain. The problem with her is that she doesn't realise how much it's affecting her and she puts on a happy face trying to convince herself as much as those around her. In a way, I thought it was fantastically done, but on the other hand, she could be very tiring at times. She has a tendency to run away from problems and there are times when one simply has to be honest with others - that is something that she doesn't learn until very late in the story, no matter how often others explain it to her.

The main plot, however, focuses on Mimi's friendship with Sumire, Hikari and Yosuke. It's hardly a surprise when a circle of friends consisting of two boys and two girls turns complicated once romance becomes involved. Everyone seems to be in love with the wrong person - the great thing is that they genuinely care about each other and want to keep each other happy. So there's a lot of struggle between romance and friendship loyalty which I felt was also well and realistically done. Unfortunately, Sumire got on the bad side of me pretty early on which ruined the dynamics between these four. In addition, I didn't feel the chemistry between the main intended couple.

Another reminder that this review is not spoiler-free!

So, let's get to the bottom of this love square. Hikari has been in love with Mimi since their early childhood and has never been shy to let everyone know. Mimi loves him too but takes a while to come around given her history with her teacher. Of course, Sumire has always been in love with Hikari and Yosuke is in love with Mimi. I'm sorry to say that Mimi and Hikari's romance is the one to win the race. The truth is that I didn't think there was any real chemistry between them. Hikari is such a cheerful character that it borders on being carefree. I don't believe he can actually grasp Mimi's painful experiences and he shows that often enough by telling her she overthinks things. One could argue that his sunny nature ought to balance Mimi's darker sides, but I don't see that as being the solution to her problems.

Yosuke, on the other hand, is a quiet and much more mature character. He understands Mimi better than she does herself which is why she is always open up to him rather than to others. Given that Mimi is often forced to play the adult and look after her mother, I really feel that she herself needs someone mature to look out for her. I just can't get my head around why she would end up with someone so merry she can't even show any of her fears to, instead of someone who understands her perfectly and can actually help her with her fears. Alas, it wasn't meant to be.

Sumire is a different story; she is actually a very kindhearted friend who supports the entire cast throughout. That is, with the exception of an early scene. Sumire makes a pretty serious claim to Mimi which turns out to be a lie told in spite. Sure, Sumire apologises and is a perfectly supportive character from thereon. However, I just found that her lie was a really low move and while her friends could get over it, I as a reader couldn't.

So, I'm sad to say that I didn't really like the romance in this because there was a lot of potential. I'm still inclined to give Blue a good rating for the other aspects it delivers. Not least of all is the art; although I don't like the first volume's cover art very much - there's something off about Mimi's face - I love the rest of the art. There are a lot of beautiful illustrations that show the three friends spending time together and of course lots of ocean sceneries. The illustrations on the inside are both delicate and expressive and Chiba has even improved in drawing adult characters. What's a bit of a shame is that she occasionally used photographs as backgrounds. It happens in manga now and again and I can understand it for certain sceneries, but it felt wholly unnecessary in this manga. The photos are a tad too obvious and feel out of place next to the other drawings. This is especially true because sometimes the same object or place was drawn and photographed within the same page. For example, you'd see a perfectly well-drawn ship next to another panel showing a photographed version. Obviously, Chiba is capable of drawing the said ship so it makes the photographed panels just look like lazy work. Nevertheless, this is definitely a beautifully drawn manga.

[Yoyomaus Die Büchereule · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zum Inhalt:


Als Mimi nach drei Jahren mit gebrochenem Herzen auf ihre Heimatinsel zurückgekehrt, wird sie von ihrer Freundin Sumire und ihren Sandkastenkumpeln Hikari und Yosuke schon sehnlichst erwartet. Trotz der Wiedersehensfreude wird aber schnell klar, dass Hikari immer noch mehr für Mimi empfindet als bloß Freundschaft. Als er ihr eine Liebeserklärung macht, geht Mimi eine Beziehung mit ihm ein, doch ist das der richtige Weg, um ihren Liebeskummer zu vergessen?





Cover:

Das Cover fand ich sehr ansprechend. Die Zeichnungen sind schon schön anzuschauen. Wir sehen hier die vier Freunde von der Insel, wie sie scheinbar einen schönen Ausflug machen wollen. Das macht irgendwie Lust auf Meer und macht natürlich auch neugierig, was es mit den Vieren auf sich hat.





Eigener Eindruck:

Einst waren Sumire, Hikari, Gosuke und Mimi gute Freunde, doch dann zog Mimi von der kleinen Insel weg. Nach 3 Jahren kehrt sie wieder zurück, doch wird die Freundschaft der Freunde noch immer so sein wie früher? Während Mimi in Liebeskummer um eine gescheiterte Beziehung zu versinken scheint, scheint sich Hikari in Mimi verliebt zu haben, doch auch Sumire scheint ein Auge auf den attraktiven Jungen geworfen zu haben… Während Mimi sich in eine unglückliche Beziehung mit Hikari stürzt, bei der beide zu wissen scheinen, dass es nicht von Dauer sein kann, beginnt es in der Viererclique langsam aber sicher zu brodeln…



„Blaue“ aus der Feder von Mangaka Kozue Chiba, welche sowieso für tolle, romantische Mangas bekannt ist, konnte mich begeistern. Ich mag Mangas, bei denen es realistisch zugeht. Der Manga kommt ganz ohne Übertreibungen aus und präsentiert Themen wie eine unglückliche Liebe, Freundschaften im Wandel der Zeit, bittere Wahrheiten und noch viel mehr. Das ist genau der Stoff, der einfach nicht langweilig wird. Er macht Spaß und man kann sich in die Charaktere sehr gut hinein versetzen. Hinzu kommen noch tolle Zeichnungen und jede Menge Details die fast schon keine Fragen mehr offen lassen. Ich für meinen Teil bin gespannt, wie es mit den Freunden weiter geht und ich möchte zu gern wissen, ob mein erster Eindruck von Mimi der Richtige war, denn bis jetzt wirkt sie nicht gefestigt, weiß nicht wo sie hin will. Dadurch ist sie sehr sprunghaft und vielleicht auch ihren Freunden gegenüber recht ungerecht. Schauen wir mal, ob sie noch die Kurve bekommt und vielleicht merkt, dass sie mit ihrer derzeitigen Art mehr als nur einen Scherbenhafen hinterlässt. Interessant wird auch, ob die vier Freunde ihre Freundschaft bewahren können oder ob sie zum Ende hin vielleicht sogar getrennte Wege gehen werden.





Fazit:

Absolut lesenswert! Mehr braucht man dazu fast nicht zu sagen!





Idee: 5/5

Charaktere: 4/5

Logik: 4/5

Spannung: 4/5

Emotionen: 4/5





Gesamt: 4/5



Daten:

ISBN: 9783842027466

Sprache: Deutsch

Ausgabe: E-Buch Text

Umfang: 196 Seiten

Verlag: TOKYOPOP

Erscheinungsdatum: 23.02.2016

[Soobie is expired · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questa è almeno la terza volta che provo a mettermi di buzzo buono e leggere l'intera serie. Ancora non ci son riuscita. Per carità, non è colpa dell'autrice. Anzi, secondo me, tra tutte le mangaka, lei è una delle migliori. Però non sono mai riuscita ad arrivare alla fine degli otto volumi. Speriamo che questa sia la volta buona.

Pensavo. Qua si fa una tragedia ogni volta che vien fuori la storia tra un professore e un'allieva. In Giappone, invece, è uno dei motivi principali dei fumetti per ragazze. E nessuno sembra vedere queste relazioni come pedofilia. Come cambia la percezione di un fatto da paese a paese...

Mimi, la protagonista, torna a casa dopo che la sua relazione con un professore è stata scoperta. Deve un po' ricostruirsi e, per fortuna, ci sono i suoi amici d'infanzia che l'aspettano a braccia aperte. Ci sono le solite cotte e i soliti problemi di relazioni ma Mimi trovo subito il ragazzo.

E pensare che non mi ricordo neanche come va avanti. A volte avere la memoria di un colabrodo aiuta... Per me, è come se fosse la prima lettura.

[78sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,6 von 5 Sternen
Der Zeichenstil ist wirklich wunderschön.
Die Geschichte ist schon sehr stark auf junge Mädchen zugeschnitten. Für mich war sie etwas sehr kitschig. Unterhalten hat es mich aber trotzdem.

[Sookies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un premier tome sympathique, mais bien trop rapide à se mette en place ! On passe d'une scène à une autre en l'espace d'une ou deux pages et j'ai trouvé ça vraiment dommage... Par contre, le cadre de se manga est idéale ! Une Île avec toutes ses coutumes et surtout la plage !!!

[Hikaoru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hikari is so cute... But why do I have the feeling that the other guy will claim her. And also it feels like the ex is gonna be back in the picture soon.