Blue Friend, Band 1

Blue Friend #1

by Fumi Eban, Rosa Vollmer (Translator)

Ayumu ist ein unbeschwertes und fröhliches Mädchen, ihre Sitznachbarin Misuzu hingegen wunderschön und geheimnisvoll. Die beiden Mädchen könnten unterschiedlicher nicht sein, denn Ayumu wäre am liebsten ein Junge, während Misuzu das andere Geschlecht abgrundtief verachtet. Trotzdem kommen sich die beiden nach und nach näher. Mehr noch, es entsteht eine Verbindung zwischen ihnen, die mehr als bloß freundschaftlich ist.

Genres: Manga, Romance, Yuri, LGBT, Graphic Novels, German Literature, Comics Manga

196 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2010

About the author

See also えばん ふみ

Reviews

[Bibliothecat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review for complete series

Among romance, GL is probably my least visited category, but one can really find some lovely ones. Blue Friend was one of my first, I was initially drawn in by the art style as well as the general melancholic feeling of both title and cover art. It should be noted that, while this is a three volume series, volume one and two form one story whereas the third and final volume follows completely different characters and is entirely unrelated to the first ones.

For both stories, Eban draws quite heavily from class dynamics and hierarchy. Although there are also elements of bullying, I wouldn't call that the main theme as a lot of it is more rivalry and working out friendships as opposed to downright bullying. I also find that the romance for both stories is very mild - take away the briefly shared kisses and this could easily pass as platonic friendships. Regardless of whether platonic or romantic, they are both lovely stories and are good at exploring what ties people together.

The first story follows Ayumu and Misuzu who both move in very different circles; Ayumu is cheerful, a wee bit tomboyish and has a wide circle of friends. Misuzu on the other hand is an extreme loner - she's considered to be very beautiful and her distant attitude toward others gives her the reputation of being arrogant and cold. Ayumu is set on becoming friends with Misuzu though and soon the tables are turned - Misuzu becomes incredibly clingy toward her even to the extent of scaring off Ayumu's other friends. If one just reads the first volume, Misuzu's cold and possessive actions don't come across very well. But read on and you'll find that she's quite the complex character and it's nice to see how both Ayumu and Misuzu search for ways to work on their problems. The ending is left a bit open for interpretation but regardless of what you want to see at the end, I think both girls undergo a nice character development, making this a really nice story.

The third volume and second story tells of another set of girls and once again ones that are very much opposites. Kanako just wants to fit in, she's very much a girly girl and tries her best to please everyone. Kamei is unable to filter what she says and always lets go of whatever goes through her mind, this direct way has made her unpopular with her classmates and she has decided that she'd rather be alone anyway. Somehow, these two end up interacting and finding that they feel most comfortable around each other; Kanako no longer feels she must keep up the good girl act and Kamei learns how to express herself more considerately. This shorter story has a wee bit more romance and the bullying aspect is also a bit stronger. As it's just one volume, there's less time for character development but I still think it's a cute and well-paced story, you can't really get much better than that from a single volume.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story about the friendship/ relationship between two young girls. Ayumu, a softball player with an outgoing personality befriends Misuzu, a beautiful yet lonely and quiet girl. It's clear pretty soon that their relationship will end up being more than friendship, but before that can happen they have to deal with an event from Misuzu's past.

I really did like the way their relationship developed - especially Ayumu's uneasiness with Misuzu's intensity at times. What I'm a bit wary of is the event from Misuzu's past - I'll have to see how it plays out but I hope it'll be more than "that happened and now I hate men". It isn't even that I can't sort of relate to that, but it's still a bit - I don't know. I just don't like it that much, is all. But apart from that this is looking good. And it's not like there's that much shoujo ai being published over here, so I'm happy for every example I manage to find.

[Soobie has fog in her brain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ich habe eine gebrauchte Kopie gekauft, weil der Einband sehr schön ist. Aber ich glaube, dass ich Yuri-Manga nicht mag.

Hier gibt es eine starke Softball-Spielerin, Ayumu, und ein Mädchen mit einer mysteriösen Vergangenheit, Mizusu. Sie befreundet aber Mizusu wirkt ein bisschen zu kontrollierend. Ich mag sie wirklich nicht.

Ayumu ist OK als Charakter und auch das Zeichenstil ist gut aber ich mag die Geschichte nicht und ich bin nicht dafür interessiert, die Fortsetzung zu lesen.

[Nea Poulain · Rating 1 out of 5]

Estuvo muy yandere este pedo. Eventualmente, bueno, ejem, tenía que pasar esto 😬😬 es la primera 1 estrellita del año.

[Tobi ﾄﾋﾞ · Rating 4 out of 5]

it started off so good but i’ve got a feeling this is going to get either really weird or continue being good (probably the prior)

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting... introduction. I like to read a lot of manga & the yuri theme is nothing new. Still, this seemed like an average coming of age/ slice of life romance, until it got closer to the end of this volume. Took some interesting turns. It has good humor and problems between the main & secondary characters. There's a lot of subtle and very direct drama, which is to be expected, but it's well written with nice art. I don't think that this story would go over too well, outside of the realm of the otaku, but I really can't say yet either. Still, it's a very good story so far. I will definitely read the rest of this tale of romance, communication breakdown & dark secrets.

[Shiki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saya tertarik pada manga ini karena gambar ilustrasi yang menyertai promo dari fansya di twitter, bahwa setelah puluhan tahun, akhirnya majalah Ribbon kembali memuat manga yuri. Ternyata promo itu tidak salah, walau harus saya akui cerita ini...mudah ditebak, dan karakternya SANGAT MUDAH dibenci.
Dan khas komik cewek, bersambung di momen yang sangat menggantung.
Semoga buku keduanya cepat rilis!!

[Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a shougo-ai I wanted to try it and see how it differs from the more generic demographic. I have to say I felt there were dangerous relationships being delved into and I'm not sure this is for anyone except adults. Yes, you want to protect your friend but how deep should you get in a relationship with a needy person when you were simply being kind to them. I didn't hate them and the girls were quite well developed.

BOTTOM LINE: Reading it sent up warning bells.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming...hopefully. In the future.