Ao no Flag

[Blurrei]

Welp, guess it’s time to go read some fanfic to satisfy my needy soul

 

[Starbright]

Spoiler

Just found out this ended and wtf the ending came our of no where with no build up.

He clearly rejects him and after three break up shows signs still has feelings.

Hate when author gives ending conclusion with no build up or doesn't make rational sense. It's so bad ruins the series for me.

Mod Note: Please use spoiler tags when talking about chapter-specific or future events.

 

[gregger]

Wrote this on another site, but I might as well put this here for when historical researcher aliens decide to look into what humanity was into during this point in time:

(Putting this as spoilers for those who haven't read it)

Spoiler

I don't know how to feel about this ending really. I really enjoyed that idea of the idea at the start of this manga of having a best friend you didn't realise was gay, but then eventually it came out that he loved you and how he had to deal with all the social problems that came out of it. It was something very different to how a lot of manga are written about love stories and all.
If he had only made his choice during the time where Futaba and Touma were at the beach I feel that would have been more deserved for whatever choice he made, whether he was gay or straight. But because he made his choice to be straight at the time, it feels a bit of a cop out here where the story goes PLOT TWIST he's actually gay. I mean I realise that's not how real life works, and people can come out of the closet at anytime, but from a writing perspective, when an author goes a total 180 from the 2nd to the last chapter to the last chapter, that to me is very poor writing. Go ahead and make a character gay if you want, but you need to have a build up so the reward for going through it is something well deserved and enjoyable.

TLDR; I guess you can call this ending very unfulfilling in my opinion. This for me is still a very good story, I just would have revised the beach scene where MC picks Touma.

 

[Coongoon]

it's almost like you people didn't actually read the fucking thing.

 

[bastek66]

Spoiler

@Coongoon I read it. Taichi wanted be with Futaba, but in last chapter it was suddenly "Disregard that I suck cock"

Mod Note: Please use spoiler tags when talking about chapter-specific or future events.

 

[best_nona]

I don't recommend reading this thing
The author wanted to write something unique but he ended up destroying the story by random shit . The worst

 

[Iandiazgentry]

Super realistic read with great messages, very thought provoking, bullshit ass end last 2 chapters kinda felt rushed and super vague. Honestly a good read 8/10.

 

[iMaztar]

the rating for this manga dropped hard, last I remember it was at or above a 9 now its in 7s

 

[manthrilla]

It's amazing to me how many folks apparently read this manga and then got to the end without learning a single damn thing that the author tried to teach them over the course of the story. People need to learn critical thinking skills. Also, practice their literacy. And try not to tell on yourselves so bad for your homophobia

 

[falaseanahjian]

im a bit mad about this manga's ending. why? because i didnt even get to know how it happen that way(the ending). the time skip is so.......... urghhhh. well i understand that it is necessary, but at least they can give us some bonus chapter, i wanna and dying to know how thing turned out that way.


regardless all of my complaint, im so happy that my babies happy in the end. i love them, this manga rip open my sexuality

 

[shoutosoba]

wow, a lot of you guys are mad about the ending huh

but i'd like to say a few things

Spoiler

first off, people can be bisexual!!! it's very common!!!!!!! i was surprised to see that musumi was bi, tho, but i enjoy that it's acknowledged. im a little disappointed that musumi didn't get more time in the manga to understand herself, even though she was supposed to be one of the main supporting characters (mami kind of replaced her there, and while mami's arc was important, it sucks that her story basically pushes musumi's out of the way). but anyways, this story wasn't about choosing to be straight or gay!!! it was about the importance of the people around you, and what value your friends and your lover have to you. it wasn't a"hoes v bros" thing. it's not about your best friend v your lover, because the people you care for should all be important. and besides, your best friend and lover can be the same person. i found it really beautiful that that's what touma is to taichi and taichi is to touma at the end !!!!!

secondly - touma and taichi being together was absolutely hinted at. i feel like this manga was supposed to have more to it, but the point still should've gotten through. you guys think that taichi genuinely considering touma's feelings and all his flashbacks to his childhood meant nothing?? he was confused, if it wasn't clear. taichi and futaba being together was something that was very clearly going to happen from the start, and while it would've been very sweet if it lasted, there had been some serious tension between them. yeah they cared about each other a lot, but it still seemed like it was kind of shallow. even before the school festival, it was starting to be apparent that their relationship wasn't going to last. but hey, whatever, feelings are super complicated !!

and lastly, im so happy to see more shounen manga with lgbt themes. it's also really nice when there aren't any negative stereotypes on display. when it is addressed that kentaro had been. well. molested by men, i was happy to see that it was acknowledged that of course not every gay man was a predator. another thing i would like to mention is that even though musumi was very definitely in love with futuba, yet ended up with man, it wasn't the same "bicurious" phase that a lot of series like to pull. now that i think of it, the fact that musumi had asked taichi about "what if i was into touma/futaba" must've been hinting at that (also the questioning of what it was like to be in love with the opposite/same sex). i originally thought it meant she didn't know, but now i understand it was that she was so fixated on futaba that she didn't entirely understand how she would be able to love someone who wasn't futaba (who's a girl). its complex!! but that is the point.

overall, i believe this was a really good story!!!!!! im glad to have come across it and read it !!!

 

[shoutosoba]

didn't get the chance to say one last thing in my previous comment (phone died, lol) but this is also something important to say!!!!

Spoiler

the timeskip was a little strange since we didn't get to see how everyone got where they were. but the point is that the story and the lesson did not happen after their third year. the important and impactful part was told. the timeskip had happened because the author wanted to show how things change and how feelings and emotions will not always remain the same. it would have definitely been nice to see more of what happened during that time we didn't see, but it wasn't necessary. the timeskip was soley to give a proper conclusion to this wonderful story, by showing you what everything develops into. and i think it was well executed, as short as it was!!!

 

[brunhilda]

There is quite a number of heated comments, mainly about the (rushed/unsatisfactory/something worse) ending. Considering the little soliloquies about empathy multitude of opinions happily existing together... it is slightly ironic.
Yeah, I would love to see the whole process - their university/working life, changing of perspectives as they age etc. but as was said before me, the main theme/idea of this manga was something else (however oversimplified) and for that this kind of abbreviation was a suitable solution (not to mention a common plot device in this genre).

I appreciate this manga for the sweet atmosphere, for the lack of melodrama, for (more or less) believable characters whose behaviours and personalities are within the range of teenagers. It deals with various themes and topics that are at least difficult to address even if they´re rather normal part of growing up - insecurities about your self-worth, orientation, identity, future, love-interests etc. Their attitudes are for the most part very believable and the author tried not to dismiss any of it and give space and value even to Kensuke and his attitudes toward male homosexuality, women, genders or roles in relationship. Of course, with so many themes, not each s handled to the same extent or as good as others. Given the length of the manga, it can be understood. Unfortunately, it suffers (not always but it is still present) from the school-romance genre curse - "love this, love that! while other aspects of their lives - such as parents, friends, school, future job or themselves get to play the second (or twentieth fiddle, based on the topic).

Overall, it is not the best of what high school coming of age stories can offer (I would recommend Endou-kun no Kansatsu Nikki, Mustard Chocolate, Nostradamus Love, Mikako-san, Tetsugaku Letra or Cocoon) , nevertheless it is good, sweet, understandable and relatable, even if the premise is rather simple and the tone sometimes too didactic (some of the dialogues sound like taken out from educational brochures). There is also the whole silliness with happiness being the meaning of life that gets on my nerves quite a lot (but well, i guess this bandwagon is really hard to avoid in this genre, huh?)

I would recommend this as a nice lighthearted story about growing up that does not avoid less mainstream and bubbly aspects of youth and that will not make you angry with unnecessary melodrama, stereotypical and unrealistic portrayal of characters and situations which loads of school life mangas suffer from.
sorry for the long comment.

 

[scpfoundation]

i didn't realize this was a romance manga, got halfway through, realized what it was, and then dropped it.

 

[perihelion]

A really beautiful series! I followed it all the way to the end but wanted to comment again after realizing how polarizing the conclusion was for people, plus @brunhilda seriously said it the best way possible.

It will not hurt to read this series. Each chapter thoughtfully expands the story and the characters feel fully fleshed out. You’re able to connect with each character in different little ways, and the introspection doesn’t feel fake like some mangakas fall privy to. The foreshadowing are there and sprinkled throughout the series. I can see where people are coming from when they say it totally came from left field, but it honestly didn’t. There are also some nuances of the Japanese language that leaves some aspects of the last chapter lost in translation

Spoiler

especially in regards to who Masumi ends up with. it’s heavily implied that her partner is trans and recently transitioned.

It’s not perfect, but it deserves a read.

 

[oboeotaku]

Came back after about 2 years after suddenly thinking "oh right whatever ended up happening to this gem" and uh...that was a ride for sure. With regards to the ending, I don't think that anyone should avoid reading this because of w/e issues people have with it. This isn't to say that complaints aren't valid, but the other 95% of this series was quite nice. It doesn't shy away from uncomfortable topics, gives a fairly diverse set of views when it comes to characters discussing said topics, and has moments of introspection that I wouldn't really expect given the Shounen tag.

As for my own view on the ending...

Spoiler

A second complete readthrough might be necessary to really see how much potential foreshadowing there really was, but my gut instinct is that there's probably a lot of stuff that can be construed to fit the narrative of Taichi being bi, but relies too heavily on knowing the ending outcome (as opposed to just Taichi thinking about/being concerned about his best bud, because..that's what best buds do). Yes, you can say that Taichi's constant swirling feelings of indecision and flashbacks to childhood memories of Touma indicate "confusion," but I don't think there was explicitly written to indicate his questioning his own sexuality during that time. And to top it off, the chase and final beach scenes both indicate Taichi striving to maintain their relationship as "best friends" while rejecting him as a romantic partner. Now, if we were to do a bunch of what-ifs and ask ourselves if this were a real world scenario, would it be possible that there may have been underlying romantic feelings Taichi held that weren't recognized, that gears started shifting within him after the confession, and that even as he firmly rejects Touma, something inside him still isn't completely against it, the answer would be yes. But none of that was written or implied in a strong enough manner. Same goes for the inevitable shift that Taichi undergoes during the time skip to allow for the final outcome; it's plausible, but just because something is plausible doesn't make it good writing. I think the ending deserves a lot of the criticism it gets because of that.

All the buildup to the first part of ch 53 was beautiful. I only wish the final ending could have received that same kind of buildup. I'm actually happy at the final outcome, and in some ways, the unpredictability of it + the bait and switch in the final parts of 53 and then 54 made it have more impact but...I'd have preferred a bit more.

Also wish I could have had at least one shot of grown-up Touma's face.

Also @perihelion that's pretty interesting regarding the nuances.

Spoiler

The husband's mannerisms make more sense now, and gives some more closure to Masumi.

 

[Darklight99]

Epilogue Pages

Spoiler

It's also a reference to earlier chapters:

Spoiler

Both of them in a single page

Spoiler

And a fun page which might give you a reference to their love life

Spoiler

 

[scpfoundation]

oh, nevermind, i suddenly like romance manga, this is pretty good

 

[NGOtaku]

?????????????????????????????
Wtf was that ending
Huhhhhhhhh????????????????
Ok then

Spoiler

like the timeskip feels like an omake. The author just says “btw in the future they break up and Taichi becomes gay teehee

 

[Bilto]

Good story but a deep lack of hot teen couple stuff. When you add teens with couple, it equals sex. It is universaly known but the author had this idea to finaly ship yaoi. Just drop one or two sexual stuff between MC and his girl and they never break up this easily.