Manga Review: That Blue Sky Feeling, Volume 3, by Okura and Coma Hashii

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: October 2019

Volumes: 3.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A butterflies-in-your-stomach high school romance about two very different high school boys who find themselves unexpectedly falling for each other.

Outgoing high school student Noshiro finds himself drawn to Sanada, the school outcast, who is rumored to be gay. Rather than deter Noshiro, the rumor makes him even more determined to get close to Sanada, setting in motion a bittersweet tale of first love.

Self-discovery is not always awesome, as Noshiro, Ayumi and Makoto are all finding out the hard way. Even the self-assured Sanada seems to be struggling. The final volume of this complicated love story proves that hanging on to that blue sky feeling of youthful love is an elusive and unpredictable task.

Review:

Noshiro finally has to confront his real feelings since the series is coming to a close. Noshiro and Sanada are both in denial, though for different reasons and in different ways. Before all of this, though, Ayumi and Sanada have to be honest with each other. And then Noshiro has to see whether he wants to be with a girl more than he wants to be with Sanada.

I really appreciate how this series wraps up. Particularly how Ayumi and Sanada confront each other and realize their real friendship. Ayumi has a bit of a hard time here, up until she comes to the realization, and then her and Sanada finally get to be real and honest with each other, and it's really sweet to see.

The conclusion for Noshiro and Sanada isn't very explicitly stated, but I'm still quite happy with it. They've kind of agreed not to label it at this point, but that seems to work for them at the moment.

I really liked this series. I appreciate how it handled several themes, the characters were really good, and the ending was nice. I'm really glad this series was released, and I look forward to seeing more like it.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: That Blue Sky Feeling, Volume 2, by Okura and Coma Hashii

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: March 2019

Volumes: 3.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 1. 3.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A butterflies-in-your-stomach high school romance about two very different high school boys who find themselves unexpectedly falling for each other.

Outgoing high school student Noshiro finds himself drawn to Sanada, the school outcast, who is rumored to be gay. Rather than deter Noshiro, the rumor makes him even more determined to get close to Sanada, setting in motion a bittersweet tale of first love.

The kids at Noshiro’s new school are finding out that being in “like” can be pretty intense. Noshiro’s getting closer than ever to his classmate Sanada, who is gay; Ayumi is hopelessly in love with Sanada, who happens to be her childhood friend; and new student Makoto arrives on the scene to knock everyone off-balance.

Review:

Sanada and Ayumi have to confront their feelings for each other. In a normal romance, they'd end up together, but Sanada's gay, and Noshiro's doesn't quite get that that wouldn't work. Ayumi was holding onto hope despite herself, and Sanada was ignoring Ayumi's feelings to hide behind her. They both have to confront their actual feelings, from opposite sides.

We meet a new character in this volume, Morinaga. He's an underclassman, and puts all of his feelings out there, very dramatically. He clearly likes Noshiro, but he's more like Sanada than he realizes. I found the misunderstandings here fun, and we get to see Noshiro trying to be nice while still not quite understanding what being gay entails. It's a long process for him, it seems. It's also been a process for Sanada and Noshiro, though. These things take time, it seems.

Despite how loud he is, I actually liked Morinaga, and enjoyed how he pushed Noshiro and Sanada in this volume. They needed something to push these feelings forward.

I really like this series. I'm so glad it's being published and we're getting more stuff like this. I look forward to seeing how it wraps up.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!

Manga Review: That Blue Sky Feeling, Volume 1, by Okura and Coma Hashii

Rating (Out of 5): ~4

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: August 2018

Volumes: 3.

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. RightStuf.

Volume: 2.

Goodreads Synopsis:

A butterflies-in-your-stomach high school romance about two very different high school boys who find themselves unexpectedly falling for each other.

Outgoing high school student Noshiro finds himself drawn to Sanada, the school outcast, who is rumored to be gay. Rather than deter Noshiro, the rumor makes him even more determined to get close to Sanada, setting in motion a bittersweet tale of first love.

The first volume of this heartwarming high school story about how your first love isn’t always exactly what you expect begins with the popular Noshiro transferring to a new school and becoming intrigued by Sanada, a loner who doesn’t seem to have any friends—or even want any. Some of the other kids tell Noshiro that Sanada keeps to himself because he’s secretly gay, which only makes Noshiro more interested. He sets out on a campaign to win over the shy Sanada, embarking on a friendship that starts to feel like something much more intense.

Review:

I just love when we get realistic stories that feature LGBT characters. It happens so little, where it's not just yaoi, but a slice of life story, or even just a story that includes gay characters, in manga.

Noshiro transfers to a new school, where he discovers that Sanada is treated differently. Everyone else is being so nice to him, and yet no one really talks to Sanada, and that bothers him. When he finds out it's because there are rumors that Sanada is gay, it bothers him even more. He doesn't think he's homophobic, and yet it makes him think of Sanada differently, at first.

There's also Yamada, Sanada's only friend at the beginning. She seems sweet, and that could go in a few different directions. We also meet Hidemitsu, Sanada's older ex-boyfriend. This is an interesting development, and I appreciate the input he gives, how he tries to help guide them both.

I liked the realistic discussions in this book, how Noshiro was conflicted about the rumors, and how Sanada confronted him about it. And how Noshiro went to Hidemitsu a few times for advice, when he was struggling with his feelings.

This volume was so good, and just what I wanted. I'm so glad it's being released, and I really can't wait to read more.

 A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!