Blue Flag (Japanese: 青のフラッグ, Hepburn: Ao no Furaggu) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaito. It was serialized on the Shōnen Jump+ manga website from February 2017 to April 2020.

Blue Flag
First volume cover
青のフラッグ
(Ao no Furaggu)
Genre
Manga
Written byKaito
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics+
MagazineShōnen Jump+
DemographicShōnen
Original runFebruary 1, 2017April 8, 2020
Volumes8 (List of volumes)

Publication

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The series is written and illustrated by Kaito. It started serialization on the Shōnen Jump+ manga website on February 1, 2017,[2] and ended on April 8, 2020.[4] It has been published in eight tankōbon volumes.[5]

At Anime Expo 2019, Viz Media announced they licensed the series in English.[6] Manga Plus also published the series in English.[7] It is also licensed in French by Kurokawa,[8] in German by Carlsen Verlag,[9] in Italian and Portuguese by Panini Comics,[10] and in Spanish by Editorial Ivrea.[11]

Volumes

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No. Original release date Original ISBN English release date English ISBN
1 April 4, 2017[12]978-4-08-881045-4April 21, 2020[13]978-1-97-471301-1
2 August 4, 2017[14]978-4-08-881145-1June 16, 2020[15]978-1-97-471302-8
3 December 4, 2017[16]978-4-08-881308-0August 18, 2020[17]978-1-97-471303-5
4 May 5, 2018[18]978-4-08-881485-8October 20, 2020[19]978-1-97-471304-2
5 September 4, 2018[20]978-4-08-881580-0December 15, 2020[21]978-1-97-471305-9
6 April 4, 2019[22]978-4-08-881769-9February 16, 2021[23]978-1-97-471306-6
7 December 4, 2019[24]978-4-08-882163-4April 20, 2021[25]978-1-97-471875-7
8 June 4, 2020[5]978-4-08-882365-2June 15, 2021[26]978-1-97-472094-1

Reception

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In 2017, the series was ranked third at the 3rd Next Manga Awards in the web category.[27] The series was a finalist for the 2020 Los Angeles Times book prize in the graphic novels category.[28] The Young Adult Library Services Association listed the series in the top ten in their 2021 list of the 126 best graphic novels for teenagers.[29]

Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network gave the first four volumes an A−, praising it for the art, characters, and story, while criticizing it because sometimes some characters can feel overly abusive or shy.[30] Melina Dargis from The Fandom Post gave the series heavy praise for its story and characters, saying it was the best high-school slice-of-life manga of the year by far.[3] Like Silverman and Dargis, Demezela from Anime UK News praised the story, artwork, and characters, ultimately rating the first volume a nine out of ten.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Official Website for Blue Flag". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Asato Mizu, Kaito Launch Manga on Shonen Jump+ App". Anime News Network. January 23, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Dargis, Melissa (August 31, 2020). "Blue Flag Vol. #02 Manga Review". The Fandom Post. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "Kaito's Blue Flag Manga Ends in April". Anime News Network. March 4, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  5. ^ a b 青のフラッグ 8 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  6. ^ "Viz Media Licences Downfall, Prince Freya, Blue Flag, 'Love Me, Love Me Not' Manga". Anime News Network. July 4, 2019. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  7. ^ "Blue Flag". Manga Plus. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "BLUE FLAG" (in French). Kurokawa. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  9. ^ "Blue Flag" (in German). Carlsen Verlag. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "Blue Flag 1" (in Italian). Panini Comics. Archived from the original on April 12, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  11. ^ "Editorial Ivrea licencia el manga Ao No Flag". Ramen Para Dos (in Spanish). July 28, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  12. ^ 青のフラッグ 1 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 1". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  14. ^ 青のフラッグ 2 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  15. ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 2". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  16. ^ 青のフラッグ 3 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 3". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  18. ^ 青のフラッグ 4 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  19. ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 4". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  20. ^ 青のフラッグ 5 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  21. ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 5". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  22. ^ 青のフラッグ 6 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  23. ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 6". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  24. ^ 青のフラッグ 7 (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  25. ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 7". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  26. ^ "Blue Flag, Vol. 8". Viz Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  27. ^ 「次にくるマンガ大賞」発表会、上位入賞者による記念イラストも公開. Comic Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. August 23, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  28. ^ Pineda, Dorany (March 2, 2021). "Isabel Wilkerson, Jacob Soboroff, Akwaeke Emezi among L.A. Times Book Prize finalists". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  29. ^ "Blue Flag Manga Ranks in YALSA's Top 10 Graphic Novels for Teens". Anime News Network. January 11, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  30. ^ Silverman, Rebecca (October 22, 2020). "Blue Flag GN 1-4 Review". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  31. ^ "Blue Flag Volume 1 Review". Anime UK News. April 16, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
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