Cursed By The Moonlight

the humor makes me remember the humor of Malcolm in the Middle. it's nothing alike but the humor strikes me the same. maybe the mischeviousness? somebody relates?

Hoping for that tragic ending

Professor's moriarty’s probability was pretty good, I think it's his best work yet.

This is a really strange yet interesting turn of events for Mildred... Can't wait to see how it plays out. An interesting read indeed.

It’s a really good story but drags on and on. It’s like a soap opera instead of a book. One maybe two short chapters a day (seriously usually around 6 pages) or hey maybe no chapters for a day or two. How about a Christmas gift to the readers…you actually finish the book!

"Someone is in love with me...  
...said, 'I love you' to me, even...  
...and it's a girl"  

*does contain spoilers*  

Aoi Hana is a romantic yuri high school drama by Takako Shimura that tells the story of Okudaira Akira and Manjoume Fumi—two childhood friends separated for ten years, who reunite by attending high school in the same town. It might sound like an average high school romance, but don't be deceived. Although it may initially appear as a light-hearted romantic comedy with some drama, Aoi Hana evolves into a beautifully written coming-of-age story before you realize it.  

Aoi Hana is exceptionally strong in many aspects. I could discuss all these strengths for hours, but there’s one aspect that can't be emphasized enough, and that is the characters. Shimura excels at character design on every level. The characters are likable, intriguing, and feel genuine. While many side characters are significant and realistic, each seemingly offering life lessons to the main characters, I'll focus on Akira and Fumi to keep this semi-brief.  

As mentioned, Akira and Fumi, like most characters in this manga, are very realistic. They don’t have clear attributes that pigeonhole them into specific roles in the story; instead, they act differently toward different people and in various situations, much like real people do. It’s easy to mistakenly form a certain impression of these two from the first few chapters. For instance, Akira seems carefree, easy-going, and childish at first, but when she's with Fumi, she acts quite differently: she becomes very protective, largely due to their childhood friendship. Fumi, however, perceives this in a completely different way. She has always been shy and unsocial, and this is how Akira still views her after a decade apart. But while Fumi may seem unchanged on the outside, she has grown significantly on the inside, being far more mature than Akira realizes. Fumi has experienced the highs and lows of her first love, discovering her sexual identity and feelings, taking her first uncertain steps toward adulthood.  

This is what makes Aoi Hana such a beautiful and well-written story—character development. It may take several chapters to fully grasp how Akira and Fumi grow as the story unfolds. This growth happens subtly, as they seek answers to their respective personal questions, such as the difference between friendship and love, understanding one's sexuality, and the true meaning of love itself. These are challenges everyone faces in one form or another during their youth, and the way these characters confront them is indescribably moving. Fumi suffered a heartbreak just before the start of the actual story, which greatly influences her high school life. She's fortunate to reconnect with Akira, gaining support when she needs it most. She struggles immensely to figure everything out, including her true self, earning my sympathy. On the other hand, Akira hasn’t experienced what we call "first love," so when she discovers Fumi's feelings for her, she naturally finds herself in a difficult situation that could jeopardize their friendship. This marks a turning point in the manga, where the focus shifts from Fumi—the seemingly weaker character—to Akira, who now grapples with questions she’s never had to address before. And as we witness all this, seeing the different sides and habits of the characters, the problems a growing teenager must tackle, the heartbreaks, pain, and misery, as well as the realistic joy and bliss, we come to realize just how close we've grown to these characters and how relatable their experiences are. This creates a powerful connection, and as you see these characters mature, you’ll soon discover that you’ve grown alongside them in this enduring manga.  

And the setting where all this takes place—the stunning scenery and landscapes of Fujigaya meticulously drawn by Takako Shimura. It feels like a dream you get to revisit repeatedly, making it a familiar, nostalgic place close to your heart, to the point that it feels like you've lived there for years. Every street and café, every commuter train, classroom, and school library evokes pleasant or not-so-pleasant memories. There's tragedy in the air, great humor and laughter that give a delightful sense of innocent high school times the girls share with their friends. And as graduation approaches, it truly hurts to know you’ll soon have to bid farewell to this magic that feels so familiar.  

It’s indescribable and almost unsettling how addictive and emotional this manga can be. The sudden realization that you've journeyed far with these characters, the empathy you feel for them, makes you want to support them in every situation. For some reason, Aoi Hana had a deeply personal impact on me. At one point, I became so emotionally attached to Akira’s and Fumi’s relationship that worrying about their future made it hard for me to concentrate on basic daily tasks. I conjured up some incredibly sad and depressive scenarios in my mind and was genuinely scared and worried for their sake. When reading through the last few chapters at night, I cried multiple times. This is extremely rare for me, but Aoi Hana managed to do it, and nothing has affected me the same way since. This was the moment I realized just how extraordinary this manga truly is. This is also why I cherish Aoi Hana more than any other manga I’ve ever read.  

Even if you're not particularly into the yuri genre, I still highly recommend this masterpiece if you’re interested in a charming and beautiful high-school love story. There are male characters and heterosexual romances too, but personally, I think their primary role is to create contrast with the delicate and enchanting relationship shared by Fumi and Akira. While primarily exploring the concept of love and its true essence, Aoi Hana also touches on the difficulties and challenges faced in same-sex relationships. Who knows, maybe it will make you appreciate the idea of same-sex relationships a bit more? I dare you to find out.  

The anime adaptation is also worth watching, and although it only covers roughly one-third of the manga, it remains faithful to the source material, with stunning animation and music. Just don’t expect to experience the character development as profoundly as you would with the manga. But I’m sure it’ll still touch your heart. If not, it's likely you don’t have one. ^_*  

From Shimura's other works, I must also recommend Hourou Musuko (aka Wandering Son), which focuses more on gender identity and the challenges faced by the LGBT community, with less emphasis on romance. It also features excellent characters and humor and is a fantastic coming-of-age story like Aoi Hana. I've only watched the anime adaptation so far, but the manga is a must-read once I find the time, given its length of 15 volumes and 123 chapters.  

Thank you very much for reading ^^

Aoi Hana certainly deserves a place in discussions about great romance and yuri manga. The artwork is delightful, and Viz Signature's double-volume set, comprising four beautiful books each containing two volumes of the manga, makes for an enjoyable reading experience. The characters and setting are so richly developed that you soon lose sight of the fact that it's fiction.

The flaws, however, are evident and frequently noted. Rather than focusing on one or two subplots, there’s a half-dozen storylines involving secondary characters whose names are hard to recall. The abundance of short stories that interrupt the journey of our main heroines becomes exasperating and disrupts the narrative flow. With more decisive editorial guidance, this could have been condensed into 5 or 6 volumes instead of eight. All these issues might have been overlooked if the author had delivered a stronger conclusion, but the underwhelming ending, combined with unnecessary filler content, results in Aoi Hana being a solid 9/10.

Is Aoi Hana a classic manga destined to be remembered for generations? It’s possible. But it’s far from perfect by any standard.

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Fun fact: this is the greatest fucking thing ever created.  

Okay, let's be real for a moment here. Obviously, there's a slight bit of hyperbole in that statement above. What I really mean is that this is essentially the absolute best version of exactly what it's trying to be. I don't want to oversell this, guys, but considering how much attention it looks like this has gotten, I'd say it's about time a few more rave reviews got thrown its way. I'm not one to hand out unconditional praise for any story, but this piece of art has absolutely deserved it—and yes, this is a piece of art. It's an absolute tragedy that something like this gets dismissed as 'Japanese yuri trash' and written off by 99% of any worldwide audience based on medium and genre alone. Then it gets dismissed by 95% of the community that doesn't think Japanese cartoons are just Naruto and Pokémon because it doesn't conform to any traditional standards of cool and lacks a male protagonist or stupid slapstick comedy.  

Let's start with the basics.  

This is a lesbian romance story. It is not pornographic in basically any way. This is way more like Toradora, but with all girls and more story. There is a serious lack of non-heterosexual protagonists/romances/stories in media across the entire globe, and the problem only gets worse when you look at anime and manga, where 90% of protagonists are straight males, gay/trans jokes are used as filler fodder, and gay relationships simply do not exist. They may be implied, hinted at, or jostled around, but at the end of the day, even Revolutionary Girl Utena doesn't ever give its wonder duo a straightforward love scene. This thing is a gift. A miracle. I had given up hope that such a thing as this would ever come out of Japan. In fact, I don't think I've seen anything on this level of tact and comprehension regarding gay stuff from, well, anywhere. That, and this thing was started twelve years ago. Are we moving backwards?  

So now that we have that out of the way, why should you read Aoi Hana, aside from the fact that it has lesbians in it? Because good politics alone don't make a good story. Well, I'm well aware that a common complaint about anime/manga romances is a lack of conclusiveness or development. Drama seems to build steadily around a series of delays and misunderstandings until, if you're lucky, you get a kiss or a confession. Well, throw that bullshit out the window and welcome to 55 chapters of characters actually acting on and expressing their emotions. Funny, isn't it, how all those hormonal Rakus can't get a damn word out, but when the risk of societal persecution is hanging over these girls' heads, they're still able to actually do stuff about the things they're feeling. This is pretty much the antithesis of Nisekoi & Friends, so if you're looking for a romance with, ya know, actual progression and relationships and stuff, Christmas has come early—drop your straight shit and get on the Aoi Hana train.  

But again, it's more than just a story where lots of stuff happens that makes something good. You've gotta have good dialogue. Well, Aoi Hana has you covered again, pouring out page upon page of some of the most naturalistic dialogue you've seen. Characters seem to hit that perfect balance of awkward and eloquent near constantly, with an endless stream of asides making the conversations feel full and complete rather than hacked-down dramatic bilge. There is more to these girls' lives than just romance: there's school and acting and gossip and family and the future and foreign nations and just a little bit of everything. Yet, they all still manage to feel deeply distinctive from one another, such that it's often easy to tell who's speaking just by their phrasing and manner of speech even if you can't see their face. The first few pages had me sweating with joy: even though it was just a girl getting up in the morning and heading off to her first day of high school—a scene we've all seen five million times—the extremely believable way in which it was written immediately elevated it above basically everything else out there. I will say, if there is a flaw in this gem, it's that it loses some of the naturalism of its dialogue when it's doing flashbacks, but there are very few of these, so it's not a big deal.  

So now we've got a unique, brilliantly-written, momentum-filled romance story. What's next? Am I going to tell you about how fucking relatable these characters are? You're damn right I am. I'm a mostly heterosexual dude (admittedly with an emphasis on 'mostly') and I related more to the struggles of these characters in their day-to-day lives than anyone in Fullmetal Bother-hood or whatever that nonsense was. It's the little moments that make Aoi Hana truly brilliant, the ways that the excellent dialogue and the inertia of the plot mix in small ways to make you hug your heart and screech "that's me! I've been there!" inside as you will to holy God that you won't be crying by the end. And at the end of the day, that's what makes Aoi Hana work so well. It's a lesbian romance, yes, and it is most definitively invested in that particular issue, but it's also predominantly about people in general and the stages and mishaps and random junk we all go through in adolescence. I don't think you could ask for a more stellar demonstration of how growing up gay/bi is at once both similar and different than growing up straight, and I don't think you could really ask for a better romance-drama of ANY kind, period.  

At the end of the day, you should read Aoi Hana. I have no reservations in saying that. It's got a bit of an artsy style, it likes to jump around a bit and let you fill in some gaps in its story for yourself, it's got a ton of side characters that build little stories that sometimes go somewhere and sometimes don't—but all these are just perks. Regardless of whether you find its perks enhance or distract from the story for you (and I personally think they enhance the fuck out of it), there is no denying that the meat of this tale is pure 24-carat gold that you should read as soon as possible. Aoi Hana is a masterpiece simply because it is one of the most well-constructed and well-executed love stories out there of any kind, so if you like romance and you like manga, go forth, go forth and be filled with bubbly joy and stress and doom and lose yourself in this magnificent work.