Blue Flag Vol. 4by Wolfen MoondaughterReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 9 Toma's brother, Seiya, asks Taichi to help him find out what Toma really wants to do with his life. Meanwhile, Futaba faces her true feelings -- for both Toma and Taichi. Also, there's a homecoming party for Toma, and Toma and Futaba plot things to do for Taichi's birthday.I love how Seiya's kind of a bossy jerk, but his heart is in the right place. The more I read, the closer Taichi and Toma's families seem to be -- enough so, that it's hard to see how they ever drifted! This volume's conversation between Taichi and Toma is touching, as usual. We learn something interesting about Taichi -- it's been hinted at before, but is spelled out a bit more definitively this volume. Even better is a long sequence between Toma and Futaba, one which ultimately helps both of them, and strengthens their friendship. And there's a painfully relatable scene with poor Futaba, who seems to be everyone's psychological punching bag, her confidence taking quite a beating -- this time, from her siblings (instead of strangers, like last volume). To balance that out a little bit, there's an extra that shows that there's still an undercurrent of affection from her sister, even if it's too-well-hidden under a veneer of annoyance. (She reminds of me Jiang Cheng, from The Untamed.) I love that this series often uses "shopping" as a plot point -- honestly, I'm surprised more series don't do that more often. I'd say at least 80 percent of my social interactions involve shopping (mostly of the window variety). I also enjoyed the party, and some time spent at a festival. And I enjoy how other students get involved now and then -- we don’t know them well, but they do have a strong sense of having their own lives, and their interactions with our four lead characters are well used to develop said leads. And then there's yet another major cliffhanger event -- something that I'm surprised to see happening so soon, but also makes me glad things aren’t being drawn out. While I don't generally care for love triangles -- or rectangles, as is the case here -- and I doubt that things will go in the direction of a poly relationship (my preference), so far, the only jealous-in-a-negative-way character so far here is someone outside of that rectangle (and who is, happily, largely absent this volume). I appreciate that the characters within the rectangle are all gung-ho about supporting the person they love getting together with the person their crush loves (a more relatable story, in my experience), rather than with themselves. Written: October 10, 2020
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