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Sweet Blue Flowers (Aoi Hana) (TV).


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darkchibi07



Joined: 15 Oct 2003
Posts: 5459
PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 3:19 pm Reply with quote


Sweet Blue Flowers (Aoi Hana)

Genres: drama, romance
Themes: coming of age, high school, yuri

Plot Summary: Fumi Manjoume, an introverted, bookish teenage girl, is beginning her first year of high school at Matsuoka Girls' High School. She enters the school year with her heart broken by a previous relationship. At about the same time, she reconnects with her best friend from ten years ago, Akira Okudaira, who is now attending Fujigatani Girls' Academy as a first-year high school student. As they reconnect, they both deal with their own respective romantic problems, and help each other get through them.
----------------------------------

You can watch it right here! (if you're in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K)

Well, if you want a mature take on the yuri genre without the gimmickry (well, except the fact this takes place in an all-girl school), this series will deliver it. Most of what happened in Episode 1 is pretty much what's written in the synopsis above along with the introduction of some characters, and Fumi's and Akira's primary personalities. This episode definitely followed the manga very well, and it ended with spoiler[Fumi discovering that her female cousin is getting married. You can imply that those two had a rather.......interesting relationship with each other.]

Now the OP sequence, I say it is safe to say that Kunihiko Ikuhara did in fact work on this especially it had Fumi and Akira dancing with each other which reminded me of a certain dance scene of a rather known movie he directed. Wink And there's this!


Last edited by darkchibi07 on Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Hentai_JP



Joined: 12 Feb 2006
Posts: 605
Location: Toronto, ON
PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 5:02 pm Reply with quote
Nice picture... I'll check this one out.

Well it looks like a less girly version of Strawberry Panic! I wouldn't call it mature though, different maybe. First episode doesn't impress either, sure "saving from molester" idea isn't seen often but how many "childhood friends" plot twists are we gonna see(it's a shoujo ai from gradeschool)? Already, I have general idea where the story will go but for some, predictability might be a good thing. And don't forget embarrassing breast size talk followed by touching scene(pun intended). Anyway count me out.

"Bashing at least one new series each season."
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Last edited by Hentai_JP on Wed Jul 01, 2009 5:41 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Kimiko_0



Joined: 31 Aug 2008
Posts: 1796
Location: Leiden, NL, EU
PostPosted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 5:37 pm Reply with quote
CrunchyRoll wrote:
Sorry, due to licensing limitations, this is unavailable in your region.

Crying or Very sad
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David.Seth



Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 453
Location: near SF
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 12:46 am Reply with quote
darkchibi07 wrote:

Well, if you want a mature take on the yuri genre without the gimmickry ... this series will deliver it.


I hope so. Never seen anything in the yuri genre, so I hope I'm not let down. But I really liked this first episode, so I don't think it will be a problem.


On a side note, this is the first time I have used crunchy roll, and I gotta say that I was very pleased with the quality. Only had to sit through one commercial, and it streamed really quickly. And it looked half-way decent full screen. Most of my streaming experiences haven't been so fortunate, whether its too many commercials (Hulu) or it takes forever to load (Funi).
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4nBlue





PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:52 am Reply with quote
Kimiko_0 wrote:
CrunchyRoll wrote:
Sorry, due to licensing limitations, this is unavailable in your region.

Crying or Very sad
Crying or Very sad
Hentai_JP wrote:
Well it looks like a less girly version of Strawberry Panic! I wouldn't call it mature though, different maybe. First episode doesn't impress either, sure "saving from molester" idea isn't seen often but how many "childhood friends" plot twists are we gonna see(it's a shoujo ai from gradeschool)? Already, I have general idea where the story will go but for some, predictability might be a good thing. And don't forget embarrassing breast size talk followed by touching scene(pun intended). Anyway count me out.
I'm sure that your prediction is a miss. There is just no way you can tell what will happen, because not all of the main cast have been introduced.

The animation quality was so much better than I had expected. OP was amazing though the last shot was unneeded, because this is a yuri series that can survive without fan service. ED was decent but not something I feel like watching again.
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KanjiiZ



Joined: 28 Jun 2009
Posts: 661
Location: Central Coast
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 9:18 pm Reply with quote
I'll stay with it. I hope it becomes more than a stereotypical anime that just drags along. I've suffered with anime that drag on for 26 episodes (Madlax), and I hope this turns out to be 13 episodes.


First episode was decent enough to not get dropped.
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rg4619



Joined: 30 Jun 2007
Posts: 163
PostPosted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:10 pm Reply with quote
As with Ristorante Paradiso, this series will consist of 11 episodes.
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seinenfan



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 16
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:35 am Reply with quote
Hentai_JP wrote:
Nice picture... I'll check this one out.

Well it looks like a less girly version of Strawberry Panic! I wouldn't call it mature though, different maybe. First episode doesn't impress either, sure "saving from molester" idea isn't seen often but how many "childhood friends" plot twists are we gonna see(it's a shoujo ai from gradeschool)? Already, I have general idea where the story will go but for some, predictability might be a good thing. And don't forget embarrassing breast size talk followed by touching scene(pun intended). Anyway count me out.

"Bashing at least one new series each season."
checkmark


Sorry, you can't bash Aoi Hana. It's Takako [expletive] Shimura. A modern goddess of manga.

Her works have arisen to critical acclaim both in Japan and Worldwide amongst readers and critics.

She currently writes Comic Beams titular series, Hourou Musuko; and took over the helm as the lead mangaka in that magazine from none other than Emma's Koaru Mori. Ed Chavez of Vertical, a well respected figure in the English Language Manga Critic community said that Hourou Musuko was by far on the top of his list for title he would like to see licensed for the USA. It is a masterpiece.

And Aoi Hana by no means is a lightweight, it is still 100% Shimura, from the reversal of roles common in her manga (A brave short girl and a shy and very fearful tall handsome girl quite similiar to the Crossdressing duo Hourou Musuko is so famed for.) to the though out pacing, and the connections it makes.

There's a reason that they are following the Manga so closely, it's because the Manga is so damn good. Takako Shimura is like a goddess to any Seinen fan, and her pacing is just so spot on.

You brough up the cousin...and here I will revert to spoilers.

spoiler[The issue with the cousin will be very, very important within the next couple of episodes. You may call it awkward and so forth, but you don't know the history. The very simple fact is if you had read the manga, you'd know that Fuji slept with her Cousin. Quite often, from a very early age, and has a very strong attachment to her.

Things like that, controversial things, that are displayed with the reality and humanization that they are in real life is the reason Takako Shimura is such a great Mangaka.

Shit like that happens a lot, Takako makes the shit believable, she makes it realistic, as she makes her stories realistic. If you're looking for glorification turn back now. The incest is just the beggining when it comes to Aoi Hana. The controversial, yet truly quit believable relationships will keep on coming.]


I do degress at the constant declaration of Aoi Hana being a "Yuri" manga. It is hardly a "Yuri" manga in the sense of what the word has come to mean.

Yuri today tends to demonstrate a total occlusion to hetrosexuality, and men. They are often placed in roles where they have no perceived sexuality, or are just background figures with no personality.

The fact is very few of the characters in Aoi Hana are lesbians. (Major Spoilers) spoiler[As we've already seen Fuji's Cousin is not, and later on Fujis girlfriend is revealed to still getting over falling in love with her drama club teacher, her very male drama club teacher. Meanwhile most of the girls in these schools are demonstrated as looking for boyfriends or dates. Very few are portrayed as your typical Lesbian.
]


But I think that is the strength of Takako's works, she makes everything out to be unstereotypical, the farthest from the stereotypical as it can be. Every character has so many dimensions, and seems so real.

In a series with such little focus on the actual Lesbianism that occurs, and so much focus on the day to day interactions between people, and character development, it's hard for me to classify it as Yuri.

Ok, rant off.
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Ggultra2764
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Joined: 21 Jan 2004
Posts: 3862
Location: New York state.
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:59 am Reply with quote
@seinenfan: spoiler[I wouldn't think a relationship between first cousins would be considered incest in most cultures nowadays as this seems like a common misconception with many Western audiences. The Japanese have no problem with first cousin relationships in real life and such relationships are frequently used in romance anime and manga titles. One of the biggest recent titles that made use of a number of cousin relationships was Fruits Basket where there were a number of pairings between Sohma cousins. Though I would agree a gay pairing in real life is somewhat controversial issue to the Japanese since they don't approve of gay marriage at the moment due to many within the Japanese government having conservative views.]

But back to the anime at hand, Aoi Hana has me thinking of Maria-sama ga Miteru in the premise of tightly-knit close friendships between girls from what I read of the first few chapters of the manga and seeing the first anime episode has me thinking no different from what I read of the manga. With such a relationship, it gives a great opportunity for character depth and development with the female characters and so far, it seems Aoi Hana will be going in that direction like I seen with Maria-sama ga Miteru. The first episode has earned my interest. Let's see it hold up during the next episode.
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Joichiro Nishi



Joined: 21 Jul 2007
Posts: 163
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:58 pm Reply with quote
seinenfan wrote:
I do degress at the constant declaration of Aoi Hana being a "Yuri" manga. It is hardly a "Yuri" manga in the sense of what the word has come to mean.

Yuri today tends to demonstrate a total occlusion to hetrosexuality, and men. They are often placed in roles where they have no perceived sexuality, or are just background figures with no personality.

The fact is very few of the characters in Aoi Hana are lesbians. (Major Spoilers) spoiler[As we've already seen Fuji's Cousin is not, and later on Fujis girlfriend is revealed to still getting over falling in love with her drama club teacher, her very male drama club teacher. Meanwhile most of the girls in these schools are demonstrated as looking for boyfriends or dates. Very few are portrayed as your typical Lesbian.
]


Under that perspective, I guess Kannazuki no miko isn't a "yuri" anime. There are prominent male characters and there are only two lesbian characters. Most of the schoolgirls, including Himeko, showed interest in Souma, a very male character. What about Yami to Boushi Hon no Tabibito? The trend "no man anime" began with Strawberry panic and it become pretty popular in the yuri genre.
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seinenfan



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 16
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 6:08 pm Reply with quote
Joichiro Nishi wrote:
seinenfan wrote:
I do degress at the constant declaration of Aoi Hana being a "Yuri" manga. It is hardly a "Yuri" manga in the sense of what the word has come to mean.

Yuri today tends to demonstrate a total occlusion to hetrosexuality, and men. They are often placed in roles where they have no perceived sexuality, or are just background figures with no personality.

The fact is very few of the characters in Aoi Hana are lesbians. (Major Spoilers) spoiler[As we've already seen Fuji's Cousin is not, and later on Fujis girlfriend is revealed to still getting over falling in love with her drama club teacher, her very male drama club teacher. Meanwhile most of the girls in these schools are demonstrated as looking for boyfriends or dates. Very few are portrayed as your typical Lesbian.
]


Under that perspective, I guess Kannazuki no miko isn't a "yuri" anime. There are prominent male characters and there are only two lesbian characters. Most of the schoolgirls, including Himeko, showed interest in Souma, a very male character. What about Yami to Boushi Hon no Tabibito? The trend "no man anime" began with Strawberry panic and it become pretty popular in the yuri genre.


Except Aoi Hana isn't trashy shit with the fanservice peddling that Kannazuki has.

I was pretty sure the whole girls only yuri started with Marimite.
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Joichiro Nishi



Joined: 21 Jul 2007
Posts: 163
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:42 pm Reply with quote
seinenfan wrote:
Joichiro Nishi wrote:
seinenfan wrote:
I do degress at the constant declaration of Aoi Hana being a "Yuri" manga. It is hardly a "Yuri" manga in the sense of what the word has come to mean.

Yuri today tends to demonstrate a total occlusion to hetrosexuality, and men. They are often placed in roles where they have no perceived sexuality, or are just background figures with no personality.

The fact is very few of the characters in Aoi Hana are lesbians. (Major Spoilers) spoiler[As we've already seen Fuji's Cousin is not, and later on Fujis girlfriend is revealed to still getting over falling in love with her drama club teacher, her very male drama club teacher. Meanwhile most of the girls in these schools are demonstrated as looking for boyfriends or dates. Very few are portrayed as your typical Lesbian.
]


Under that perspective, I guess Kannazuki no miko isn't a "yuri" anime. There are prominent male characters and there are only two lesbian characters. Most of the schoolgirls, including Himeko, showed interest in Souma, a very male character. What about Yami to Boushi Hon no Tabibito? The trend "no man anime" began with Strawberry panic and it become pretty popular in the yuri genre.


Except Aoi Hana isn't trashy shit with the fanservice peddling that Kannazuki has.


That's not the point.

Quote:
I was pretty sure the whole girls only yuri started with Marimite.


Suguru and Yuki are recurring characters and both are men. Also there are some clearly straight men as circunstancial characters. Sachiko's father and grandfather have mistresses. Strawberry Panic hasn't any male character on screen. Please, don't answer this post saying something like: "Strawberry panic is trashy shit" because that's not the point.
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seinenfan



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 16
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:53 pm Reply with quote
Joichiro Nishi wrote:
seinenfan wrote:
Joichiro Nishi wrote:
seinenfan wrote:
I do degress at the constant declaration of Aoi Hana being a "Yuri" manga. It is hardly a "Yuri" manga in the sense of what the word has come to mean.

Yuri today tends to demonstrate a total occlusion to hetrosexuality, and men. They are often placed in roles where they have no perceived sexuality, or are just background figures with no personality.

The fact is very few of the characters in Aoi Hana are lesbians. (Major Spoilers) spoiler[As we've already seen Fuji's Cousin is not, and later on Fujis girlfriend is revealed to still getting over falling in love with her drama club teacher, her very male drama club teacher. Meanwhile most of the girls in these schools are demonstrated as looking for boyfriends or dates. Very few are portrayed as your typical Lesbian.
]


Under that perspective, I guess Kannazuki no miko isn't a "yuri" anime. There are prominent male characters and there are only two lesbian characters. Most of the schoolgirls, including Himeko, showed interest in Souma, a very male character. What about Yami to Boushi Hon no Tabibito? The trend "no man anime" began with Strawberry panic and it become pretty popular in the yuri genre.


Except Aoi Hana isn't trashy shit with the fanservice peddling that Kannazuki has.


That's not the point.

Quote:
I was pretty sure the whole girls only yuri started with Marimite.


Suguru and Yuki are recurring characters and both are men. Also there are some clearly straight men as circunstancial characters. Sachiko's father and grandfather have mistresses. Strawberry Panic hasn't any male character on screen. Please, don't answer this post saying something like: "Strawberry panic is trashy shit" because that's not the point.


But none of those characters are sexual beings.

The grandfather and father aren't romantic candidates for any of the girls.

I was more referencing shows, that take place in a all girls academy, where they entire cast of girls are lesbians. They don't imagine that anyone in a all girl school could be bisexual, or god forbid straight.
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Kimiko_0



Joined: 31 Aug 2008
Posts: 1796
Location: Leiden, NL, EU
PostPosted: Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:04 pm Reply with quote
Thanks to fansubs (Koharubi) people outside the USA can watch Aoi Hana as well. I just finished the first episode, even though I don't normally watch anime while they're still airing because I hate waiting for new episodes. I just couldn't resist this one though.

Isn't Fumi just the cutest? I really felt her sadness when her cousin left her Crying or Very sad I'm sure Akira will cheer her up again though.

Oh, I so hope this anime will end happily. The manga has a good reputation, so it probably will, but I can't help but worry, what with how lesbian relationships rarely get more than a passing nod (and some fanservice shots Rolling Eyes ).

The art is really nice, isn't it? It looks like everything is hand-drawn in pencil and water-color. Only the train looked computer animated, even though probably a lot more is.
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Annf



Joined: 20 Feb 2009
Posts: 578
PostPosted: Sat Jul 04, 2009 3:21 am Reply with quote
Fumi's voice is pretty meh.
Maybe she'll get better like with Maka in Soul Eater, but it looks like another of those cases where they cast an idol actress (like Shikabane Hime) so I'm not hopeful.
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