(I didn't really want to write this review at first, partly because I lost my sense of reality after binging too much manga, and partly because I was afraid that I'd end up rambling, but I promised myself I'd start writing reviews, so here goes...)
Before You Read
Read the Reader Attentiveness section for some context before reading this manga.
The Review
Apologies if this ruins the escapist nature of fiction, but I've always agreed with the notion that fiction is a reflection of reality. It helps us understand people more than things (in contrast to most non-fiction). And can any fictional story truly be devoid of character exploration? Of course, fiction cannot replace real human interaction, but perhaps it can help you learn to read between the lines a bit more. With that in mind, I'd say this manga is a character-driven study of personal growth, embodying aspects more reminiscent of literary fiction than modern romance.
Reader Attentiveness
Ao no Flag contains many implicit details, and the most consequential things aren't as overtly expressed nor explicit as in most manga. We’re not always privy to the characters' inner thoughts or struggle; instead, these are conveyed externally, inviting readers to interpret things themselves. The story relies on non-verbal cues such as zoom, focus, perspective (first vs. third person), screen tones and shifts in character art style (leaning towards realism). Additionally, metaphors are occasionally used, such as a scene where a dripping tap symbolises a character’s tears.
This reflective approach suits the manga’s slice-of-life nature, capturing a brief snapshot of Taichi’s life during high school—a period wherein he undergoes significant personal development. The characters are portrayed as living their own lives, with us only catching fleeting glimpses of their inner worlds. The tone is slow and understated, avoiding unnecessary melodrama and clichés, though the narrative takes a more angsty turn in the final chapters, shifting to a melancholic atmosphere. It’s the subtle, everyday moments—like Taichi blushing at Futaba’s flower or Touma pausing when he notices Taichi and Futaba together—that make this manga stand out. The quiet nature of these moments creates space for deeper analysis, free from distracting noise.
Although the subtextual elements offer a more thoughtful way to understand the characters’ experiences, as a reader, you're largely left to analyse them on your own. I often felt like there was an odd dynamic between what the author showed versus what they wrote. This approach might be influenced by the mangaka’s work being shaped by the publisher's preferences (shounen-ai in Shounen Jump?!), but I'm unsure. Following on from this, I recommend starting the series with the spoiler that, at the beginning,
Taichi is probably bisexual/biromantic, but repressed,
as this knowledge will help you pick up on some crucial clues to avoid much confusion about the ending (something I would have definitely struggled with had I not known beforehand).
Art
The art is typical of a shounen manga, featuring comedic facial expressions and (adorable) chibi panels, especially with Taichi (or Futaba). However, during serious moments, it adopts a more realistic tone, with Taichi being shown in close-up shots that capture his more emotional moments. It's rare for this demographic and genre to see a protagonist (as opposed to a love interest) portrayed so intimately.
First/Third Person Perspective
The manga is primarily told from a third-person perspective, but it occasionally shifts to first-person panels to show a character’s focus or where their attention is directed. Only two chapters are entirely in first person, both from Touma's point of view (chapters 48 and 54). While I found chapter 48 decent, I wasn't particularly fond of chapter 54. The panels were bare and focused more on the scenery than the characters. I wanted to see Touma, but the narrative was limiting—like being trapped with narrow tunnel vision. (Please let me decide what I can see T.T) Perhaps this shift in perspective was intentionally used to depict the past and future in a more restrictive way, evoking the sense of a glance at the memories of the past or visions of the future, rather than providing a full exploration.
Age Rating
Despite some mildly sexualised cover art (though I guess that's pretty common in shounen) and Touma being shown topless, I would consider this a very PG book. However, the subtle nuances in characterisation and the level of analysis required to appreciate them might demand a bit more emotional maturity, as it was a bit difficult even for me, an adult.
Characters
There are no villains in this story; instead, all the characters are simply trying to find their way in life, filled with doubt and indecision about their futures during the ridiculously busy time of their high school years. Aside from Taichi, most of the cast initially comes across as one-dimensional. However, they are gradually developed into more believable and endearing characters. Additionally, the character interactions avoids the trite melodrama typical of high schoolers, particularly when concerning the dynamics between (potential) love rivals (an endearing clash of compliments unfolds).
Taichi
Despite his initial gloominess and grouchiness, Taichi is considerate and easily embarrassed. His facial expressiveness, shaped by his self-consciousness, is endearing, though it's primarily tied to his conscious feelings. While Taichi may seem consistently expressive, when it comes to
Touma,
you need to pay closer attention to his more subtle expressions.
While Taichi often lets his insecurity get the best of him, leading him to estrange those around him. As Matsumi notes, he's indecisive and slow, largely due to his lack of self-confidence. It’s heartwarming to see him become more self-assured and positive over time, but this makes it all the more poignant when we see him struggle internally near the end.
Touma
Of all the characters, Touma never quite made the impression I expected. He isn’t open with Taichi—or anyone else—and, for most of the manga, his inner turmoil remains hidden. Unfortunately, we don’t get much insight into his thoughts until the very end. It was a long time coming, but it was nice to finally see
their childhood together in chapter 48.
Quotes:
At one point you stopped smiling around me. I'm unfair so I pretended not to notice, and you're kind so you pretended you didn't.
If it's with her, can we be together again?
Themes
Adolescence and Growth
The manga captures the uncertainty of life by focusing on the journey rather than a definitive ending. It portrays the struggle of growing up with painful realism, showing that while adolescence lays the foundation for adulthood, teenage turmoil doesn’t necessarily define us later in life. The focus is on growth in the present moment, with what comes afterward left off the page. This bittersweet omission emphasises that the story is about the most significant choices that shape us, not the final outcome.
Prior to the beginning of the manga, Taichi is stuck in an emotional haze of low self-esteem. He had distanced himself from his childhood best friend, Touma, due to an inferiority complex, believing that setting boundaries on himself would prevent feelings of inadequacy. But even with this mindset, Taichi remains unhappy. He assumes a lot about Touma, with mixed feelings of envy and reluctant admiration, which leads to some conflict later on.
The story is a reflection of the most significant period of Taichi’s life, in which he overcame his negative mindset, with Futaba acting as a catalyst for Taichi’s growth. Initially, he dislikes her because she reminds him of himself too much. But as Futaba tries to change, Taichi is reluctantly drawn to help her, only to realise that he is the one who needed to change. Her character growth triggers his. Over time, Taichi lets go of the limits he had imposed on himself, while Futaba also grows into someone she can be proud of, no longer wishing to be someone else. It wasn’t so much a love story, but rather a thank-you letter to Futaba from Taichi. Though they
break up after two years,
they helped each other grow. It speaks to how, despite every relationship having an expiry date, each one allows us to either learn or teach. Only a select few relationships, be they romantic or platonic, manage to endure, lasting until death does them part.
Romantic vs. Platonic Relationships
A big gripe I have is how romantic relationships are often deemed as more important than non-romantic ones, even though infatuation creates a rose-tinted view that rarely reflects reality. When Futaba considered both Taichi and Touma equally important to her, Taichi's outburst pressured her into choosing between them. She chose one, but this could be read as her being socialised to believe she must make that choice. Perhaps Taichi did to Futaba what was had been done to him as a child—having been taught that boys can’t hold hands with one another like girls do. This incident made me question: why is it so that when we decide to prioritise one person—usually a romantic interest—as the most important to us, we appear to care less about everyone else (like friends and family)? Is there really a need to rank different types of love as superior or inferior? It seems unhealthy to me.
Puppy vs. Mature Love
Finding love may be easier than finding yourself, but self-love is a prerequisite for any healthy relationship. In healthy, mature romantic relationships, a foundation of years of friendship is often more stable than the fleeting intensity of first love. There's no need for grand, oversentimental confessions—true love is quiet and enduring, while puppy love is loud and volatile. People grow and change as they age, but some relationships endure and evolve. Taichi valued his friendship with Touma enough to navigate the awkwardness caused by
Touma's one-sided feelings, which in turn allowed for their relationship to later evolve.
Choices
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
— The Serenity Prayer
A central theme of this manga is that life is an endless series of choices, with the overarching choice explored being to have to decide between your lover or your best friend. At first, Taichi has neither. But, after having gained both, he is forced to make a choice. Taichi technically chooses
both,
as most important to him, but, by the end, we are (barely) told that this choice led to
his best friend anyway.
Why choose when both can be one?
Quotes:
If I look down I can see myself standing on top of all the choices I made without thinking. But I can't retrace the steps.
All we can do is pick the path that we believe to be the best. How others choose to see that choice is their own problem.
Once again, the hour of choice approaches.
I can help you, but I can't decide for you.
Self-Repression
Taichi’s shyness makes him easily scared (by Touma) and easily embarrassed (around Futaba). Still, Taichi wasn’t as self-conscious around Touma as he was with Futaba, possibly due to a lack of self-awareness or simply because he was more comfortable around a childhood friend. However, the way
Taichi looks up at Touma with longing throughout the manga—especially when no one else is looking
suggests a mix of repressed and conflicting emotions.
Both Taichi and Touma suppress their emotions in times of inner turmoil. Touma holds back his feelings (possibly due to losing his parents and being distanced from Taichi for years) until they eventually overwhelm him. Once
Touma confesses,
Taichi becomes sullen, reflecting on their relationship and feeling uncertain about what to do next.
Taichi recalls a moment from childhood when Touma refused to hold his hand, marking the moment when Taichi was socialised to repress physical affection towards his male friends. While affection between female friends or from male friends to female friends is often seen as acceptable, male-to-male affection or female-to-male, as Mami points out, is considered flirtatious and socially unacceptable.
Taichi also confides in Futaba how he abandoned with his childhood dream of becoming a toy maker due to a lack of self-confidence. His disillusionment and negativity only deepened from that point onwards, lingering up until the beginning of the story.
Sexuality and Romantic Orientation
While there may be intentional subtext suggesting Taichi’s
sexual awareness of Touma,
I’m not sure if it necessarily warrants labelling him
bisexual or biromantic.
Do we really need to fit everything into predefined categories? If anything, the fact that Taichi ends up with
Touma
suggests that relationships don’t follow clear-cut trajectories. While this one ends a certain way, it’s just one of many possible outcomes, influenced by choices made both within screen-time and beyond it, during the time skip.
This manga also stands in contrast to the usual unhealthy relationship dynamics depicted in shounen-ai. My biggest criticism of the genre is how often it reuses toxic and unrealistic gender tropes—such as the hyper-femininity and hyper-masculinity prevalent in shoujo—and translates them into the uke/seme dynamic. Many shounen-ai works fail to subvert this, but this manga chooses to avoid these clichés altogether. It’s refreshing not to be bombarded with every intimate (almost voyeuristic) detail. Readers don’t really need to know everything about the characters; it's healthier that way.
Gender
The author addresses how people may struggle to see beyond the male-female binary through Kensuke's perspective, raising the question: are the differences between the genders greater than individual differences within the genders, or are individual differences within the genders greater than the differences between them?
Quotes:
You say you broke up with your girlfriend because of me?! [...] Making people feel inferior when they shouldn't have to. Making them feel animosity they don't want to feel. Making enemies where they weren't any before.
All those guys who are attracted to girls, can you 100% let your guard down around them? Just because they're your friends? Because you know them?
Sayaka: Are you saying that male friendship is about beating each other up until you come to an understanding?
Shingo: Well, instead of using girly tactics like annoying emotional attacks, isn't it manlier and more wholesome to duke it out like men?
Love and Relationships
Quotes:
Isn't it okay to have several people who are precious to you?
If you don't truly reciprocate someone else's love, you'll blame and be blamed, ultimately ending up hating each other. It's sad when two people do not love each other equally.
Since only you know your own feelings, you can't compare them to others'. You can only measure against your own.
What do you mean by love, Touma?
Vague, shapeless feelings are unsettling. [...] We force them into shapes created by others [...] and try to get rid of what is different.
We broke up. There wasn't an interesting story behind it. People might ask why or say what they would have done in our place, not understanding the little decisions we made. But we decided to go our own ways, not to match the shapes set forth by others, but for our own shapes of happiness.
Self-worth and Identity
Despite trying to change to avoid unnecessary attention and vilification, Mami remained misunderstood. Ultimately, she gave up trying to please others and instead accepted who she was.
Quotes:
Your friends may support you, but aren't you yourself your best ally? Is there anyone else but you who knows everything you've done or thought? The good, the bad, the ugly side of yourself that you never show. [...] You can't betray yourself.
How can I become someone who deserves these people?
I don't want to be blamed for not being able to fall for him, and I don't want to blame myself either.
You and Tai have no obligation to care. Doing so would be foolishness, not kindness.
If other people didn't like or acknowledge them, I didn't think there was much value in the things I liked.
I'm sure that right now somewhere out there, there are people suffering anguishing crying and lamenting. Knowing that, is it okay for me to be happy and smiling?
Societal Conformity and Disagreement
The manga critiques societal norms and the tendency to suppress disagreement for comfort, suggesting that true understanding requires embracing conflict and difference.
Even if we don't want it, we're protected by society's rules from the moment we're born. The law isn't necessarily right and it doesn't serve to protect you alone. Ultimately, it only exists for the comfort of the majority. [...] Following those rules is the easiest way to not make trouble for yourself or others.
Stop denying it just because you don't understand. Saying you 'hate' something is the same as saying 'I don't feel like trying to understand it anymore!'
What's right is constantly changing to suit some era, society, organisation.
You think avoiding conflict makes you a considerate friend.
Shouko: Who's side are you on?
Shingo: Are you trying to make enemies?
So what if we're not the same? [...] Of course I don't understand! How could I when you don't want me to?
The people who aren't involved see this as prime entertainment. [...] If you don't think you're in the wrong, then stand tall.
Wisdom and Experience
Just as there are certain sights you can only see in high school, there are things you can only see when you are older.
I know you don't want to rely on me and maybe you don't even trust me, but I've got some years on you and I've accumulated more life experience. I'm not saying that that makes me better than you. It doesn't mean I'm right or that you have to respect me for it.
Am I embellishing my memories too much?
Family Bonds
I'm not going to force you to talk about it if you don't want to. If you're not willing, then that's partially my own fault.
If it looks like you're going to choose a difficult path and I think you'll regret it, for example if your values and decisions go completely beyond my understanding, I'll stop you, warn you and object. That's because I have my own wisdom shaped by my life experiences. But you know, Touma, even if I stop you, warn you and object... I won't disown you.
I have all the insight in the world I can give you. Make use of the adults in your life.
There are times when you have no choice but to struggle in order to become happy, and during those times of struggle, I hope that this house can be a place where you can relax. Your refuge.
Happiness takes on a different form for everyone. The happiness I'm working towards is different from yours. I can only genuinely imagine my own ideal happiness.
Ending
The ending, while meaningful in its subtlety, leaves some questions unanswered. feels like a final, triumphant moment
Unlike the rest of the manga, the ending was barely explored and pretty open-ended. We got glimpses of everyone except Touma. The final panel of Taichi and Touma holding hands was meaningful, but the implication that Taichi was hung up on Futaba for five years felt forced.
One thing I noticed in the second-to-last chapter: Taichi had been living in the same apartment all those years. Futaba's wedding invitation arrived at that apartment, and after the wedding, Taichi says to Touma, “Let’s go home.” So, how long had they been together, and when did they actually get married?
(-406)
(+171)
