Blue (manga)
Encyclopedia
is a manga
by Kiriko Nananan
that was serialized in the alternative
manga magazine COMIC Are!; the tankōbon
was released on April 24, 1997. The English version, published by Fanfare/Ponent Mon, was released on March 15, 2006. Blue is about two high school aged girls, Kayako Kirishima and Masami Endo, who find that their friendship is turning into something more, and they are unsure about their future and feel confused about their current life.
, is almost ready to go off to college but is lonely and unsure of her future. Masami Endo is a girl who has been ostracized and made a social outcast for having an abortion. The two girls meet each other in class one day and become good friends. Gradually, Kirishima falls in love with Endo and the relationship becomes more personal.
In the middle of the book, summer vacation starts and Endo leaves to go off with the man who got her pregnant. During this time Kirishima misses her and can't wait for her to return. When Endo does return, she lies about her experiences and says that she was traveling with old friends. Kirishima knows she is lying and becomes upset with Endo souring the relationship. Eventually the two forgive each other, but times have changed and Kirishima decides to go off to Tokyo and pursue a career in art while Endo chooses to stay in her hometown. The manga ends with Kirishima riding off in a train to Tokyo as Endo looks longingly towards the train.
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
by Kiriko Nananan
Kiriko Nananan
is a female Japanese manga artist. She is famous for her realistic josei work featuring understated artwork with a sense of detachment. In addition she has affiliated herself with the "La nouvelle manga" movement. Her first work was published in Garo in 1993. Two of her works have been made into...
that was serialized in the alternative
Alternative manga
Alternative manga are Japanese comics that are published outside of the more commercial manga market, or which have different art styles, themes, and narratives to those found in the more popular manga magazines....
manga magazine COMIC Are!; the tankōbon
Tankobon
, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
was released on April 24, 1997. The English version, published by Fanfare/Ponent Mon, was released on March 15, 2006. Blue is about two high school aged girls, Kayako Kirishima and Masami Endo, who find that their friendship is turning into something more, and they are unsure about their future and feel confused about their current life.
Plot summary
Kayako Kirishima, who lives in NiigataNiigata Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Honshū on the coast of the Sea of Japan. The capital is the city of Niigata. The name "Niigata" literally means "new lagoon".- History :...
, is almost ready to go off to college but is lonely and unsure of her future. Masami Endo is a girl who has been ostracized and made a social outcast for having an abortion. The two girls meet each other in class one day and become good friends. Gradually, Kirishima falls in love with Endo and the relationship becomes more personal.
In the middle of the book, summer vacation starts and Endo leaves to go off with the man who got her pregnant. During this time Kirishima misses her and can't wait for her to return. When Endo does return, she lies about her experiences and says that she was traveling with old friends. Kirishima knows she is lying and becomes upset with Endo souring the relationship. Eventually the two forgive each other, but times have changed and Kirishima decides to go off to Tokyo and pursue a career in art while Endo chooses to stay in her hometown. The manga ends with Kirishima riding off in a train to Tokyo as Endo looks longingly towards the train.
External links
- Blue review at DVDVisionJapan.com
- Shamoon, Deborah "Situating the Shōjo in Shōjo Manga : Teenage Girls, Romance Comics, and Contemporary Japanese Culture" Japanese Visual Culture Ed. Mark MacWilliams. ME Sharpe, 2007 http://www.mesharpe.com/mall/resultsa.asp?Title=Japanese+Visual+Culture%3A+Explorations+in+the+World+of++Manga+and+Anime