I’m so glad you made this because a few months ago when I first finished this I felt super frustrated with it. I felt like we were cheated so many chapters to give context for the future years. But now I’m starting to realize how realistic it was to jump into the future like that and show that many things don’t go as planned but can still turn out happy/good. I agree that the ending definitely made this series memorable. People will always be debating about it 😂
I really enjoyed Blue Flag a lot. I just wish the ending wasn’t so rushed. I really wanted to see Taichis feelings for Touma progress, to flesh him out more as a queer character, and while yes he’s confirmed to be bisexual (I mean hence why he ends up with Touma), it just doesn’t feel that way even after the ending. Like we didn’t get to see any progress between Touma and Taichi or even how they ended up growing closer to becoming from best friends to lovers. Because they jumped right from them being friends, and Taichi saying he loves him as a friend, to them suddenly being married, makes me feel like I missed so much. Like I wanted to see that relationship grow and develop, but Kaito sorta just rushed the whole thing. It just felt rushed and censored. I’d have loved to see how they got together, when they got together, and even when Taichi started to reciprocate those feelings Touma had for him. Like if maybe they gave hints throughout that Taichi was in love with Touma, it might’ve worked, or if instead of Taichi just saying “I want to be your friend because your really fun” maybe Taichi could’ve actually confess back for real instead at the end, that way the ending would make more sense. Because I didn’t get any vibe from him that he liked Touma in that way at all.
I came here after finishing this read, I absolutely loved it but I was so shocked. I didn’t expect it nor did I see it coming. I wish maybe in the future we could get a spin off to show us how we got there!
You can develop feelings afterwards, I wouldn't like it if Taichi liked him in high school. But yeah, I wish we could have seen how they fell in love ❤
I personally disagree, there were quite a few hints throughout my first read, and tbh, even more when you look back on it with hindsight. "best friend or lover, I didn't know back then which I'd choose." When you consider adult Taichi talking about Toma in that way, it's the most fore to ever shadow.
Usually when I read manga I always think of them as characters. But not with this manga. I think of them as people. having a life of its own It doesn't matter who I ship them with. Because in the end, their lives are their own decisions. Because of that, the end when I saw them smile and be happy made me cry. I just so happy😭
i liked the nuance in ao no flags ending. the whole point of the manga was the characters finding themselves and what they wanted without conforming to others and the really fast whirl of time…. the ending really captured that imo. they didnt feel obligated to explain anything and it moved on
I kept looking for more blue flag reviews to find one that counters those which undermine the ending of the story. Finally found it here, the search payed off ^^. Thx for the content.
I just finished this manga recently as i’ve been binge reading it for the past week. Personally I loved the execution of the entire series and the ending even more. I loved how intricate it was and how it was from first person POV, I liked how you wouldn’t know it was Toma unless you’ve been reading the manga the whole time and picked up on the hints left at the end such as Futaba saying “i still look up to you” to the person who’s eyes we are seeing through. I loved just how… REAL the manga felt. Norman romance manga end right around graduation and I was very happy to see that it didn’t end there and that things changed because people change and life is always changing. This was said throughout the manga on multiple occasions as well.. the concept of always having to make choice after choice and how time doesn’t stop for anybody. There’s always different choices to be made throughout life. It was just a beautiful story and i definitely need therapy or something after it because my heart is so touched i want to cry 😭
great vid. Ao no Flag took me in with Futaba and Taichi’s awkward charm, then hit me hard with Mami’s plotline. I was reading month to month starting chapter 45. When the ending came out it broke my brain. I’ve seen so many takes that miss the point, calling it rushed (by people who like it) or jarring (by people who don’t). Congrats on putting into words how right it feels to watch the characters we’ve grown to love grow up and move on
I loved it. This was the first manga that actually showed what life after high school is like. Most couples don’t stay together once high school’s over. And even friend groups drift apart. I agree with you that many romances end at graduation. Few show life after high school in a way that’s realistic and not drawn out. I loved Taichi and Toma’s dynamic throughout the whole manga. So I was in tears at the last chapter. The ending was well deserved. Because it also brought healing for me. High school is that short time of your life where honestly, who you were years ago is going to be different.
EXACTLY, like yeah, it would've been nice and interesting to see how each character came to their decisions, but this ending matches the story and its theme perfectly. I need people to stop saying it was rushed or bad cause it wasn't. This story had a very big theme of choices and paths and how an individual is the only one who can actually choose what's right for them, we as outsiders may think differently or even disagree with the choice/ want to know more but it's not our story and we really don't need to know! It wouldn't change anything if we did.
This is the best manga by far imo. It's uniqueness from other mangas made me feel in love with this. Moreover it changed the way I see the world. And it helped mtle in my life too. Happy with the ending. Alright, that's all.
I loved the ending too! The theme of choice really resonated with me at the part of my life I’m at, the ending was so comforting to me because of it. It was pretty perfect. I was a bit disappointed not to see more of the Slow Burn friends to lovers romance I guess, but still it meant a lot to me in general.
Honestly, my other interpertation to the manga ending with other then Touma being with Taichi. Is that Taichi finding another random person. Even thought it is likely it is Touma, I find neat to also interpret Taichi life afterwards like for Futaba.
I read this manga and loved it. Probably the reason why we didn’t get to see that much of the romance between Touma and Taichi is the magazine where it was serialized. But to be honest, I feel like it didn’t matter much. I feel the author lets you fill all the gaps by yourself.
Great video. This gave me quite a different perspective to the series. Read this a while ago and I wasnt a fan of the ending doesn't mean I didn't like the sorry overall as I'm glad at the end of it everyone was happy but still fell cheated in a way since I would have wanted more chapters to see what happen but looking at it a different it definitely made me appreciate the ending a bit more even though I still not the biggest fan of the ending.
I didn’t necessarily like the ending but I still very much love and adore the story. And I’m so so GLAD you mentioned how rare HS couples really last AND you even mentioned the nuances of two guys ending up together took balls. I never got any “hints” even as a bisexual fan. I will say I was kinda expecting a story that deals with one sided love so that ending kinda… undermines that for lack of better words. I wished Kaito has someone we’ve seen end up with Toma at the end but I still give it 5 stars. The ending was different and refreshing to say the least. I loved your take on it
I completely agree that this might be a realistic ending. My problem is that there’s no bridge between point A and point B. Maybe it’s realistic, but it’s definitely not satisfying one bit. It makes it feel like it was rushed. If they couldn’t find a way to make Ichi end up with Toma in the span of a single issue, without skipping literally everything, it might’ve been better to just not do it. This is the equivalent to if in Dragon Ball Part 2 when Goku convinces Krillin to let Vegeta leave, the story skips all the way to the ending when Vegeta and Bulma meet up with Goku as a married couple, because after all “Life is just a series of choices.” Maybe Toma and Ichi makes sense but as it stands, this is tied with Promised Neverland as the worst way to end a series.
My only complaint is that I wanted to see adult Toma...then my husband pointed out the he already looked like a grown man so he probably looked the same haha
i would've liked the ending more if there were more hints to Taichi's bisexuality though, it just felt out of character to me when it was revealed he married Touma
thats so interesting tho, i keep seeing people say that towards the ending. i was spoiled on it before i read the manga recently and i think having that hindsight (and a queer perspective in my case) makes some foreshadowing a lot clearer. its really subtle and easy to overlook but i do think taichi’s bisexuality or well, questionning at that point, is hinted at a few times ahahah
@@noitsnotacookie14 That's interesting. To me it seemed like Taichi was aware of his feelings for Touma right from the start (even before Touma was of his own). So I feel like it had to do with him just not choosing "that path," and questioning that choice at times. But not the feelings themselves, if that makes sense.
Though I disagree with it being a little generic in the romance department(since it stood out to me) yup the manga is great. I loved the ending and this is why I think people kind of miss the message... The author really goes far in portraying the message that life is a series of choices and what goes on etc isnt visible. Or we are here for entertainment when we involve in someone else s drama etc. Not to mention the choice some people make would be senseless to some. I also felt like he was breaking the fourth wall during this time period. We were the audience who were supposed to react to this sudden twist... which is senseless till we get the entire context. HOWEVER thats the thing... Do we always need to make sense of the choices people make personally? When we have our lives to focus on? And I also like how it shows that time heals stuff... and the future is unpredictable and for that reason we might have to take it a little easy... Since while it doesnt make sense, things might take a good turn later on...The ending is abrupt... a choice and well while it could have been executed better, i think thematically its awesome tbh. Since the author really potrayed the theme in a very bold manner. For which I will always consider this a flawed masterpiece.
I wanted to see them kiss, older touma, how everyone else reacted. How did they even start dating and much more. I finished reading it like an hour ago and have been crying since it's 2:17 rn and i have rethought like half of my life Why didn't futaba end up with masami 😢😢😢
I’m so glad you made this because a few months ago when I first finished this I felt super frustrated with it. I felt like we were cheated so many chapters to give context for the future years. But now I’m starting to realize how realistic it was to jump into the future like that and show that many things don’t go as planned but can still turn out happy/good. I agree that the ending definitely made this series memorable. People will always be debating about it 😂
I really enjoyed Blue Flag a lot. I just wish the ending wasn’t so rushed. I really wanted to see Taichis feelings for Touma progress, to flesh him out more as a queer character, and while yes he’s confirmed to be bisexual (I mean hence why he ends up with Touma), it just doesn’t feel that way even after the ending. Like we didn’t get to see any progress between Touma and Taichi or even how they ended up growing closer to becoming from best friends to lovers. Because they jumped right from them being friends, and Taichi saying he loves him as a friend, to them suddenly being married, makes me feel like I missed so much. Like I wanted to see that relationship grow and develop, but Kaito sorta just rushed the whole thing. It just felt rushed and censored. I’d have loved to see how they got together, when they got together, and even when Taichi started to reciprocate those feelings Touma had for him. Like if maybe they gave hints throughout that Taichi was in love with Touma, it might’ve worked, or if instead of Taichi just saying “I want to be your friend because your really fun” maybe Taichi could’ve actually confess back for real instead at the end, that way the ending would make more sense. Because I didn’t get any vibe from him that he liked Touma in that way at all.
I came here after finishing this read, I absolutely loved it but I was so shocked. I didn’t expect it nor did I see it coming. I wish maybe in the future we could get a spin off to show us how we got there!
You can develop feelings afterwards, I wouldn't like it if Taichi liked him in high school. But yeah, I wish we could have seen how they fell in love ❤
I personally disagree, there were quite a few hints throughout my first read, and tbh, even more when you look back on it with hindsight. "best friend or lover, I didn't know back then which I'd choose." When you consider adult Taichi talking about Toma in that way, it's the most fore to ever shadow.
Usually when I read manga I always think of them as characters. But not with this manga. I think of them as people. having a life of its own It doesn't matter who I ship them with. Because in the end, their lives are their own decisions. Because of that, the end when I saw them smile and be happy made me cry. I just so happy😭
i liked the nuance in ao no flags ending. the whole point of the manga was the characters finding themselves and what they wanted without conforming to others and the really fast whirl of time…. the ending really captured that imo. they didnt feel obligated to explain anything and it moved on
I kept looking for more blue flag reviews to find one that counters those which undermine the ending of the story. Finally found it here, the search payed off ^^. Thx for the content.
I just finished this manga recently as i’ve been binge reading it for the past week. Personally I loved the execution of the entire series and the ending even more. I loved how intricate it was and how it was from first person POV, I liked how you wouldn’t know it was Toma unless you’ve been reading the manga the whole time and picked up on the hints left at the end such as Futaba saying “i still look up to you” to the person who’s eyes we are seeing through. I loved just how… REAL the manga felt. Norman romance manga end right around graduation and I was very happy to see that it didn’t end there and that things changed because people change and life is always changing. This was said throughout the manga on multiple occasions as well.. the concept of always having to make choice after choice and how time doesn’t stop for anybody. There’s always different choices to be made throughout life. It was just a beautiful story and i definitely need therapy or something after it because my heart is so touched i want to cry 😭
great vid. Ao no Flag took me in with Futaba and Taichi’s awkward charm, then hit me hard with Mami’s plotline. I was reading month to month starting chapter 45. When the ending came out it broke my brain. I’ve seen so many takes that miss the point, calling it rushed (by people who like it) or jarring (by people who don’t). Congrats on putting into words how right it feels to watch the characters we’ve grown to love grow up and move on
I loved it. This was the first manga that actually showed what life after high school is like. Most couples don’t stay together once high school’s over. And even friend groups drift apart. I agree with you that many romances end at graduation. Few show life after high school in a way that’s realistic and not drawn out. I loved Taichi and Toma’s dynamic throughout the whole manga. So I was in tears at the last chapter. The ending was well deserved. Because it also brought healing for me. High school is that short time of your life where honestly, who you were years ago is going to be different.
EXACTLY, like yeah, it would've been nice and interesting to see how each character came to their decisions, but this ending matches the story and its theme perfectly. I need people to stop saying it was rushed or bad cause it wasn't. This story had a very big theme of choices and paths and how an individual is the only one who can actually choose what's right for them, we as outsiders may think differently or even disagree with the choice/ want to know more but it's not our story and we really don't need to know! It wouldn't change anything if we did.
This is the best manga by far imo. It's uniqueness from other mangas made me feel in love with this. Moreover it changed the way I see the world. And it helped mtle in my life too. Happy with the ending. Alright, that's all.
THIS. Many people aren’t convinced love can grow. Over time. With any person of your choosing.
My only problem is I love Taichi & Futaba’s relationship way too much. & I just can’t take it 😭
I loved the ending, and you highlighted perfectly my exact thoughts on it. Thank you!
I loved the ending too! The theme of choice really resonated with me at the part of my life I’m at, the ending was so comforting to me because of it. It was pretty perfect. I was a bit disappointed not to see more of the Slow Burn friends to lovers romance I guess, but still it meant a lot to me in general.
Stumbled upon ur channel; valid content
Honestly, my other interpertation to the manga ending with other then Touma being with Taichi. Is that Taichi finding another random person. Even thought it is likely it is Touma, I find neat to also interpret Taichi life afterwards like for Futaba.
I was so shocked with that end, I didn’t expected that at all, i wish they would’ve show grown up toma tho. Loved it
I read this manga and loved it. Probably the reason why we didn’t get to see that much of the romance between Touma and Taichi is the magazine where it was serialized. But to be honest, I feel like it didn’t matter much. I feel the author lets you fill all the gaps by yourself.
Thank you for this video!!! super interesting analysis and im so grateful to finally see someone defending this ending ahahahah
Amazing video, so glad I found this video and channel. Sticking around with you for the long haul.
This is the first video I watch that’s yours and I really like it
Great video. This gave me quite a different perspective to the series. Read this a while ago and I wasnt a fan of the ending doesn't mean I didn't like the sorry overall as I'm glad at the end of it everyone was happy but still fell cheated in a way since I would have wanted more chapters to see what happen but looking at it a different it definitely made me appreciate the ending a bit more even though I still not the biggest fan of the ending.
I didn’t necessarily like the ending but I still very much love and adore the story. And I’m so so GLAD you mentioned how rare HS couples really last AND you even mentioned the nuances of two guys ending up together took balls. I never got any “hints” even as a bisexual fan. I will say I was kinda expecting a story that deals with one sided love so that ending kinda… undermines that for lack of better words. I wished Kaito has someone we’ve seen end up with Toma at the end but I still give it 5 stars. The ending was different and refreshing to say the least. I loved your take on it
I completely agree that this might be a realistic ending. My problem is that there’s no bridge between point A and point B. Maybe it’s realistic, but it’s definitely not satisfying one bit. It makes it feel like it was rushed. If they couldn’t find a way to make Ichi end up with Toma in the span of a single issue, without skipping literally everything, it might’ve been better to just not do it. This is the equivalent to if in Dragon Ball Part 2 when Goku convinces Krillin to let Vegeta leave, the story skips all the way to the ending when Vegeta and Bulma meet up with Goku as a married couple, because after all “Life is just a series of choices.” Maybe Toma and Ichi makes sense but as it stands, this is tied with Promised Neverland as the worst way to end a series.
My only complaint is that I wanted to see adult Toma...then my husband pointed out the he already looked like a grown man so he probably looked the same haha
i would've liked the ending more if there were more hints to Taichi's bisexuality though, it just felt out of character to me when it was revealed he married Touma
I feel 100% the same
thats so interesting tho, i keep seeing people say that towards the ending. i was spoiled on it before i read the manga recently and i think having that hindsight (and a queer perspective in my case) makes some foreshadowing a lot clearer. its really subtle and easy to overlook but i do think taichi’s bisexuality or well, questionning at that point, is hinted at a few times ahahah
@@noitsnotacookie14 That's interesting. To me it seemed like Taichi was aware of his feelings for Touma right from the start (even before Touma was of his own). So I feel like it had to do with him just not choosing "that path," and questioning that choice at times. But not the feelings themselves, if that makes sense.
Just finished this one, I love the ending it’s sooooo good.
Though I disagree with it being a little generic in the romance department(since it stood out to me) yup the manga is great. I loved the ending and this is why
I think people kind of miss the message... The author really goes far in portraying the message that life is a series of choices and what goes on etc isnt visible. Or we are here for entertainment when we involve in someone else s drama etc. Not to mention the choice some people make would be senseless to some. I also felt like he was breaking the fourth wall during this time period. We were the audience who were supposed to react to this sudden twist... which is senseless till we get the entire context. HOWEVER thats the thing... Do we always need to make sense of the choices people make personally? When we have our lives to focus on? And I also like how it shows that time heals stuff... and the future is unpredictable and for that reason we might have to take it a little easy... Since while it doesnt make sense, things might take a good turn later on...The ending is abrupt... a choice and well while it could have been executed better, i think thematically its awesome tbh. Since the author really potrayed the theme in a very bold manner. For which I will always consider this a flawed masterpiece.
I wanted to see them kiss, older touma, how everyone else reacted. How did they even start dating and much more.
I finished reading it like an hour ago and have been crying since it's 2:17 rn and i have rethought like half of my life
Why didn't futaba end up with masami 😢😢😢
I hated the ending because it just came out of nowhere iirc
True
I wanted to throw a tantrum if touma and taichi didn't end up together
SO TRUUUEEE I AGREE SO HARD
I agree with you