blue (manga)
blue ( jap. ブ ル ー , Burū ) is a manga series by the Japanese artist Kiriko Nananan . It describes a Yuri story, so it focuses on a lesbian love affair. The manga, which is about two high school girls who find that their feelings for one another are more than a normal friendship, appeared in over 230 pages in 1996 and was made into a film in 2001.
action
Kayako Kirishima ( 桐 島 カ ヤ 子 , Kirishima Kayako ), who lives in Niigata Prefecture and is in her third year of high school, is secretly in love with her classmate Masami Endo ( 遠藤 雅美 , Endō Masami ), who has a bench in front of her in her class sits. Masami has been suspended for a third year abortion and has to repeat grade. Kayako and Masami soon become friends and spend a lot of free time together. Kayako meets a boy at a party and is deflowered in order to know what it's like to have a sexual relationship. She finally confesses to Masami that she is in love with her, and Masami returns that affection. The two begin a love affair and make plans to go to Tokyo together at some point and live there together.
On the last day of school of the trimester, Masami does not come. She doesn't show up at home either, which is why both her parents and Kayako worry. A few days later, Kayako learns from a friend of Masami's that she is with the man who made her pregnant. He was about thirty at the time and married. Abandoned by Masami, Kayako starts painting during the summer holidays in order to make good use of her free time. At the end of the summer vacation, Masami reappears and tells Kayako that she was traveling with old friends. Kayako is disappointed and deeply hurt because of this outrageous lie.
Kayako and Masami make up again, but Kayako decides to go to Tokyo to study graphics and design. Masami prefers to stay in Niigata because she doesn't want to leave her parents. Kayako tries to persuade Masami to study together in Tokyo in order not to lose her, but she is encouraged by Masami to implement her plans to study art. Masami tells Kayako that she would rather go to a local college, then get married at some point and lead a simple life. Kayako eventually goes to Tokyo and tells Masami that she will never forget her.
backgrounds
In contrast to his classic manga, the comic is not expressionistic and decorative-ornamental, but is characterized in its presentation by a minimalist realism, clear page layouts and a strongly reduced black and white.
Kiriko Nananan processed some of his own experiences in the manga. In high school she was drawn to a classmate and wasn't sure if she was in love with the girl too.
Publications
blue was published in Japan from January to October 1996 in individual chapters in the monthly, alternative manga magazine Comic Are! , for which Hideo Azuma and Fumiko Takano , among others, also drew at the same time . The Magazine-House- Verlag put these individual chapters together in an anthology in April 1997.
With the help of Frédéric Boilet , the manga appeared as part of the La Nouvelle Manga movement in France and via this detour also in the United States and Spain. In 2006 the volume was also published in German by Schreiber & Leser .
reception
Most of the critics received the manga positively. Matthias Schneider praised the magazine Intro : "Both narrative and graphically, Nananan has succeeded in capturing the vanishing feelings of self-discovery in an expressive way."
filming
The independent filmmaker Hiroshi Andō filmed the manga series with Mikako Ichikawa and Manami Konishi in the leading roles. The 116-minute long film was shown at several film festivals around the world in 2002 and 2003, including the Toronto Film Festival . The film was released in Japanese theaters on March 29, 2003. At the Moscow International Film Festival in 2002 blue ran in the competition for the Golden St. George , the main prize, but could not prevail against the historical drama The Resurrection of the Italians Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani . Mikako Ichikawa was awarded the Silver St. George for Best Actress .
Web links
- Official website of Schreiber & Leser for the German Manga version
- Blue in the Internet Movie Database (English)
swell
- ↑ a b Review at Intro.de ( Memento of the original from October 11, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
