Blue Friend (manga)

Blue Friend (Japanese: ブルーフレンド, Hepburn: Burū Furendo) is a yuri manga series written and drawn by Fumi Eban, and serialized in Shueisha's monthly shōjo manga magazine Ribon in 2010. It was followed by the one-shot sequel Blue Friend: After Days[lower-alpha 1] in 2010, and by the sequel series Blue Friend: 2nd Season[lower-alpha 2] and the spin-off Blue Friend: Nijiiro no Kanojo[lower-alpha 3] in 2011.

Blue Friend
Stylized art of two girls in a white void: one sitting, and one lying down
Volume 1 cover art
ブルーフレンド
(Burū Furendo)
GenreYuri[1]
Manga
Written byFumi Eban
Published byShueisha
ImprintRibon Mascot Comics
MagazineRibon
DemographicShōjo
Original runApril 3, 2010 – October 2, 2010
Volumes3
Sequels and spin-offs
  • Blue Friend: After Days (2010)
  • Blue Friend: 2nd Season (2011)
  • Blue Friend: Nijiiro no Kanojo (2011)

Plot

Blue Friend is a yuri manga about two girls who are very different from each other, who waver between love and friendship:[1] the outgoing and athletic Ayumu Kurihara (栗原 歩, Kurihara Ayumi), and the quiet Misuzu Tsukishima (月島 美鈴, Tsukishima Misuzu). After Ayumu cracks through Misuzu's self-imposed alienation, Misuzu begins to fall in love with Ayumu and kisses her. Misuzu tells Ayumu that the kiss meant nothing, and Ayumu is not sure what to believe. Satsuki Azuma (東 五月, Azuma Satsuki), a delinquent girl from Misuzu's past, shows up and begins reminding Misuzu of an incident she wants to forget, especially now that she is with Ayumu.

Production and release

Blue Friend was created by Fumi Eban,[1] who wrote the story with the idea of the protagonist coming in contact with characters who have an immature or inexperienced image of social detachment; this is also where the title is derived from, as "blue" (青い, aoi) can metaphorically mean "inexperienced" in Japanese, similarly to "green" in English. She was excited to create a work with a theme that was new to her, and happy to get the chance to create another serialized story, but was worried that the theme might be too complex to appeal to children reading the series.[2] For 2nd Season, she also worried about having to come up with a new and appealing take on the same theme.[3]

The concept of the mysterious girl Misuzu immediately came to Eban when she decided on the theme; she commented that she has a preference as a creator for female characters who are "slightly odd".[2] For 2nd Season, she drew on her own shortcomings and created a protagonist who embodies them: Kanako has a tendency to be easily influenced by other people. As a counterpoint, Aoi was written with a focus on her tendency to be straight-forward and to speak her mind.[3] When creating the cast, Eban came up with several names, and then assigned them based on which fit which character.[2] She tried to create visual variety, including by varying the designs of the characters' eyes, and put effort into trying to express cuteness through the female characters.[3]

The original Blue Friend series was serialized in Shueisha's shōjo manga magazine Ribon from its May 2010 issue on April 3, 2010,[4][5] to the November 2010 issue on October 2, 2010, and was followed by the one-shot sequel Blue Friend: After Days on December 16, 2010, in the magazine's winter special issue.[6][7][8][9] The sequel Blue Friend: 2nd Season was serialized from the July 2011 issue on June 2, 2011,[10] to the November 2011 issue on October 3, 2011, and the spin-off Blue Friend: Nijiiro no Kanojo was published in Ribon Special Real on October 21, 2011.[11][12]

Blue Friend, After Days, and 2nd Season, were later released across three tankōbon volumes under Shueisha's imprint Ribon Mascot Comics,[7][13][14] from September 15, 2010, to November 15, 2011;[15][16] these volumes have since been published in Chinese by Sharp Point Press,[17] German by Tokyopop,[18] Korean by Haksan Publishing,[19] and Thai by Bongkoch Publishing.[20] Shueisha later published Nijiiro no Kanojo in the first Japanese volume of Eban's 2015 manga Seishun wa Zombie Deshita on July 25, 2016.[21][22]

Volumes
Blue Friend volumes
No. Japanese release date Japanese ISBN
1 September 15, 2010[15]978-4088670751
  • Blue Friend, chapter 1–5
2 February 15, 2011[23]978-4088670997
  • Blue Friend, chapter 6–7
  • Blue Friend: After Days
3 November 15, 2011[16]978-4088671543
  • Blue Friend: 2nd Season, chapter 1–5

Reception

According to Natalie, Blue Friend drew attention among readers for being a yuri story serialized in Ribon;[1] they noted an increase of yuri works in magazines targeted at girls, with manga like Blue Friend and Marimo Shirasawa's Maidens in the Forest of Field Rose[lower-alpha 4] both premiering in 2010.[24]

The German magazine Animania praised the story for its drama and "well-placed climaxes", as well as the "sensitive" portrayal of comedic and tender moments between the protagonists. They also liked the artwork and layout, which they thought conveyed the characters' feelings well, and made for a smooth reading experience.[18] Mangapedia recommended the series for its portrayal of friendship, which they found relatable.[25]

None of the three Japanese volumes appeared on Oricon's weekly top 30 comics sales charts during their debut weeks in Japan, indicating that they respectively sold fewer than 30,000; 23,000; and 29,000 physical copies during those periods.[26][27][28]

Notes
  1. Blue Friend: After Days (ブルーフレンド〜after days〜)
  2. Blue Friend: 2nd Season (ブルーフレンド 2nd Season)
  3. Blue Friend: Nijiiro no Kanojo (ブルーフレンド～虹色の彼女～, "Blue Friend: Rainbow-Colored Girlfriend")
  4. Maidens in the Forest of Field Rose (野ばらの森の乙女たち, Nobara no Mori no Otome-tachi) was serialized in Kodansha's shōjo manga magazine Nakayoshi.[24]

References
  1. "りぼんでも百合！「ブルーフレンド」1巻が本日発売" [Yuri in Ribon! Blue Friend volume 1 on sale today]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2010-09-15. Archived from the original on 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  2. "えばんふみ先生 インタビュー" [Interview with Fumi Eban]. Ribon (in Japanese). Shueisha. 2010-04-01. Archived from the original on 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  3. "えばんふみ先生 インタビュー" [Interview with Fumi Eban]. Ribon (in Japanese). Shueisha. 2011-06-01. Archived from the original on 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  4. "ブルーフレンド" [Blue Friend]. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  5. "りぼん2010年5" [Ribon 5/2010]. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  6. "りぼん初、付録にDVD！雪丸もえ「ひよ恋」アニメ収録" [DVD included with new Ribon! Contains the anime based on Moe Yukimaru's Hiyokoi]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2010-10-02. Archived from the original on 2021-08-14. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  7. Eban, Fumi (2011-02-15). Blue Friend (in Japanese). Vol. 2. Shueisha. ISBN 978-4088670997.
  8. "りぼんの百合マンガ・ブルーフレンド2巻はペーパー特典も" [Volume 2 of Ribon's yuri manga Blue Friend comes with paper bonuses]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2011-02-14. Archived from the original on 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  9. "りぼん増刊 冬の大増刊号りぼんスペシャル 2011年1月号" [Ribon special: Big Winter Extra Issue Ribon Special 1/2011] (in Japanese). Neowing. Archived from the original on 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  10. "りぼんで百合再び！「ブルーフレンド」新シリーズ開始" [More yuri in Ribon! A new Blue Friend series begins]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2011-06-03. Archived from the original on 2021-08-14. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  11. "武内こずえ、ミニチュアダックス描くりぼん新連載スタート" [Kozue Takeuchi starts new serialization in Ribon about a miniature dachshund]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2011-10-03. Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  12. "谷川史子、りぼんに12年ぶり執筆！増刊リアルに読み切り" [Fumiko Tanigawa returns to write for Ribon after 12 years! Read a one-shot in the Special Real issue]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2011-10-21. Archived from the original on 2023-02-04. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  13. Eban, Fumi (2011-11-15). Blue Friend (in Japanese). Vol. 3. Shueisha. ISBN 978-4088671543.
  14. "ブルーフレンド" [Blue Friend]. Media Arts Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Archived from the original on 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  15. "【9月15日付】本日発売の単行本リスト" [September 15: List of today's new tankōbon releases]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2010-09-15. Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  16. "【11月15日付】本日発売の単行本リスト" [November 15: List of today's new tankōbon releases]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2011-11-15. Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  17. "BLUE FRIEND-禁斷愛戀-(01)" [Blue Friend #1] (in Chinese). Sharp Point Press. Archived from the original on 2021-07-29. Retrieved 2023-07-10 – via BookWalker.
  18. "Blue Friend". Animania (in German). No. 12/2011-01/2012. Animagine. December 2011. p. 46.
  19. "블루 프렌드1권" [Blue Friend volume 1] (in Korean). Haksan Publishing. Archived from the original on 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  20. "BLUE FRIEND บลู เฟรนด์ 1" [Blue Friend #1] (in Thai). Bongkoch Publishing. Archived from the original on 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  21. "【7月25日付】本日発売の単行本リスト" [July 25: List of today's new tankōbon releases]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2016-07-25. Archived from the original on 2022-12-02. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  22. "青春はゾンビでした 1" [Seishun wa Zombie Deshita #1] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Archived from the original on 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  23. "【2月15日付】本日発売の単行本リスト" [February 15: List of today's new tankōbon releases]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2011-02-15. Archived from the original on 2019-07-11. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  24. "なかよしでも百合！「野ばらの森の乙女たち」1巻が発売" [Yuri in Nakayoshi! Volume 1 of Maidens in the Forest of Field Rose is released]. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. 2010-11-03. Archived from the original on 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  25. "いろんな形がある!友情作品10選" [It comes in many forms! A selection of 10 works about friendship]. Mangapedia (in Japanese). Heibonsha, Shogakukan, et al. 2018-06-25. Archived from the original on 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  26. Loo, Egan (2010-09-22). "Japanese Comic Ranking, September 13-19". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2023-05-30. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  27. Loo, Egan (2011-02-23). "Japanese Comic Ranking, February 14-20". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
  28. Loo, Egan (2011-11-23). "Japanese Comic Ranking, November 14-20". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2023-07-10.
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