Of Volume 3, I wrote “This volume is, in my opinion the strongest of what Viz will release as four volumes. We can see the progress the young women make as people, before the story turns back into itself to fulfill the requirements of a romance series.”
Volume 4 of Takako Shimura’s Sweet Blue Flowers, begins with a problem. Akira is dating Fumi. They have a physical relationship and she’s not unhappy with it, but…she’s not happy, either. Fumi’s interest is sincere and intense, but Akira is going along with it to make Fumi happy, not for herself. This is not a problem that will go away with time.
The ladies of Fujigaya and Matsuoka schools are all heading into their third year. Once again, the focus is on the school festival, the play and, this time, the class trips. Fumi and Akira’s friends all scramble to find themselves as high schoolers, before they are asked to become adults. Lives and loves are in turmoil as they decide at 18, what will affect them for years to come.
Akira goes to London, where she seeks out Sugimoto, who seems to have found herself at last. Sugimoto gets Akira to admit that there is a problem with her relationship, but it remains unaddressed – and Sugimoto walks any criticism back. Which, as an adult reader, made me want to storm into the room and sit them both down.
The problem builds quietly until, just as quietly, Fumi and Akira break up. Once again, as a reader, I was relieved. And I was thrilled to see, through Akira’s eyes, Fumi with someone else. If the book had ended there, I would have been satisfied. But it didn’t. Was Shimura-sensei pressured by her editor or the fans? Did she have no particular conviction? Or was this the plan all along? I don’t know.
As I said in 2013 when I reviewed the end in Japanese, “Without spoilers, I will assure you that you the ending does not bring closure. It has the one thing I had hoped for – ambiguity.”
Other relationships, however, get my blessing. Ko and Kyouko, having gone through so much, maybe have a chance, but the one wedding that I wish we had spent more time on was Yamashina-sensei and Ono’s big sister, who come out to family as a couple, even if their families aren’t ready to accept them.
Ratings:
Art – 9
Story – 9
Characters – 9
Service – 3
LGBTQ – 10
Overall – 9
Here’s the the thing that’s amazing about Sweet Blue Flowers – it started serialization in 2005. It’s 13 years old. More than a decade ago it was a beacon of Yuri. In 2018, it’s an important stepping stone to where we are now, and now that we have a definitive edition for this in English, it’s time to move forward into a genre that has matured.
I was at a whisky-tasting once and I ended up preferring one brand for its complexity, compared to another brand that was tastier, but simpler. Sweet Blue Flowers Volume 4 is a complex whisky to me, compared to how easy it would be to have it end unambiguously.
Akira’s approach to her relationship is confusing – to her as well, not just me. At one point she says “My brain and my body just aren’t in sync.” Does that mean she’s not ready for a physical relationship *yet*, or just not with Fumi, or just not with anyone? It’s clear throughout the book that she enjoys being really close friends with Fumi, but I’m personally not convinced it ever goes any further than that.
For her part, Fumi has a disturbing dream towards the end of the book, which reinforces that she views her own sexuality in somewhat negative terms – or is it only as it relates to Akira that she feels this way? (I want to think that she only feels this way in relation to Akira.)
As much as I thought I wanted a clean-cut, easy-to-understand happy ending, the ambiguous ending we get is much stronger, in my opinion, and truer to the characters.
I would have paid money to see Fumi end up with someone else. I didn’t think Akira and Fumi were a good couple, and I really wished they had stayed broken up, honestly. But I know fandom was pretty set on this pairing.
If, by the end of the book, Akira demonstrated any form of desire or attraction towards Fumi, I could give them the benefit of the doubt as having a relationship that would make Fumi happy. However, jealousy was the only new emotion Akira had, which…really doesn’t bode well.
Yeah, kinda. I think she liked Fumi and wanted her to be happy, but that’s not enough to build a stable relationship.
Akira even realized that, leading to their first break-up. This was Akira’s first relationship, so it’s forgivable to me that she went in a little blind, but it seems cruel of her to want to try again. Implications about a ‘curse’ and having this dance prolonged 10+ years into the future make me feel like we got “the bad ending” of a video game, whereas “the good ending” would have been the first time they broke up.
That said, I do like that it gives me a lot to think about, at least. And I love this series overall: watching the art progress, being swept up in the delightful pace, puzzling over the ambiguities, laughing at some of the expressions – I’m very glad that Viz released the series this way.
Also: welcome back!! :)
Yes 1000 times to all of that. And thanks! And thank you for your guest review, which was wonderful. ^_^
It was an honour, and my pleasure. (I still owe you a bonus recipe for candied violets, which I’ll just provide in the comments for it once I make a successful batch)
Why do some people like in “Bloom into you” try to read Akira as asexual? Their relationship was not one-sided at all.
Because people see what they want to see. Just as you are currently doing in your statement