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Honestly, it's a really good series. I gave it a 9 because, while it had some really good points, there was one main point I didn't like and found essentially unnecessary.

The art is really pretty. While there is nudity, it's not fetishized (panty shots, unnecessary cleavage/tight-fitting clothing, and zoomed-in shots are absent, for example). I actually really liked the "makeout" sessions; it felt like a normal depiction rather than smut (although it's more erotica than smut). Besides the r18 aspect, it has beautiful 2pg spreads, great paneling in some cases, and detailed backgrounds - particularly when drawing the sea.

The characters are nice, although Soyogi ... is my main gripe. While her conclusion of still being dependent on Nagi and overprotective of him to an abnormal extent fits very well with her character and how the ending unfolds, Soyogi as a whole felt very, very lackluster, especially when compared to Karin and Shizuku. Karin is a very well-written character, with a dorkiness on the surface hiding a mature outlook of her role as a cape maiden and her earnest feelings towards Nagi. There isn't your classic drama with harems (there is jealousy, but it's treated in a cute manner, which is harmless), and I liked that. Shizuku is your classic mystery girl, but it was really nice seeing her open up to Nagi and being very open about her feelings. Her behavior with the other maidens, like close siblings, was nice to see, too, and this applies to the three's relationship as a whole. Nagi himself is decent - he has your typical good guy qualities, but he's actually mature about the situation and doesn't, ahem, pussy out when the girls throw themselves at him. He openly admits liking all of them, and it helps maintain the no-drama nature of the harem.

Overall, a solid haremcom imo. It handles itself maturely with well-crafted comedic moments and slice-of-life downtime. I appreciate the mature take on a harem implemented in a not-uncommon setting. It's a nice gentle read, although volume-by-volume segmentation doesn't quite work out because of the frickin' cliffhangers at each of them.

Re-read this to see how my opinion on this work has changed, and here are my thoughts for the series.
Definitely a case of rose-tinted lenses here. The manga is not stellar in any manner with cliche settings, characters, resolutions, art. But the overall package into which Minase Mayu bundles everything up makes Musunde Hiraite a surprisingly pleasant read. The constant shifting of focus back-and-forth between characters while still pushing everyone forward is reminiscent of Durarara if I wanted to make that comparison; a perhaps better comparison would be to call this a more classical variant of Tsuredzure Children. MusuHira explores these characters as lost young ... lambs caught up in their traumas, wistful pasts or uncertain relationships. Through very adolescent romance scenarios, these middle- and high-schoolers grow just a little more comfortably into themselves.
The art is nice with Bakuman-like large dark eyes with straight bangs + neat or frizzy short hairstyles - the occasional ecchi shots with panty flashes are undesirable which I'll just attribute to editors saying they wanted them. Nothing too stellar, but definitely nostalgic art which delivers emotional peaks with well-made two-page spreads and large panels.
But yes, very standard tropes used and very typical exaggerated seishun-ppoi emotional outbursts and resolutions. Yet, the way these storylines for the characters are tied together (musubi hehe) is not unpleasant. I enjoyed rereading this, and while I will update my score to better reflect the series' quality (9->8), it's still a nostalgic work and personal favourite. It's a casual read I can recommend for travel/weekend binges thanks to its arc-by-arc segmentation.

Blue Flag is a youth drama whose strong points are its very real characters, fitting art and engaging conversations. KAITO has a knack for writing extremely riveting dialogues and conversations between the characters, which lends to my point of them feeling very organic and outside standard youth drama tropes - their uncertainties feel like things high school or college students would actually worry about. Chapter 44 is a prime example of this, where the discussion really is a deconstruction of the various opinions on people’s views on LGBTQ. Since I read this amidst my college's convocation, the scenes moved me more than they normally would ... have and made me think a lot more about these characters in front of me trying to make sense of who they are, who do they want to be, where do they fit into society, and if they can fit the mold prepared for them? KAITO's art fits the tone of the series very well, with cute dorky expressions highlighting comedic scenes and expressions of intense emotional turmoil pulling you into contemplative scenes. I 100% recommend this manga. The other peeps in the reviews section talking about how the ending is abrupt are correct - I will agree with them but I’ll still recommend the manga just for the way it depicts the themes it tackles.
I’ve written down some thoughts on and ranted heavily about the ending + mangaka’s ending commentary, which I’ll link here in case you feel interested in seeing some incoherent ramblings after you’ve experienced the series yourself: https://tinyurl.com/blue-flag-rant

This is not a review per se, just my thoughts on Chizuru, Sawako and Ayane (biased towards Ayane) which does spoil a lot of the manga, so if you have not read the manga, a one-line pitch is "You'll love the characters as if you created them yourself". I've given the story a 7 because it's really a barebone skeleton, the manga's life is the characters. The art is an overall 9, and although some highlights would make me want to give it a 10, they're sadly not very frequent. I want to draw emphasis to the use of monologues though, and how their slow ... pace and broken sentences elevate the emotions. Do keep in mind the screentone usage too as you read it, it really complements the emotions being described really well! But apart from that, here's my spoiler-y writeup on the characters-
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This series tackles the uncertainties of youth in a manner I have not seen before. It is similar to Tari Tari in that sense, but it does it much much better.
Chizuru's uncertainties of her sense of the distance between her and Ryu, and how she knows that the because they're the closest as can be, that distance cannot be compromised. She is afraid of losing her comfortable life with him, so when she ultimately has her resolution, it feels extremely fulfilling. Close friends transitioning to romantic partners is a situation many people find themseves in, with the attempts to bridge the distance generally being unsuccessful, so seeing a fulfilling conclusion to one such stalemate was beautiful.
Sawako's development felt slow to me, and I did find myself a bit frustrated at her naivety. I did feel the same for Tohru of Fruits Basket, but I do not blame the characters; it's just a jab at my own mentality. Seeing Sawako being accepted by her classmates through her own efforts, her pushing herself to clear misunderstandings really gives that feeling of seeing your child grow up. I found myself, the outsider looking into these wonderful characters, chuckling at the misunderstandings, beaming at the comedic and wholesome moments, clutching my chest at the painful ones - this series was an emotional ride, and Sawako's journey was what carried the series along.

I kept the best for last, which is Ayane's character. By far my favourite character of the series, admittedly to a significant degree because Ayane's worries mirror my own. Her lack of confidence in herself, reinforced by the sight of her friends worrying so earnestly about their love, and Pin's jabs at her: "Only you can gain confidence in yourself", "Have you ever tried something with all your effort" - these hit me hard. I struggle with my motivation, and my goals for the future stem only from a process of elimination - 'I don't like everything else, hence why I will do this'. I've never tackled anything seriously, I give up way too easily. Which is why I found myself eagerly looking forward to Ayane's resolution, as if I could feel better about myself seeing some kind of resolution. I was wrong; I felt guilt trying to escape into her character, so seeing her earnestly take up her future felt like a personal jab. It's grandiose of me to say I'm a changed person; if that was all it took, I wouldn't have been here in the first place. But Karuho Shiina's Ayane gave me hope, that only you can work to regain your confidence, and you need to WORK for it. On a less self-inserty front, Ayane's relationships were tackled extremely well. While it felt like a matter of time that she fell for Pin, I'm glad Shiina did not treat it offhandly, and made Ayane think seriously about Kento in their relationship. Kento was a wonderful character in his own right, and his pure-hearted but overbearing affection for Ayane only deepened her self-loathing. I am glad that their relationship is resolved in the manner that it did, with Ayane finally taking a step to break herself out of her stalemate. I really liked how only with Pin, you see her 'immature' self, because that was the first time she truly felt affection coupled with admiration for a person. Her confession chapter was perfect, and its elation and excitement was infectious. I never knew someone saying "He broke my heart" could sound so intense, it felt like the perfect realistic mix of feeling validated by the person who took you seriously, feeling distraught because your affection isn't reciprocated, and feeling hopeful for the future that person was able to give you by motivating your actions. It was a portrayal I had never seen done well before to this extent, and I am truly grateful for Shiina's beautiful writing.

My emotions with this series are extremely jumbled - I tried to stay an outsider to everyone's youthful romantic comedy, but the down-to-earth nature of the characters and their relationships grounded me to honestly reflect on my own self. I tend to forget too easily, so calling this manga unforgettable would be inaccurate, but I won't forget the feelings this manga evoked in me, and the fondness of seeing a character you love grow and mature.

* MASSIVE SPOILERS! * This is purely my opinion on the ending(s), it is not meant to be a comprehensive review. Treat this as the ramblings of an awestruck kid who hastily jotted down his thoughts as he finished the manga.

So here we go:







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I believe the two routes to be the author's answer to "What is Love?", but as two forms.

Ririna, whose love began as a rabid curiosity for an emotion she didn't believe she possessed, grew into a painfully intense love for Yukari. Her love mirrors her sincerity, and she never shied from her feelings once she realized she couldn't run away from them anymore. She spent her days in angst, bracing herself for the eventual rejetion (in her mind, at least) by the man who taught her how to see color in her dull world. Ririna's route is a portrayal of mature love, of selfless love. Ririna loved Yukari unconditionally, fully expecting her love to never bear fruition from the other party. Her expressions in the final chapters are gentle (in contrast to Takasaki's first turbid ones), but they are set ablaze when her love is fulfilled. The timeskip is five years later, more than Misaki's two years, which further strengthens the idea that their love will stand the test of time; a peerless Yukari marriage as calculated by the government.

Misaki's love is tumultous; her love for Yukari is passionate, and I'd go as far as to call it blinding to her. It brought her out from when she was at her lowest, and her heart now beat solely for Yukari. She did not hesitate to make THE choice, damning herself to a life of pain. Time might have mellowed her passion, but I personally believe that's naivete. Misaki's love bloomed the more she was with Yukari, and even though it's was a love destined to shatter, the dazzling light of that glass-like passion strengthened her feelings for him - a love very reminiscent of youthful love. She fell for him harder and deeper. Her route's chapters show us how her love warped her; she hated one of her closest friends, she hated the one for whom she lived her life. But Yukari faced her head-on, and in what can only be termed as immature recklessness, chose his present impassioned feelings over a future that was guaranteed to be a fulfilling one. He took her resolve head on, clashing against her torrentious feelings, and finally breaking through the fears Misaki held.

But is that really wrong? Is it wrong to choose an immature love, which held even the possibility of death, over a safe future? I believe Misaki is the author's answer to a love that simply cannot come true. There are too many factors at play which make choosing Misaki a 'mistake' - but can you deny the strength of your feelings for a person you longed for nearly every waking moment since you met them? A 'wrong love' is a nonsensical idea. There is no guarantee Misaki and Yukari's love would work out; but is there a guarantee that it won't? If I wanted to come out of my stupor after reading this intense piece of literature, Ririna's route is the only one that I would accept. But, like Misaki's love, my feelings towards her emotions are as intense as they can ever be, fleeting as they may. My tears held the same weight as they poured out of my eyes when I was swayed by both of the girl's emotions.

Koi to Uso is a wondrous portrayal of love, one unlike anything I've ever experienced before.