Sweet Blue Flowers

Sweet Blue Flowers
Cover of volume 1 of Aoi Hana, published by Ohta Publishing, showing Akira (left) and Fumi.
青い花
Genre	Drama, Romance, Yuri
Manga
Written by	Takako Shimura
Published by	Ohta Publishing
Magazine	Manga Erotics F
Original run	November 2004 – present
Volumes	4
Anime
Directed by	Kenichi Kasai
Studio	J.C.Staff
Released	July 2, 2009 – present

Aoi Hana (青い花, lit. Blue Flower), also known as Sweet Blue Flowers, is a Japanese yuri manga series written and illustrated by Takako Shimura. It began serialization in November 2004 in Ohta Publishing's Manga Erotics F manga magazine. The first bound volume was released in December 2005 in Japan; as of April 2009, four volumes have been released. The story focuses on Fumi Manjōme, a lesbian high school girl, and her close childhood friend Akira Okudaira, who tries to keep her friends happy through difficult times. When Shimura was writing her manga Dōnika Naru Hibi, she became interested in a story between girls, leading her to create Aoi Hana. While she felt that the story focus should be on girls for yuri works, Shimura also wanted to introduce some males since she thought it would add an interesting aspect to the series.

An eleven-episode anime television series produced by J.C.Staff and directed by Kenichi Kasai began airing in Japan on July 2, 2009 on Fuji TV. An Internet radio show to promote the anime began in June 2009 on HiBiKi Radio Station hosted by Ai Takabe and Yūko Gibu, who voice Fumi and Akira in the anime, respectively.

Plot

At the start of Aoi Hana, Akira Okudaira is beginning to attend high school at the prestigious Fujigaya Girls Academy. Later that day, Akira becomes reacquainted with her childhood friend Fumi Manjōme whom she has not seen for ten years. Fumi also just began high school at Matsuoka Girl's High School where she meets a handsome third-year student named Yasuko Sugimoto; the two quickly becomes friends. Akira joins her school's drama club with her friend and classmate Kyōko Ikumi, who is in love with Yasuko, though Yasuko turns her down. Akira meets Kyōko's fiance (in name only) Kō Sawanoi while Yasuko and Fumi are out on a date together. Yasuko soon comes on to Fumi and they kiss in the library; they become a couple and start dating. Fumi comes out to Akira who is at first unsure on how to act, but still tries to support Fumi's new relationship.

Akira's school puts on a drama festival with the high school division doing an adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Yasuko is asked to play Heathcliff, while Fumi and her friends Yōko Honatsugi, Misako Yasuda, and Miwa Motegi help out; the play is well-received. Fumi is invited to Yasuko's huge house, and shortly after meeting her older sisters and mother, Yasuko breaks up with Fumi. Fumi learns Yasuko's sister Kazusa is marrying a teacher at Fujigaya named Masanori Kagami whom Yasuko had fallen in love with. Akira goes to the wedding and meets up with Kyōko and Kō. Time passes, and Kyōko reveals to the others that Yasuko is going to be studying abroad in London after she graduates. Miwa starts to take notice in Akira's older brother Shinobu, saying that she thinks he is cool. Miwa finally confesses to Shinobu that she likes him, and Fumi tells Akira that she was her first love, much to Akira's embarrassment.

When Akira and her friends enter their second year of high school, she and Kyōko meet an energetic first-year student named Haruka Ōno who joins the drama club soon after. Akira and Kyōko are split into different classrooms, and Akira meets a tall girl in her new class named Ryōko Ueda. The high school division of Fujigaya will be putting on the play Rokumeikan this year. After Haruka discovers Ryōko reading the play aloud in the library, she recruits her into the play, though only because Akira also agrees to act alongside her. Fumi is initially roped into acting for the play as well, but she soon withdraws. Fumi and Haruka become friends, and Haruka confides in Fumi one day that she suspects her older sister Orie may like women. Not knowing how to respond, Fumi seeks advice from Akira, but ends up confessing her love for her instead. Kō suggests to Kyōko to break off the engagement. The day of the play, Fumi calms Akira's nerves by reminding her she has always been a strong person.

Characters

Matsuoka Girl's High School

Fumi Manjōme (万城目 ふみ, Manjōme Fumi)

Voiced by: Ai Takabe

Fumi is a first-year student at Matsuoka Girl's High School, and is a tall, shy girl known to be a crybaby. Fumi comes back to the town she grew up in and she meets, without realizing it, her childhood friend Akira Okudaira. When they were much younger, Akira had been Fumi's protector, keeping her out of harm and consoling her when she cried. Not long after meeting Yasuko Sugimoto in the literature club, Fumi develops a crush on Yasuko, who later asks her out.

Yasuko Sugimoto (杉本 恭己, Sugimoto Yasuko)

Voiced by: Chiemi Ishimatsu

Yasuko is a popular third-year senior at Matsuoka Girl's High School. She is a cool upperclassman and the captain of the basketball team, though Fumi mistakes her for being in the literature club when they first meet. After visiting Fujigaya Girls Academy and rejecting Kyōko's confession, she asks Fumi out, who accepts.

Misako Yasuda (安田 美沙子, Yasuda Misako)

Voiced by: Yuka Iguchi

Misako, also known by the nickname Yassan, is a girl in Fumi's class with thick eyebrows and boyish-short, frizzy hair. She is a member of the drama club with Yōko and Miwa.

Yōko Hon'atsugi (本厚木 洋子, Hon'atsugi Yōko)

Voiced by: Sayuri Yahagi

Yōko, also known by the nickname Pon-chan, is a girl in Fumi's class with a bright, frank personality and wears her hair in a shoulder-length bob cut. She is a member of the drama club with Misako and Miwa, and once invites Fumi to join too, but she declines.

Miwa Motegi (茂木 美和, Motegi Miwa)

Voiced by: Aki Toyosaki

Miwa, also known by the nickname Mogii, is a girl in Fumi's class for their first year with a gentle personality and wear her hair in a shoulder-length wavy style. She is a member of the drama club with Misako and Yōko. She is the only one of her friends to be put into a separate class in their second year. Miwa becomes interested in Akira's brother Shinobu and the two start dating around the end of her first year of high school.

Fujigaya Girls Academy

Akira Okudaira (奥平 あきら, Okudaira Akira)

Voiced by: Yūko Gibu

Akira is an innocent and cheerful girl in her first-year at Fujigaya Girls Academy. She was the childhood friend of Fumi and after meeting her again after ten years is friends again. She acts as a main source of advice for Fumi. Akira joins the drama club because her friend Kyōko Ikumi is a member of it.

Kyōko Ikumi (井汲 京子, Ikumi Kyōko)

Voiced by: Yui Horie

Kyōko is a reckless girl who has eyes only for Yasuko. She is in the same class as Akira and is a member of the drama club.

Ryōko Ueda (上田 良子, Ueda Ryōko)

Ryōko is a tall girl in Akira's class in their second year. She has a gentle and quiet personality, and enjoys reading; she becomes a library aide at Fujigaya.

Haruka Ōno (大野 春花, Ōno Haruka)

Haruka is a girl who joins Fujigaya as a student one year below Akira and becomes a new member of the drama club. She has an endearing personality that makes it easy for her to become friendly with anyone, though is prone to making silly mistakes. Since Haruka's older sister Orie is close friends with Hinako Yamashina (a teacher at Fujigaya), Haruka refers to her as Hina-chan.

Hinako Yamashina (山科 日向子, Yamashina Hinako)

Hinako is a science teacher at Fujigaya, and the homeroom teacher of Akira's second year class. She knew Haruka's sister Orie since her high school days at Fujigaya, and is now in a relationship with her, though Haruka believes them only to be close friends.

Masanori Kagami (各務 正則, Kagami Masanori)

Voiced by: Kenji Hamada

Masanori is a teacher at Fujigaya and also acts as the adviser for the drama club. He marries Yasuko's older sister Kazusa.

Sugimoto sisters

Shinako Sugimoto (杉本 姿子, Sugimoto Shinako)

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto

Shinako is the eldest sister who likes to joke and tease Yasuko. She went to Fujigaya at the same time as Hinako.

Kazusa Sugimoto (杉本 和佐, Sugimoto Kazusa)

Voiced by: Yukari Fukui

Kazusa is the second eldest sister. She went to Fujigaya as a student and returned to work as an art teacher for a short time. While there, she met her future husband Masanori Kagami, also a teacher. She has a kind personality.

Kuri Sugimoto (杉本 公理, Sugimoto Kuri)

Voiced by: Mai Nakahara

Kuri is the third eldest sister. In the same way as her sister Yasuko, she was very popular when she went to Fujigaya. Also like Yasuko, she too fell in love with Masanori Kagami, but never told him her feelings.

Others

Shinobu Okudaira (奥平 忍, Okudaira Shinobu)

Voiced by: Shinji Kawada

Shinobu is Akira's older brother who attends university. He is constantly worried about his sister, and often takes her places in his car, though Akira often gets very annoyed at how protective her brother is towards her.

Chizu Hanashiro (花城 千津, Hanashiro Chizu)

Voiced by: Fuyuka Ōura

Chizu is Fumi's older cousin. She and Fumi have had sexual relations, but as soon as Fumi moves back to Kamakura, she finds out Chizu will soon get married.

Kō Sawanoi (澤乃井 康, Sawanoi Kō)

Voiced by: Shintarō Asanuma

Kō is Kyōko's fiance (in name only) who attends university. He likes to be helpful to those around him and has a calm personality.

Production

When Takako Shimura was writing her manga Dōnika Naru Hibi, she became interested in a story between girls, leading her to create Aoi Hana. While she felt that the story focus should be on girls for yuri works, Shimura also wanted to introduce some males since she thought it would add an interesting aspect to the series. Shimura felt it difficult to balance the need for some males, but also not wanting to add too many. When depicting the characters, she did not want to write about them going through puberty. When starting to write Aoi Hana, Shimura noticed that she was like a person depicting sexual perversion for writing about yuri relationships.

Before starting to write Aoi Hana, Shimura went with her editor to Kamakura, Kanagawa with the main objective of visiting the Kamakura Museum of Literature. Shimura took many pictures during their trip, and thought Kamakura felt like a great place to set the story. With a guide book of Kamakura in hand, Shimura thought of various locations that would later appear in Aoi Hana, such as the café that the characters frequent. Many of the pictures taken turned out unusable, though there were some she used as references for the setting, such as modeling the exterior of Fujigaya after the Kamakura Museum of Literature. Shimura also used the Komaba Park estate in Meguro, Tokyo for the interior of Fujigaya, such as with the staircase featured in chapter eleven. A large Japanese-style house on the same property as the Kamakura Museum of Literature was used as a model for the Sugimoto residence. The Enoshima Electric Railway is also featured in the series.

Media

Manga

See also: List of Aoi Hana chapters

Aoi Hana began as a manga series written and illustrated by Takako Shimura, which began serialization in Ohta Publishing's Manga Erotics F manga magazine in the thirtieth volume sold in November 2004. The first bound volume was released on December 15, 2005, and as of April 23, 2009, four volumes have been published in Japan. The manga has been licensed for release in French by Asuka under the title Fleurs Bleues.

Internet radio show

An Internet radio show to promote the anime series called Aoi Hana: Sweet Blue Radio (青い花 〜Sweet Blue Radio〜) began broadcasting on June 26, 2009 on HiBiKi Radio Station, and began on July 3, 2009 on Media Factory Net Radio. The show, which airs every Friday, is hosted by Ai Takabe and Yūko Gibu, who voice Fumi and Akira in the anime, respectively.

Anime

See also: List of Aoi Hana episodes

An eleven-episode anime TV series adaptation is produced by the animation studio J.C.Staff and directed by Kenichi Kasai. The anime began airing in Japan on July 2, 2009 on Fuji TV as the third series in Fuji TV's Noise timeslot. It is also being streamed online on Crunchyroll. The series has two pieces of theme music; one opening theme and one ending theme. The opening theme is "Aoi Hana" (青い花) by Kukikodan, and the ending theme is "Sentiforia" (センティフォリア) by Ceui. The single for "Aoi Hana" was released on July 22, 2009, followed by the single for "Sentiforia" on August 5, 2009.

External links

• Anime official website Template:Ja icon
• Sweet Blue Flowers (manga) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia