dorkoblorko's manga / #Character Clashes(2)

AHHHHHHH. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I'll be honest, when I first picked up Oshi no Ko from a video recommendation, I did not expect to be impressed. While I did follow Aka Akasaka's previous work, Kaguya-Sama, I did not think that Oshi no Ko was going to be as riveting as it is. Oh my fucking god, I love this manga so much. The comedy, the drama, the CHARACTERS!!!! I love Aquamarine with all of my fucking heart, and Akane is best girl [but Kana is pretty cool too <3]. I love all of the characters, save for Ruby, who really felt... underutilized. And creepy. And like she's just a plot device to trick one of the love interests into getting closer with Aqua. But honestly? Ruby's character is probably the only one I could call bad. All of the others have my full heart; I just wish Ruby felt like... she belonged in the all-star cast.

If you haven't already, read Blue Flags. What began as but a simple man stumbling across a cute tiktok with the tag #blueflag underneath it quickly spiraled into a tale of love and heartbreak and a truly compelling story. Make no mistake: there are no big twists here. There are no sudden changes of heart, no world-ending calamity. This is a story of people. Call them good, call them bad, but at the end of the day, they're just people. Blue Flag is a good romance manga. In fact, I might even go so far as to say it is an EXCELLENT romance manga. It explores and writes its characters extremely well. There is no one I truly 'hate' in this manga, because it goes through the extra effort of making all of them feel real. Everyone, from the side-characters to the love interest to the 'perfect best friend,' are all explored and can all be understood (though sometimes not without some legwork. talkin' bout you, Kensuke and Shingo. Especially you, Kensuke). And that's interesting, isn't it? Because although I may disagree with them at times, a part of my brain acknowledges their opinions as something unique to them, and I somewhat respect it. The author made every character feel like they were alive and breathing, with opinions and thoughts and life experiences, with no two being the exact same. And I adore it. So read Blue Flag. Because it's not often I can say that a manga made me feel truly connected with its story and its characters.