Theres no shortage of anime with apparently gay characters and pairings or yuri/yaoi bait as its sometimes called. In manyperhaps mostcases these characters exist as comic relief Yuru Yuri fanservice Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid or their romance is implied Hibike Euphonium meaning theyll occasionally act super gay but actually arent. Aoi Hana does something thats quite rare for an anime to do. It attempts to portray nonstraight characters openly and legitimately without invalidating their sexual orientation as a perversion or passing phase. It tells a story that touches on the pertinent issues of social expectations and the struggle of comingout. https://i.ur.com/v2VPtSv.png In the opening episode we meet the principal characters: Fumi Manjome a tall yet timid girl who recently moved back to Kamakura after being away for 10years Akira Achan Okudaira a spunky longtime resident of Kamakura and their respective families. Both girls are due to start their freshman year at closely neighboring schoolsFumi at the prestigious Matsuoka Secondary School for Girls and Akira at the historic Fujigaya Girls Academy. The two were classmates and best friends in elementary school until Fumi moved away. After a tearful goodbye they promised to write each other but neither ever did. Fumi is visibly downcast when we first see her. She developed strong feelings for an older cousin Chizu Hanashiro who didnt take things as seriously as she did. Already marred by regret over some of the choices she made Fumis depression is exacerbated further when she learns that Chizu is getting married soon. To cope she takes refuge in books and distances herself from social contact. Conversely Akira doesnt appear to have much interest in love or romance yet but can envy people who do. https://i.ur.com/ohVmKG0.png Yasuko Sugimoto a popular senior at the Matsuoka Secondary School takes an interest in Fumi. Her personality is similar to that of the character SaintJust from the classic 1991 anime Oniisama e... of which Aoi Hanaamong many other shoujoaicould be considered an offspring. Like SaintJust Yasuko has a more traditionally masculine demeanor and is deeply admired by her fellow classmates. Initially its unclear what Yasuko sees in Fumi or what her intentions are. Maybe shes attracted to Fumis coy disposition maybe shes just appeasing her own ego or maybe its something else entirely. If you expect to see any romance between Akira and Fumi youll be sorely disappointed. This adaptation only covers the first 18 chapters of the manga which centers primarily on Akira and Fumi attempting to rekindle their friendship the relationship between Fumi and Yasuko and the love interests of some of the supporting characters. Two complaints I sometimes hear about this series is that it has a somewhat abrupt readthemanga ending and the pacing is very relaxed. My own criticism would be of the sexual assault in the first episode thats used as a catalyst to reunite Fumi and Akira. I wish they couldve been brought back together under better circumstances. https://i.ur.com/2yuZLq7.png Aoi Hana was animated with a tranquil pastel pallet by JC Staff Shoujo Kakumei Utena and masterfully directed by Kenichi Kasai Nodame Cantabile who brilliantly captures the nonverbal cues and body language of Takako Shimuras bold manga. If youre looking for a mature unusually nuanced LGBT anime I highly recommend Aoi Hana. If you enjoy it as much as I do you may want to consider buying the recently released Bluray from Nozomi/Lucky Penny Entertainment the English title is Sweet Blue Flowers. Apparently Aoi Hana didnt sell well in Japan when it was originally released in 2009. To have more series like this it helps to support them. https://i.ur.com/ezIYD7a.png