thanks to netgalley and the publisher Kodansha for the e-arc!

final rating: ★★★☆☆

first off, i need to state that i always have a soft spot for light-hearted romance set somewhere on an island where everything is far from the city and life is slow and supposedly easier. there's just something about it that always calls to the citygirl in me and this manga fulfilled exactly that! unfortunately, don't get me wrong this is a fluffy bl romance that is enjoyable, there were a few things that just turned me off a little.

personally i felt that while it is very adult of Ishizaki and Mishima to solve their problems by talking it out, their miscommunication somehow felt a little too easily resolved. it is, afterall, a seven year long issue between them and it felt like 1) a little bit like a mountain out of a molehill because if they communicated like this back in highschool and Ishizaki just told him how he didn't want to hold him back, everything could've already been resolved, ans 2) Mishima gave in really too quickly when Ishizaki got injured. I'm a huge lover of angst, and i felt like it could have been dragged out just a little bit more for dramatic effect (hehe), but alas because they love each other too much they got together again so quickly.

but of course this is just my two cents and it is still entirely readable and likeable. perhaps i'm being a bit too cynical while writing this review, but it is worth a reread when i'm in a better headspace!

(cross-posted on goodreads)

The art style is nice but this was not for me i found i didnt connect with the characters as much as i should have thanks for the arc netgally

Two high school students fall in love, but one sentence ruins what they had. Years later, the two meet again in their small hometown and face everything that they had left in the past.

The White and Blue Between Us was a beautiful story that had me rooting for the characters. I genuinely loved reading this manga, finishing it in one sitting! I'm a huge BL fan and fell in love so quickly with our two protagonists. We got to go on a journey of self discovery with them, which was both heart breaking and beautiful.

The only flaw for me was the pacing of this manga. I felt like it was very rushed and not fleshed out enough. Everything seemed to happen so quickly upon our main character's return and this is where the plot unfortunately fell through for me.
I would have loved more of a build up to a happy ending, some more back story to their time as youths and how the decision in their high school days impacted them until now.

Regardless of my previous statement, I still loved this manga. It was so wholesome and enjoyable! I'll definitely be recommending it to all my BL girlies and I will be checking out other works by Kiyuhiko!!

While the art was good and the story premise sounded interesting, this one just didn't quite meet my expectations. The story itself felt a bit disjointed and rushed. It skipped between the past and the present and it wasn't always clear when we were getting a flashback. Even though there was a previous relationship, the two characters got together a little too quickly, and the story ending was a little abrupt. I wanted more to show their compatibility and chemistry. And the first sex scene had iffy consent at best, but it definitely seemed forced and nonconsensual. Even the second one felt a little out of place. There wasn't really any lead up to it, just "I want to do it" and that's it.

So overall, not a favorite, but also not the worst. It could've been better, but it was an enjoyable enough read.

2⭐️

I thought the drawing style was very nice, but the story had far too little depth. I found it confusing and there are still so many loose ends? The characters are very superficial. There was a lot I couldn't place. It's a shame, because the story certainly has potential.
The sex scenes gave me a bad feeling. It all seemed without consent and at the first scene I almost had the feeling that it had been forced.

I received an arc from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I hate to say it, but this story fell pretty flat for me and also gave me pause a few times. I'm usually all for a friends-to-lovers or a second chance romance plot (especially when it's BL), but this story felt all over the place to me and a tad problematic at times.

After finishing this read, I felt like the author had started out with a solid idea (where former HS friends-to-lovers break up and then meet again years later to work to rekindle their relationship) but then didn't take the time to develop out the characters and their emotions at all I wasn't attached to the characters because I just straight up didn't know them enough to care. The mangaka waited till the end (in a bonus chapter of the book, no less) to fill us in on the backstory of their HS relationship. But by that point, the couple was already together in the current day timeline and I didn't care any more about them. If anything, I mostly just felt so bad for Mishima (the uke) who went through some serious emotional trauma by what Ishizaki (the seme) did and said to him when he left originally. Not to mention, (around p. 63) there is a sex scene between Mishima and Ishizaki where everything is pretty rushed and consent was not given clearly by Mishima to Ishizaki which just didn't sit well while reading. That happening in the story 1) felt very out of place timing wise in their reconciliation and 2) just wasn't handled well in my opinion. I tried to give the rest of the story a chance after that point, but I won't lie and say it was easy.

Overall, events in this story just felt super rushed and out of place. The main characters and their relationship felt pretty underdeveloped, as well. Which is unfortunate because I have read some pretty phenomenal second chance romance BLs and this one was not a favorite.

For all of the stories' faults, in my opinion, the art style was really beautiful and I could appreciate it for that. Just disappointed that the story itself made me a little uncomfortable and didn't really make me feel anything.

with the description, i thought i'd enjoy this little one-shot, but oh, did this disappoint me. first off, the pacing here is insane. so many big things were only granted a page or so, and the use of telling instead of showing made this plummet in terms of suspense building. the character development is lackluster and i really had no idea who these characters were beyond the "we dated in high school" premise. the illustrations struggled with continuity, and the weird coming-out deus-ex-machina for ishizaki and his family felt so abysmal like...you're telling me there isn't even going to be a conversation about this? no conflict whatsoever? plus, no reason for a one-shot to have TWO sex scenes when that page space could have been used to develop the characters. incredibly underwhelmed by this one.

I was granted access to this manga via Netgalley. There, I found it searching for a quick, enjoyable read and browsing through Graphic Novels and alike. The cover and the synopsis, as much as the tag LGBTQ+ intrigued me and I immediately started reading. I did not expect this story to go into depth as a manga can only convey that many pictures and emotions. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the story—especially the bonus material, which was less toxic than the main story.

Hozumi and Mishima have been befriended in high school—even more than that. But their relationship ended abruptly, when Hozumi told Mishima he lied about his feelings for him. Years later, he tries to make up for his lie about lying and wants to admit his feelings to the other. Unfortunately, Mishima does not want to listen. I enjoyed their reunion and their discussion of earlier events and conversations. Nonetheless, I found Hozumi’s actions rough and presumptuous. The story for me lacked from not including their backstory in the main part. Only with the bonus material could I grasp Mishima’s shyness and reserve, which I felt Hozumi to disrespect in the present.

The illustration of this story is beautiful and could convey the protagonists’ emotions. Solely the problems mentioned above could not be resolved for me through their portrayal on the page. The story is barely featuring any other characters than those two. Thus, we grow really close to them and their emotions and thoughts. I enjoyed spending a bit of time with them but would not unconditionally recommend this manga. Some interactions unfortunately seemed toxic to me and gave the final chapter (bonus) a bittersweet aftertaste.

Not sure how I feel about this one. Everything just sort of felt average for me. I wished there was more pining and yearning rather than having them make up at the halfway mark. The "steamy" scenes were awkward for me because they felt out of place in a comic like this. The love story was kinda cute but wished there was more substance than the simple "i love you hehe" and "i love you too hehe" vibe. The art is nice but not my preferred style - it had a very unfinished kinda look to it which is not something I prefer

It's a short and quick read. The theme was teen age love and LGBTQ one, i absolutely love the way the author and artist have created the two cute and adorable teen leads. I loved the book.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kodansha for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The bonus chapter at the end of this was the best part of this, it was cute and cohesive. Unfortunately I can't say that about the rest of the Manga, it was very confusing to follow, seemed to jump around a lot and didn't really flow. I had no real attachment to the characters because it was so confusing and short and you just didn't really have time to form any attachment. There is also a very sudden sex scene which was just completely unexpected at the time and I honestly thought I must have missed out pages.

I enjoyed the parts that were based at school, that and the art style made this more enjoyable, and are the reason that I enjoyed this. If it had been a slower progression from this to the current I would have enjoyed it a heck of a lot more.

The art really is stunning, and this is pretty much why this still gets 2 stars even though I didn't really enjoy the story.

This is such a cute story of 2 men reconnecting, rediscovering their love for each other, and correcting their past mistakes. I really enjoyed how we meet them after high school and their breakup. So much happens in so few pages and I am in love with their love. Not to mention the art is beautiful and the translations are wonderfully done. I especially liked the guide at the end that explains some words/translation decisions that a western reader may not know. Overall, this is such a cute manga and I would easily ready 20 more volumes of the same thing!

Unfortunately, I did not like the story. The plot seemed interesting at first, but I couldn't get a grip of the story. It seems like I'm not the perfect public for this book.

The drawings are beautiful.

Thanks to Netgalley for this press release !

"The White and Blue Between Us" follows two friends turned boyfriends who broke up and reunited seven years later.

It ended up being a 2.5 stars read for me.

This is a simple book with a "traditional" art style. The stronger point in this manga is the character design even if past and present versions of the same characters look pretty much the same.

My problem with this story is that the plot is too messy, the pacing is weird and the characters lack depth. There are so many things hinted at but never talked about. There is even a sexual assault scene that is glossed over like no big deal and that adds nothing to the story. Speaking of which... every spicy scene felt out of place to me which was a real turn-off.

Overall, it felt underdeveloped to be an enjoyable reading experience, but I can see some fans of classic second-chance romance liking this since it's a very standard plot for yaoi.

The artwork was really pretty and did like that and the way it was portrayed.
I did not enjoy the story that much, the start was okay, but it was so quick and I did not enjoy that

The White and Blue Between Us is a quick, one shot about love lost and a second chance.
Hozumi and Mishima fall in love in high school. But to save him from heartbreak when he's leaving town, Hozumi breaks it off by telling Mishima he never really loved him. This is heartbreaking. When Hozumi moves back to his small oceanside town 7 years later he hears that Mishima is a shut-in living in the town lighthouse. This prompts him to go visit and try to talk to Mishima and maybe see him again.
While the story felt rushed, I know that is typical of these one shots so I wasn't surprised. The way they reunite feels typical for them and their past. It's kinda a bittersweet story of what can happen when you're faced with an old high school ex as adults.
I appreciated the story for what it was, a short love story with beautiful intricate art and a pretty setting. I liked it but I didn't love it. But I would still probably recommend it to BL fans and I'd buy it to read again.
(TW for some dubcon in the on page scenes)

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this manga!

The White and Blue Between Us is a story of what happens when you get a second chance with your high school love. When Hozumi moves back to his hometown, he hopes to have an opportunity to reconnect with Mishima, his friend and the one whose heart he broke at the end of high school. This manga takes readers along with Hozumi as he and Mishima try to figure out how to reconcile and sort through their past and present feelings for each other.

I was really interested with the premise of this manga, but sadly, it left me a little disappointed. I loved the set up of the story, but I felt that it was very rushed. There was not a lot of time given for each character to truly sort through their feelings. We didn’t have enough time to spend with each character and their thoughts separately. I also thought it was odd that there was such a huge time jump. I would have like to have seen how the relationship between Hozumi and Mishima evolved once they reconciled.

I was glad to see the addition of the bonus chapter that showed how Hozumi and Mishima’s relationship grew in high school. It was a great addition, and I honestly wish it had been added to the main story.

I would like to mention a trigger warning concerning a scene where Hozumi does not receive consent to have sex with Mishima. This is hinted at but never truly addressed between the characters. If anything, it is brushed aside rather quickly, which left me feeling unsettled because I don’t believe this plot point was appropriately handled at all.

Overall, this was not my favorite BL. The premise was sweet and had potential, but I wish it had been executed differently.

I have read my fair share of slice-of-life manga, and I tend to be very fond of stories that have close ties to the ocean. This book, however, I seem to have some trouble connecting deeply with. At times it felt a bit shallow, and the characters did not exactly grow on me that I’d ought to root for them. The redeeming factor is the artstyld, which I love so so much. Other than that, I felt like the storytelling for this was too bland and uninteresting.

This is. 2.5 stars for me.
The story seemed rushed and the characters lacked depth to me. I didn't get why there was smut in the story it just seemed out of place.
Although it was easy to read, to give more depth and more character developed I think personally it could have been slightly longer.
This was a arc from Netgalley.

I picked up this manga because I was intrigued by the cover and the premise of a boys love story between two childhood friends who reunite after seven years. The art is really beautiful and the setting of the island and the lighthouse is very atmospheric. However, I was disappointed by the execution of the story and the development of the characters. The pacing is very uneven, the plot is rushed and lacks tension, and the romance is not convincing. The characters are inconsistent and their motivations are unclear. Hozumi, the protagonist, lied to Mishima, his love interest, about his feelings in high school, but we never get a good explanation of why he did that. Mishima, who has become a recluse, seems to forgive Hozumi too easily and lets him do whatever he wants. The drama is too melodramatic and the resolution is too convenient. The manga also has some problematic elements, such as non-consensual sex and abusive relationships. I think the manga wasted its potential and could have been much better if it had more depth and nuance. I would not recommend this manga to anyone who is looking for a satisfying and realistic boys love story.