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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sweetblueflowers1672_7667.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[LipStickLesbian Akira]] and [[ShrinkingViolet Fumi.]] ]]
''Aoi Hana'' (or ''Sweet Blue Flowers'') is a {{Manga}} by Takako Shimura (the creator of ''Manga/WanderingSon'') about [[YuriGenre girls in love with other girls]]. ''Aoi Hana'' eschews both silliness and overt melodrama and instead settles on SliceOfLife. The anime adaptation debuted July 2009. The anime was licensed by Creator/LuckyPennyEntertainment in July 2012 and released in the US as a complete series DVD set on February 2013.
''Aoi Hana'' initially focuses on four high school girls:
* Manjoume Fumi -- A ShrinkingViolet and crybaby in her first year of high school. She was a childhood friend of Akira, with whom she had been very close when they were younger.
* Okudaira Akira -- A fairly level-headed first-year student to the prestigious Fujigaya Girls' High School. A childhood friend of Fumi.
* Sugimoto Yasuko -- Captain of the basketball team at Fumi's school. She's a fairly masculine {{tomboy}} and TheCasanova.
* Ikumi Kyouko -- Another first-year student at Fujigaya. She has a strong unrequited love for Yasuko, despite having her own fiancé (although in name only).
The plot begins with Fumi and Akira meeting each other after many years apart, and going to their first day of high school together.
----
!!This series contains examples of:
* AdaptationDistillation: Some extraneous details were cut for the anime adaptation.
* BaitAndSwitchCredits: Sure, Akira and Fumi are extremely close friends, but they [[spoiler:have not become the lovey-dovey couple depicted in the opening as of the end of the anime series]].
* BaitAndSwitchLesbians: It becomes clear that for most of the girls in the series having feelings for another girl is merely a phase in life.
** Averted with Hinako-sensei and Orie, who [[spoiler: met as teenagers and then entered into a live-in relationship as adults]].
* BarbieDollAnatomy: In the anime's opening credits.
** Averted in a later manga scene with Akira [[spoiler:where she undresses to prepare for a bath and contemplates her relationship with Fumi after the two had sex]].
* BathingBeauty: Fumi is this to the audience and, in-universe, to [[spoiler:Akira]].
* BetaCouple: [[spoiler:Orie and Hinako]]. Fumi comes to look to them as an example of what she herself wants in a relationship.
* BetterAsFriends: [[spoiler:This is Akira's motivation to break up with Fumi]].
* {{Bifauxnen}}: Yasuko in many of her outfits.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Akira's brother Shinobu. Even more pronounced in the manga than in the anime.
* BigFancyHouse: The Sugimoto household as well as the Ikumi household.
* BiTheWay: Shinako. It's been revealed that she has had relationships with both men and women.
* BoyMeetsGirl: Fumi and Akira.
* ButchLesbian: Yasuko, who even wears a suit to her sister's wedding. Played with in that [[spoiler:she's actually bisexual and dislikes the "prince" role that was actually forced on her by everyone's expectations. She grows out her hair and takes on a more feminine appearance after being PutOnABus]].
* BreakUpMakeUpScenario: [[spoiler:Akira breaks up with Fumi. In the last chapter, they reconcile.]]
* TheCasanova: Yasuko. Truthfully, she is not seen with anybody else, boy or girl, aside from Fumi, but she is ''extremely'' flirtatious.
** Yasuko's sister Shinako actually fits this more, as she seemingly has dated a great number of men ''and'' women already. At one time she even brags about how many girlfriends she has.
* CharacterDevelopment: Could be said to be the whole plot of the story. Also a ComingOfAgeStory for many cast members.
* ChildishPillowFight: Akira and Fumi love to show their friendship by pummeling each other with pillows from time to time.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Along with being her childhood friend, [[spoiler:Akira is also Fumi's [[FirstLove first love]]]].
* ChristmasEpisode: Well, half an episode, but still...
* ComicTrio: Easily Mogi, Pon-chan and Yassan. They provide the series with some of its best comedy. The poor Matsuoka drama club is made up of a bunch of clowns.
** Members of the Sugimoto family can be seen as such, teasing Yasuko about her fickleness. Though interestingly, this trio is not made up of the three elder sisters, but of Kuri, Shinako and their mom.
* ComingOutStory
* CompartmentShot: Used in a flashblack in Episode 1, where Kindergartner!Akira looks inside her desk for her crayons.
* CoolBigSis: Sugimoto Shinako. Despite her seeming nonchalance towards people, she seems to know a lot more about human nature than her younger sisters. She drops words of wisdom every now and then. Plus, she just likes to have fun.
** Orie. More so in later chapters when she agrees to supervise Haruka and her friends during [[spoiler: their trip to the onsen.]]
* CutShort: The second season of the show has been axed due to disappointing [=DVD=] sales.
* DemotedToExtra: Kyouko, after she [[spoiler:gets back together with Kou]].
* ElevatorSchool: Fujigaya
* ElevenEpisodeAnime
* EroticDream: In one of the final chapters of the manga, [[spoiler: Fumi has a dream where she gets down on her knees and begins licking Akira's inner thigh. It's implied that this leads to oral sex, but the audience isn't shown what happens]].
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Yasuko. Her fangirls are shown meeting up to trade photos of her during the Wuthering Heights story arc.
* ExpressiveHair: Akira, sometimes.
* ExtremeDoormat: Fumi. She gets better.
* EyesAlwaysShut: Shinako.
* FanService: Generally mild, although Shimura seems to have a thing for drawing girls [[FuroScene bathing in the nude]].
* FirstKiss: [[spoiler:Akira gets hers from Fumi]].
* FuroScene: Common.
* {{Gayngst}}: Poor Fumi, [[spoiler:losing two love interests in a row to men]]. She begs Akira not think of her as disgusting after she first comes out, and [[spoiler:brings this up again after she confesses to her]] at the end of volume 4. Ramped up considerably starting about the end of volume 3, and to ''massive'' amounts after [[spoiler:she gets dumped by Akira]].
* GenkiGirl: A trio of them, in Fumi's school friends Youko, Misako and Miwa. Akira is repeatedly called genki by other characters. Haruka also counts.
* GirlyRun
* GreenEyedEpiphany: A while after breaking up with Fumi, Akira [[spoiler:sees Fumi with another girl, it's suggested she's just jealous of Fumi having a new friend. Confirmed in the last chapter when Akira realises, and admits to herself, that she is in love with Fumi]].
* HoldingHands
* HopelessSuitor: Kyouko with regard to Yasuko, which gets [[TheWoobie milked for all it's worth]].
** And of course, [[spoiler: Yasuko with regard to Kagami]].
** Kou also has some of this with regard to Kyouko. [[spoiler:Things appear to be looking up for him, though]].
* HotForTeacher: [[spoiler: Yasuko was in love with her former teacher, Kagami]], who just to make things worse is engaged. [[spoiler:To Yasuko's older sister.]]
** In the manga's extra section "Little Women", it is seen that one of Hinako's students harboured deep affection for her. Hinako turns her down of course, but the student seems thrilled that she is rejected for ethical reasons rather than her gender.
* HugeSchoolgirl: Fumi. Ueda qualifies as well and Yasuko is taller than Fumi.
* IfItsYouItsOkay: This might be the reason why [[spoiler:Akira decides to try going out with Fumi after all]].
* ImportantHairCut: Yasuko gets one in a flashback. It is revealed that Kyoko's hair is short now because she tried to imitate Yasuko in the past.
* IntertwinedFingers: Part of the ShipTease between Fumi and Akira.
** See the final shot of the anime's opening sequence.
** This also happens in a movie theatre between Akira and Fumi, after Fumi is [[spoiler:dumped by Yasuko]].
* InVinoVeritas: Invoked by Fumi, [[spoiler:who uses the courage of being drunk to confess to Akira. Since she has ''already done so several times'', and they are currently ''dating'', an exasperated Akira can only exclaim "I already know that!"]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Yasuko. Her bratty nature and the way she treats Kyoko might just be a defence mechanism or her own warped idea of kindness, but it doesn't erase the fact that she is kind of a jerk. Curiously, only to girls.
* {{Joshikousei}}: The uniforms at Akira's school are classical seifuku.
* KissingCousins: Implied heavily so between Fumi and her cousin Chizu. In fact we see them [[spoiler:naked in silhouette]].
** [[spoiler:RelationshipReveal: At the end of volume four of the {{manga}}, Fumi confesses to Akira the extent of her relationship with Chizu.]]
** So, as the formal Kyoko's fiance is her cousin, his one-sided feelings towards her can also be implied by this.
* KissingDiscretionShot
** Subverted in the anime, when they show the kiss after all in the next episode.
* KudzuPlot: Gradually getting there. Let's just say Shimura is not making it a high priority to keep track of plot points.
* LighthousePoint
* LikeBrotherAndSister: How Yasuko views Kyouko. And probably how Kyoko views Kou.
* LocalHangout: The café near the train station.
* LoveConfession
* LoveDodecahedron
* LovingBully: Minor example, but one of the short stories revolves around a lesbian student who teases her best friend. At the very end, the student admits that she only does so because she's in love with her.
* LuminescentBlush: Fumi is particularly prone to this, rivaled perhaps only by Haruka.
* {{Meganekko}}: Fumi
* MySisterIsOffLimits: Akira's older brother. [[spoiler:Even followed her when she went to a mixer]].
* NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat: One of the short vignettes involves a young girl named Maeda who receives homophobic letters from her classmates. Her friend Nakajima urges her not to accept such "slander", but is surprised when Maeda admits that she is indeed a lesbian. Nakajima immediately tries to backtrack and claim there's nothing wrong with being gay, but is visibly embarrassed by her earlier comments.
* OddlyVisibleEyebrows: All the characters, particularly noticeable on Kyouko because of the dark-on-light contrast and occasionally with Fumi's glasses
* {{Ojou}}: Fujigaya is filled with them, apparently. Yasuko and Kyouko certainly qualify, with Kyouko acting more the part.
* OneeSama: The elementary schoolers are adorable.
* OneGenderSchool: Two of them, in fact.
* OneHeadTaller: Turned on its head--it's the tall, cool-looking Fumi who's the quiet, feminine, crybaby other half to the much shorter Akira.
* PluckyComicRelief: Haruka.
* PottyFailure: From a rather embarrassing memory that Fumi has from childhood. Chapter 50 also shows Akira suffering the same fate.
* RealPlaceBackground: Shimura really studied Kamakura, and it shows.
* PutOnABus: [[spoiler:Yasuko starts studying in England]].
* RomanticRunnerUp: Kyouko with regard to Yasuko.
* SayMyName: Misako and Miwa poke fun at this with their 'reenactment' of one of Kyouko's childhood memories ("Kyouko! Kou-chan!").
* SceneryPorn: Being set in lovely Kamakura naturally invokes this.
* SchoolgirlLesbians: A significant portion of the cast, at some point in their lives.
* SchoolPlay: The main plot revolves around several of them.
* SealedWithAKiss: [[spoiler: The manga ends with Akira and Fumi, who are now living together after graduation, kissing each other]].
* SempaiKohai: Yasuko and Fumi, and later Akira and Kyouko to Haruka.
* ShipSinking:[[spoiler:Defied in the end when Akira, [[LoveEpiphany realising her feelings for Fumi have developed beyond friendship]], confesses that she is in love with her.]]
* ShoutOut: The recurring bonus segment is called "LittleWomen".
* ShrinesAndTemples: It's hard to avoid these in Kamakura.
* ShrinkingViolet: Fumi
* SingleTargetSexuality: Akira acknowledges herself that she's a late-bloomer and has never had even a crush before starting to date Fumi, and [[spoiler:even after they break up]] there isn't a single hint she's ever attracted to anyone else.
* SituationalSexuality: In the manga, it's talked about how a lot of these romances developed because the characters go to [[OneGenderSchool all girls' schools.]]
* SleepCute
* SliceOfLife
* SlumberParty
* SnowMeansLove: In the anime Fumi and Akira share a very important moment in the snow.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Kyouko and Kou get an overly long story arc about their engagement that has no relevance to the main story whatsoever.
* {{Tareme Eyes}}: Ryouko, which curiously gets more pronounced as the series progresses.
* TeacherStudentRomance: The short story "Kanako-sensei" is about a young schoolteacher who is implied to have a crush on one of the girls in her class. She chooses not to pursue a relationship on the grounds that it would be inappropriate, but it's clear the attraction is there. She even states at the end of the story that unrequited love is her hobby.
* TeamMom: Funny enough, it's Kyouko. Fumi and Akira seem to run to her whenever they need advice and she also carries herself quite maturely. Except when she's around a certain Sugimoto, who just makes her lose all sense of dignity.
** Ueda Ryouko fits this trope a lot more, especially since she becomes somewhat motherly towards Akira and Haruka.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Yasuko and Fumi as well as Akira and Fumi. Also, Kaoruko and Shinako.
* TheThingThatGoesDoink
* TheirFirstTime: In the manga, [[spoiler:after a time of dating, Akira kisses Fumi herself (the first time she has done so), placing herself in Fumi's [[SexualEuphemism care]] immediately after]].
* ThoseTwoGuys: Kou and Shinobu, to some degree, on the girls' first summer vacation. They literally are the only two guys in a gaggle of young teen girls, and they... bonded to a certain extend. If one considers Shinobu's BigBrotherInstinct rearing its irksome head around Kou to be "bonding".
* {{Tsurime Eyes}}: Kyouko and a few of the Sugimoto sisters.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler:Fumi, in a double dose: First she gets dumped by Chizu, and later by Akira, though this gets subverted at the end]].
* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler:Kou with regard to Kyouko, since Kyouko's feelings for another girl seem to have been [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians nothing but a phase]], though Fumi now qualifies again at the end]].
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Yasuko wears slacks and a tie for her sister's wedding.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: Akira and Fumi.
** [[spoiler:They do. After a long period of confusion, Akira asks Fumi to go out with her. [[ShipSinking Only to dump her again later]]. And then the ship rights itself in the last chapter with a role reversal and Akira confessing to Fumi ]].
** To a lesser degree, Kyoko and Kou, as a portion of the fanbase actually prefers that she gets together with him rather than Yasuko.
* YuriFan: In the {{manga}}, a lot of the girls get very excited about [[spoiler:Kawasaki and Yasuko living together as exchange students]], which even gets mentioned on the front-page of Fujigaya's news paper.
** And this happens again when Fujigaya's news club publishes rumors about a Fujigaya student dating a girl from another school. [[spoiler:Which is clearly about Fumi and Akira, much to Akira's chagrin]].
* YuriGenre
----
[[caption-width-right:350:[[LipStickLesbian Akira]] and [[ShrinkingViolet Fumi.]] ]]
''Aoi Hana'' (or ''Sweet Blue Flowers'') is a {{Manga}} by Takako Shimura (the creator of ''Manga/WanderingSon'') about [[YuriGenre girls in love with other girls]]. ''Aoi Hana'' eschews both silliness and overt melodrama and instead settles on SliceOfLife. The anime adaptation debuted July 2009. The anime was licensed by Creator/LuckyPennyEntertainment in July 2012 and released in the US as a complete series DVD set on February 2013.
''Aoi Hana'' initially focuses on four high school girls:
* Manjoume Fumi -- A ShrinkingViolet and crybaby in her first year of high school. She was a childhood friend of Akira, with whom she had been very close when they were younger.
* Okudaira Akira -- A fairly level-headed first-year student to the prestigious Fujigaya Girls' High School. A childhood friend of Fumi.
* Sugimoto Yasuko -- Captain of the basketball team at Fumi's school. She's a fairly masculine {{tomboy}} and TheCasanova.
* Ikumi Kyouko -- Another first-year student at Fujigaya. She has a strong unrequited love for Yasuko, despite having her own fiancé (although in name only).
The plot begins with Fumi and Akira meeting each other after many years apart, and going to their first day of high school together.
----
!!This series contains examples of:
* AdaptationDistillation: Some extraneous details were cut for the anime adaptation.
* BaitAndSwitchCredits: Sure, Akira and Fumi are extremely close friends, but they [[spoiler:have not become the lovey-dovey couple depicted in the opening as of the end of the anime series]].
* BaitAndSwitchLesbians: It becomes clear that for most of the girls in the series having feelings for another girl is merely a phase in life.
** Averted with Hinako-sensei and Orie, who [[spoiler: met as teenagers and then entered into a live-in relationship as adults]].
* BarbieDollAnatomy: In the anime's opening credits.
** Averted in a later manga scene with Akira [[spoiler:where she undresses to prepare for a bath and contemplates her relationship with Fumi after the two had sex]].
* BathingBeauty: Fumi is this to the audience and, in-universe, to [[spoiler:Akira]].
* BetaCouple: [[spoiler:Orie and Hinako]]. Fumi comes to look to them as an example of what she herself wants in a relationship.
* BetterAsFriends: [[spoiler:This is Akira's motivation to break up with Fumi]].
* {{Bifauxnen}}: Yasuko in many of her outfits.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Akira's brother Shinobu. Even more pronounced in the manga than in the anime.
* BigFancyHouse: The Sugimoto household as well as the Ikumi household.
* BiTheWay: Shinako. It's been revealed that she has had relationships with both men and women.
* BoyMeetsGirl: Fumi and Akira.
* ButchLesbian: Yasuko, who even wears a suit to her sister's wedding. Played with in that [[spoiler:she's actually bisexual and dislikes the "prince" role that was actually forced on her by everyone's expectations. She grows out her hair and takes on a more feminine appearance after being PutOnABus]].
* BreakUpMakeUpScenario: [[spoiler:Akira breaks up with Fumi. In the last chapter, they reconcile.]]
* TheCasanova: Yasuko. Truthfully, she is not seen with anybody else, boy or girl, aside from Fumi, but she is ''extremely'' flirtatious.
** Yasuko's sister Shinako actually fits this more, as she seemingly has dated a great number of men ''and'' women already. At one time she even brags about how many girlfriends she has.
* CharacterDevelopment: Could be said to be the whole plot of the story. Also a ComingOfAgeStory for many cast members.
* ChildishPillowFight: Akira and Fumi love to show their friendship by pummeling each other with pillows from time to time.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Along with being her childhood friend, [[spoiler:Akira is also Fumi's [[FirstLove first love]]]].
* ChristmasEpisode: Well, half an episode, but still...
* ComicTrio: Easily Mogi, Pon-chan and Yassan. They provide the series with some of its best comedy. The poor Matsuoka drama club is made up of a bunch of clowns.
** Members of the Sugimoto family can be seen as such, teasing Yasuko about her fickleness. Though interestingly, this trio is not made up of the three elder sisters, but of Kuri, Shinako and their mom.
* ComingOutStory
* CompartmentShot: Used in a flashblack in Episode 1, where Kindergartner!Akira looks inside her desk for her crayons.
* CoolBigSis: Sugimoto Shinako. Despite her seeming nonchalance towards people, she seems to know a lot more about human nature than her younger sisters. She drops words of wisdom every now and then. Plus, she just likes to have fun.
** Orie. More so in later chapters when she agrees to supervise Haruka and her friends during [[spoiler: their trip to the onsen.]]
* CutShort: The second season of the show has been axed due to disappointing [=DVD=] sales.
* DemotedToExtra: Kyouko, after she [[spoiler:gets back together with Kou]].
* ElevatorSchool: Fujigaya
* ElevenEpisodeAnime
* EroticDream: In one of the final chapters of the manga, [[spoiler: Fumi has a dream where she gets down on her knees and begins licking Akira's inner thigh. It's implied that this leads to oral sex, but the audience isn't shown what happens]].
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Yasuko. Her fangirls are shown meeting up to trade photos of her during the Wuthering Heights story arc.
* ExpressiveHair: Akira, sometimes.
* ExtremeDoormat: Fumi. She gets better.
* EyesAlwaysShut: Shinako.
* FanService: Generally mild, although Shimura seems to have a thing for drawing girls [[FuroScene bathing in the nude]].
* FirstKiss: [[spoiler:Akira gets hers from Fumi]].
* FuroScene: Common.
* {{Gayngst}}: Poor Fumi, [[spoiler:losing two love interests in a row to men]]. She begs Akira not think of her as disgusting after she first comes out, and [[spoiler:brings this up again after she confesses to her]] at the end of volume 4. Ramped up considerably starting about the end of volume 3, and to ''massive'' amounts after [[spoiler:she gets dumped by Akira]].
* GenkiGirl: A trio of them, in Fumi's school friends Youko, Misako and Miwa. Akira is repeatedly called genki by other characters. Haruka also counts.
* GirlyRun
* GreenEyedEpiphany: A while after breaking up with Fumi, Akira [[spoiler:sees Fumi with another girl, it's suggested she's just jealous of Fumi having a new friend. Confirmed in the last chapter when Akira realises, and admits to herself, that she is in love with Fumi]].
* HoldingHands
* HopelessSuitor: Kyouko with regard to Yasuko, which gets [[TheWoobie milked for all it's worth]].
** And of course, [[spoiler: Yasuko with regard to Kagami]].
** Kou also has some of this with regard to Kyouko. [[spoiler:Things appear to be looking up for him, though]].
* HotForTeacher: [[spoiler: Yasuko was in love with her former teacher, Kagami]], who just to make things worse is engaged. [[spoiler:To Yasuko's older sister.]]
** In the manga's extra section "Little Women", it is seen that one of Hinako's students harboured deep affection for her. Hinako turns her down of course, but the student seems thrilled that she is rejected for ethical reasons rather than her gender.
* HugeSchoolgirl: Fumi. Ueda qualifies as well and Yasuko is taller than Fumi.
* IfItsYouItsOkay: This might be the reason why [[spoiler:Akira decides to try going out with Fumi after all]].
* ImportantHairCut: Yasuko gets one in a flashback. It is revealed that Kyoko's hair is short now because she tried to imitate Yasuko in the past.
* IntertwinedFingers: Part of the ShipTease between Fumi and Akira.
** See the final shot of the anime's opening sequence.
** This also happens in a movie theatre between Akira and Fumi, after Fumi is [[spoiler:dumped by Yasuko]].
* InVinoVeritas: Invoked by Fumi, [[spoiler:who uses the courage of being drunk to confess to Akira. Since she has ''already done so several times'', and they are currently ''dating'', an exasperated Akira can only exclaim "I already know that!"]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Yasuko. Her bratty nature and the way she treats Kyoko might just be a defence mechanism or her own warped idea of kindness, but it doesn't erase the fact that she is kind of a jerk. Curiously, only to girls.
* {{Joshikousei}}: The uniforms at Akira's school are classical seifuku.
* KissingCousins: Implied heavily so between Fumi and her cousin Chizu. In fact we see them [[spoiler:naked in silhouette]].
** [[spoiler:RelationshipReveal: At the end of volume four of the {{manga}}, Fumi confesses to Akira the extent of her relationship with Chizu.]]
** So, as the formal Kyoko's fiance is her cousin, his one-sided feelings towards her can also be implied by this.
* KissingDiscretionShot
** Subverted in the anime, when they show the kiss after all in the next episode.
* KudzuPlot: Gradually getting there. Let's just say Shimura is not making it a high priority to keep track of plot points.
* LighthousePoint
* LikeBrotherAndSister: How Yasuko views Kyouko. And probably how Kyoko views Kou.
* LocalHangout: The café near the train station.
* LoveConfession
* LoveDodecahedron
* LovingBully: Minor example, but one of the short stories revolves around a lesbian student who teases her best friend. At the very end, the student admits that she only does so because she's in love with her.
* LuminescentBlush: Fumi is particularly prone to this, rivaled perhaps only by Haruka.
* {{Meganekko}}: Fumi
* MySisterIsOffLimits: Akira's older brother. [[spoiler:Even followed her when she went to a mixer]].
* NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat: One of the short vignettes involves a young girl named Maeda who receives homophobic letters from her classmates. Her friend Nakajima urges her not to accept such "slander", but is surprised when Maeda admits that she is indeed a lesbian. Nakajima immediately tries to backtrack and claim there's nothing wrong with being gay, but is visibly embarrassed by her earlier comments.
* OddlyVisibleEyebrows: All the characters, particularly noticeable on Kyouko because of the dark-on-light contrast and occasionally with Fumi's glasses
* {{Ojou}}: Fujigaya is filled with them, apparently. Yasuko and Kyouko certainly qualify, with Kyouko acting more the part.
* OneeSama: The elementary schoolers are adorable.
* OneGenderSchool: Two of them, in fact.
* OneHeadTaller: Turned on its head--it's the tall, cool-looking Fumi who's the quiet, feminine, crybaby other half to the much shorter Akira.
* PluckyComicRelief: Haruka.
* PottyFailure: From a rather embarrassing memory that Fumi has from childhood. Chapter 50 also shows Akira suffering the same fate.
* RealPlaceBackground: Shimura really studied Kamakura, and it shows.
* PutOnABus: [[spoiler:Yasuko starts studying in England]].
* RomanticRunnerUp: Kyouko with regard to Yasuko.
* SayMyName: Misako and Miwa poke fun at this with their 'reenactment' of one of Kyouko's childhood memories ("Kyouko! Kou-chan!").
* SceneryPorn: Being set in lovely Kamakura naturally invokes this.
* SchoolgirlLesbians: A significant portion of the cast, at some point in their lives.
* SchoolPlay: The main plot revolves around several of them.
* SealedWithAKiss: [[spoiler: The manga ends with Akira and Fumi, who are now living together after graduation, kissing each other]].
* SempaiKohai: Yasuko and Fumi, and later Akira and Kyouko to Haruka.
* ShipSinking:[[spoiler:Defied in the end when Akira, [[LoveEpiphany realising her feelings for Fumi have developed beyond friendship]], confesses that she is in love with her.]]
* ShoutOut: The recurring bonus segment is called "LittleWomen".
* ShrinesAndTemples: It's hard to avoid these in Kamakura.
* ShrinkingViolet: Fumi
* SingleTargetSexuality: Akira acknowledges herself that she's a late-bloomer and has never had even a crush before starting to date Fumi, and [[spoiler:even after they break up]] there isn't a single hint she's ever attracted to anyone else.
* SituationalSexuality: In the manga, it's talked about how a lot of these romances developed because the characters go to [[OneGenderSchool all girls' schools.]]
* SleepCute
* SliceOfLife
* SlumberParty
* SnowMeansLove: In the anime Fumi and Akira share a very important moment in the snow.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Kyouko and Kou get an overly long story arc about their engagement that has no relevance to the main story whatsoever.
* {{Tareme Eyes}}: Ryouko, which curiously gets more pronounced as the series progresses.
* TeacherStudentRomance: The short story "Kanako-sensei" is about a young schoolteacher who is implied to have a crush on one of the girls in her class. She chooses not to pursue a relationship on the grounds that it would be inappropriate, but it's clear the attraction is there. She even states at the end of the story that unrequited love is her hobby.
* TeamMom: Funny enough, it's Kyouko. Fumi and Akira seem to run to her whenever they need advice and she also carries herself quite maturely. Except when she's around a certain Sugimoto, who just makes her lose all sense of dignity.
** Ueda Ryouko fits this trope a lot more, especially since she becomes somewhat motherly towards Akira and Haruka.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Yasuko and Fumi as well as Akira and Fumi. Also, Kaoruko and Shinako.
* TheThingThatGoesDoink
* TheirFirstTime: In the manga, [[spoiler:after a time of dating, Akira kisses Fumi herself (the first time she has done so), placing herself in Fumi's [[SexualEuphemism care]] immediately after]].
* ThoseTwoGuys: Kou and Shinobu, to some degree, on the girls' first summer vacation. They literally are the only two guys in a gaggle of young teen girls, and they... bonded to a certain extend. If one considers Shinobu's BigBrotherInstinct rearing its irksome head around Kou to be "bonding".
* {{Tsurime Eyes}}: Kyouko and a few of the Sugimoto sisters.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler:Fumi, in a double dose: First she gets dumped by Chizu, and later by Akira, though this gets subverted at the end]].
* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler:Kou with regard to Kyouko, since Kyouko's feelings for another girl seem to have been [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians nothing but a phase]], though Fumi now qualifies again at the end]].
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Yasuko wears slacks and a tie for her sister's wedding.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: Akira and Fumi.
** [[spoiler:They do. After a long period of confusion, Akira asks Fumi to go out with her. [[ShipSinking Only to dump her again later]]. And then the ship rights itself in the last chapter with a role reversal and Akira confessing to Fumi ]].
** To a lesser degree, Kyoko and Kou, as a portion of the fanbase actually prefers that she gets together with him rather than Yasuko.
* YuriFan: In the {{manga}}, a lot of the girls get very excited about [[spoiler:Kawasaki and Yasuko living together as exchange students]], which even gets mentioned on the front-page of Fujigaya's news paper.
** And this happens again when Fujigaya's news club publishes rumors about a Fujigaya student dating a girl from another school. [[spoiler:Which is clearly about Fumi and Akira, much to Akira's chagrin]].
* YuriGenre
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to:
[[caption-width-right:350:[[LipStickLesbian Akira]] and [[ShrinkingViolet Fumi.]] ]]
''Aoi Hana'' (or ''Sweet Blue Flowers'') is a {{Manga}} by Takako Shimura (the creator of ''Manga/WanderingSon'') about [[YuriGenre girls in love with other girls]]. ''Aoi Hana'' eschews both silliness and overt melodrama and instead settles on SliceOfLife. The anime adaptation debuted July 2009. The anime was licensed by Creator/LuckyPennyEntertainment in July 2012 and released in the US as a complete series DVD set on February 2013.
''Aoi Hana'' initially focuses on four high school girls:
* Manjoume Fumi -- A ShrinkingViolet and crybaby in her first year of high school. She was a childhood friend of Akira, with whom she had been very close when they were younger.
* Okudaira Akira -- A fairly level-headed first-year student to the prestigious Fujigaya Girls' High School. A childhood friend of Fumi.
* Sugimoto Yasuko -- Captain of the basketball team at Fumi's school. She's a fairly masculine {{tomboy}} and TheCasanova.
* Ikumi Kyouko -- Another first-year student at Fujigaya. She has a strong unrequited love for Yasuko, despite having her own fiancé (although in name only).
The plot begins with Fumi and Akira meeting each other after many years apart, and going to their first day of high school together.
----
!!This series contains examples of:
* AdaptationDistillation: Some extraneous details were cut for the anime adaptation.
* BaitAndSwitchCredits: Sure, Akira and Fumi are extremely close friends, but they [[spoiler:have not become the lovey-dovey couple depicted in the opening as of the end of the anime series]].
* BaitAndSwitchLesbians: It becomes clear that for most of the girls in the series having feelings for another girl is merely a phase in life.
** Averted with Hinako-sensei and Orie, who [[spoiler: met as teenagers and then entered into a live-in relationship as adults]].
* BarbieDollAnatomy: In the anime's opening credits.
** Averted in a later manga scene with Akira [[spoiler:where she undresses to prepare for a bath and contemplates her relationship with Fumi after the two had sex]].
* BathingBeauty: Fumi is this to the audience and, in-universe, to [[spoiler:Akira]].
* BetaCouple: [[spoiler:Orie and Hinako]]. Fumi comes to look to them as an example of what she herself wants in a relationship.
* BetterAsFriends: [[spoiler:This is Akira's motivation to break up with Fumi]].
* {{Bifauxnen}}: Yasuko in many of her outfits.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Akira's brother Shinobu. Even more pronounced in the manga than in the anime.
* BigFancyHouse: The Sugimoto household as well as the Ikumi household.
* BiTheWay: Shinako. It's been revealed that she has had relationships with both men and women.
* BoyMeetsGirl: Fumi and Akira.
* ButchLesbian: Yasuko, who even wears a suit to her sister's wedding. Played with in that [[spoiler:she's actually bisexual and dislikes the "prince" role that was actually forced on her by everyone's expectations. She grows out her hair and takes on a more feminine appearance after being PutOnABus]].
* BreakUpMakeUpScenario: [[spoiler:Akira breaks up with Fumi. In the last chapter, they reconcile.]]
* TheCasanova: Yasuko. Truthfully, she is not seen with anybody else, boy or girl, aside from Fumi, but she is ''extremely'' flirtatious.
** Yasuko's sister Shinako actually fits this more, as she seemingly has dated a great number of men ''and'' women already. At one time she even brags about how many girlfriends she has.
* CharacterDevelopment: Could be said to be the whole plot of the story. Also a ComingOfAgeStory for many cast members.
* ChildishPillowFight: Akira and Fumi love to show their friendship by pummeling each other with pillows from time to time.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Along with being her childhood friend, [[spoiler:Akira is also Fumi's [[FirstLove first love]]]].
* ChristmasEpisode: Well, half an episode, but still...
* ComicTrio: Easily Mogi, Pon-chan and Yassan. They provide the series with some of its best comedy. The poor Matsuoka drama club is made up of a bunch of clowns.
** Members of the Sugimoto family can be seen as such, teasing Yasuko about her fickleness. Though interestingly, this trio is not made up of the three elder sisters, but of Kuri, Shinako and their mom.
* ComingOutStory
* CompartmentShot: Used in a flashblack in Episode 1, where Kindergartner!Akira looks inside her desk for her crayons.
* CoolBigSis: Sugimoto Shinako. Despite her seeming nonchalance towards people, she seems to know a lot more about human nature than her younger sisters. She drops words of wisdom every now and then. Plus, she just likes to have fun.
** Orie. More so in later chapters when she agrees to supervise Haruka and her friends during [[spoiler: their trip to the onsen.]]
* CutShort: The second season of the show has been axed due to disappointing [=DVD=] sales.
* DemotedToExtra: Kyouko, after she [[spoiler:gets back together with Kou]].
* ElevatorSchool: Fujigaya
* ElevenEpisodeAnime
* EroticDream: In one of the final chapters of the manga, [[spoiler: Fumi has a dream where she gets down on her knees and begins licking Akira's inner thigh. It's implied that this leads to oral sex, but the audience isn't shown what happens]].
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Yasuko. Her fangirls are shown meeting up to trade photos of her during the Wuthering Heights story arc.
* ExpressiveHair: Akira, sometimes.
* ExtremeDoormat: Fumi. She gets better.
* EyesAlwaysShut: Shinako.
* FanService: Generally mild, although Shimura seems to have a thing for drawing girls [[FuroScene bathing in the nude]].
* FirstKiss: [[spoiler:Akira gets hers from Fumi]].
* FuroScene: Common.
* {{Gayngst}}: Poor Fumi, [[spoiler:losing two love interests in a row to men]]. She begs Akira not think of her as disgusting after she first comes out, and [[spoiler:brings this up again after she confesses to her]] at the end of volume 4. Ramped up considerably starting about the end of volume 3, and to ''massive'' amounts after [[spoiler:she gets dumped by Akira]].
* GenkiGirl: A trio of them, in Fumi's school friends Youko, Misako and Miwa. Akira is repeatedly called genki by other characters. Haruka also counts.
* GirlyRun
* GreenEyedEpiphany: A while after breaking up with Fumi, Akira [[spoiler:sees Fumi with another girl, it's suggested she's just jealous of Fumi having a new friend. Confirmed in the last chapter when Akira realises, and admits to herself, that she is in love with Fumi]].
* HoldingHands
* HopelessSuitor: Kyouko with regard to Yasuko, which gets [[TheWoobie milked for all it's worth]].
** And of course, [[spoiler: Yasuko with regard to Kagami]].
** Kou also has some of this with regard to Kyouko. [[spoiler:Things appear to be looking up for him, though]].
* HotForTeacher: [[spoiler: Yasuko was in love with her former teacher, Kagami]], who just to make things worse is engaged. [[spoiler:To Yasuko's older sister.]]
** In the manga's extra section "Little Women", it is seen that one of Hinako's students harboured deep affection for her. Hinako turns her down of course, but the student seems thrilled that she is rejected for ethical reasons rather than her gender.
* HugeSchoolgirl: Fumi. Ueda qualifies as well and Yasuko is taller than Fumi.
* IfItsYouItsOkay: This might be the reason why [[spoiler:Akira decides to try going out with Fumi after all]].
* ImportantHairCut: Yasuko gets one in a flashback. It is revealed that Kyoko's hair is short now because she tried to imitate Yasuko in the past.
* IntertwinedFingers: Part of the ShipTease between Fumi and Akira.
** See the final shot of the anime's opening sequence.
** This also happens in a movie theatre between Akira and Fumi, after Fumi is [[spoiler:dumped by Yasuko]].
* InVinoVeritas: Invoked by Fumi, [[spoiler:who uses the courage of being drunk to confess to Akira. Since she has ''already done so several times'', and they are currently ''dating'', an exasperated Akira can only exclaim "I already know that!"]]
* {{Jerkass}}: Yasuko. Her bratty nature and the way she treats Kyoko might just be a defence mechanism or her own warped idea of kindness, but it doesn't erase the fact that she is kind of a jerk. Curiously, only to girls.
* {{Joshikousei}}: The uniforms at Akira's school are classical seifuku.
* KissingCousins: Implied heavily so between Fumi and her cousin Chizu. In fact we see them [[spoiler:naked in silhouette]].
** [[spoiler:RelationshipReveal: At the end of volume four of the {{manga}}, Fumi confesses to Akira the extent of her relationship with Chizu.]]
** So, as the formal Kyoko's fiance is her cousin, his one-sided feelings towards her can also be implied by this.
* KissingDiscretionShot
** Subverted in the anime, when they show the kiss after all in the next episode.
* KudzuPlot: Gradually getting there. Let's just say Shimura is not making it a high priority to keep track of plot points.
* LighthousePoint
* LikeBrotherAndSister: How Yasuko views Kyouko. And probably how Kyoko views Kou.
* LocalHangout: The café near the train station.
* LoveConfession
* LoveDodecahedron
* LovingBully: Minor example, but one of the short stories revolves around a lesbian student who teases her best friend. At the very end, the student admits that she only does so because she's in love with her.
* LuminescentBlush: Fumi is particularly prone to this, rivaled perhaps only by Haruka.
* {{Meganekko}}: Fumi
* MySisterIsOffLimits: Akira's older brother. [[spoiler:Even followed her when she went to a mixer]].
* NotThatTheresAnythingWrongWithThat: One of the short vignettes involves a young girl named Maeda who receives homophobic letters from her classmates. Her friend Nakajima urges her not to accept such "slander", but is surprised when Maeda admits that she is indeed a lesbian. Nakajima immediately tries to backtrack and claim there's nothing wrong with being gay, but is visibly embarrassed by her earlier comments.
* OddlyVisibleEyebrows: All the characters, particularly noticeable on Kyouko because of the dark-on-light contrast and occasionally with Fumi's glasses
* {{Ojou}}: Fujigaya is filled with them, apparently. Yasuko and Kyouko certainly qualify, with Kyouko acting more the part.
* OneeSama: The elementary schoolers are adorable.
* OneGenderSchool: Two of them, in fact.
* OneHeadTaller: Turned on its head--it's the tall, cool-looking Fumi who's the quiet, feminine, crybaby other half to the much shorter Akira.
* PluckyComicRelief: Haruka.
* PottyFailure: From a rather embarrassing memory that Fumi has from childhood. Chapter 50 also shows Akira suffering the same fate.
* RealPlaceBackground: Shimura really studied Kamakura, and it shows.
* PutOnABus: [[spoiler:Yasuko starts studying in England]].
* RomanticRunnerUp: Kyouko with regard to Yasuko.
* SayMyName: Misako and Miwa poke fun at this with their 'reenactment' of one of Kyouko's childhood memories ("Kyouko! Kou-chan!").
* SceneryPorn: Being set in lovely Kamakura naturally invokes this.
* SchoolgirlLesbians: A significant portion of the cast, at some point in their lives.
* SchoolPlay: The main plot revolves around several of them.
* SealedWithAKiss: [[spoiler: The manga ends with Akira and Fumi, who are now living together after graduation, kissing each other]].
* SempaiKohai: Yasuko and Fumi, and later Akira and Kyouko to Haruka.
* ShipSinking:[[spoiler:Defied in the end when Akira, [[LoveEpiphany realising her feelings for Fumi have developed beyond friendship]], confesses that she is in love with her.]]
* ShoutOut: The recurring bonus segment is called "LittleWomen".
* ShrinesAndTemples: It's hard to avoid these in Kamakura.
* ShrinkingViolet: Fumi
* SingleTargetSexuality: Akira acknowledges herself that she's a late-bloomer and has never had even a crush before starting to date Fumi, and [[spoiler:even after they break up]] there isn't a single hint she's ever attracted to anyone else.
* SituationalSexuality: In the manga, it's talked about how a lot of these romances developed because the characters go to [[OneGenderSchool all girls' schools.]]
* SleepCute
* SliceOfLife
* SlumberParty
* SnowMeansLove: In the anime Fumi and Akira share a very important moment in the snow.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Kyouko and Kou get an overly long story arc about their engagement that has no relevance to the main story whatsoever.
* {{Tareme Eyes}}: Ryouko, which curiously gets more pronounced as the series progresses.
* TeacherStudentRomance: The short story "Kanako-sensei" is about a young schoolteacher who is implied to have a crush on one of the girls in her class. She chooses not to pursue a relationship on the grounds that it would be inappropriate, but it's clear the attraction is there. She even states at the end of the story that unrequited love is her hobby.
* TeamMom: Funny enough, it's Kyouko. Fumi and Akira seem to run to her whenever they need advice and she also carries herself quite maturely. Except when she's around a certain Sugimoto, who just makes her lose all sense of dignity.
** Ueda Ryouko fits this trope a lot more, especially since she becomes somewhat motherly towards Akira and Haruka.
* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Yasuko and Fumi as well as Akira and Fumi. Also, Kaoruko and Shinako.
* TheThingThatGoesDoink
* TheirFirstTime: In the manga, [[spoiler:after a time of dating, Akira kisses Fumi herself (the first time she has done so), placing herself in Fumi's [[SexualEuphemism care]] immediately after]].
* ThoseTwoGuys: Kou and Shinobu, to some degree, on the girls' first summer vacation. They literally are the only two guys in a gaggle of young teen girls, and they... bonded to a certain extend. If one considers Shinobu's BigBrotherInstinct rearing its irksome head around Kou to be "bonding".
* {{Tsurime Eyes}}: Kyouko and a few of the Sugimoto sisters.
* UnluckyChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler:Fumi, in a double dose: First she gets dumped by Chizu, and later by Akira, though this gets subverted at the end]].
* VictoriousChildhoodFriend: [[spoiler:Kou with regard to Kyouko, since Kyouko's feelings for another girl seem to have been [[BaitAndSwitchLesbians nothing but a phase]], though Fumi now qualifies again at the end]].
* WholesomeCrossdresser: Yasuko wears slacks and a tie for her sister's wedding.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: Akira and Fumi.
** [[spoiler:They do. After a long period of confusion, Akira asks Fumi to go out with her. [[ShipSinking Only to dump her again later]]. And then the ship rights itself in the last chapter with a role reversal and Akira confessing to Fumi ]].
** To a lesser degree, Kyoko and Kou, as a portion of the fanbase actually prefers that she gets together with him rather than Yasuko.
* YuriFan: In the {{manga}}, a lot of the girls get very excited about [[spoiler:Kawasaki and Yasuko living together as exchange students]], which even gets mentioned on the front-page of Fujigaya's news paper.
** And this happens again when Fujigaya's news club publishes rumors about a Fujigaya student dating a girl from another school. [[spoiler:Which is clearly about Fumi and Akira, much to Akira's chagrin]].
* YuriGenre
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* TheirFirstTime: In the manga, [[spoiler:after a time of dating, Akira kisses Fumi herself (the first time she has done so), placing herself in Fumi's [[ThisandThat care]] immediately after]].
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* TheirFirstTime: In the manga, [[spoiler:after a time of dating, Akira kisses Fumi herself (the first time she has done so), placing herself in Fumi's [[ThisandThat [[SexualEuphemism care]] immediately after]].
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* PottyFailure: From a rather embarrassing memory that Fumi has from childhood.
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* PottyFailure: From a rather embarrassing memory that Fumi has from childhood. Chapter 50 also shows Akira suffering the same fate.
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I'm restoring this one, albeit by moved it to the main page.
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* CutShort: The second season of the show has been axed due to disappointing [=DVD=] sales.
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''Aoi Hana'' (or ''Sweet Blue Flowers'') is a {{Manga}} by Takako Shimura (the creator of Manga/WanderingSon) about [[YuriGenre girls in love with other girls]]. ''Aoi Hana'' eschews both silliness and overt melodrama and instead settles on SliceOfLife. The anime adaptation debuted July 2009. The anime was licensed by Creator/LuckyPennyEntertainment in July 2012 and released in the US as a complete series DVD set on February 2013.
to:
''Aoi Hana'' (or ''Sweet Blue Flowers'') is a {{Manga}} by Takako Shimura (the creator of Manga/WanderingSon) ''Manga/WanderingSon'') about [[YuriGenre girls in love with other girls]]. ''Aoi Hana'' eschews both silliness and overt melodrama and instead settles on SliceOfLife. The anime adaptation debuted July 2009. The anime was licensed by Creator/LuckyPennyEntertainment in July 2012 and released in the US as a complete series DVD set on February 2013.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 4,5 (click to see context) from:
''Aoi Hana'' (or ''Sweet Blue Flowers'') is a {{Manga}} by Shimura Takako about [[GirlsLove girls in love with other girls]]. ''Aoi Hana'' eschews both silliness and overt melodrama and instead settles on SliceOfLife. The anime adaptation debuted July 2009. The anime was licensed by Creator/LuckyPennyEntertainment in July 2012 and released in the US as a complete series DVD set on February 2013.
to:
''Aoi Hana'' (or ''Sweet Blue Flowers'') is a {{Manga}} by Takako Shimura Takako (the creator of Manga/WanderingSon) about [[GirlsLove [[YuriGenre girls in love with other girls]]. ''Aoi Hana'' eschews both silliness and overt melodrama and instead settles on SliceOfLife. The anime adaptation debuted July 2009. The anime was licensed by Creator/LuckyPennyEntertainment in July 2012 and released in the US as a complete series DVD set on February 2013.
