I'm willing to overlook some idiocy in my pr0n, but the uke of this story:
* abandons his caring family for a seme he doesn't know
* constantly runs off without taking the medicine he needs to survive, requiring someone to save him again and again
* downs suspicious drinks at a sketchy bar
* decides to have clingy sex with the seme for the sole purpose of keeping him interested
* follows the seme around even after being insulted, manipulated, date-raped, and thrown around

Is this a yaoi novel, or a manual on how to land a guy who beats you?

To some people out there, this story is going to be one of their favourites. It's very angsty and its characters are deeply driven by their problems and emotional issues. A lot of people feel like they can relate to that and then there are those who just think that any kind of emotional reaction to a manga is a good thing.
However, (and I strongly feel this way) if you have any sense of self-respect, Innocent Blue will do nothing other than aggravate you.

The best part of this series is its art. The art is delicate and very much suits the story. The characters (in the beginning) are interesting and bubbling with unveiled emotion. That's as far as it goes. The protagonist, Kana, turns into a whimpering, clinging and desperate uke. Rin turns into a monstrous seme, bent on revenge for a wholly weak and unjustified reason. Though cousin Shuu is overprotective, his character is the best of the worst in a story full of characters that only begin to go downhill as the story goes along.

What makes Innocent Blue so frustrating is that the story allows plenty of occasions that would allow Rin to redeem himself and/or give Kana a chance to grow a backbone. Incident after incident, and all Kana does is whimper and profess his love. As a woman, and a human being, it's painful to watch and it's unbelievable that an author would want to create a character who, after being raped and betrayed, wants to search for the man who did it because (impossibly) he loves him very much. Furthermore, for a boy who is searching for his own freedom, he has only allowed himself to become trapped in a different cage altogether. Frustrating, right?

I've been a little more generous with my rating because there were redeeming qualities to this series. The art is enjoyable, and the earlier chapters of the story are readable. I've also been generous because I feel that the larger problems, such as character development, have been brought about through the collaboration between artist and author. The story is very complicated, and had it been given another volume to develop, we most likely would have seen a much more artistic and deeply motivated story than the shortened version we have now.

And finally to those of you who believe that this story is like a portrayal of young love and rebellion - if your high school 'love' experiences were like this, you've probably already begun to build the patterned basis of victims of domestic violence. Have some more self-respect and don't perpetuate that kind of behaviour and attitude in anyone.

... Last updated on August 6th, 2009, 5:07pm

well, I some how can understand why the artist was trying so desperately to convince us that Kana's love for Rin is a pure, innocent one but at the end all her attempts just turned the uke into a total idiot. a guy who always lives in a cage. he never learns to fly away and lives for his own. that's why even after getting raped like that he still follows the seme like a desperate moron, begging for his attention... so disappointing.

call me old fashioned but I hate this kind of story. a passive, clueless, obedient uke who always LOVES the seme, despite whatever shit he has done, is completely turning me off. a guy who can't stand for himself, a character who doesn't have any dignity or pride, doesn't worth my time.

... Last updated on April 13th, 2009, 5:15pm

There were several things that made my blood boil, namely the frivolous attitude that was taken towards the issue of gang-rape and abuse in several ways.

The main character unfailingly persists in following the seme around like a love-starved puppy, which is supposedly a message on 'love conquers all', but how on EARTH are we supposed to take it seriously when the main character a) pointedly ignores the person who's doted on him for several years and probably cares more about his heart condition than HE HIMSELF DOES b) gets gang-raped and discarded like trash and he still stalks the seme back to his home and stays there without moving for three days because he LOVES HIM anyway (a point he never fails to bring up as well as reminding us again he hasn't a single CLUE what was going on, let alone think about salvaging his PRIDE as he crawls back) c) the seme gets off totally free without any remorse AT ALL d) all above happened and more, and yet, everything was resolved with sex and an omake making light of the whole situation.

I forced myself to get to the end because I was hoping for the manga to deliver at least some shred of moral judgment or at least a commentary on it, but as mentioned, they had sex and all is well, the end. This is one of the few mangas where I'm unfortunately not able to treat it as a light-hearted, fantasy read (suspension of disbelief) because, to put it bluntly, the manga is stupid.

If you hate zero-developed characters and crying, spineless ukes who does the usual tactics of a moronic lovestruck high school bimbo, then avoid at all costs.

(+2 for the art.)

Edit: Spelling.

... Last updated on April 6th, 2009, 5:03am

THE ART!! My god, ITS SO GORGEOUS!! It's very light and…natural. It's the kind of art you'd use for those light hearted, warm, yet sad stories. I loved every panel of her art…when I wasn't sleeping through it and the characters actually made a facial expression...

Yeah, the story sounds really interesting, but you'll soon lose interests QUICKLY. I forgot ALL their names, and sometimes forget who's who. It's very slow paced and just…DISAPPOINTING!! The moments where I'm suppose to feel sad, mad, or glad, I'm either annoyed, don't care, or asleep. You'll just be flipping through most of the pages hoping to find SOMETHING, you will in the middle. But after that, IT GETS WORSE AND MORE POINTLESS!!

I began to feel less and less sorry for Kana and kept hoping he'd get a heart attack! Yeah yeah yeah, he's been trapped and alone and blahblahblah. I didn't attach to his sadness because they didn't make me CARE. Either that or this story is just THAT boring. Aoi does something REALLY HARSH to Kana which I found not only random and stupid, but HIGHLY unnecessary!! He's pretty bipolar too in the middle! I wish he'd kill Kana, or himself. Wouldn't that be a happy ending? My favorite character was Suu, because he didn't talk a lot.

I suggest not reading it. This is one bad dish, burnt in all the wrong places. If you manage to bite through it, great! Maybe you'll like it…or have a nice nap…

... Last updated on February 14th, 2014, 9:26pm

I didnt get all emotional as I thought. Because the plot is poorly executed and the end is too cliche, I barely feel anything.

The only redeemable point of this manga is the art, its unique and cute.

... Last updated on February 28th, 2013, 10:59pm

First: Art. Most people like it. It has a soft style, pretty in fact, like something used in shoujo mangas but as an drawing artist myself, I am not awed by it. It's quite messy, and every panel / frames almost use the same thing. The anatomy is lanky, few expressions (most of them pretty which is nit good). I believe that every manga artist has their style but this one's just not that good. The way she frames it is confusing as hell as well. So sorry, but I really don't like it.

Plot: I am a sucker for themes like this. Rape, revenge, etc. I do like it, love it in fact. But my god, there really are very few mangas who can pull these themes off very nicely and this one's definitely not one of those. I feel really really bad for Kana (main character / uke). I do understand where he's coming from (being trapped his whole life, in a metaphorical sense) but there's just no redeeming element in his character. And the seme, oh god the seme = total SoB. No redeeming characteristic at all. Even in the end. It's just that pity-factor in the end. I would not call that love. No way. That is not love.

Sad. This story is so sad. I'm so sorry for the author and the artist. But I think this one's fail. I'm so sorry. This is kind of horrible, but I just don't know what to say. I feel more depressed reading this story. A prick then a painful stab in the gut, then you burn me with disappointment. :-(

Wow seriously I don't really understand you all because I found the story pretty good. For me Rin (even if he did some cruel things to Kana) he was in love with him! Why do I say that well for me it looks like Rin didn't want to see Kana (after what happen at the bar) but when Kana went to him he got a little more conscious that he care about Kana but after they went to the beach he felt guilty so he disappeared. Later he became a doctor because he wanted to do something to help people with the same problem as Kana so in a way it means that he loved him but well that’s my way to see things but it’s different for everyone. Oh and one more thing please don’t critic the author because she did a good job she wouldn’t have done well if she did the same kind of story as many other yaoi book: two boy don’t know each other but end up a lovey-dovey couple and everything went well or anything that we see so many time the main point is it’s an original story even if it’s not the end many were expecting you can’t say that it’s not original. And I love the way the character are draw : )

I read this book and i felt sick after that. Ok Rin wanted to get revenge i do understand that, he used Kana for that. But letting some guys raping him and watching it, that just tells me only how sick he is in his mind. And Kana is not better either, how can you forgive something like that?

... Last updated on December 1st, 2011, 3:37pm

Judging by the rates, I guess this is a "love it or hate it" type. Well, I didn’t think it was that good, nor that bad. But I understand why it’s very controversial and some people may have a hard time accepting situations the main couple goes through.

Let me start with the good points:
- The art is freaking gorgeous, in my opinion. It’s simple and easy-going, yet very beautiful with its own delicacy. It reminds me of Only the Ring Finger Knows.
- The story did have some surprising parts that. First, I wasn't sure whether I wanted Kana to end up with Aoi or Shuuya, even in the end. .
- I’ve never seen a manga where the villain is also the main character’s love, and actually the good guy, in its own twisted ways.
- There are some details to this story that make it really sweet, though they’re not exceptionally important. Even the characters names suit them perfectly. "Aoi", for instance, means "blue", and his whole character represents "freedom".
- Aoi doesn't regret what he's done, they don't even talk about it. You're probably wondering how that is a good point, but I think it just means their love is so strong, they didn't even need to explain themselves. Also, if they did talk about it, it'd be as cliché as any other manga. I think Aoi did regret what he did, and the shell had some meaning that we don't actually get to know - because Kana himself doesn't. I don't think Aoi was in love with Kana during his revenge. I think he fell for him after he saw that Kana followed him despite what he's done. It's all very subtle, but that's my opinion of it all, I really liked it like that and not so explicit.
- The feeling we get afterwards. Are some of you angry? Frustrated? Happy? Sad? Feeling it's not complete? Well, isn't that all positive, given a manga made you feel all that?

Well, I'm not saying there aren't issues with the story, because of course there are:
- The characters were pretty much stereotypical. In my opinion, the only one who was a little realistic was Shuuya, even though he’s secondary. While Aoi is set as the villain, Shuuya is manipulative as hell, always telling Kana he's a burden to people. Of course he may not do it unintentionally – though I have my doubts about whether his love is brotherly or not – but he still makes Kana feel trapped
- Kana's relationship with Aoi grew awfully fast and, even if it was planned and Kana was really too naive, it still seemed unlikely. When Kana was thinking such deep things about romance, even if he was in love with Aoi for real, I couldn't believe his words. I took it as those of someone who doesn't know what they're saying.
- I’m usually all for angst, but this didn't get me even teary-eyed. It's like I didn't have enough time to relate to the characters or something, and therefore I didn't feel their pain, didn't feel anything for them. Even though this manga’s quite long for one volume, I couldn’t connect with the characters until the very end – when I then started to love Aoi.
- As it progresses, Shuuya is out of the blue, totally kicked to the side. It's not that he doesn't interfere anymore, but he doesn't even appear until the last chapter or so. HHe was so against Aoi and Kana’s relationship before, but when they started dating for real, he suddenly didn’t interfere anymore? Doesn’t make sense.
- Most of the scenes were very cliché – not that I mind it, but it’s gotta be well done.
- There was no development on Kana. The characters come and go and they stay the same, mostly.

The first half of this manga is average – I could even say above that. But then it suddenly gets really good in the last two or three chapters.
The ending was quite profound. Most of the things that were missing were compensated for.
I finally felt there was love between them when it started to approach the end. Don’t be fooled: even when they just get together again pretty easily – which made me really think if I’d continue reading this – it gets better. It frustrated me a little how they spent so many years apart. I mean, after all Kana’s done to see Aoi, he suddenly became a coward and didn’t see him for six years? Oh, then again, be careful. They’re love is not to be taken like some lovey-dovey, sweet one, like we all think until the very end. No. It’s really twisted, broken and wrong. Even though Kana’s gone through all that, he’s almost obsessed about Aoi. And Aoi, though he doesn’t realize it, is pretty insecure, but he does love Kana. Also, that was when Kana started having some personality - he started to matter.

Also, what I think is relevant and not mentioned before by anyone: who did Aoi really get revenge on? Kana, for being accepted in a family he wasn't? His father, for neglecting him? Shuuya, for not doing anything about it? Or maybe all of them.

As Yukishiro Marie-sensei is a new author, we can tell she’s got a lot to grow, but since this had so much potential, I think in a couple of years from now, we’ll be given a very good manga by her hands.

PS: