I have to say truly I would have loved this story if Kana died at the beach after he told him/wrote his feelings. That would have made this story so much more likable. usually I would have found problems with the whole gang rape scenario; but this time I didn't because if you look at it from Kana's view point of Rin at the end of the story and his inner thoughts about the things around him it makes since that he is so passive about it and still loves Rin.
I do have to say that most of my points come from how Kana looks and the scene at the beach where kana is talking about the shelf.

Ugh, I was really frustrated with the story as I read on. I just kept on reading cause I was hoping for a satisfying ending. But they give me a cliche omake. Was I suppose to just go say "yay! happy ending!" (-_-) It's a pitty that the art's beautiful..the way it was drawn gave of that melancholic feeling which fits. But I seriously wouldn't re-read this. And I won't recommend it to anyone. You'll just anger yourself..like me lol who got too into it. Btw, my raiting's solely on the plot itself. There were parts that made me cry (while saying "what a jerk") so i'm giving that points. I mean, if a story can extract an emotion from a reader then it's worth a point. The uke's the reason for my added 0.5. LOL he was cute so whatever. Anyway, if I were to rate the art though I would've given a 10 of course.

... Last updated on January 1st, 2011, 8:08pm

This one is fascinating. The sexual imagery is very light, but does have strong angsty scenes. Less is More philosophy in this story's scenes: both art and words. The art is very sketchy, wispy-like, and ethereal (think: Il Gatto Sul G). It played well with this story. The scanlation is beautifully and competently done.

The Love: The complexity of the characters and the distinctly different perspectives they have that guide their behaviour was awesome! The intricate, yet simple words and art and scene choices, wove together beautiful to make the 'surprise' agenda believable yet not predictable.

The Hate: Wah! SO underdeveloped in KEY scenes. Although it is angsty, it's spotted angst. Where there should be HUGE angst, it's la-la-la. Shuu - what's goin' on with him? The last couple chapters? Fail. It would have been better to end mysteriously, open-ended, rather than some cliche, unexplained hope.

Overall: It makes you think. Did Aoi really ever love Kana? Does Kana really love Aoi? It made me think of my own choices to make situational judgement calls or personality attribution judgement calls.

... Last updated on September 9th, 2009, 2:32pm

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

Although I can try to deny it all I want, the main character (uke) reminds me of how I was in high school - naive, excitement & pain of first love, etc. I'm not a fan of weak uke's that need to be saved & swoon all the time, but I actually liked this story.

*Spoiler*


I read the negative reviews & agree on some things, but don't you think the mangaka is trying to portray young love? Like how we were reckless, immature, & rebellious in high school, like the uke in this manga? If you missed out in high school, then in college? Ok ok, maybe it's just me~ ^^'

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 : )

that guy Rin was one sick SOB this book is so disgusting how in the world can a guy like him become a doctor? he should have ended up behind bars as some huge guys "woman." why in the world does Kana love this disgusting man? i get that rin has reasons for hating kana's family but why would he hurt kana? he let a group of men rape him, and yet Kana follows after him like some moron, this manga makes me sick to my stomach.

eccentrrick, did u even read this manga? you didnt even say why everyone elses reviews were "a little untrue."

... Last updated on April 10th, 2009, 11:57am

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

I've gotta admit, I read this series only because of the reviews.
And well, those reviews were proven to be somewhat true, but a liiiiiittle untrue. (just a little.)

@thismomentisfate. Oh, and yes, i did read this manga. I'm not going to entirely bash this manga because I didn't hate it that intensely.

How can I describe this manga?
It's like if a 'plot-twist' was written down on a paper, crumpled into a ball, and tossed into the trashcan. Several crumpled paper balls later, those 'plot-twists' (which could've been better if used wisely) were melted together, merged into a giant crumpled paper ball, and published.

For the storyline, it'll get a 5. it got somewhere, that's for sure, even if it's the 'somewhere' we didn't want.

For the Art, it'll get a 7. I liked how Kana looked. Only Kana.
The art is clean and thin, but sometimes the paneling can be confusing.

We can't fully blame this (irritating) manga on the author's writing skills, because the artist had to panel this piece as good as possible. It takes one confusing panel to ruin a moment even more.

Let's just say, adding to the chain of bad reviews, this was a manga that was bound to appear. But well, I'm the type of person who doesn't rate low because although we don't see it, it was put together with hard work to finish it, and collaboration between the author & artist.

p.s.
@Tetradecimal: AHAHAHAHAHA!

... Last updated on May 21st, 2009, 2:34am

The only redeeming thing in this manga was the semi okay art. The plot was horrible for all the reasons already mentioned. How anyone could give this a 10? I would LOVE to read your reasons.