Monotone Blue Edit What would you like to edit? SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureChapters/VolumesPublishing DatesRelationsTypeExternal Links   2d66k

first of all , CW for sexual violence / sexual assault in this manga

onto my review :

i thought that the original oneshot , Escalate , was better . some things about the characters were changed , i thought Aoi especially was more interesting in the original , but i also liked Hachi better in the original too

that being said , this was still an enjoyable manga . i might have enjoyed it more if i wasnt biased from reading the oneshot ... this was based on first / i wasnt expecting things to be different . the art was pretty , some parts made me laugh , and i enjoyed the trio of side characters a lot actually

not that long either , so even if you don't enjoy it it's not a big deal . id reccomend it to anyone who can handle the heavy content alongside the lighthearted moments

Monotone Blue is a sweet yet more dark one shot written by Nagabe with a unique art style. We follow the 2 main characters Hachi and Aoi on them slowly starting to take interest in eachother. This is a BL I found at a comic store and was like "hell yeah gay furries" I'm pleasantly surprised that it is way more then that, the book touches on themes of discrimination, sexuality, SA, and to some extent transphobia.
This is something I'd recommend to some not all based on those things.
\ personally found it interesting and it kept me reading. I didn't want to go to much ... into this work since I feel like it'd ruin such a short read.

Mild spoilers below, only to issue a content warning for this series:
I haven’t seen anyone mention this online yet, but: Based on the events of the manga (and its very short almost-NSFW precursor, “Escalate”), there is some room to interpret the lizard character as a trans man/transmasculine person. It’s nearly impossible to find a Boy’s Love manga with a trans male lead, so it was a pleasant surprise.

This is important to mention because there is a depiction of sexual assault that is coded as transphobia in this manga. There’s no graphic sexual imagery, but I definitely still struggled with the scene in question. There’s also ... some bullying and an additional instance of sexual assault. As such, it may be a difficult read.

Despite the challenging content, I would definitely want to see more of these characters if Nagabe ever decided to revisit this oneshot series. The artstyle is really appealing and I thought the story was charming and heartwarming. Give this one a try, just be careful about the subject matter.