Blue by Kiriko Nananan

With its elegant line work and dramatic use of black and white, Blue is lovely to look at in a zen / minimalist sort of way. Its somber and realistic treatment of Japanese student life offers relief from the typical crazy school romances in other manga titles. However, it's probably too slow-moving and anti-climatic for most readers under 18.

There are some manga that are like Hollywood blockbuster movies, full of fast-paced action and rapid-fire humor. And then there's comics like Blue, which is more like a French art house film, where quiet conversation and silent gestures move the plot along at a leisurely (some would say glacial) pace.

Like an indie film, Blue tells its story in beautifully composed, artful moments. Major plot points are often revealed in narration or conversation versus actual action. However, also like an independent film, the simple elegance of Blue's artwork means it may also be confusing or boring to fans of more mainstream fare.

As the story opens, we meet Masami and Kayoko, two high school seniors living in a quiet, seaside town in Japan. Mysterious Masami was suspended from school last year, so she has to deal with gossip from her classmates and prejudice from her teachers. Nevertheless, Kayoko is fascinated by Masami and finds herself more and more attracted to her.

What happens next is a slice of life look at a Japanese school life as it really is, without gorgeous sensei, wacky gender-bending or magical powers. It's a bit mundane without all the sparkly flowers you usually see in shojo manga or the goofy sexual hijinks you might see in shonen manga stories. If that's what you like and expect out of manga, then Blue is not for you.

Who would be into Blue? Indie comic readers and connoisseurs of cartooning as an art form would be most receptive to this graphic novel. Its poetic prose and sensitive treatment of a girl/girl relationship and Japanese everyday life would also appeal to readers of lesbian literature or Japanese novels by authors like Haruki Murakami. It's definitely not for everyone, but it is an interesting glimpse into the other kind of artistically innovative manga that's also being created in Japan today.