Writer Nagisa Furuya is a master at enchanting, longing BL tales. My Ultramarine Sky is no different from her previously published works, The Two Lions from Seven Seas and My Summer of You from Kodansha, which both showcase this talent. The narrative centers on Kai and Ren, two friends who have been sitting next to one other in class throughout their first year of middle school and have been together ever since. They were placed in the same class each year that followed, and they just blindly thought that this would always be the case. However, the boys are split up in their senior year of high school; Ren is in a different room and Kai is in a class with a few of their other pals. And with that, all of their cozy anticipations go, leaving Kai particularly disoriented.
It’s probably unfair to say that, though, as Kai is the more sensitive of the two; he’s more gregarious and honest about his emotions by nature. Although it appears that he is facing more difficulties, Ren is also experiencing difficulties; he is simply more reserved about it and tries other coping mechanisms. Kai takes the first half of the book’s point of view, while Ren takes the second, and they share the bonus chapter, which Furuya uses to great use to show how differently they approach their sentiments. When Ren takes over the internal monologues, Furuya may play with the skewed picture of their relationship that Ren offers us by not showing much on his face or in his body language. This is a clever approach to play with the reader’s emotions and perspective. Though genre form dictates that there should be guarantees, it feels as though there are none. We know, for the most part, how things should end.
And this fits the light BL romance genre extremely well. The lack of kissing in the main plot is referred to as the “light,” but don’t let that deceive you—there is enough of kissing to make up for it. Every physical interaction has a significant impact on the storyline and the characters, particularly because Kai and Ren have been amusing their friends by pretending to “play BL” by putting on wall slams and other clichés for fun. It’s evident from the outset that this is more than just a game when we first witness them performing this at their friends’ request; the tension in their body language belies that. Asking them to play BL is a way to both give them the space to indulge in feelings they’re having trouble admitting or an attempt to force them to realize what’s going on, because as the book progresses, we have to wonder if at least one of their friends hasn’t been aware of this for the entire time. Kai and Ren’s play reflects their shared desire to be more than just friends, at least in part.
Additionally, it is evident from their more informal touching. All exchanges will obviously be highly charged because this is a gay romance manga, but more than that, Kai’s almost uncontrollably tense demeanor anytime they make physical contact shows us that he is well aware of their physical contact. While this is going on, Ren appears to be trying to utilize actions like leaning on Kai to indicate that he’s aware of and open to things developing romantically, but Kai is too nervous to completely comprehend. Interestingly, it’s not that one of them is against homosexuality; rather, the problem is that they just don’t know how same-sex relationships function in the real world. Although they are aware of the BL clichés, a part of them understands that these are only clichés and that every relationship they have seen in real life is heteronormative. A lot of plausible overthinking occurs, which enhances the narrative.
Although My Ultramarine Sky is a leisurely read that some readers may find tedious, it’s ultimately a really satisfying book. Furuya makes the most of every second as the slow tempo lets the longing blossom. The central theme of the narrative is that neither boy felt driven to act on his love since they both believed they would be together forever, and their school separation let them both realize that life moves on. Sometimes you lose out on an opportunity completely if you don’t reach out and take what you desire. Once more, Furuya makes the most of this theme without devolving into preachiness or embarrassing cheese levels appropriate for an after-school special. It’s a theme well-suited to a story set in the final year of high school. My Ultramarine Sky is a delight for fans of Furuya as well as a wonderful way to start exploring her work if you’ve never heard of her before thanks to its endearing tale, legible and lovely artwork, and generally clever use of its subjects. This is an easy one to recommend if you enjoy your romances to be mellow and satisfying.
