Shinobu and Ko

Despite being nominally an example of “schoolgirl yuri,” Sweet Blue Flowers deviates from many works in that genre in featuring several male characters. The first to be encountered—and in less than pleasant circumstances—was Akira Okudaira’s brother, who got kicked out of his sister’s bed on the second page of volume 1 (SBF, 1:8). He spent the remainder of that volume being absurdly overprotective of his sister, to Akira’s great annoyance, and creepy in general (1:102–3, 1:109).

In volume 2, Takako Shimura finally gives Akira’s brother a name: “Shinobu” (SBF, 2:182). It’s a name that (if Wikipedia is any guide) tends to be roughly equally used for both men and women. (For example, see Shinobu Oshino of Nisio Isin’s Monogatari series, an ancient vampire in the form of an eight-year-old girl.)

Shimura may have meant this as a subtle comment that Shinobu does not measure up to traditional male standards: at this point in the story, he’s still living at home, doesn’t appear to have a job or to attend school (although a subsequent volume does refer to him being a university student), has no girlfriend (or any hint of having had one in the past), and seems to have nothing to do in life other than pestering his sister.

Be that as it may, he now starts shedding his siscon ways and, at least to some degree, repenting of them. Much of this is not through his own initiative, but instead comes about as a result of the actions of others.

This applies, in particular, to Shinobu’s burgeoning relationship with Fumi’s classmate Miwa Motegi (“Mogi”). As he drives the girls to a sleepover at Ko Sawanoi’s aunt’s estate (which, of course, he has free time to do), Mogi finds herself attracted to him, not by anything Shinobu actively does or says, but just because she thinks “he’s cool” (SBF, 2:8–9, 2:62–63).

Mogi eventually takes the initiative of confessing to Shinobu (SBF, 2:133–35). We don’t ever see his reaction or much of any other signs of his attraction to her; it’s as if he simply passively entered into the relationship. Whether that’s true or not, it’s all very convenient from Akira’s point of view because it gets her brother out of her hair—though she continues to think of him as “super creepy” (2:44).

Shinobu does show at least some self-awareness and potential for emotional growth. As Ko attempts to initiate him into the mysteries of golf (that classic sport of upper-middle-class men), he admits to Ko that he’s overprotective and that Akira will inevitably begin dating at some point (SBF, 2:22–24). (In other words, any siscon dreams he had are doomed to remain just that.)

However, I won’t go out of my way to praise Shinobu’s emotional growth or, for that matter, Ko’s suitability as an instructor and role model for him. I’ll comment on this more in a subsequent chapter, but it’s not as if Ko, an adult (or nearly so) man fixated on entering into a relationship with a (now) second-year high school student, is an examplar of mature masculinity himself. To be uncharitable for a moment, from the evidence at hand, it seems that mostly what Shinobu learned from Ko is that it’s OK for an older man to pursue a girl much younger than himself, as long as she’s not his biological relative.