It may not be right, but lots of people lie about their age. Add a few years when young, shave off a few when older. Well, 16-year-old Kako and her friend join a mixer by pretending to be adults, but just when she makes a possible love connection, she spills the truth. Most adults would be horrified at the thought they had expressed interest in a minor, but it’s especially a problem for Kota: he’s a police officer. But Kako is smitten, and Kota eventually admits he is drawn to her too. Since it would be a problem for them to date, they decide to get married.
Ah, you have to love loopholes. (Although Japan is changing this.)
Most of this volume could be seen as an extended prologue. The safety lesson at school, Kako coincidentally overhearing a plan to target Kota, Kako’s father getting upset as his daughter’s marriage — it’s all window dressing for what’s going to be the main plot of a police officer and a high school girl hiding their marriage. While this does provide a way for readers to get to know the main characters, in the back of my mind, I wondered if this was necessary. Kako and Kota have a rushed relationship already, getting engaged after only a few encounters. I don’t think I am any more connected to them than if the story had opened with their wedding or with the pair already married. In some ways, actually seeing how little they date may actually be worse than if their relationship had been summarized.
Surprisingly, despite Kota’s profession, the manga is going with a happy, upbeat tone. With a story like this, an author could have gone the comedy or drama route, and Miyoshi seems to have chosen the former. While Kota is threatened by some hoodlums with BB guns and Kako meets a suspicious man late at night, there’s a bigger emphasis on how emotional, energetic Kako is the type who jumps head-first into a situation. (Literally, she jumps into a situation and gets an injury on her head.) She melts from just a hug or hearing him speak near her, so much of My Boy in Blue is the adventures of how to make Kako’s heart pound. But between this and her parents’ conditions for their marriage, this tale may be more like the usual first boyfriend manga. Which is probably the best way to tackle an age gap romance like this, as this makes it more palatable to a general audience. It’s hard to dislike a manga with so many smiles.
This lightheartedness is also reflected in the art. It’s a bit generic, but the style is bright and big. It is similar to other manga like Marmalade Boy or Strobe Edge with a bright-eyed heroine and a nice if somewhat mischievous guy. I like seeing some police- and/or self-defense-like movements like an over-the-shoulder throw, as most manga just limit fighting techniques to punches and kicks.
Age gap manga aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, especially when the older person is in a position of trust. My Boy in Blue appears to take the safest, least problematic route, but this means that the romance is a bit of a stretch even by manga standards. If this is going to be a secret marriage story, I kind of wish the manga would have just gotten on with it.