Sunadokei
Sand Chronicles

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Maybe they forgot to tag this under psychological genre.

CONTAIN SPOILERS

This manga has a light beginning but things getting super unstable right after her first break up with the boy she thinks he is the everything she needs. The plot has a a lot of emotions development of a girl from 12 turn 30 years old. As I read through the whole thing in a night, I come to understand the whole emotion roller coaster was due to the psychological trauma she had after her mother committed suicide. The more she doesn't want to be like her mother, the more she becomes. The pain ... comes slowly but haunting. I'm glad that she overcome all the hurdles after knocking herself in all wrong places.

Three things that I don't sit well with it;
1. I did not appreciate chap 16 (about her cold hearted ex/he can disappear for all I care).
2. Fuji-kun's relationship with his cousin. I'm very very skeptical about this. This new romance development after his breakup with Ann is way too fast and doubtful. Initially, I thought the cousin is genuinely worried as a family. Tbh, I'm also biased towards Fuji over Daigo. Maybe because he was always around and tried really hard for Ann. But after that, he choose to marry his cousin? Dude, you shouldn't just settle for anyone close to you when you're weak.
3. I think the ending could be more elaborated on her emotions. After the suicidal accident and reunion with old love, the manga just skipped to their married life where she becomes more composed and settled. More like she have accepted her fate. ??? I'm confused. I want to know how she took care of her crazy emotions. Haha

P.S: This manga is not your rosy shoujo.Its considered quite dark, subtle disturbing and requires so much energy.This is my own tags for this manga; Shoujo, Romance, Melodrama, Psychological
I would still prefer Cat Street.

Sand Chronicles takes all the usual Shoujo elements together, and cooks it up in a new and refreshing way; it is not full of cliches nor filled with absurd amounts of melodrama that becomes the pitfall of many Shoujo series, and despite some pacing issues throughout the series, it is a well-written character-driven coming of age piece that is recommended for those who enjoy Shoujo manga.

Sand Chornicles' biggest strength is its moving plot. There isn't only one emphasis on one aspect of the story, such as romance (or angst, as the series progresses), and as the story moves through the seasons, it gives a very ... realistic appeal, and the timeline gives plenty of room for interwining stories and character development. Sure, there is romance involved, it is only one aspect of their lives, as it should be. Even though the series is also very event-oriented, it does not have problems such as overcommitting with melodrama or such - events often resulting in the annoyance and frustration of the reader, and its slice-of-life aspect handles this very well.

The characters are also charming. They all fit into the typical character stereotypes, but they are fleshed out enough to make it work, and undergo hefty amounts of development, fitting for a coming of age manga. They all have their own stories to tell, and their stories are not concentrated in specific arcs, but over multiple volumes, which synergizes well with the story's realistic appeal. This makes the series heavily dependent on its pacing, but it is, for the most part, done without major problems. The story also focuses on four main characters, which helps to keep the story interesting and moving, but not too many that it overextends itself.

Despite these general strengths, Sand Chronicles suffers, perhaps inevitably, from its Shoujo roots and its inherent limitations - most strikingly notable being the ending in volume 8, which somewhat expected, still felt very forced. The characters also stem from the usual stereotypes, and while charming, they require a lot of detail that can be overlooked by the casual reader to appreciate their individual appeal. This is for the most part resolved in the spinoffs in volumes 9~10 - which is very well done, but they can be detrimental while reding the main story from volumes 1~8.

As well, the story simply lacks polish in general. It is especially glaring when comparing the spin-offs to the main story, in which the former is of highly better quality than the latter. This is mainly due to some pacing issues and managing the level of drama throughout the story, while some plot devices simply feel forced, such as the events of volume 7 - which was great in concept, but lacking in implementation.

Sand Chronicles is by no means a masterpiece, it's heavy dependence on its Shoujo roots is a testament to that, but it is easily accessible for any Shoujo fan, and in the end, highly enjoyable, which is what really counts. It's not the most original, nor the most polished, but it's well written and fun to read.

Sand Chronicles is a piece with large amounts of potential, and it will be interesting and well worth to anticipate the author's future works.

I loved the beginning, it had what felt like the start of a story with some actual depth and characters that didn't fall completely into stereotypical roles of shojo. But towards the middle it just became so... cliché, so... disappointing. Ann goes back and forth between being utterly and madly in love with Daigo and being depressed about her mother. In the beginning she had other characteristics but midway those two things are all she really is: obsessed or depressed. And the side characters that you got to know in the start of the series are suddenly doing things that make absolutely no sense, and ... there's no proper build up or explanation. I also hated the ending so much, it made me feel like Ann was being jerked around and played with until they said "okay... I guess that's enough, come on." I didn't feel any happiness or relief, just annoyed and disappointed. I guess I was hoping to see some sort of growth with Ann or at least see her be happy, but I don't feel like either or those happened. Its a strong start, but a sad and cliched mess about halfway.