Ranked #131

Komatta Toki ni wa Hoshi ni Kike (Manga)

Komatta Toki ni wa Hoshi ni Kike (English: Ask the Stars for Help!) is a rare find amongst shounen-ai manga. And for one reason only: Length. It is indeed rare to find an 85 chapter long story on such a genre, whereas other shounen-ai manga lacks in character and story development or otherwise has a rushed story, KTHK takes its time with the plot and the people, and therefore also takes its time with the main point of the genre: the romance.

The summary does a good job of giving the gist of the manga. For those of you who have read Hana Kimi they will find resemblances between the two; however, unlike Hana Kimi where the situations are over the top and so unrealistic it should have the ‘fantasy’ genre tag attached to it KTHK isn’t as convenient – (Huzzah!). The story focuses more on the friendship between the two males, which later on blooms into something more. There’s not a lot of ‘ai’ in the shounen-ai part of things though this proves to be a much more effective way of displaying the bond between the two. However, that is not to say the ‘couple’ does have its moments.

The characters themselves aren’t that remarkable at first glance. You have Kosaka Kiyomine – tall, moody, strong and of course, the beauty of the school. Needless to say he would be your typical seme. So that leaves the uke, Fujishima Takara. Short, fiery-tempered, feminine physique and quite dependant on Kiyomine. Though these two display the same traits amongst their stereotypes their personalities manages to shine through to the audience as well as the constant progress in their character development. Takara and Kiyomine starts off in stereotypical character shells, but soon changes little by little due to each other.

Surprisingly, there’s a supporting cast too! The manga does not just revolve around the main love interests as there are a bundle of people who are close to the two: either dorm mates, friends or family – all of whom adds to the story in their own way, be it commentating or being the focus of the chapter.
The art, though it may not be the highlight of the manga is fairly decent. Like shoujo manga it uses panelling and much black backgrounds with the scattering phrases to deliver its effect. The drawings are solid, and clear enough to give a good flow to the story-telling.

Unfortunately, this manga is not licensed in English and at the time of writing this review only 32/85 chapters has been scanlated – much to most readers distress as it doesn’t look like it will be uploaded any time soon. Regardless, KTHK is a shounen ai that should have more recognition and popularity – a love story filled with comedy, drama and the occasional ‘moment’.

All in all a fantastic shounen ai.
read more

Ask the Stars for Help! is a really great shounen-ai manga that displays incredible character growth, cute and funny scenarios, comedic relief, realistic portrayals, and is overall enjoyable. I have reread what scans are posted over four times, which is 14/26 volumes, and it never gets old. I would recommend this manga to anyone, even people who might shy away from shounen-ai type mangas, because it is really rewarding to read.

So far there hasn't been any explicit scenes, but it truly demonstrates the growing bond between the two main characters, Kiyomine and Takara, who dorm together in high school. What I enjoyed the most is the realistic aspect of this manga; it shows the real emotions that people feel and are embarrassed to admit and personal weaknesses, such as childishness, hot-headedness and selfishness. The characters learn what friendship really means, the development of love, lessons in life and learn who they really are. It's not just a shounen-ai manga, but it's a plot that provides lessons that some people are afraid to face. Though I admit some of the scenarios that the two get caught up in seem to a bit far-fetched, but it could happen ^.^ However, those scenarios are not just completely random and do tie into the plot.

The comedy is genuine and hilarious. When an arrogant Kiyomine and a hot-headed Takara combine, there is sure to be hilarious conflicts. The supporting characters, and even supporting animals (ferrets and a border collie XD) all stay true to their personalities and even develop themselves over time and add to the comedy and atmosphere. The art took me some time to get used to, since I was used to newer mangas, but now I love it and think it's beautiful.

Overall, this is one of my favorite mangas and even if you are unsure about shounen-ai, I would give it a read because it really hooked me immediately and now I am craving for more. I hope this review was helpful! read more

Komatta Toki ni wa Hoshi ni Kike has a brillaint story line with appealin characters which will lure you into this hilariously funny story.I especially think the relationship between the 2 main characters and their bonding through the manga is what makes it one of my favourite mangas.
i quote 'i'll rape you'... lol