Yuzuru Shino is your average high school student. He has a few friends, belongs to a club and just goes about his life like any other teenage boy. Touji Seryou on the other hand is somewhat strange. Being one of the most attractive and popular guys in the school, all the girls lust for him. Touji is a bit unique however as Touji will go out with any girl who asks him to on Monday. But, after seven days he will split up with the other person by saying "I couldn't fall in love with you". One Monday, Yuzuru and Touji end up at the school gates together and out of curiosity, Yuzuru asks him out for the week. With seven days on the clock what will Yuzuru do with his week? Seven days shows us Yuzuru's week with Touji in sixteen beautiful chapters.
The art is one of the first things that draws your attention. Takarai is exceptionally talented and from the first few pages the art catches your eye and invites you to read on. People who see the art as something make or break in their manga should have no fear of reading this as it is by far some of the best I have seen. It definitely fits the tone of the story, the characters and backgrounds are highly detailed and no corners seem to have been cut. You can tell that a lot of effort and care was put into this manga.
Next to the art, one of the most important things in a manga for me is the characters. While not a lot of them are developed, we do get to see a great deal of development in both Yuzuru and Touji. Throughout the sixteen chapters, we get an insight into both of the teenager's feelings about the other person and their thoughts about what will happen when the seven days are up. The only main issue with the characters is that a few are introduced in the first couple of chapters but we don't get to know a lot about them. They're just there. Sure, they're supporting characters but it would have been nice to know how they feel about Touji's seven day trials. However, you have to give it to Tachibana. She's managed to create wonderful character development in such a short time. Not only that, she's managed to make the character's easy to become quickly interested in. Neither of the two mains are boring or dull. They both have intriguing thoughts that make you question how the story will end.
Talking about the ending, it is no letdown. Without giving anything away, prepare to make the ending to Seven Days one of your favourite manga endings. Every single page leads up to the conclusion at a nice speed, without feeling too slow or too fast. The final two chapters are without a doubt the ones that really tug at the heartstrings. These two chapters show us just how powerful a comic can be and just how talented Takari and Tachibana actually are. Prepare to shed some tears.
Seven Days is not only a beautiful manga, it's a work of art. Sixteen chapters may not seem like a great deal but every chapter is enjoyable and while there is still a sense of the story being somewhat rushed at a few points, it's not a major problem as the plot is still wonderful. The sixteen chapters were enough to tell this beautiful love story. People who aren't big on yaoi or shounen-ai shouldn't worry as there is no sex and no typical plot of,"I hate you" *practically gets raped* "Wow I love you now". This story is about how love can bloom. It's something so much more moving than your average boys love manga. If you're looking for something to pass an hour or two, read Seven Days. If you're looking for something to make you cry for hours, read Seven Days. If you're looking for the definition of art, read Seven Days.
