The Stories of Those Around Me

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I never thought my first review on this site would be for something that isn't technically manga. It's not Japanese, so the translations may not be up to par like other works. That being said, "The Story of Someone We Know", as I read the title to be on Line Webtoons (check out the App, it's amazing) is one of the sweetest slice of life stories I've read in a while.

Story: 10

For those that are not fans of several romance stories centered around different characters all woven together into one, this manga might not be for you. Because that's exactly what this one is all ... about. However, I see no problem with it so far, and based on what one of the characters noted about early on, i'm prediciting that something horrible will happen to her relationship that she will later reflect on. So, looking forward to that.

Art: 10

Honestly, the art is so adorable and chibi like that I sometimes get distracted from looking at the text and what is going on with the characters. The way the girls act so cute when reacting to their various problems and interactions is pretty nice to see.



Characters: 9

All three heroines are 25 years old and deal with their own romantic stories. Jung-A is in a safe and hassle-free relationship with her boyfriend of 5 years (forget his name- Korean characters have harder names to remember), but she is starting to feel they lack a certain spice in their relationship to keep it going. Summer is an unemployed free-spirited bird who life begins with her friends and ends with her boyfriend, whom she adores more than anything in the world. Mira, however, is the most dynamic of the trio and seems to have the most in terms of development: a girl who spent all of the 7 years since high school working, not having a dating life of her own.

While these character descriptions are what you would find in any old shoujo manga (which prevented me from giving this section a perfect 10), the author does a decent job of making the characters as fresh as they can. So, kudos to that.

Enjoyment: 10

I don't normally read shoujo mangas. But when I do, I usually have a good reason for doing do. The description "everything changes" when something happened to one character is enough to peak my curiosity and find out what it is that happened to the characters. Was it something good or bad? This slight element of suspense is enough to keep me going for a whole.

Overall: 10

This manga is not for everyone. It might be hard to stay focused on the material or the translations. However, if you're a fan of cute girls and suspense in shoujo mangas (this point sounded better in my head), then this might just be for you.

The storyline is fairly complex with it's own separate stories being told through different perspectives. I thought the concept of the storyline was actually incredibly nice. I enjoyed how distinct each character's story was and how their relationships changed over time. I definitely shed some tears feeling close to what the characters went through.
The main three characters go through several struggles, the conflicts felt real and the problems weren't cliche. It was as if each character was real and had their own thinking process. You can see it in the way they respond and take in certain events. I did, however, ... get lost at times since the story constantly switches positions from one character to another. In a way, I felt like the stories were too separate for me to follow along. It was as if the only thing connecting all their stories together was the fact that the main characters were friends however they don't interact with each other that much after the exposition.
The art was pretty cute I didn't mind the simplistic style at all. Of course, it would be hard to express much emotion in the visuals but the dialogue makes up for it.
The characters are very distinct including what form their relationship takes. They are the classical types of characters, the "tsundere", happy dense one, and the "kuudere". A pretty good mix of variety. Since the storyline covers an immense amount of time there is some degree of character development but I was hoping for a bit more noticeable change.
Honestly, it did take me a while to finish this mainly because at one point I put reading this series on pause because I was getting bored of it. There isn't any noticeable moving on the storyline in filler chapters and I might've read it continuously if there was more contact between the main characters with their stories.
In the end, The Stories of Those Around Me was a good way to pass time and I found myself relating to their struggles and happiness at times and found reading it a pleasant experience. I'm not actually that good on critique however and then again this was just how I comprehended the story :^)

A classic slice-of-life that is extremely overlooked. I miss seeing realistic depictions of romance - it has become so rare now in anime and manga to actually dedicate themselves into the seriousness of the different types of adversaries people face. Of course I enjoy the tooth-rotting shoujo romance from time to time, but most romance animes are just rom-coms. With The Stories of Those Around Me, it felt refreshing. The characters did not feel 2D - they felt very authentic, and real.

I could read this over and over again, and always get emotional at the right points. Plus, the story itself isn't continuously depressing. ... It keeps itself lighthearted, while maintaining the underlying tone of 'adulting.'

Funny thing is, when manga or anime do talk about realistic romance, s*x is always somehow involved. But with this comic series, it purely dedicates itself into discussing romantic attraction only. The art style is refreshing as well - a warm watercolour with a simple style that compliments the plotline perfectly. The story isn't too slow or fast, and due to only have sixty chapters, plays every episode perfectly. HIGHLY recommend, as it is one of my favourites.