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Starts off very strong for the first ~7 volumes, then falls off and drags a bit.

+ great depth of story and characters
+ there's more to each character than you'd expect
+ no cheap clichés or boring romance: this manga has some great and unconventional plot twists
+ very well thought out story, really feels like you're solving a puzzle
+ great development of the main character
+ strong life lessons and messages

+/- pages are quit text heavy for a shojo, this can be hit or miss depending on your preference
...
- rather weak artstyle that somehow fits its narrative (empty eyes, feeling of nostalgia)
- sometimes it can be hard to tell whether you're viewing a past or current event as it jumps a lot
- ending was rather disappointing and dragged my rating down a bit
- a certain important character was kinda dismissed at the end, it feels like all efforts of the main character on them went nowhere

Overall a very niche and underrated series that doesn't fail in delivering a breathtaking chase for answers. The revelations are very satisfying and will make you keep coming back for more. Definitely worth a read, although the ending might not be the best.

This manga sounded like it'd be right up my alley but it turned out to be a pretty disappointing mess. The entirety of the manga is basically a big chase scene in different phases. While that might be the point of the manga, it felt very repetitive at times and some of the characters (the Kanto gang and his "rival author") just felt out of place and honestly got pretty annoying over time. And it just was so exhausting how they literally kept stealing/getting back/stealing/getting back a certain character. Like, just let that poor character breathe for a second.

Overall, it's not the worst manga you ... can read, but it also didn't hold up to the high standards I expected from the series after the first volume which was pretty strong. There is some decent character development and some pages might make you cry, but overall, I wish more of the "peaceful" life of the characters was explored to give them more room to bond.

Also I still have quite a few open questions about the ending and parts of the "game" that never got properly explained or I just missed it. Is it a happy ending? Well, you'll have to see for yourself.

Let me start by saying this: I'll admit, I do cry a lot reading manga, watching anime or even during emotional scenes of games. However, I have never cried this much while consuming ANY media. This manga got me sobbing for minutes like something bad just happened to ME, that's how powerful it was.

But let's get to the review!
We basically follow the journey of our young protagonist who is trying to find peace after her death by getting rid of three things that are bothering her soul. If she is unable to do so, she will become a phantom and thus become evil. During the ... first chapters we get introduced to this new reality: she meets a very suspicious looking guy who is now becoming her "guide" for the 49 days time limit in which she has to eliminate her regrets. She also comes in contact with phantoms and other ghosts, but I won't spoil too much.

The greatest thing about this series is its length. There are so many awful one shots or short series out there that even I was kinda unsure whether or not this was just another "pretty looking but lacking in terms of story" manga. And sure enough, the art is so stunning, you could probably print out any page and hang it up on your wall. But the story is just as beautiful and well crafted. The pacing is perfect and it doesn't overstay its welcome.

The characters are another strong point of this series. Everyone is so heartwarmingly nice (in a genuine way) and the development of our "guide" is also really amazing to witness. In a lot of shojo manga, characters other than the main character and maybe their love interest are usually very flat and can be boring to watch. Some are also just there for comedic relief. It's different here. You care about each of the characters so much (even about the other ghost), that seeing them happy is eventually all you care about.

Now, be aware, this is a manga about death and letting go, saying farewell. We all know it's not gonna have the ending we so wish to see but I promise you, that the ending was very well crafted and honestly, made me sadder than I had expected going in to this. The author threw in a very "nice" surprise that just made me cry my eyes out.

If you're looking for a short and sweet story about loss, grief, death but also happy memories, friendship, love and compassion, look no further than this. This story is truly a gem. I haven't read anything like this, ever. And I'm glad the cover art made me give it a try.

I remember reading this roughly 6 years ago and how much fun I had reading it back then. So I thought, hey, why not pick it up again and do a re-read? In fact, as I went here to check my rating on this series, young me had given it a 10/10. So, what happened there?

Back then, I used to read every new volume as it got released, not knowing it would already end with its 4th volume. Which made every volume feel like a build up to an eventual climax, as in revealing the secrets or uncovering the truth behind certain events. Because in ... that regard, the manga really isn't too bad and I honestly remember having a lot of fun reading it. The world building is fairly interesting and I would have LOVED to get to know more about the lore and the "princesses".

But then, just as the main character is about to unveil one of the biggest mysteries, the series ends. To be fair, it does say "end of part 1" but seeing how unknown this title is and how long it's been since the release of volume 4, I doubt we will ever get to see a part 2. Which is a shame, because the series really isn't all that bad. In fact, it does have a lot of potential but without a continuation, it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. After all, you just spent some hours reading a story that isn't anywhere near to being concluded and probably never will be. Feels like the author just gave up, perhaps due to low sales or lack of interest.

So yeah, in all honesty, don't bother reading this. It has a decent art style, some rather interesting characters with a neat little "magic system" and an interesting premise but just suddenly ends, leaving you frustrated.

How would you judge whether your love for someone is based on a selfish reason or not? Would you be able to sacrifice everything you have in order for that person to live a peaceful life? And where do our feelings as human beings even come from in the first place? What would a creature from another planet have to do in order to be able to copy or experience those feelings?

This manga is a story about very emotional questions regarding the right to love someone, the selfishness of our actions as well as a pleasant place turning into a suffocating nightmare. It's also about ... a lot of what the fuck is going on spaceship alien horror body swapping. And yet, I enjoyed this story. Let me tell you why.

This manga starts off very... strong. I can't really tell you what I mean by that because it'd be a spoiler. If you wanna have a general idea of the 'vibes' of this series, read the first volume and you should have a rough idea. This is NOT your typical shojo manga. In fact, I honestly wish it had a bit more romance. Well, its main topic IS romance but don't expect a lovey dovey romcom with some drama elements here.

I was a bit worried that this series would follow the path of a certain other manga from this mangaka duo but I'm happy it didn't. While it also had some very 'psycho' moments, they didn't disrupt the flow of the story and felt meaningful. However, sometimes I really didn't understand what was happening anymore. It's a really confusing read for sure and you probably have to reread some pages or lines because it's rather fast paced and also switches perspective a lot. Since it's a rather short manga, I recommend reading this in one sitting, otherwise you'll get lost. There's not much filler content and no unnecessary drama to increase the length of the series.

The thing I'm most surprised about is the cast of characters. And I'm even more surprised that out of ALL the characters appearing the most during the story, I found the main character to be the least interesting one. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't boring or bland by any means but the side characters were simply so well written. I'm kind of sad they didn't get more 'screentime' but they felt very... real despite that. My favorite must be the 'mysterious blondie' who starts appearing at the end of volume one. At first, I thought he'd just be a psycho plot element as in Nanoka no Kare but he ended up becoming my favorite character of the series. His development was very enjoyable to follow and I loved the ending he received too.
In general, everyone had very pleasing yet not too unnatural conclusions for their struggles and stories. It wasn't the most amazing story by any means but I certainly don't regret reading this manga.

I really like the simple and calming, yet also scary art of this mangaka duo a lot. There's really not much to say about it besides that, it does its job very well and isn't overly bubbly. It is technically a shojo manga though, so expect school uniforms, big round eyes and mysterious boy and his harem army. I'm making it sound worse than it is, don't worry. :)

The ending of the series gave me some questions and thoughts that'll stick with me for a while. Nothing too deep but something that made me wanna think more about it. I think this is a very enjoyable read if you have some time to read an entire series in one go and if you enjoy rollercoaster stories that don't overstay their welcome while having a rather complex for its length cast of characters. Some parts may seem a little crazy but hey, I'm tired of the typical shojo manga and it was very refreshing!

This is a manga about a young female worker who had to transfer workplaces and is unable to enjoy her meals and well, life in general after that due to various reasons. Having a hard time with her life in the new town, she discovers a small bistro where she orders a meal after work. However, as she opens it at home, she finds out it's not the meal she ordered at all and starts crying at how perfectly fitting the food is for her current mood and situation. Thus, she decides to go back and have a talk with the kind employee who sold ... her the delicious food.

And that's a summary of the first chapter of this manga and also sets the mood for the other chapters that have been released so far. As our main character visits the bistro to order her food after work, warming up to the store employee and his boss, she notices other people who are also ordering food there. Those people have issues just like her and look for comfort in certain meals. I don't wanna spoil too much but so far it seems to be somewhat episodic but still feeling very connected overall. The characters all feel rather fleshed out, even though most only stick around for 2-3 chapters. The main cast also feels very genuine and I had lots of fun reading their interactions and meeting new characters together with them.

This is a manga about the comfort in food and what meaning it has to individuals. I'd recommend it if you're looking for something light-hearted with a hint of drama that will ultimately make you feel happy once each "mini arc" concludes. If you've read "Kitchen Princess" by Natsumi Ando, it's like a more mature version of it. Nothing too deep but told with care and empathy thus making it very realistic and relatable. It also talks a lot about food as the name implies so don't read it if you're feeling hungry as the images of the food look very delicious. :p

I hope we'll see an official (English) release for this manga though the chances are probably rather small. Not sure for how long this series is gonna run but I'm expecting it to keep going with those "mini arcs" while following the female main character and her relationship with the store employee and his boss.

TLDR: Very enjoyable first chapters that made me wanna read more but once I reached the second volume, I found myself skipping through most of the pages. Romance feels very forced and unnatural. Also very political which might be interesting for some people. Sadly, I only enjoyed one or two characters of the main cast. Art is very beautiful and typical for a shoujo manga.

More in detail

Plot:
The plot was a bit too messy for me. Maybe because I went in expecting something a bit more... tragedy-like. At least that's what the text on the back of my volumes hinted at, so perhaps that's why I'm ... so disappointed now. There are lots of attempts to build a universe within the manga and I think it worked pretty well. The plot felt pretty boring to me, but maybe that's because I'm not that interested in the politics of a fictional world.

Art:
Very, very, very beautiful and delicate. It fits the manga really well and the covers are beyond stunning. You can tell how much care and love the author used to draw this manga.

Characters:
I really loved the female MC and her family, as well as some servants, but most of them were very forgettable and not very enjoyable. I especially don't like the main love interest, which is kinda unfortunate in a love story. They'll probably get more backstory as the chapters go on but I honestly am not interested in finding out more about most of them.

Enjoyment:
Enjoyed the beginning a lot, then quickly lost interest and motivation to keep reading. I think I just expected the wrong thing, thus not enjoying the more political parts. And again, the romance didn't feel very believable to me which is one of the most important things in a romance manga. Also the comedy elements in the manga were pretty cliché, sadly.

Let me explain why I didn't rate the anime as much as I had hoped to when I started watching it.
I watched Nana by the same creator Ai Yazawa last year and it had a huge impact on my life, I loved it more than anything I had ever seen in the recent years.
That's the sort of expectation I had when I saw there was another anime created by this woman.
Maybe I was just expecting too much of it.
Also, I'll try to keep the explanations rather simple and short.
VERY MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD


Story (8)
The story itself was very realistic and very relatable. I enjoyed ... the pacing but at times I didn't feel like there was a clear goal to what the characters were doing. But maybe that's because there's no such thing in real life either.
The ending was great and dramatic, you'll most likely cry.
In fact, I didn't dislike the story at all. But one thing ruined it for me, which is:

Characters (3)
I saw many reviewers saying the characters are very relatable and real but I sadly couldn't see the same in them.
Yukari is a good main character and I enjoyed seeing her development. But besides her, I only really liked Miwako.
That's why I'm especially sad we almost got no backstory on Miwako besides some short scenes related to her old childhood friend. Maybe that's because this is a 12 episode anime. Maybe this is better explained in the manga.
But that's my biggest issue of the show: the lack of character background and depth. I just couldn't get into the characters at all.
My biggest bother was George. Yes, he's hot. But does that justify everyone loving him for his not-so-great actions and how he treats Yukari? I didn't think it was "realistic", it was just too random for me how he got away switching between uwu and you're-so-ugly-and-untalented in seconds.
Also I wish there was more explanation of the studio and how they became friends.
I'm not saying the characters are all bad, I just wish they had more time to gain depth throughout the show.

Art and Sound (both 9)
The opening is on repeat all the time and the ending was a fun way to end each episode. There wasn't that much of a soundtrack as far as I noticed. Or at least nothing really stood out to me. But the opening and ending alone set the mood so well already, I can't help but score it this high.
The art is from Ai Yazawa so I'm pretty biased since I love her style. The chibi drawings are also really cute and I just love how she draws eyes and lips.
The visual character design was also really well done, the clothing was stunning.
The mix of realism and cartoon in some scenes was weird at first but added to the overall mood of the anime.

Enjoyment (5)
I wish I had enjoyed it more. And maybe that's why I struggled to do so.
Maybe my expectations were too high after watching Nana.
Maybe it just wasn't an anime for me.
I enjoyed the story but I couldn't really care about most characters.
This is one of the first times I actually think characters were the main reason I disliked an anime.

Overall (6)
It is a very real anime and that's what I liked about it the most. If you enjoy anime that include serious and realistic themes, you'll most likely like it for this.
Many people here enjoyed the characters a lot so maybe you will too.
Just give it a chance and see if it's for you.