I dropped it twice before probably because I was still immature and hated love triangles not even giving it a second thought that they will end up together in the end anyway since most Shoujo manga do. But a third time, I've read countless other Shoujo manga and was exposed to many more genres, storylines and ending that left me sad and heartbroken but totally changed my view in life in a more realistic way. So when I gave this manga another shot, I read through all the hurdles and obstacles the main leads had to go through and I rather quite enjoyed the character development they had after going through those problems successfully.
The Story is pretty cliche but I give it out of nine because it has its own original elements and the last arc at the end of this manga made me think, wow, that was good and unexpected. Because this was a considerably old manga, I guess the act of incest wasn't approved in society's eyes unlike the less strict society today. So, the last arc was quite unexpected in more ways than one and in that arc I felt absolutely engulfed in Miki and Yuu's feelings. It almost made me cry too. Also, I gave it a 9/10 because of the supporting characters having their own story along with the main story line. I would probably get bored if the manga is all about Miki and Yuu ALL THE TIME. So I get refreshed every time the manga also tells the story of the supporting characters, like what happened to them, how they felt and what happened after so every time they finish telling the story of a pair of supporting characters and turn to Miki and Yuu back again, I feel even more excited.
The Art is to my liking yet again which is one of the reasons I gave it a 9/10. The other is that the mangaka really drew and displayed the characters emotions, inner turmoil and thought really well. She also used each and every panel according to the story arc to add up in the perfect portrayal of the drama, sadness, tremendous shock and other feelings of the characters. It totally add to the emotions you're feeling inside when you read it. Plus. because of the art, I nearly cried in the last arc when I literally felt the amount of love, sadness and despair portrayed by Miki and Yuu. Especially Yuu. Despite the story line not totally revealing the reason why Yuu fell in love with Miki, but the way the mangaka drew Yuu's emotions in that last arc made me truly believe, with not a single doubt, that he loves Miki with all his heart. It really touched me, man.
The Character in this manga is worth 9/10 as well. There are annoying, likable, and the idol kind of characters in this manga. I got angry, frustrated and fretful over the characters at times because of the decisions they made and all. But that made the characters all the more real and relatable as they go through character development. At the end some characters may be quite the same as they were at the beginning of the manga but there were some changes, albeit, unnoticeable. But the fact that I ended up having neutral feelings towards all the characters, losing all the hate and annoyed emotions towards them, is a feat that not much manga has, I guess.
Enjoyment is a 10/10 this time. I really enjoyed the ups and down the character went through. I enjoyed the Romance between the characters, the love triangles, the humor, the drama and probably everything in the manga. Sure there were flaws here and there, but it 's nothing much compared to the amount of fun I had reading the manga. I just LOVE old mangas!
Overall, it's a 10/10 and I have clearly stated the reasons why, I guess. The ending gave a good closure to the story. I was content with all the characters, the art is a favorite style of mine and the roller coaster ride I went through reading this manga was fun. The only thing left is probably watching Marmalade Boy Movie to get a good idea of the reason Yuu fell in love with Miki. I'm looking forward to it!! ;D
