Well it so happens I wasn't. The story is rather familiar to many who read shoujo mangas. 4 friends, two boys and two girls....already the vast array of mangas are running through your head as you read that make up. We all know the ultimate drama and angst that we could expect from this story. There is limited angst, well it's angst with a very fortunate ending and it's angst that doesn't last too long. They are school kids and this would be classed as a shoujo, slice of life, school life---type of story.
Characters are:
Kurumi (Nakamura): Lead girl, has a baby face and body of sorts (very naive) (she's very petite so she seems childlike). She has a cruh on Sout-kun who happens to be the first person to make friends with her when she moved to the new school and also the one to introduce her to the others and happens to be the boy she's in love with. Moderate household income (this is important because it relates to the other two friends).
Souta-kun: Lead male. He's not so cute for me, but he's a Bishie in the manga for the other girls. Well all except one, called Miyako. She happens to be one of his childhood friends and the only female friend he had before Kurumi came along. He's also secretly in love with her. Moderat household income--same explanation as above.
Chiaki: He's the second lead male, very attractive, now I find him to be a Bishie. He comes from a wealthy family, very mysterious because it's hard to figure where he's coming from. You'll get my meaning when you read the manga because he plays a vital role in how Souta-kun and Kurumi end up together. He's both helpful and a direct obstacle to the development of their relationship. I liked him best and found him smart and sexy and thought he was the ideal pair for Kurumi.
Miyako: Out of all the characters I found her the most unimpressive. You do get depth for her though, although not too deeply. You find out about her family life which is from a wealthy family, who happens to have extremely high expectations of her and of course she's burdened by those expectations, especially when she unfortunately doesn't meet them. She ends up in a rather horrible relationship which mended by the bond she shares with the other three.
Overall the story is well thought out with very little loopholes. It's basically detailing the bonds that ties and also could break relationships. It depicts how in youth you think all is well or most things are superficial and nothing can take you from those you love. When in reality you realize the fragility of things you hold dear. It's a poignant look into school life although it's a very naive outlook. It details a bit of sex and rather forbidden relationships but it doesn't go too deeply into the dark side so much.
I found the story utterly enjoyabe and loved the characters. The drawing is okay, I mean the mangaka has a weird style of drawing which I'm getting used to her. I don't find her books to have bishies but the stories are so good that it doesn't matter. Surprisingly, no religious references here.
I give the art a 7, since it's good, but not great. I loved the story but gave it a great and my enjoyment was far more than botht the story and art. The characterization could have been better in relation to Chiaki and Miyako---but it's short so it's understandable and did a great deal for them for such a good read I wholly recommend this for reading.
