Tsuru Tsuru to Zara Zara no Aida is a romance story of two characters which focuses on the growth of the couple. When it comes to a romance story especially that focuses in the "growth of couple", the author tends to use an outsider as a third wheel to advance the relationship of the two main characters. I don't say it's bad, sometimes I find it useful when we talk about characters that stuck in the past and can't bring themselves to love anyone anymore (ex. in bitter virgin) or when it's not dragged all along (ex. in Futsutsuka Mono no Ani Desu ga). But usually, the author tends to rely only on it and uses it even if it's unneeded and bring nothing. The worst, some authors use it to milk the series by creating misunderstandings over and over again that the arc seems like just a mere filler. It's the trend in the Shounen manga wich makes me avoid Shounen-romance. It's over-used, uncreative, stupid and often makes the character unbelievably retard. Tsuru Tsuru to Zara Zara no Aida on the other hand, uses another way to advance the relationship of the two characters. Instead of using overused misunderstanding-love triangle, it makes the two characters having a complete opposite feeling about reptile and at the same time successful in making the story believable. It's not over on that, the author uses "reptile romance" as reference of the growth of the couple which I find interesting and very thoughtful.
Tsuru Tsuru no Zara Zara no Aida is a simple slice of life - romance without a complicated relationship or repeated misunderstanding. It's cute and yet, it's a smart and thoughtful one. It's created for people who likes to read a light romance. People who like reading complicated romance/ waifu war or shounen-romance fans on the other hand, most likely will find this manga boring.
