I love gender benders so my review is also a little biased.
Summary:
Mizuki wants nothing more than to meet Izumi Sano, she idolizes him and his high jump. Only problem is he's in Japan and she's in America. What's a girl to do? Cut her hair, lie to her parents and get admitted into his all boy school abroad? Yes! What she didn't expect was to be his roommate and that he is no longer the high jumper she admires. She made a promise not to leave until she saw his high jump, can she get close enough to find the reason behind his change?
Characters:
The main characters are all really well developed and even the ones that aren'tat first will get depths as the story develops. All of them have their backstories and played an individual role upon themselves.I assure you there isn't a character you will hate, unless that is their role.
Mizuki- She is very sweet and innocent, if it weren't for those things the manga would have been way shorter. She is determined and nice to the core. The only complain about her is that she didn't strive for anything else other than meeting Sano and being with him, which hey I'm all up for romance and happily ever after but she could have had other aspirations in life. Be her own person or at least not waste her running/track talent.
Sano- He isn't perfect and I think that's why I liked him more. Even though he does act perfect. Makes it easier to sympathize. He get's angry and he's a jerk sometimes but it makes him him. The more the manga progresses we learn about his flaws which aren't so apparent in the beginning.
Nakatsu- Hilarious expressions and internal struggle, If i could have one of these characters in real life it's be him. He truly and deeply loves Mizuki and it's not a selfish love, it's a "I want her to be happy," love. He is funny, charming and is great at sports,though a little on the...what's a sweeter word for dumb? What more can a girl ask for? His only fault is not being dark haired and named Sano :/
Umeda- Loved from the beginning and loved his chapter story. I think he was essential to the manga and was a little sad with him at the end...
The art is nothing exceptional though the characters are drawn nicely and the humor is displayed very well not only with their words but with their matching expressions and innocent faces. No complains thus far.
Like all gender benders it does have it's sameness with other gender benders. You see boys thinking their sexual orientation has changed because they have fallen in love with the supposed "boy." There is also the one person who knows the "he" is actually a "she." The "boy" dressing up as a girl for x reason and the boys surprised he looks so feminine and cute. And my all time favorite, me wondering if girls in short tight shorts really look the same as boys in short tight shorts. And if they don't which I suspect they don't, why doesn't anyone ever notice?
The only reason it's not a 10 is because i feel like the mangaka dragged it on for as long as she/he could. At one point I was just zooming through the chapters in reading speeds that aren't healthy just to get to the part that they find out her secret.
It's a unforgettable rider! Not because it's long, even though it is, but because the characters are memorable and there is one for everyone.
