I'll keep it as simple as I can:
This is a very shoujo manga but the main characters have something other couples in the same genre don't: COMMUNICATION SKILLS. They express their feelings and thoughts clearly, which is sth rare in this genre and usually it's used to create misundersating and give somes sense to the plot, but many times it's simply frustrating.
The female lead, Hotaru is an honest and caring girl but not in the stereotypical way and I appreciate it.
The ML, Hananoi, is more controversial:
At first he might seem a bit "obsessed" with her, but truth to be told, I've read TONS of shoujo and this is nth in comparison with the usual trope.
The "obsessive guy" trope is very common and it usually displays aggressive behavior, or an unhealthy way of approaching. More often than not, the obsession lead to the guy to jealousy in great doses and making him act in creepy and stalkerish ways.
This is so not the case with Hananoi and let me highlight this: he's totally respectful of Hotaru and never crosses the boundaries, and it's repeateadly stated by him that he wants Hotaru to feel comfortable and to follow her pace, and he keeps his word.
This guy is simply depressed, or at least that's what I got, and he clings into his ideals of giving himself entirely to love, which kinda reached my heart. So he does some "crazy" things like waiting for her 2 hours early or looking for her brooch in the snow, but he always respects her and states in clear words what's going on in his head, which it's essential for me to enjoy their relationship. Yes, Hananoi is very enthusiastic about going out with Hotaru, and he assumes his way of demonstrating love may be deemed as intense, but he never pretends otherwise and they spend actual happy quality time together.
This is not "the relationship is full of drama but let's pretend it's a happy couple with a panel of sweet words and a kiss" kind of romance and it feels like a breath of fresh air.
Having said that, I wanna add that the art is gorgeous and the story is developing smoothly.
Overall, I' enjoyed it quite a lot and I hope it keeps up this way.
