Well, I will say this, Kyou no Kira-kun is probably one of my FAVORITE shoujo mangas ever.
First off, I think this story is definitely different from all the other stories I have read, because in this story you have the fear/thought that Kira might actually die. I think Mikimoto-sensei was able to wove the stories beautifully. While you have the other shoujo tropes like love triangles and the like, this was actually the first time in a long while that I did not get tired of it. I also like (despite how heartbreaking it was) that the story of Kira dying was woven wonderfully into this manga. For me it showed another layer from the story and that even if both are aware that the time they have with each other might be cut short, you can still see how much both treasure each other. I'd also like to add how I think the addition of Sensei (the parrot) was a cute idea. Normally, I dislike having people with pets and stuff but I thought Sensei was able to add a funny and sometimes serious matter into this story. Also I have to say, this series probably has one of my best confession scenes ever! If I have to critique something here, I would have to say that I felt like the last couple of chapters were a bit rushed and could definitely have been more fleshed out.
For the art, I thorougly enjoyed it as well. I think Mikimoto-sensei was able to draw everything properly. I honestly love how she drew the people and all the little details. I love the little chibis she draws of them everytime they are surprised or something. In fact, I sometimes find myself chuckling at the cutie chibis she does. Also, out of all the mangas I have read, I believe Mikimoto-sensei draws the most painful tears ever. I think a big reason on why I teared up on this series so much was because of how realistic and how painful she draws the tears!
Next, the characters are also a huge reason why I continued reading this. Honestly, I love the leads so so much. I think they'll probably go down as my favorite couple. This is the type of relationship I like to see folks. You can honestly see how both care for one another and you can honestly see how both support each other and how both have a positive influence into each other's life. For Kira, Ninon was the reason he decided he wanted to live, and was the reason he gave up on his lewd lifestyle. You can also see him open up more because of Ninon. For Ninon, Kira was the reason she became more outgoing and became more sociable and more brave. I love reading the journey both of them went through. And like I said above, this one had (one of) the best confessions ever. Aside from the 2 leads, I also like Sensei and the parents of the kids. I find it funny how even their parents have their own personalities, like Ninon's mom is a cosplayer and Kira's dad is a crossdresser. Aside from that I didn't really like Yabe or Rei much but I do love their friendship with each other. Yabe and Kira's friendship was also nicely shown throughout the story and made the readers understand why Yabe acts/acted that way.
Overall, as what I have said before, this is one of my favorite shoujo mangas ever. I think everything was done almost perfectly. Also sometimes when you read too much shoujo manga, it can't be helped that you can see the same things happen over and over, but I thought this was not the case here. I actually saw a lot of fresh things/scenes happen and I just really loved this series so much. Honestly, I don't think my words will ever do this series justice. So if you are looking for a something to read, just do yourself a favor and read Kyou no Kira-kun.
